Editorial Columns

Campus Construction

In the midst of four budget cuts emanating from Harrisburg over the past two years and big tuition increases,students often wonder why it looks like Penn State has so much money to spend on buildings. Let me explain by starting with an example.

During the 1980s campus clergy approached administrators at Penn State about the critical need to expand Eisenhower Chapel.At the time, Eisenhower Chapel was a modest but popular campus facility that had first opened its doors in 1955, when enrollment at University Park was less than a third of what it is today. With growing space constraints at the chapel, the clergy request was something that needed to be addressed.

More than 15 years later -- a few weeks ago -- the new Frank and Sylvia Pasquerilla Spiritual Center opened its doors. It provides space for 46 religious organizations, more than two dozen full-time religious professionals, and will play host to more than 4,000 events annually.

This and other construction on campus during the past two years may add to the questions some people have raised about our budget and our spending.

Most of the construction you see on campus today represents projects that were needed and planned many years ago.While the economy has tightened the flow of operating funds to the University during the past two years, state funds that were first committed several years ago and donations recently raised from donors mean Penn State can still make construction progress in critical areas.

The expanded religious facilities were planned, placed on a fund-raising priority list, designed, and constructed over a period of many years.We just happened to open the doors at the same time the national economy has been in bad shape, state funding for operations of Penn State has been tight, and tuition has been going up.

Some projects have a different funding stream.The new Eastview Terrace housing complex being built along College Avenue, for example, is not dependent on donors or on state funds, but is part of a well managed housing and food services program at Penn State.

All residence and dining halls on campus are financed and funded through the room and board charges students living and dining on campus pay.No tuition or state funds are used, and our rates are among the best in higher education. While most students who attend University Park live off campus, the demand for additional on-campus housing has been strong for more than a decade.Our housing master plan called for the replacement of the existing World War II vintage housing located along College Avenue.A half-decade after that temporary housing project was put in place to handle the influx of students after the war, we are finally replacing it.

Through careful planning, the funds to pay for this new housing complex will come entirely from the people who live in campus housing over the coming decades.State or tuition dollars will not be used for the buildings.A soft national or state economy will not impact the construction of Eastview Terrace, and the building project will not have a financial impact on any other part of the University outside of Housing and Food Services.

Similarly, funding for athletic construction is also compartmentalized so that tuition and state dollars are not used for these projects.For instance, home football games have sold out for decades and Penn State identified a need to offer fans more seats and improved facilities.Athletic facilities at Penn State are made possible by donors and ticket sales, primarily football ticket sales.

In fact, Penn State is one of only a handful of major universities in the nation that continues to operate a financially self-sufficient intercollegiate athletic program. Three significant academic structures under construction right now -- the IST building spanning Atherton Street, and the chemistry and life sciences buildings that connect above Shortlidge Road -- are made possible by combinations of state, donor, and University funds.

The state funds for some of these buildings were actually approved by the Legislature and prior governors years ago, but because it takes several years to plan, design and construct these significant facilities, the construction is occurring now.

All of the construction going on now was identified years ago according to a master campus building plan. You will see even more construction going on in the future as donors and state and University funds become available to fulfill Penn State's mission.