Article by Khadra Liban. Photos submitted by Javelia Morrison-Galimore
Gregory Tomso has been named St. Cloud State University’s 26th president. He was selected by a board of trustees from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The new president was elected during the university’s fall semester. He began his term on Jan. 5th,
2026.
Tomso joins St. Cloud from the University of West Florida, where he served as the Vice President of Academic Engagement and Student Affairs from 2021 to 2025. In his role, he led more than 160 full-time faculty across 34 different departments, focusing on student
success, enrollment, and campus culture.
Tomso has ambitious goals for St. Cloud State; the top of his list is increasing first and second year student retention by 10% in the next three years. With plans to be finalized by the end of our spring semester. The retention initiative consists of steadying the
university’s budget and restructuring the campus.
With his student-focused initiatives, it seemed fitting to speak with students about their thoughts on the new president. Javelia Morrison-Galimore, a sophomore at St. Cloud State and Vice Chair in Students United, expressed optimism about his leadership, stating
that, “St. Cloud State’s new president, Gregory Tomso, has impressed me with both his strategic foresight and his insistence on putting students at the center of every decision. His commitment to our shared values and to improving retention and student success shows that
he’s serious about building a university where all students can thrive.
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