ST. CLOUD -- With a new president on board St. Cloud State University is ready to tackle new challenges.

President Robbyn Wacker hosted the 2018-2019 school year convocation Tuesday morning. Wacker used the annual assembly to introduce herself and what vision she has for the future of St. Cloud State.

To break it down, her main vision is to make SCSU the university of choice in Minnesota. To achieve that goal Wacker says the university has to be available for more than just freshmen.

"St. Cloud State is focused on new first-year freshmen. What we need to do is broaden that pool and reach out to all manner of students whether it be their age, where they are at, where they are working, are they veterans, adults, students, others."

Wacker says working on creating new quality programs to help with the changing workforce will also help bring in more students.

To make these goals a reality, Wacker says you need the "secret sauce."

"The secret sauce is the people here. It's the faculty and staff at St. Cloud State are so committed and are so passionate about their university and what they do, that's what will make a difference. If we unleash their ideas and their creativity, they're going to find that niche and what makes our university unique compared to others."

St. Cloud State has been trending lower in enrollment numbers for the past few years. Last year's total headcount was 15,092, which is down about 3.2 percent from the previous year's enrollment.

This year's enrollment numbers will be released later this fall.

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