The University of Minnesota Alumni Association will present Gov. Mark Dayton its âÄúAdvocate of the YearâÄù award Oct. 20, citing his support of the University.

The association will present Dayton the award next Thursday at their Alumni Awards Celebration for his work in his first year as governor.

Mary Kay Delvo, the alumni associationâÄôs public policy director, said that Dayton fought to preserve $50 million in funding for the University that was initially cut in the state LegislatureâÄôs higher education bill. Part of that extra money will be used to soften tuition increases.

Delvo also noted that Dayton opposed an amendment to prohibit human cloning that would have had a âÄúdevastating effectâÄù on the UniversityâÄôs stem cell research.

The alumni association also recognized DaytonâÄôs role in securing $88.8 million for the physics and nanotechnology building âÄî a project that broke ground Wednesday âÄî in the bonding bill passed during the special session.

The award was previously called the âÄúLegislator of the YearâÄù award but was changed to recognize all supporters of the University. Previous recipients include former Sen. Linda Berglin, Sen. Sandy Pappas, and a group of nine legislators that worked to pass the bonding bill that funded buildings for the Biomedical Discovery District.

âÄúItâÄôs critical that we honor and recognize the people who are really spending their time and energy speaking out about the University of Minnesota,âÄù Delvo said.