Editorial Columns

President Reveals Myths, Facts of University

            An author once said, "I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history." 

            This reminds me how much of my job involves hearing myths about Penn State and then seeking to set the record straight.

            The Collegian has graciously invited me to write a column from time to time, and I thought it would be interesting for my first one to be on the topic of myths.  So here are a few to start, some for fun and some designed to enlighten.

Myth: Faculty spend about six hours a week teaching.
Fact: On average, our full-time faculty members carry about six credits of formal classroom teaching each semester, but most professors are in the classroom more. In addition, professors spend many more hours guiding independent study, advising, writing recommendations, preparing for class, meeting with students outside of class, grading, and supervising graduate students. The average Penn State faculty member works about 52 hours per week.     

Myth: Penn State is a public university.
Fact: Yes and no. In Pennsylvania, we are by law defined not as public but as "state-related." We operate as a private university with a public mission. We are also by law a "non preferred appropriation," meaning that we are considered a discretionary item in the Commonwealth's budget and are not appropriated funds until the end of the budget process. On a day-to-day basis we function much like a private university, for example managing our own funds, fund raising from private sources, and having a Board of Trustees that has final authority for the University.

Myth:  The costs of attending Penn State have skyrocketed.
Fact:  Penn State has one of the highest tuitions compared to other public universities but has much lower tuition than comparable private universities. Given that as a "state-related" school less than 10 percent of our budget comes from state appropriations, our tuition increases have been absolutely necessary to maintain the quality of a Penn State education.

Myth: Penn State is becoming a school for the elite.
Fact:  Penn State has among the highest percentages of students from low-income and middle-class families. About 74 percent of Penn State undergraduate students receive some form of financial assistance, consisting of grants, scholarships, loans, and work study, in addition to family support and summer earnings and savings. About 60 percent of our students have loans. Penn State seeks to put a financial aid package together for all needy students. This is why financial aid is the main focus of our fund raising efforts.

Myth:  We are No.1.
Fact: Although we ARE No. 1 in several areas, there are many areas where we are not.  We are first in the size of our alumni association and the number of alumni donors. And we are the leader in the number of applications for admission. But we are last in the Big Ten in per student support from our legislature. And while we have lots of donors, our endowment is small for a school of our size. In fact, the growth in market value of Harvard's endowment for the last fiscal year alone was 3.5 times greater than Penn State's total endowment market value as of June 30, 2007.

Myth:  With all the construction on campus, we must be caught up with our space needs.
Fact: We have made great strides, but even with the new buildings Penn State has among the lowest overall space per student of any school in the Big Ten. In addition, many of our buildings are old and have major deferred maintenance.

Myth:  Athletics makes a profit.
Fact:  Athletics at Penn State is a self-supporting operation. Football and men's basketball do make money, but all of the profits are used to support Penn State's entire intercollegiate athletic program, which consists of 29 teams. Penn State is one of just a dozen or so universities that does not put money into athletics.