Penn State, Pennsylvania’s only land-grant institution, has suffered nearly $50 million in state budget cuts and rescissions over the past three years. The 2003-04 state budget, which was approved by the legislature in late December, dealt the University a $14.7 million cut from last year’s initial funding level. And in his 2004-05 proposed budget, Governor Edward Rendell calls for only a 2.25% increase in funding for Penn State—which is below the proposed increase for the other public colleges in the Commonwealth, and well below Penn State’s request.
On Feb. 25, Penn State President Graham Spanier traveled to Harrisburg to appear before both the House and Senate for budget talks. “It goes without saying that the Commonwealth has been through an extraordinarily difficult economic cycle,” Spanier said. “At Penn State we have done our part to help the Commonwealth deal with this challenge, absorbing nearly $30 million in permanent cuts from our appropriation and millions more in temporary cuts since 2001, while working diligently to ensure that those dramatic reductions did not erode the quality of education that the citizens of this Commonwealth expect Penn State to provide.”
“But there is indeed a limit to the reductions that any public university can absorb without either significantly reducing quality or raising tuition to a level that makes higher education inaccessible to increasing numbers of our citizens,” Spanier explained.
One of Penn State’s top budget priorities is securing additional funding for the University’s College of Medicine. Currently, the College of Medicine ranks last in the nation in appropriation support for public medical schools. The average appropriation for most medical schools totals just under $50 million, with some schools receiving more than $100 million. The College of Medicine received less than $5 million from the Commonwealth this year.
“Penn State's College of Medicine and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center are important statewide resources, training many of Pennsylvania's physicians and providing the highest level of health care to more than half a million patients annually,” Spanier told the House Appropriations Committee. “We focus on this single special request because the only medical school outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is in jeopardy.”
The College of Medicine has generally relied on clinical revenue generated by the medical center. However, changes in Medicare reimbursement and managed care are driving down the margin of funds made available to the college.
To assist the University, the Alumni Association’s Grassroots Network held a series of Town Hall meetings in western Pennsylvania on March 4. The Network is a statewide system of Penn State alumni and friends who are actively involved in advocating for the University’s future and the support of its students. With more than 33,000 members throughout Pennsylvania, the Network continues to communicate to legislators the need to support Penn State through adequate state funding.
To read President Spanier’s entire address to the House Appropriations Committee, please visit http://live.psu.edu/story/5761.
For more information on the Penn State Grassroots Network, or to join this growing network of dedicated volunteers, please visit http://www.alumni.psu.edu/grassroots or contact Network Director Bernie Ryan ’82 Eng at 888-353-8984.
