Cyclist Raises Money for Nontraditional Students.

In just 30 days, Robert Erickson, a former trustee of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, raised $27,276 for scholarships.

All he had to do was spend August pedaling 2,300 miles.

Mr. Erickson, 59, who was chairman of the Board of Trustees' finance-and-facilities committee in the 1990s, has spent the past four summers biking to each of the system's 53 campuses. By asking friends, family members, and other donors to sponsor him either with per-mile donations or flat pledges on his trips, he has raised $255,000 for aid to adult and nontraditional students.

Mr. Erickson, who has been an avid cyclist for years, thought that hopping on his bike for such a long journey could help raise public interest in the financial-aid needs of adult and other nontraditional students in the state.

"Many of these kinds of students who have to work while in college become ineligible for state grants," he says. As students work longer hours, usually at minimum wage, to keep up with rising tuition rates, he explains, they are left with less time to take the number of credits needed to remain eligible for state grants. Such students, many with families or other responsibilities, are often left with few options for financial help.

"The state needs to look at who students are today, because more than 40 percent in Minnesota are part time," he says. "Many are not 18 to 24 years old anymore, and they are in a variety of circumstances."

Mr. Erickson's bike tour began as a one-man ride but has grown into a big event in many of the communities he visits. This year six of the system's presidents joined him at various points along the way, with one provost riding 55 miles of the journey. The former trustee was greeted with pancake breakfasts, hot-dog roasts, receptions, and police escorts. A tour-related competition between Minnesota State Community and Technical College and Minnesota West Community and Technical College generated $4,500.

Donors pledged money on a per-mile basis or with flat donations.

One day after his 2,300-mile trek was over, Mr. Erickson was already talking about next year. He wants more campus officials to play a part, and to challenge one another to raise money.

"It also goes to show that you don't have to have tons of money to help," he says. "Little dollars count, too."

PHOTO (COLOR): Robert Erickson has raised thousands of dollars for scholarships by biking across Minnesota to visit 53 college campuses.

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By Erin Strout