Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Glenn S. Dorfman, Jennifer Engh, Kevin Goodno, Harold A. “Hal” Lofgreen, Ph.D., and Donald A. Schumacher to the State Budget Trends Study Commission.

Dorfman, of Edina, is the chief executive officer of the Minnesota Association of REALTORS®. He is also a former seventh and eighth grade teacher and college educator, and holds a masters degree in public administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Engh, of St. Paul, is the government relations director for Cargill, Inc., is a former assistant state Revenue Department Commissioner, and was a fiscal analyst in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Goodno, of Woodbury, chairs Fredrikson and Byron’s government relations practice, is a former commissioner of the state Department of Human Services, and served 12 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Goodno has an LL.M. degree in taxation from William Mitchell College of Law.

Lofgreen, of Becker, is professor emeritus and recently retired as a professor of economics at St. Cloud State University. He directed St. Cloud State’s Social Science Research Institute and the Minnesota Economic Development Center, and is a former state economist with the Minnesota Department of Finance. Lofgreen holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Iowa.

Schumacher, of Elk River, retired as executive vice president of Cretex Companies, Inc. He previously was a certified public accountant with Ernst and Young, and an accounting instructor at St. John’s University. Schumacher earned an MBA in finance from Arizona State University, and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from St. John’s University.

The State Budget Trends Study Commission was created by the 2007 Legislature (Law of Minnesota 2007, Chapter 148, Article 2, Section 81) to complete a study of the implications of state demographic trends for future state budget conditions, including both expected revenue collections and spending for state government services and local services supported by state revenues. The study commission consists of 15 members, including five appointed by the Governor, five appointed by the Senate and five appointed by the House of Representatives. The State Budget Trends Study Commission expires on June 30, 2009.