Penn State President Rodney Erickson appeared before the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee today (Feb. 22) in Harrisburg, Pa., to discuss the University's proposed appropriation for the 2012-13 fiscal year. In light of continued shortfalls in state revenue collections, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed a 30 percent across-the-board cut for Penn State, Temple and Pitt. Erickson, who was joined by leaders from Pennsylvania's other state-related universities, said he is mindful of the state's budget constraints, but stressed to lawmakers the impact such broad cuts would have on a university that educates more than 96,000 students a year. (more)
Penn State President Rodney Erickson will testify before the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, to answer questions related to the University's appropriation. The proceedings will be carried live on Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) and also will be available for streaming on the Web at http://www.pcntv.com/.
Funding for Penn State agricultural research and extension programs would remain at 2011-12 levels under Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed state budget for 2012-13, unveiled Feb. 7. "Considering the current economic realities in Pennsylvania, this is excellent news," said Bruce McPheron, dean of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. (more)
A challenging state budget outlook caused by a continued soft economic recovery and lagging revenue collections emerged from Harrisburg today (Feb. 7) as Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett presented a new state spending plan for the 2012-13 fiscal year that includes a second year of broad cuts proposed for public higher education. The governor proposed a 30 percent across the board cut in general support for the three major state-related universities -- Penn State, Temple and Pitt. Specifically for Penn State the proposed 30 percent cut of $64 million drops Penn State's general support line from $214 million to $150 million. Funding for the Pennsylvania College of Technology remains flat at $13.5 million for a total proposed appropriation of $163.5 million. (more)
To cover state revenue shortfalls approaching $500 million, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has announced a statewide budget freeze, including a five percent holdback in Penn State's academic funding. As part of the announced statewide budget freeze, Penn State will receive $11.4 million less than its initial appropriation for this academic year. (more)
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences will eliminate about 130 positions -- more than half through early retirements -- as it refocuses its programs and reorganizes in the wake of state budget cuts of 19 percent for fiscal year 2011-12, which began July 1. The job losses will occur at Penn State Extension offices across the state and in academic and support units at the University Park campus. (more)
The Board of Trustees today (Sept. 10) approved a fiscal plan for Penn State that asks the Commonwealth to provide $14.7 million more than the University will receive in the current fiscal year. If provided, it would bring the University's state appropriation to a total of $293.7 million. (more)
Penn State administrators welcomed members of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Senator Jake Corman (R-34), to the University Park campus Sept. 7 for the first of a series of public hearings on the role of the Commonwealth's state-related universities. Corman said the committee wanted to hear testimony from Penn State President Graham Spanier and other University officials on a variety of topics, including the impact of the state budget on the University's operation. (more)
Penn State's Board of Trustees approved a composite tuition increase of 3.8 percent for undergraduate students for the 2011-12 academic year at their meeting today (July 15) at Penn State Lehigh Valley. "Two-thirds of our undergraduate students will see increases of between 2.9 percent and 3.5 percent," said Penn State President Graham B. Spanier. "As we said from the beginning, we are determined that our students and their families will not bear the full burden of the appropriation cuts." (more)
Penn State's Board of Trustees today (July 15) approved a $4.1 billion University operating budget for 2011-12. The budget is supported in part by a $279 million in appropriations from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a decrease of $68 million, or 19.6 percent, from last year. "To say that it has been a tumultuous and unsettled few months leading up to this point would be an incredible understatement," said Penn State President Graham Spanier, who thanked state legislators for moderating the cut in the University's appropriation from initial proposed cuts of 52 percent. "Through the hard work of those involved in assembling this plan and the contributions and support of everyone in the Penn State community I'm able to present a balanced budget, despite the largest decreases to our state appropriation in our history. This budget assumes a tuition increase that would generally be reflective of a normal year." (more)
