Local leaders and Rainy River Community College officials met Wednesday with Scott Thiss, chairman of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees.

Sue Collins, president of the Northeast Higher Education District, told the Journal Wednesday the informal morning meet and greet was an effort by Thiss to get to know the colleges and staff at MnSCUs facilities.

“(Thiss) wants the trustees to visit the colleges and so he is modeling that behavior,” said Collins. “It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the college and the community.”

Thiss was joined in his visit to RRCC by MnSCU Trustee Bernie Ohmann. They toured the college, community and Boise’s paper mill. Others in attendance at the meeting included former RRCC presidents, college faculty and staff, and local officials.

Collins said Thiss and Ohmann had a chance to hear about academic programming at RRCC.

“It was a chance to have him get to know the people at Rainy River,” she said. “From my perspective, it was very, very positive.”

Collins said connecting the trustees with the colleges and the people at the colleges they oversee “is an amazing idea. I applaud him for saying that it’s an important thing for trustees to do. It means everything for them to know and remember people, remember programs, remember the uniqueness of Rainy River.”

The meeting gave Thiss a chance to talk to Falls School Superintendent Jeff Peura about the idea of working more collaboratively with the high school. “These are connections that are very, very important,” Collins said.

Later in the day, Allen Rasmussen, who served many years as president of RRCC, discussed the visit at the Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board meeting. Rasmussen serves as chairman of the KEDA Board.

Rasmussen said it was good to have Thiss in town to visit Rainy River Community College.

“It is important for the trustee board to see what Rainy River Community College means to this community,” Rasmussen said.

He noted that Thiss gave attention to Collins and how she has done a “marvelous job in repositioning that institution for survival.”

Rasmussen added that Collins explained at the meeting that RRCC is the top college in the state, according to a financial index.

“It (RRCC) is small and 20 students can make a big difference, but nonetheless, it has gotten to that point and I think that is good news,” Rasmussen said of the college’s financial state.

Later, Collins told The Journal that the Northeast Higher Education District received a 12.2 percent cut in funding by the Legislature.

“We are operating on far less money and appropriations than when I became president in 2008,” she said. “At that time the appropriation to the district was $21 million. Today it is $15 million.”

But, she said, the college is doing well financially “because of wise decisions made and innovative thinking of people who work here... that’s a positive indicator of financial health. The message sent to folks is that the college has made very sound decisions.”

As an example of those decisions, Collins pointed to the sharing of a provost between RRCC and Hibbing Community College.

Meanwhile, at Wednesday’s KEDA Board meeting, member Gail Rognerud asked Rasmussen if there was talk about growing or adding new programs at Wednesday’s meeting.

“Oh sure,” he answered. “He (Thiss) said with the Legislature and cuts being made, it is a difficult environment to get new programs and it is hard to get MNSCU funding for new programs because they are so strapped.”

Rasmussen continued that the higher tuition gets, the more it affects the older, independent student.

“That’s not good news, but we need to keep telling our Legislatures that,” he said of higher tuition costs.