MnSCU official cycles to raise scholarship funds
He has ridden 11,500 miles on his bike since 2002 to raise scholarship money for part-time students, and he’s still not satisfied.
Robert Erickson, the chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation, began his sixth annual 2,300-mile bicycle tour on Aug. 20 to raise money and public support for part-time students who attend colleges that are part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
This year, Erickson will be joined by Doug Parr, a Riverland training and development representative, on a three-city ride. They are scheduled to arrive at Riverland Community College sites on Monday. The two will depart from the Owatonna College and University Center at 8 a.m. and will arrive at the Albert Lea Campus about 11:30 a.m. They are expected at the Austin campus at 2:30 p.m.
Erickson’s tour, which is expected to take 30 days, will take him to all 53 MnSCU campuses.
Erickson is a well-known advocate for part-time students and said he feels compelled to keep raising money for part-time students because they are not eligible for scholarships. He pays for the tours himself.
In his first five tours, Erickson, who lives in Bloomington, raised more than $303,000, providing scholarships to 225 part-time students.
About 41 percent of MnSCU students are enrolled part-time.
Contributions, which are tax deductible, may be made to individual colleges or university foundations or the MnSCU foundation, Wells Fargo Place, 30 Seventh St. E., Suite 350, St. Paul, Minn. 55101-7804. All donations raised in connection with Erickson’s ride will be applied to scholarships.
