—The Daily Collegian Monday, March 18, 1991
Thomas: Tuition jump certain if state denies funds
By BRIDGET MOUNT
Collegian Staff Writer
HERSHEY Money or the lack of
it was a popular topic at the Univer
sity Board of Trustees meeting in the
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on
Friday and Saturday.
University President Joab Thomas
told the trustees that Gov. Robert P.
Casey's proposed non-increase in appro
priations to the University is equivalent
to a 4 percent budget cut.
"We have unavoidable cost increases
in areas such as health care insurance,
federal and state environmental
requirements, fuel and utility costs,
increases in maintenance and opera
tions for new facilities," Thomas said.
The University is trying to convince
the state assembly and Casey that the
University needs more money, Thomas
Trustee Briefs
Thomas to outline
goals for PSU
University President Joab Thom
as intends to outline his goals for
Penn State during an April assem
bly at University Park.
"I will present then, both the
goals and the values that I bring to
the presidency of Penn State. And
I will also present some ideas that
I have on what we need to do
together to keep this university
moving forward," Thomas told the
University's Board of Trustees on
Saturday at the University's
Hershey Medical Center.
The presidential speech has yet to
be scheduled, but it will probably
be held during the first week of
April. Thomas's presentation is
expected to be open to faculty, stu
dents and staff members.
New arena's impact
to be examined
A study is underway to provide
data on the economic impact of the
University's proposed academic/ath
letic convocation center.
University President Joab Thom-
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said, adding that he has not heard about
the status of his request for more funds.
Thomas proposed a $33 million
increase to the Senate Appropriations
Committee last month and testified on
the need for additional funding to the
senate and the House Appropriations
and Education Committee in Harris
burg.
The Commonwealth does not under
stand higher education's impact on the
overall state economy, Thomas said.
University Park annually generates
about $1.2 billion for the state economy,
he said. The University also employs
about 89,000 Pennsylvanians, Thomas
added.
Indirect financial benefits, such as
technological advancements created or
discovered by University scientists,
triple the state's gain from University
services, Thomas said.
as said "preliminary information
that has come back has indicated
that this center will have an enor
mous impact on Central Pennsylva
nia and well beyond.
"We anticipate that there will be
upwards of 200 events a year in
that center," he said. "And the
complementarity between that cen
ter and the developing research
park will be extremely valuable for
this university and for the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania."
Thomas: Budget
committee helpful
The President's Planning and
Advisory Budget Committee has
helped University President Joab
Thomas, he told the trustees.
Thomas said he has attended all
of this year's sessions, at which
deans and office heads make propo
sals for increased funds.
"The process has underscored for
me the depth of the underfunding
situation at Penn State University.
Generally the plans and initiatives
put forth by the deans and the unit
heads are sound and worthy of
funding," Thomas said.
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"In our discussions with the legis
lators, we stressed particularly Penn
State's quality and accomplishments,"
Thomas said. "A message that I believe
we must spread more aggressively
across the entire commonwealth of
Pennsylvania."
If the state approves the governor's
request for a funding freeze, Thomas
said a tuition increase greater than the
planned 6 percent is inevitable. Thomas
said there is not enough data to estimate
the amount of an increase.
Thomas said the state should contrib
ute more money to higher education to
better its ranking as 47th in the country
for state support to higher education.
More state funding is a realistic goal
because in 1970 the state was 23rd in
higher education funding, he said.
Thomas said he urged clubs and orga-
Hosler: No problems
with federal gov't
Charles Hosler, the University's
acting executive vice president and
provost, assured the trustees that
Penn State was not in the same
financial quandary as Stanford Uni
versity.
The president of Stanford Univer
sity recently testified before Con
gress that "the school was changing
its accounting procedures (because)
the university may have over
charged the Federal Government as
much as $2OO million for indirect
research costs," according to the
New York Times.
Hosier said, "I just want to reas
sure you that with the very conser
vative and excellent fiscal
management we have now at Penn
State, I don't think we're likely to
be in any kind of trouble like that.
"Our overhead rates or indirect
cost rates are 37 percent below
those of Stanford and are thus not
likely to have any problems even on
very close inspection. We have sev
eral federal auditors that are here
all the time, constantly looking at
what we do."
Trustees
nizations in Pennsylvania to campaign
for additional funding.
Undergraduate Student Government
President J.P. Muir told trustees that
all parents of undergraduate residents
students received letters asking them
to write their congressmen about the
need for more funding. Affordable
tuition must be made available for all
students, Muir said, and if more cuts
are made the University must plan
carefully.
"With budget constraints we look not
for quick-fixes such as larger classes or
smaller periods of access time to com
puter and library facilities," Muir said.
"We all understand budget constraints,
but there are critical areas which must
not be touched."
Student trustee E.J. Shaffer said that
Thomas listened to student leaders' con
cerns during the recent budget crisis.
Campaign to lower
sexual harassment
The University's Affirmative
Action Office has launched a one
year campaign to decrease the
number of sexual harassment inci
dents on Penn State's campuses.
Bonnie Ortiz, affirmative action
director, told the trustees that this
week, the office will retrain a large
staff of sexual harassment contact
persons. Students are encouraged to
report any incidents to the contact
person in their college or at their
Commonwealth campus.
GSA president
speaks to trustees
Ken Martin, president of the
Graduate Student Association, on
Saturday presented his third speech
to the University's Board of Trust
ees as outgoing GSA president. He
may be back again, however.
Martin reported that no candidate
has stepped forward to become the
next GSA president and if the post
is vacant two weeks from now, he
will probably serve another term.
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Thomas made sure academic programs
were minimally affected, Shaffer said.
The University has received some
support from the state. The state
released $33.8 million for four Universi
ty Park capital projects projects ben
efitting the state economy including
an agricultural science facility, airport
improvements, a coal de-sulfurization
center and the academic and athletic
convocation and events center, Thomas
said.
Thomas said the state is more
inclined to give money for projects the
University has already contributed to.
he said.
The University will resubmit the
funding request for the HUB expansion
and the new Paul Robeson Cultural Cen
ter, Thomas said. The governor may
reconsider funding for the projects
Trustees approve new
building for classrooms
HERSHEY The University Board of
Trustees approved the final plans and
authorized the University to obtain bids
for the Mateer Building, which will
house the School of Hotel, Restaurant
and Institutional Management.
The building will be connected to the
Keller Conference Center and extend
into the center's parking lot, said James
Wagner, assistant vice president for
business and operations.
The building will not affect parking
because the University's planned
research park will include a new confer
ence center, Wagner said. Parking will
also be provided in the new second-floor
parking terrace outdside the Keller
building and a proposed parking facility
behind Eisenhower Auditorium, Wag
ner said.
Keller will then be used for class
rooms and other academic services,
Wagner said.
The $6 million project should be com
pleted in about two years, he said.
Wagner said the current financial cri
sis should not delay the construction of
Mateer Building because University
President Joab Thomas has promised
that the academic programs will be left
because the University recently pledged
$2 million to the projects, he said. The
general assembly approved the project
in the 1990-91 budget. but the governor
cut it.
The University continues to lobby for
other capital projects such as the addi
tion to Pattee and a new engineering
building at University Park, Thomas
said. The state has shown interest in the
projects, Thomas said, but it has also
shown interest in many other non-Uni
versity projects.
Trustee President Mimi Coppersmith
Fredman said the University must seek
ways to cut costs during financial diffi
culty and keep tuition down to maintain
Penn State's mission of educating the
masses, she said. The University must
increase the amount of student schol
arships and grant fellowships also, Cop
persmith Fredman said.
The current financial
crisis should not delay
the construction of
Mateer Building.
alone as much as possible
The hotel, restaurant and institutional
management program is located in the
Henderson and Health and Human
Development buildings, Wagner said.
Students in the program do not have
adequate room or appropriate facilities,
he said.
Student trustee E.J. Shaffer said he
toured the program's facilities and ate
in its kitchen. He said the new building
is necessary because students need a
new facility.
"It's an area where Penn State can
excel," Shaffer said.
Tiffany Fitzpatrick ( sophomore-
HRIM) said the nutrition laboratory the
students use now is outdated. -
"We deserve a lot more than we get,"
Fitzpatrick said.
—by Bridget Mount