State appropriates level funding to Penn State for 2010-11

State appropriates level funding to Penn State for 2010-11

University Park, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Tuesday, July 6, signed legislation providing $318.1 million in base appropriation and $15.8 million in federal stimulus funds to Penn State for the 2010-11 budget year, for a total of $333.9 million. This appropriation is equivalent to the amount received by Penn State in 2009-10.

"Given the current economic difficulties faced by the Commonwealth, we are pleased that the Legislature and governor were able to continue support for Penn State at level funding," said University President Graham Spanier. "We are grateful for the work they put in to pass the state budget in a timely fashion, which allows us to move forward and set our own budget for the coming year."

The University's Board of Trustees will set budget and tuition for 2010-11 at its meeting Friday (July 9) at the Penn State DuBois campus.

The nearly $16 million in stimulus money comes from the U.S. Department of Education's State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, part of the federal stimulus act meant to help public institutions stabilize their funding and keep tuition increases as low as possible.  The stimulus funding Penn State received last year allowed the University to keep the tuition increase to its lowest percentage in many years. The infusion of federal stimulus money is expected to end this year.  

The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center receives no line item appropriation from the Commonwealth, but the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is expected to direct $13.5 million in Medicaid Assistance funds to the Medical Center.

The appropriations to Penn State are part of the Commonwealth's overall $28 billion budget.