Vol XLIV, No. 15
Proposed cuts
accepted
by Danielle M. Murphy
News Editor
A proposal to eliminate one
percent ($130,283) of Behrend
College’s permanent budget was
accepted last month by Dr. John
M. Lilley, provost and dean.
The proposal comes in
response to a request by Dr.
Graham B. Spanier, president of
Penn State University, to identify
ways to make Behrend College
more efficient in serving the
needs of northwestern
Pennsylvania.
According to Dr. John D.
Burke, associate provost and dean
and chairperson of the Strategic
Planning Committee, the
recommendations will be
reviewed by Spanier and the
University Futures Committee
before implementation.
The committee, responsible for
developing the plan, consisted of
faculty, staff and students.
Membership overlapped the
former Behrend College Future
Committee.
The proposal focuses on salary
savings, the elimination of the
Penn State Education Partnership
Program, a change in computer
science faculty and a reduction in
the Speaker Series budget
These cuts were designed with
the University's stipulations that
all reductions be enrollment
neutral. “I think that Univesity
Park has to see, based on
background information, that this
is the best we could come up
with based on their parameters,”
said Biddy A. Brooks, assistant
head of the Division of
Undergraduate Studies and a
member of the committee.
The committee explored other
possible budget cuts and had a
difficult time completing the
final proposal.' “We discussed
various possibilities to come up
with the one percent,” said
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Brooks. “There is not an easy
way to do that.”
‘The committee did a very
thorough job, but I hope it’s a
plan that won’t have to be put in
place,” said Lilley. “But times
are tough for higher education.”
Implementation of the cuts
may not materialize. Based on
things Spanier has said
concerning Behrend, the College
may see a period of growth rather
than budget cuts. “If University
Park decides that Behrend will go
into a growth mode,” said Lilley,
“it is highly likely that the cuts
won’t matter.”
Salary savings include $3,000
from a staff assistant position and
$20,000 from an' anticipated
retirement. The retiring tenure
track position will be replaced by
a lecturer appointment on a
multi-year bods.
The elimination of PEPP, a
program that provides tutors for
Erie School District children,
will save $66,620. However,
the committee considered PEPP
to be a very beneficial
community service program and
it had been removed from
previous budget reduction lists.
Behrend had planned to use
$lB,OOO to create a tenure-track
computer science position,
replacing a lecturer position.
Rather than create the position,
the committee recommended
cutting these funds and finding
alternatives to strengthen the
computer science program.
The committee’s
recommendation included
reducing the Speaker Series
budget by half, saving $22,663.
The Speaker Series would be able
to continue, with funding from
outside areas such as grants and
endowments. “There may be a
reduction in the number of larger
name speakers,” said Brooks.
The Behrend College
Erie, PA 16563
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Deep freeze: Students brave sub-freezing temperatures
for higher eductation. Forecasters are calling for temps in the
30s and 40s for the rest of the week.
Student takes
icy plunge
BERHEND-A plunge into the icy creek waters of Wintergreen
Gorge sent a Behrend student to the hospital for medical attention.
Chris Moore fell into Four Mile Creek in the Gorge last
Wednesday sometime before 1 p.m., according to Bill Donahue,
manager of Police and Safety Services.
Following the accident, Moore went to the Police and Safety office
for medical treatment There Moore was heated by Police and Safery
officers for lacerations and hypothermia. He was then transported
by the Brookside Volunteer Fire Department to an undisclosed
hospital where he was treated and released.
Moore was unavailable for comment and due to confidentiality
laws, information about his condition cannot be released.
This time of year, Donahue warns students of the dangers of
venturing into the Gorge alone. The ice is not thick enough to safely
support a person, and the frigid rushing waters pose a potential
danger. “Just being careful is not always enough,” said Donahue.
“Don’t go by yourself, especially this time of year. It’s not safe to
be doing this.”
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PERMIT #282
Student
aid in
danger
Possible federal
cuts threaten
student loans
and grants.
by Kyra Kindon
Collegian Slaff
Proposed cuts in federal student
aid loom ova the heads of Penn
State students. The federal
government has proposed to
reduce the amounts of aid given
to university students, through
the form of loans, the most
common form of aid, grants and
scholarships.
“The specifics about what will
be cut and how much will be cut
are still unknown,” said Jane
Brady, assistant director of
Admissions and Financial Aid.
As of the 1994-1995 school
year, Behrend had a total of 2,098
aid recipients, which accounted
for 74 percent of the student
body. Almost $l3 million in
financial aid was received by
Behrend students. A typical
financial aid package consisted of
nearly $6,000.
Proposed legislation suggests
cutting two-thirds of the total
federal student aid budget of $3l
billion. As a result of calls and
letters from students, parents and
concerned citizens, the level of
proposed cuts to student funding
has reduced.
However, Congress now seeks
to reduce federal student aid
programs by $lO-15 billion over
the next seven years. These cuts
by Congress are the biggest cuts
in the history of student aid.
At Penn State, the number of
students who rely on federal loans
would increase if the proposed
cuts are approved. The six
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