St. Cloud State University celebrated the commencement of more than 700 students in December in 6 separate ceremonies. Dietz says it was great to celebrate with the graduates and their families. He says there was a lot of smiles and happy people at those events.

Students are currently off at SCSU until January 13 when spring semester starts. Dietz says he'll be getting together with faculty and staff to talk about priorities for the spring semester next week. Part of what will be discussed next week includes giving an update on the goals set prior to the school year in regards to the 4 R's. Dietz says they are retention, recruitment, revenue generation and relationships. He explains they've made great progress in those areas during the fall semester and plans to talk about how they can further those goals during the spring semester. Dietz says it is important to plan their work and work their plan to make this successful.

St. Cloud State will be watching closely during the upcoming legislative session to see if SCSU will receive any money to demolish unused buildings on campus. Dietz, in earlier conversations on WJON, indicated the Performing Arts building would likely be the first to go. Other unused academic buildings include the Education building and the ECC. Many departments that were located in those buildings have relocated to other buildings on campus. Unused residential halls include Benton, Stearns, and Sherburne Halls. They all could face elimination when funds become available.

St. Cloud State enjoyed lots of athletic success in the fall and Dietz also highlighted the early success for the winter sports season.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Larry Dietz, it is available below.