I said then, and I repeat again, that Minnesota State University, Mankato is the largest public graduate school in the State of Minnesota, aside from the University of Minnesota.
Graduate studies is one of the distinctive competencies of our university.
We have been involved in graduate education for almost 45 years, and many of our 72 graduate programs have been here for 30 years and more. I also stressed that it is graduate education that helps create our distinctive campus environment, different from 4-year colleges and from research universities. I also stressed that graduate programs at MSU are a common good, that a comprehensive university has its own role and character distinct from that of a research university, and that global competition requires a clear vision of our distinctive competencies. And I spoke about our need to define our own niche and hold it. As faculty at a comprehensive university, we particularly are called to project into the next millenium the great tradition which we have spent our lives mastering.