Leaders from Penn State and other state-related universities will be in Harrisburg today, where they’re expected to urge lawmakers to spare education from severe budget cuts.
The state House Appropriations Committee will hold a budget hearing for Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple and Lincoln.
Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed cutting state support for the universities by 30 percent in the 2012-13 fiscal year. At Penn State, that would mean a drop in state funding from $214 million to $150 million.
During last year’s budget cycle, Corbett wanted to cut that support in half. The state’s final budget ended up slicing it 20 percent.
Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said that the House hearing is an opportunity for President Rodney Erickson “to make a case to legislators for adequate support for Penn State students, and to again make a case for increased funding that would mitigate the 30 percent cut of $64 million proposed by the governor.”
“We hope to impress upon these legislators the significant positive impact our campuses have on their communities and the commonwealth, and to also reaffirm our longstanding partnership with the state,” Powers said.
The state has until July 1 to adopt a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. In September, Penn State trustees agreed to ask the state for a 5 percent increase in funding. Under that budget blueprint, the university would keep tuition increases below 4 percent.
This fiscal year, appropriations account for 6.6 percent of the university’s $4.1 billion budget and 14 percent of its $1.7 billion general education budget.
Erickson said the university is looking for savings in all aspects of its operations.
“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to make sure the burden of this doesn’t fall disproportionately on students,” Erickson said, referring to the proposed cut.
Erickson is a member of the panel Corbett formed to study higher education and ways to make it affordable. The panel, which includes leaders from universities, businesses and other educational institutions, has also been charged with looking at whether higher education is meeting the state’s workforce needs.
The panel is supposed to submit its findings by Nov. 15
“I think it will be an opportunity for representatives from a wide range of institutions and interests to come together to talk about the future of higher education, the role that’s played by various segments of education in Pennsylvania and to think creatively about ways in which we can collaborate,” Erickson said.
Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648.
