Thursday, June 30, 2011
June 30, 2011
Dear Colleagues:
I am writing to thank all of you for your support and patience these past few months as we have waited for a decision about our appropriation for the fiscal year that begins on Friday. Everything considered, I hope most of you will feel some degree of relief about where we ended up, though we still have challenges ahead.
Even in the midst of a cut in state support of this magnitude there must be some thanks offered. First, we are very pleased to have a state budget and Penn State appropriation completed on time. It has been almost a decade since that last occurred in Pennsylvania. I want to thank the many legislators who supported moderating the size of the cut originally proposed for Penn State. The original $182 million proposed cut would have had more serious impacts on our students and employees.
Most importantly, I want to thank the faculty, staff and all members of our Penn State community for supporting efforts to keep Penn State strong and moving forward. I have seen phenomenal cooperation from everyone at the University across the Commonwealth. Together we have worked through across-the-board and targeted cuts, and have worked jointly to implement the initiatives to emerge from the Core Council process this past year.
Let me summarize where we stand. The House and Senate have enacted a new budget for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Corbett is expected to approve it.
In this new budget is a reduction of $68 million for Penn State, an overall decrease of 19.6 percent. This cut is based on a 19 percent reduction in our instructional, agricultural research and Cooperative Extension appropriations; a 5 percent reduction for Penn College; and a 50 percent reduction in support provided to the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. This is the largest cut in state support for the University in our history and takes us back to what our appropriation was in 1995, when our enrollment numbered 19,000 fewer students than it does today. Adjusted for inflation, of course, the purchasing power of our appropriation is only about half of what it was 16 years ago.
One of the promises we made immediately after the governor's original 52.4 percent appropriation cut was proposed was that Penn State would not put the loss of state support principally on the backs of our students and their families. We intend to keep that promise. The Board of Trustees will meet on July 15, and we will ask for their approval of a balanced budget for the new fiscal year that includes modest tuition increases.
Over the past three months we have identified internal savings of nearly $30 million across the University. Other savings are being generated by the implementation of our new health care benefits program. We have implemented significant energy cost savings, cut funding for our capital improvement program, identified savings for our property and liability insurance, and cut back on funds for new programs. The elimination of our normal salary increase this summer also generates significant savings.
I intend to look for ways to recognize employees during the year ahead for your hard work and for your sacrifices. Additionally, our financial and human resources staffs are working to re-structure employee contributions to health care benefits so that many employees might see no increase or even a decrease in their monthly premium contributions.
Despite our sacrifices and the environment of financial uncertainty, it continues to be a very good time to be part of the Penn State family. Applications to Penn State are higher than for any school in the nation. We will have more than 120,000 applications this year. With almost $800 million in research funding Penn State remains one of the nation's key centers for innovation. The rapid expansion in cutting edge health care and research taking place at our Hershey Medical Center is saving lives. We educate more returning adult students than any other institution in the state, many of whom have jobs, spouses and families.
Our story of achievement is profound, and our stewardship of taxpayer and tuition resources is commendable.
Penn State will continue to have a positive impact on the state and nation. Thousands of employees like you are making life better for everyone. I feel honored to work with so many talented, dedicated people. Please accept my thanks for all that you do on behalf of this great University.
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
Legislation providing about $279 million in appropriation funds to Penn State for the 2011-12 budget year today (June 30) made its way through the Legislature and now awaits the signature of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. The funding represents a reduction of $68 million compared to the previous year. (more)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
In a March 31 note to employees, Penn State President Graham Spanier responded to some of the most frequently asked questions related to state funding for the University and addressed some common misconceptions about spending. (more)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Following on the heels of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's budget announcement proposing the most severe funding cut in Penn State's 157-year history -- a devastating reduction of $182 million -- Penn State President Graham Spanier provided a press briefing on March 9. To view an archived version of his briefing, plus questions from media and answers by Spanier, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/wpsu#p/a/u/0/P3zf2b8tTXE online. For a shorter version of just his remarks, go to http://www.youtube.com/pennstate#p/a/u/0/pjmJkVYySFk online. The text of President Spanier's remarks can be found at http://president.psu.edu/speeches/articles/317.html online. (more)
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Penn State President Graham Spanier's full remarks presented today (March 9) on proposed state funding cuts to the University and all Pennsylvania public universities will re-air tonight beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The remarks will be shown on WSPU World, digital channel 3.3 (Comcast channel 241 in the State College area) and simultaneously online at http://www.wpsu.org/live for those outside the WPSU viewing area. In addition, PCN television will broadcast the full remarks at 10:10 p.m. this evening. An archived version of the remarks is available at http://www.youtube.com/user/wpsu#p/a/u/0/P3zf2b8tTXE online. (more)
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
University Park, Pa. -- Following yesterday's (March 8) budget announcement by Gov. Tom Corbett, which proposed the most severe funding cut in Penn State's 157-year history -- a devastating reduction of $182 million -- Penn State President Graham Spanier will hold a press briefing at 10:30 a.m. today (March 9), to address the issue. Anyone interested in listening to President Spanier's response to the proposed cuts can view a live video stream of the event online at http://www.wpsu.org/live beginning at 10:30 a.m. (more)
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Board of Trustees today (Sept. 17) approved a fiscal plan for Penn State that asks the Commonwealth to provide a supplemental 5 percent increase, or $17.2 million, over last year's level of support. If provided, it would bring the University's state appropriation to a total of $364.2 million. President Graham Spanier explained that Penn State will receive $333.9 million from the state in 2010-11, which combines a base state appropriation of $318.1 million and $15.8 million of federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The federal stimulus dollars were meant to help public institutions stabilize their funding and keep tuition increases as low as possible. Stimulus funding for higher education will be halted after this year. (more)
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed legislation on Tuesday, July 6, 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." (more)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Alumni and students will team up for "Penn State Capital Day" on April 20 in Harrisburg, Pa., to make their case with legislators that Penn State needs a strong state appropriation. Capital Day's primary focus will be on individual meetings with Pennsylvania senators, representatives and their staffers. Teams of alumni and students will convey the message that a strong state appropriation is needed to allow Penn State to continue its land-grant mission of providing quality, accessible higher education at affordable tuition rates for students and their families. (more)
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, along with the leaders of Pennsylvania's other state-related universities, appeared before the state Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday (March 3) to make the case for funding for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Among the topics discussed were how the nature of the state-related universities would change if state appropriation funding would evaporate. Other questions from the committee included topics such as the viability of Penn State's campuses, the importance of Cooperative Extension, tuition, graduation rates, the economic impact Penn State and the other state-related universities have on Pennsylvania, and other issues. (more)
