I said then, and I repeat again, that Mankato State University 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 71 graduate programs have been here for 30 years and more. I also stressed that it is graduate education which 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. A new year has rolled around, and last year's theme still seems to me the crucial one. We must become what we are.