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New St. Cloud State president ready to listen — and for hard conversations

On Jan. 5, Gregory Tomso began his tenure as President of St. Cloud State University, held convocation on Jan. 6, and invited challenging questions during an hour-long Jan. 8 interview.
The board approved Gregory Tomso, President Designate, after a fast-tracked search from 99 candidates, recommended by MinnState Chancellor Scott Olson at a Nov. 19 meeting and approved Nov. 20, 2025.
Creating a roughly 20-member community advisory committee is a top immediate step, and Gregory Tomso plans a three-year strategic plan to be enacted by the end of the spring semester.
Aiming high, Gregory Tomso set a retention and financial timeline tied to concrete partnerships, targeting a 10% boost in first- and second-year retention within three years and aiming to be fully in the black within about a year.
After years of decline, enrollment has stabilized at around 10,000 students, while recent leadership turnover and past budget shortfalls led to cuts and the planned merger of five colleges into three by July, prompting concern among community members.

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New St. Cloud State president ready to listen — and for hard conversations

ST. CLOUD — Gregory Tomso doesn’t shy away from hard conversations. The new St. Cloud State University president had only been on the job for four days — he started Jan. 5 — when he asked a St. Cloud LIVE reporter for challenging questions during an interview. “Don’t just ask me easy questions,” Tomso said during the first couple of minutes of an hour-long Jan. 8 interview. “Give me some of your hard questions. I want to make sure I answer every…

6 days ago·Cherokee County, United States

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