This is another topic I know is not going to go over well with some folks, but it's got to be said and I believe this could significantly help Fargo even prosper more.

There are TOO MANY institutions of Higher Education in this state. We all know several of them are merely kept open for the sole purpose of keeping a town from dying out. With the current economic downturn and the rise of the extreme conservatives bolstering for fiscal prudence in the state, I think we could make the following case:

Convince the SBoHE to consolidate VCSU and Mayville State University into NDSU. To appease the almighty school to the north, we could give them some of Mayville's programs.

VCSU has less than 1,000 students but a sprawling campus for that student body. Mayville State University has less than 850 and we have two MAJOR research universities within 50 miles of this school in either direction. In my view, that's a waste of money keeping those schools open. Shut them down and consolidate those programs across UND/NDSU/NDSCS.

There's more schools I'd close around the state, but they are too far from Fargo.

With this additional programs, NDSU would continue to expand and continue to grow as an economic engine for the metropolitan area.