joining us from minneapolis is eric kaler, president of the university of minnesota. president kaler, thank you for joining us this morning here on washington journal. >> very glad to be with you. >> tell us about the university of minnesota system. is it a public system, a land grant university? >> sure. minnesota is land grant. we have five campuses across the state. our twin city, minneapolis and st. paul, duluth, morris and rochester. about 69,000 students. about $700 million a year in research spending. it's a big operation. >> the university was founded in 1851. how long have you been president? >> well, less tlahan that for sure. i'm starting my fourth year. i'm the 16th president of the university. people tend to serve in this job for a good long time. >> what are some of your priorities as president? >> well, it's really pretty simple for me. i am very interested in accessibility and affordability and the university providing an excellent education for those students. also interested in being sure that we help drive the economy of the state of minnesota, that

. >>> coming up on cspan 3, a discussion with university of minnesota president eric kaler. that's followed by a portion of the met roots nation conference and the annual u.s.'s convention. >>> be part of cspan's campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. to get debate schedules, video clips of key moments, cspan is bringing you over 100 senate, house and government debates and you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying, stay in touch and engage and follow us on twitter, and liking us on facebook, at facebook.com/cspan. >>> coming up, a conversation with university of minnesota president eric kaler. it's part of cspan's washington journal series on the big ten conference, which looks at some of the challenges facing higher education. this is 40 minutes. >> and here on washington journal this morning, we kick off the first of our big ten college tours and talking to presidents of the big ten colleges and universities, colleges that educate some half million people each year and and allocate some $10 billion a year to re

. >>> coming up, a conversation with university of minnesota president, eric kaler. it's part of the "washington journal" series on the big ten conference, which looks at some of the challenges facing higher education. this is 40 minutes. expectationn constructive way. >> and here on washington journal this morning, we kick off the first of our big ten college tour with visits to big ten college campuses and talking to presidents of the big ten colleges and universities. the colleges that educate some half million people each year and allocate some $10 billion a year to research throughout the country and beyond. we're joined this morning by eric kalor. and and on wednesday, james lindher, and joining us on our cspan bus is eric kalor, thank you for joining us this morning here on washington journal. >> very glad to be with you. >> tell us about the university of minnesota system. is it a public system? a land grant university? >> sure. it's minnesota's land grant university. we have five campuses across the state, our twin cities campus, minneapolis and st. paul, du

. >>> coming up on cspan 3, a discussion with university of minnesota president eric kaler. that's followed by a portion of the met roots nation conference and the annual u.s.'s convention. >>> be part of cspan's

. >>> tonight on c-span3, washington journal's interview with university of minnesota president eric kaler. that will be followed by a portion of this year's netroots nation conference. selections from the communist party usa national convention and views on progressive politics from the campaign for america's future. that all starts tonight at 8 p.m. eastern here on c-span3. >>> and tonight on our companion network c-span2, it's the second florida governor's debate between rick scott and charlie crist. here's a look. >> are you saying there are so many racists in the republican party, you couldn't remain a republican? >> no. i'm saying that element exists. listen, my mother and father are republicans. i love them to death. they don't have a racial bone in their body -- racist bone in their body. what is at work here is a pretty simple thing. if you remember back with me to 2008, and some of the e-mails that were distributed about the president by some members, not all, of the republican party, they weren't exactly flattering. and i think you probably can research and find out what i'm tal

>>> coming up on cspan 3, a discussion with university of minnesota president eric kaler. that's followed by a portion of the met roots nation conference and the annual u.s.'s convention. >>> be part of cspan's campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. to get debate schedules, video clips of key moments, cspan is bringing you over 100 senate, house and government debates and you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying, stay in touch and engage and follow us on twitter, and liking us on facebook, at facebook.com/cspan. >>> coming up, a conversation with university of minnesota president eric kaler. it's part of cspan's washington journal series on the big ten conference, which looks at some of the challenges facing higher education. this is 40 minutes. >> and here on washington journal this morning, we kick off the first of our big ten college tours and talking to presidents of the big ten colleges and universities, colleges that educate some half million people each year and and allocate some $10 billion a year to re