The provost’s email addresses: david.hood@mnsu.edu and provost@mnsu.edu .

The president’s email addresses:

 edward.inch@mnsu.edu and presidentsoffice@mnsu.edu. 

Dear:

On clear winter nights in southern Minnesota, you can see two kinds of lights: the stars above us and the bridge and runway lights below us. Both skies exist because of people who study things most of us take for granted—astronomy and engineering. Cutting these programs isn’t just a budget choice; it’s a decision about what kind of future this university is building, and for whom.

At MNSU, Mechanical and Civil Engineering are not fringe or low-enrollment programs. Together, the Mechanical & Civil Engineering department serves about 388 students with roughly 13 faculty, yielding a student-to-faculty ratio near 30:1 almost double that of some other engineering units on campus. Civil Engineering alone is the 6th largest of 48 programs in its college and 28th out of 250+ programs campus-wide, with roughly 147–150 majors and rising enrollment, not declining.

Despite this growth and clear workforce demand there are civil engineering faculty positions that may be eliminated (there is likely to be one resignation, one retirement, one layoff), leaving just four civil faculty to serve about 150 students starting in Fall 2026. This load does not seem sustainable for ABET-accredited Civil programs that must provide rigorous labs, design courses, capstone projects, advising, and continuous improvement.

At the same time, Astronomy, housed in Physics & Astronomy, provides foundational courses for engineers, pilots, science teachers, and non-majors. Astronomy classes are often a gateway into STEM and a core part of public outreach, from star parties to K–12 engagement. Weakening Astronomy signals that scientific literacy, wonder, and long-term curiosity are expendable.

Minnesota does not need fewer mechanical or civil engineers, nor less science literacy. It needs more graduates who understand both the infrastructure under our feet and the sky above our heads. I respectfully urge you to reconsider cuts to Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Astronomy, and to align staffing decisions with the university’s mission to provide affordable, high-quality science and engineering education for the people of Minnesota.

Thank you for your time and service.

Sincerely,

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MisfjUqEN9ipTbCCqZa8cK9c0UPVF9GA/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109377104859959957489&rtpof=true&sd=true