By Lisa M. Rosellini
Public Information
On April 29, Gov. Tom Ridge signed Penn State's 1998-99 appropriation, giving the University an increase of 3.25 percent over last year's state funding.
The $299.1 million appropriated by the governor this year for Penn State is his most generous to date, although it falls short of what the University requested. Penn State actually requested $314 million from the state to cover basic operating costs and their increases, and to provide additional money to improve the quality of educational programming.
"This is a good budget for Penn State, although it's not as much as we'd hoped for," President Graham B. Spanier said. "We now need to work to take advantage of the opportunities this budget provides."
Spanier said the University plans to fund its priority areas, such as hiring new faculty, upgrading the information technology infrastructure, and increasing funding for the Libraries, critical academic program priorities and a new general education curriculum. The money also will go toward modest salary increases and building maintenance and renovation. In addition, there are several carefully targeted areas that Penn State plans to invest in such as the study of children, youth and families, the life sciences, materials science, environmental studies and the possible creation of a school of information science and technology.
To meet these needs, the University will need to draw on the increased appropriation as well as a modest increase in tuition and fees.
Penn State is also eligible to receive about $1 million in competitive funds from the state Department of Agriculture and the state Department of Health for funding various initiatives in those areas.
The state's total $17.8 billion spending plan also provides a 3.25-percent increase across the board for all of higher education in the state. In addition, the fiscal blueprint calls for an additional $2 million to go to community colleges for a workforce development initiative that encourages the formation of partnerships with industry; and a 7-percent, or $17.5 million, increase for the Grants to Students Program within the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA).
"We think it's going to be a pretty good year for us. Unfortunately the Legislature could not be more generous, particularly in a very good year for the Commonwealth," Spanier said referring to Pennsylvania's projected budget surplus, which could reach $500 million. The 3.25-percent increase in the appropriation Penn State is receiving is based on the governor's recommendation. The Legislature did not add any new funds to the governor's figures.
"We're continuing to be as entrepreneurial as we can," Spanier said. "We plan to stay the course we have been on in terms of evaluating programs and putting our resources toward our priority areas."
Since 1992, Penn State has reallocated more than $72 million. The vast majority of these funds have been reinvested to strengthen the quality of academic programs. In the 1997-98 University budget, dozens of new faculty positions were established through internal reallocation and additional funding. Twenty-five of the positions were created by shifting faculty with administrative assignments back to the classroom.