“I did't believe in empire building.  I may have all kinds of weaknesses, probably, which I would be best aware of from other people, but this [empire building] is one that I do not have.  And I feel that it is this danger, when a person is associated with an institution that he or she might want to promote that institution at all cost in almost a personal sort of way. And I think that needs to be resisted for many reasons. But I did feel that it was, to put it very plainly and bluntly, undemocratic that people that were fortunate enough to be born in the cultural metropolis of Minneapolis and St. Paul [would receive greater support for education, while] the other people in the rural areas would be neglected, and that was precisely what was the case [in 1958].  I didn't necessarily mean that we should get a larger part of the pie [for financing state colleges and universities], though if necessary I was very willing to have the pie become larger. But, I did feel very strongly, still do so, that when people learn English, or biology or a foreign language, or a professional preparation, that they should learn what has to be learned and not at a second rate level. I'm afraid was not only the case, but that was accepted, and I hoped that with the kind of faculty that we were going to attract and retain, as well as with an understanding by the community of the issues involved, that we were going to change that. I think that with the help of a lot of people, that was to a significant degree changed.”

 John Neumaier, reflecting in a 1987 interview, on his ideas for further developing Moorhead State College after becoming the seventh president of the college in 1958.