New St. Cloud State University President Says Campus Already Feels Like Home

(KNSI) — The new president of St. Cloud State University is ready to shake things up to reinvigorate the campus, but he also is taking time to praise the last man to hold the position.

Gregory Tomso says many of the initiatives started by Larry Dietz put SCSU on the right track for the future, including a push to modernize campus by removing unused buildings and leaning into the natural resources a location along the Mississippi River provides. “He had absolutely the right vision, and that vision also comes from the community. I know that the city is looking for some bonding money to do some improvements along the main road by campus here, Fifth Avenue. We need to be a destination campus, and not just in terms of our beautiful waterfront and green space. We need to have events.”

Tomso only began Monday, but he has been on the phone with the school’s largest donors to help set up a fund dedicated to building demolition. He warns, though, that the idea is a tough sell. “I’m actually working on some conversations with some donors to see, even as unsexy as it is, to see if we might find some money to at least start the process. We need the state to help us, but I also think that the community might be able to come together and do a little bit.”

The president’s office has resembled the phone booth in an old-fashioned Superman comic strip. A near-continuous sequence of doors opening and closing, and a blur of visitors, including local media. The executive assistant joked at the front desk that she expected Tomso to lose his voice before the week was over. He looks at the breakneck pace as a requirement of the job. Tomso notes the drop/add date for the semester, the last day students can change their schedule for Spring 2026, is just eight days away, and in his mind, there are goals he wants the university to hit, even in that short time frame.

Some of the conversations have spilled over to restaurants like Krewe in St. Joseph, among other high-profile sites in the metro area. Tomso met with Lori Kloos, the leader of St. Cloud Technical and Community College on Wednesday, seeking to create partnerships with other higher ed institutions in the region. “We try to lay out what they’re going to do on their end and what we’re going to do on our end. And that leads to things called ‘Two Plus Two’ programs, two years at the college and two years at the university.”

At this point, nothing has been finalized, but Tomso is adamant that the “Two Plus Two” concept will span a variety of academic fields. He also wants to ensure both SCSU and SCTCC are on the same page in regards to certification programs, workforce training, upskilling, and other initiatives that Tomso wants the university to be involved in at some capacity.

Tomso expects the “Two Plus Two” push could eventually branch out in the other direction to include internships and entry-level job partnerships with local employers after graduation. Tomso brought up CentraCare as an organization that would make sense for the model.

Tomso admits that SCSU dropped the ball when it came to the new medical school campus. He frankly told KNSI News, “It was a missed opportunity that we weren’t on the bus when that med school got built.” He is promising to have a seat at the table with CentraCare in new and exciting ways in the future, some of which are already being worked on.

Tomso believes, at its heart, the school’s mission is to train tomorrow’s workforce, which means social and economic mobility for the students who graduate with a degree. To serve central Minnesota properly, he expects the most popular fields of study will come from two general areas. “We have a lot of energy around healthcare in this community, and I would love for St. Cloud State to invest in programs that support training our healthcare workers of the future. We have a lot of interest in manufacturing [and engineering] in this region.”

He adds the heritage programs of teaching and education, along with stalwarts such as business and emerging powerhouses like communications and mass media, will also be supported.

Tomso has one other pet issue that he wants to stress as president, which builds on his last administrative role at the University of West Florida. He notes progress for the school goes beyond stabilizing head count. He wants enrollment to pick up, but more importantly, he wants students on campus to be fully immersed in the college experience and to be taking classes full-time.

Tomso hopes to set up an endowment that could forever fund a group on campus dealing with student success. “That takes a lot of work. It’s very labor-intensive. It means talking with students. It means calling them, texting them, emailing them, following them around campus, if we have to get the information we need. And a lot of students who are struggling may not speak up right away, and we want to be proactive.”

Tomso believes the move will help retain students. His goal is to have freshmen on campus stay Huskies until they earn their degrees, while also attracting transfer students. He is pledging transparency during his tenure at the school to show how well the school is meeting the moment in these different areas.

Tomso wants to regularly meet with city government leaders. “Councilwoman Karen Larson and others have mentioned to me that we have an established regular meeting structure, and we’ve already been working on getting that next one scheduled. In fact, we’re trying to move the date up so I can get down there sooner. I’ve also sent out invitations to our elected officials.”

He intends to create a list of key performance indicators that will be published online for everyone to see. Another point of emphasis is to quickly create a strategic plan that acts as a roadmap for the school’s faculty and administration to rejuvenate the campus, one that builds on the vision of those at the university and members of the overall St. Cloud community.

It was a sincere and thoughtful decision to want to lead St. Cloud State University. “I was looking for a new home, not just a job. I’m here for good. This is my last job that I’m going to have, and I hope it will work out well. I hope that people here and the faculty and staff and students, and community will embrace the work that we’re going to do, and I hope I do it well.”

If Week One is any indication, the position may prove to be a fresh air for both the school and the man now steering it. Tomso has already found an affinity for early morning walks with the sun rising over the snow-capped horizon. “I love a four-seasons climate, and I lived in central New York before moving to Florida, and I really missed it. I never felt at home in Florida in terms of the climate. The seasons change, but barely, you kind of get warm, and then hot, and then warm, and that’s sort of it.”

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