North Dakota Gov. Includes $50M for Centers of Excellence in Budget Request

In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.

First proposed by the governor during his state of the state address nearly one year ago, (see the SSTI Weekly Digest for Jan. 16, 2004), the centers are envisioned as hubs for education, research, training and job creation. Individual center activities would be focused in targeted sectors, such as technology, aerospace, value-added agriculture, energy, advanced manufacturing and tourism.

To provide at once such a substantial sum for a state with a population of about 634,000, Gov. Hoeven recommends the initial $50 million be borrowed from the Bank of North Dakota and repaid through the biennial appropriations to the state's Department of Commerce. The 2005-07 request includes $5 million toward that obligation.

Gov. Hoeven anticipates the state's contribution would be matched on a two-to-one basis by federal and private sector resources.

Also included in the governor's recommended budget is an increase of nearly $29 million in core funding for the North Dakota University system. The governor is recommending $388.2 million for the higher education general fund, up from $361.5 million for the current budget cycle. The increase maintains the universities' share of the state's recurring revenues at 21 percent.

Gov. Hoeven's 2005-07 budget is available at: http://governor.state.nd.us