2008-09 BUDGET PRESENTATION
When the General Assembly designated Penn State as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution in 1863, the legislature’s vision went well beyond the establishment of an educational institution; it created an enduring partnership with the people of Pennsylvania. On every account, this partnership has yielded exceptional returns and extraordinary results.
Since its founding, Penn State has conferred more than 629,000 degrees.
In fact, one out of every 115 Americans with a
bachelor’s degree graduated from Penn State. For the more than 90,000
students enrolling at 24 campuses across the Commonwealth and the Penn State
World Campus, the University provides unparalleled access to knowledge and
skills, social mobility, and a bright future.
In addition, Penn State is now America’s most popular university, receiving nearly 100,000 applications for admission in all its programs this past year. Moreover, of students seeking admission to U.S. medical schools, one in every six applies to Penn State’s College of Medicine.
The University’s research enterprise is among the most comprehensive in the country. In materials sciences alone, the pioneering innovations of our faculty impact areas as diverse as computers, national defense, manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, and medical technologies.
This year, Penn State’s faculty will conduct approximately $700 million of research, ranking the University among the leaders worldwide and third in the nation for research supported by industry. Within Pennsylvania, Penn State conducts more industry-sponsored research than all other colleges and universities combined.
Penn State continues to support the largest outreach effort in American higher education, serving more than five million people a year and reaching half of all households in Pennsylvania. This effort extends beyond agriculture to include health and wellness, alternative energy, natural resource protection, national security, business development, and leisure activities.
Within the Commonwealth, the University does more to power the economy than
any other enterprise in the state. The collective statewide economic impact
of Penn State’s activities is projected to be more than $7 billion annually,
with an induced impact of an additional $8 billion. For every dollar that
is invested by the Commonwealth, Penn State returns $19.42 in total economic
impact to the Commonwealth. 
Penn State’s 2008-09 budget request reflects the University’s need to keep pace with rising costs associated with carrying out its land-grant, public university mission and the need to continue providing high quality programs for its students. Penn State seeks an appropriation increase from the Commonwealth of $24,202,000, or 6.9 percent. Of this amount, $18,287,000 is requested for the Educational and General line item and $4,909,000 for its other line items. An increase of $1,006,000 also is requested in State and Federal Medical Assistance funding provided to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center through the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
These funds will be used to help support the University’s basic operating
cost increases, with emphases on competitive faculty and staff salary
adjustments, escalating health care costs, deferred maintenance and
facilities improvements, and strategic academic program initiatives.
If the Commonwealth is able to provide these requested appropriation increases, the tuition rate increases for Pennsylvania resident students would be 4.9 percent for students at Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses and 5.5 percent at the University Park Campus.
For more than a decade the University has aggressively trimmed budgets, producing $163 million in budget reallocations. These funds have been reallocated to help offset cost increases and to provide critically needed support for academic programs. We remain committed to continuing cost containment and belt-tightening measures. However, inadequate funding will negatively affect the University’s continued ability to provide the programs and services so critical to the Commonwealth’s future.
The success of a university can be measured in many ways. The richness, depth, and breadth of Penn State’s efforts have touched the lives of every Pennsylvanian. The budget request that the University is submitting will make Penn State and the Commonwealth partners in an effort to assure continued access and affordability for the citizens of our state, while ensuring the level of quality that they have come to expect from their land-grant university.
An increased investment in this partnership is an investment in the future of Pennsylvania. With the support of the Commonwealth, Penn State can continue to provide the leadership, knowledge, and vision that are essential for success in today’s competitive economy.