The University of Minnesota Board of Regents unanimously approved a nearly $1.3 billion request for state support over the next two years at their Friday meeting.

The request, first unveiled last month, is a $102.2 million increase over current funding levels and President Bob Bruininks argued the increase is critical to the strength of the University.

If the full request is granted, the University will receive $642.2 million annually to support academic programs, offset the cost of inflation and hire new faculty. State support made up about 20 percent of the UniversityâÄôs budget in the last biennium.

The request comes as the state is facing a $6 billion budget deficit, and Bruininks acknowledged itâÄôs unlikely the full request will be funded.

If the full request isnâÄôt granted this biennium, Bruininks said the University will turn to cuts, reorganization and tuition increases to balance the budget.

In the previous biennium, the University requested a total of $1.4 billion in support but received only $1.2 billion due to a similar multi-billion dollar state budget deficit.