Penn State To Continue To Press For Appropriate State Funding Levels

3-21-97

Hershey, Pa. -- House and Senate appropriations committee members expressed praise and support for Penn State and its 1997-98 state appropriations request at recent committee hearings. But the committees also displayed "a general lack of will" to fund higher education in Pennsylvania at necessary levels, University President Graham B. Spanier told the Board of Trustees March 21.

"We will continue to work to reverse this posture," Spanier told the board.

The University is seeking an appropriation of $305 million -- 8.6 percent more than last year's -- to continue adequately serving students and the state and to keep tuition as affordable as possible. Without adequate state support, Spanier has said, tuition could rise more than the planned 2.9 percent.

In early February, Gov. Tom Ridge's office announced a proposed 2 percent increase for Pennsylvania's public universities. Penn State officials were appreciative of the increase, but noted that the slight boost would not be enough to cover some of the University's most critical needs.

Spanier said the appropriation request, approved by the trustees in September 1996, includes "only the most basic elements to sustain ourselves in an environment of profound change. I made clear (to the legislators) that above all else, teaching remains the heart of Penn State, as reflected in our highest funding priority for the coming year: 50 new faculty positions."

Academics will always be first at Penn State, Spanier emphasized both before the board this week and earlier this year at the budget hearings. "Our primary responsibility is the education of our students, developed in a framework that promotes character, conscience and citizenship," Spanier told the board.

"My principal message to the General Assembly was that Penn State is delivering on its promise to become the leading university in America in the integration of teaching, research and service," Spanier continued. "At the same time, I explained that we are greatly challenged in fulfilling our mission and preserving our tradition of access and excellence by a state appropriation that has declined 6.6 percent since 1991-92 when adjusted for inflation."

Adding the 50 new faculty positions is part of a three-year plan that will be accomplished through state support and internal reallocations from administrative expenditures. Other high priorities for Penn State are cooperative extension, increased support for the University libraries and information technology, medical education and agricultural research.

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Contacts:
Alan Janesch (814) 865-7517 (office) axj12@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) cmr7@psu.edu