State of the University Addresses

1997 State of the University Address

Chairman Arnelle, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff colleagues, students, alumni, and friends joining us here at the University Park campus and throughout Pennsylvania by satellite, it pleases me greatly to bring you today my annual report on the state of the University. There is much to say about what Penn State has accomplished since my last comprehensive report. There is even more to say about the potential progress for the future.

I'm reminded of a Chico Marx story. Stomach trouble had sent him to the doctor, who prescribed plenty of milk. "I'll stop by this evening to see how you are doing, but in the meantime, drink at least four glasses of milk. Milk is the ticket for your trouble." That evening the doctor returned and told Chico, "You're much better now, just be sure you don't drink any milk. Not one glass. It's not for you."

"But doctor," Chico exclaimed, "only this morning you told me that I needed lots of milk."

"Well, what do you know?" the doctor replied. "It certainly goes to show what tremendous progress science has made since the last time I saw you."

In the past year, we have reoriented the University's Commonwealth Educational System to better meet the educational needs of the communities Penn State serves throughout the state. We have reorganized our Cooperative Extension and Continuing and Distance Education units to reach out more effectively to the citizens of Pennsylvania and beyond. We have welcomed The Dickinson School of Law to our University community, strengthening Penn State's leadership in an important area of professional education and creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary work with other colleges.

We have merged with one of the nation's premier health care delivery enterprises to create the Penn State Geisinger Health System. This merger, a not for profit, physician run, and patient oriented system, will provide a secure base of financial support for our College of Medicine, encourage increased biomedical research, assure quality care for a contiguous forty county region of Pennsylvania, and help to contain the costs of health care in our state.

That we moved quickly in these and other initiatives underscores Penn State's capacity to be a rapid deployment force for progress in higher education. I reaffirm my goal for Penn State to be the leading university in America in the integration of teaching, research, and service. Our ability to respond to the challenges ahead is dependent on the willingness and commitment of the University community to realize the synergy of this integration. I am grateful to the faculty, staff, students, trustees, and extended University family who believe in Penn State and who have made these changes possible.

I can tell you that I believe in Penn State. I cherish our traditions; I feel immense pride in our employees and their accomplishments; I believe in our students and their potential; and I am reminded every day of the loyalty and humanity of the hundreds of thousands of us in the Penn State family. Fortunately, at Penn State I have it a little better than one of my presidential colleagues, who proclaimed that being a president of a university was like being a caretaker of a cemetery: you have a lot of people under you, but nobody ever listens.

Yet all we have done thus far is but a foundation for Penn State's future.

Higher education has entered an era of extraordinary change. It is a time of technological revolution and shifting demographics; of constrained resources and growing demand for access; of new competition; of renewed cries for accountability and greater engagement with society.

For Penn State, with its rich history of leadership and transformation, this is a time of unique opportunity to advance in the ranks of American public research universities. It is a time when the University can enhance academic excellence through innovation and action. But this will require change in the way every area of the University does business. New priorities, new efficiencies, and new approaches will be necessary in the coming years. My colleagues and I in the administration are prepared to lead this change, which I will begin to outline today.

Long Range Plan

I am reminded of an old story about Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was riding on the Pennsylvania Railroad and couldn't find his ticket. The conductor, watching the 88 year old justice search through all his pockets without success, said, "Mr. Holmes, don't worry. You don't need your ticket. I'll bet you'll find it when you get off the train and you can mail it back later." Justice Holmes replied, "That's not the problem. The problem is not where the ticket is. The problem is, where am I going?"

The moral of this story, of course, is if you're not sure where you're going, you are liable to end up someplace else.

Future directions for Penn State are identified in a new long range plan, being released today, which has been developed by the University Planning Council in concert with the individual strategic plans of Penn State's thirty broad academic and administrative support units. I am deeply appreciative for the leadership Provost Brig ton and the members of the council have given to this vital effort. Following two years of intensive consideration of Penn State's mission, values, goals, structure, services, special working group reports, unit plans, and community wide input, the Council has put forward six simple, fundamental, but important overarching goals to guide the University's future. They are:

• to enhance academic excellence through greater support of high quality teaching, scholarship, and research;
• to enrich the educational experience of all Penn State students; * to build a more considerate and civil community;
• to serve the people of the Commonwealth;
• to develop new sources of income;
• to reduce costs through improved efficiencies.

These goals define what we seek for Penn State: leadership in learning, first and foremost, but also an exemplary University climate, a strong commitment to the people we serve, and the ability to sustain our academic community. These elements go hand in hand.

The University Planning Council has outlined strategies that will advance Penn State's quality over the next five years. They focus on investment in academic priorities. They also relate to the technology and facilities necessary to support the University community, our stewardship of resources, and continuing sensitivity to humanizing Penn State. I encourage everyone throughout the institution to consider how he or she can help Penn State attain its goals.

Investment in Faculty

Penn State's academic priorities must be a matter of both people and programs. The talent and success of our faculty are fundamental to the University's progress. While the quality of Penn State's faculty continues to grow impressively year by year, our faculty numbers are insufficient, in my opinion. Our student/faculty ratio exceeds those at other peer institutions nationally and at other top institutions in Pennsylvania.

Adding a significant number of new faculty positions in the coming years is essential to the fulfillment of Penn State's educational responsibilities. For the current academic year, approximately 100 new faculty positions were created through a realignment of our budget priorities. More than sixty of these positions are filled for this fall, with active searches under way to recruit outstanding individuals for the remainder. In addition to these 100 new positions, another 21 have resulted from shifting faculty with admini strative responsibilities to departmental respon sibilities that include more teaching. We plan to continue efforts to increase the faculty ranks for the next several years.

Investment in Students

Penn State's students must be among the very highest priorities for our future. This entails a range of academic and extracurricular efforts to promote excellence in teaching and learning. Students are at the heart of our five year plan for approximately $500 million in capital construction projects announced this spring. Increasing access to information technologies for students continues to be a priority. And we are mindful of our responsibility to foster for our students a climate of civility, social responsibility, and citizenship.

Extracurricular learning, leadership, and social experiences also have an important educational return. The HUB/Robeson Center expansion at University Park, for example, represents an important investment for Penn State's students, supporting programming, organizational, and recreational opportunities for the 40,000 students who use this facility.

Tomorrow's students will benefit from the implementation of our new admission requirement mandating background in a foreign language and the new General Education curriculum soon to come before the Faculty Senate. And the availability of national and local newspapers to all residential students at our campuses, beginning this semester, augments General Education objectives and encourages a habit of lifelong learning.

Again this year, we have one of the most qualified incoming classes in University history, while at the same time reaching a record high enrollment across our twenty four campuses. Penn State is serious about its commitments to both quality and access. Our multicampus system allows indeed encourages students to enter our University family at different levels, different locations, and different points in their lives. This flexibility makes us stronger as an educational institution.

Likewise, as we give priority to enhancing the overall educational experience Penn State provides, there also must be a special sensitivity to serving the most exceptionally talented students. As achievement at Penn State has grown, so has the quality of our students and the need to challenge the best among them.

The Schreyer Honors College

In last year's state of the university address, I spoke about the need to expand the University Scholars Program. I am very pleased to report that today the Board of Trustees approved the establishment of an honors college at Penn State. This new college will expand the number of University Scholars as well as the breadth of the Scholars' educational experience.

We are able to take this important step as a result of an extraordinary gift from Bill and Joan Schreyer. I am delighted to announce that they have contributed $30 million the largest personal gift in Penn State's history to endow The Schreyer Honors College. In so doing, they are making possible a profound opportunity for generations of students. A substantial portion of the Schreyers' gift will create an additional 160 endowed scholarships in the honors college. The endowment will also establish Schreyer Ambassador Awards to support study abroad for 100 honors students each year. Other initiatives within The Schreyer Honors College will include community/internship experiences, alumni and professional mentoring, a leadership development program, visiting fellows, Penn State faculty fellows, a recurring national conference at Penn State on teaching and learning, and a link with the existing Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning.

I'm terribly excited about this historic step forward for Penn State. I know the faculty and the University Scholars with us today, representing the thousands who will follow them, join me in expressing our gratitude to the Schreyers for their keen insight into the University's undergraduate education needs and their truly visionary commitment to Penn State and its students. I wish to ask Bill and Joan Schreyer, as well as their daughter, DrueAnne Schreyer, and her husband, Rodney Frazier, to stand for a moment, so that we might recognize this magnificent contribution.

Investment in Programs

In addition to our focus on undergraduate students and faculty, academic excellence at Penn State will be built through selective investment in the University's strongest programs and areas of greatest potential and need. At the same time, I wish to reiterate my view that many of the greatest advances in graduate education, research, scholarship, and creative work will most likely occur at the boundaries between disciplines, in interdisciplinary efforts that promise to have a significant impact on society.

The establishment of the Life Sciences Consortium is one such initiative. Now in its second year of a five year commitment to provide a cumulative increase of $5 million, this interdisciplinary consortium involves more than 190 scientists across six colleges in collaborative research and teaching.

Today I would like to publicly identify four additional areas of compelling societal interest that will be considered for this special type of investment to draw on Penn State's strengths across programs and elevate the University's leadership for society. It is my hope that we can launch such a new initiative every year or two, with another waiting in the wings as each multiyear commitment to growth in permanent base funding concludes.

Four initiatives

Let me summarize the four initiatives that are at the top of our list for consideration.

The first is children, youth, and families. The future of our nation will be deeply influenced by the health and social well being of our children, youth, and families, and no university in America is as well poised as Penn State to marshal the intellectual and applied resources needed to enhance the quality of life for the people of our communities. Our Colleges of Health and Human Development, Education, Medicine, Agricultural Sciences, Law, the Liberal Arts, and others have much to contribute toward the prevention and solution of such problems as violence, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, malnutrition, and illiteracy, in concert with Penn State's community based outreach programs such as Cooperative Extension and the Penn State Geisinger Health System.

A second area with tremendous potential for the future is materials science. Advanced materials have an impact on virtually every facet of modern life, including computers and telecommunications, transportation, energy, and medicine, among others. Penn State currently has one of the largest and most successful materials research efforts in the nation, involving more than 200 faculty from the Eberly College of Science, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and a number of Inter college Research Programs, including the Materials Research Institute. An added investment will attract greater research funding from private industry and expand Penn State's contributions to technology transfer.

Environmental studies represents a third area for special interdisciplinary investment. We have numerous strengths in the scientific, technological, policy, and business domains that relate to local, regional, and global environmental concerns. These are tremendously complex issues that seriously challenge the quality of life now and for the gen erations who will follow. We have an opportunity to help define problems, develop solutions, and educate environmentally aware managers, policy makers, and citizens. Penn State is already leading the way through research efforts under way in our Intercollege Research Programs, and in Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Engineering, Business Administration, Law, the Liberal Arts, and other colleges.

The fourth area is information science, a field that continues to revolutionize commerce, communications, and day to day living. The scientific, technological, and sociological dimensions of accessing, storing, retrieving, communicating, and using information are of great economic and cultural importance. What better university to lead progress in this area than Penn State, one of the nation's most technologically advanced universities, with comprehensive strengths in computer science and engineering, communications, management information sciences, and the social and behavioral sciences? We will wish to make information science a more visible interdisciplinary focus for the University's future, both in our research endeavors and inour academic programs.

These four new areas of special focus, in addition to the current one in Life Sciences, reflect special needs and opportunities in our society, and existing strengths within the University. They also provide opportunities for the integration of undergraduate education, graduate education, research, technology transfer, and service.

Directions for Outreach

All of these areas speak persuasively to our potential contributions to society. Our vision is for Penn State to be an active participant in economic, cultural, and human development. We also wish to assist the Commonwealth in its goal of making Pennsylvania more competitive. In Penn State's vision, and in Pennsylvania's vision, educational outreach is central to success.

Penn State reaches into most every household in the state, through the alumni association, public television and radio, Cooperative Extension, technology transfer, continuing education, intercollegiate athletics, educational programs, partnerships with public schools, health care, and a myriad of other services. This description captures the essence of the modern land grant university. I have no interest in slowing our progress, scaling back our ambitions, or giving credence to naysayers who might wish to diminish these fundamental tenets on which our University was founded and today flourishes.

The Penn State World Campus is part of our outreach strategy. The development of this virtual university initiative is supported by an initial $1.3 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Capitalizing on the new digital technologies that make possible both asynchronous and synchronous distance learning activities, a core set of Penn State's best programs will be offered through the World Campus beginning in early 1998. By 2002, we anticipate more than thirty certificate, degree, and continuing professional education programs, encompassing more than 300 courses, will be available to national and international audiences.

International Programs

We are making important progress in internationalizing Penn State. I mentioned the new admission requirements and the new Schreyer Ambassadors earlier. We are also taking steps to enhance key international linkages with selected universities in countries throughout the world, including South Africa, Ghana, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and Australia. Our linkages involve student and faculty exchange, joint research, curricular projects, and outreach and dissemination.

Our efforts to internationalize Penn State improve the quality of education for all students. They help students learn how to be more capable citizens in the global society and bring valuable opportunities for faculty research and scholarship as well. Externally, the University's international activities promote intercultural understanding and friendship, establish Penn State in the international higher learning community, and extend the University's service contributions throughout the world.

Distance education will assist us in transcending borders. In June, the International Council on Distance Education held its annual World Conference at Penn State's University Park campus. This assembly of more than 1,000 distance educators from around the globe made it very clear that distance learning is not some trend of the future, but a prominent force in higher education today. Governor Ridge addressed the World Conference participants, and he and I then met with the Canadian delegation to discuss increased cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The governor's participation in this event brings home the importance of Penn State's international efforts to Pennsylvania.

Humanities and the Arts

I wish to say a word about the humanities and the fine and performing arts. In this era of attention to the important role of our nation's research univer sities in economic development, there is the dis turbing possibility of forgetting that places like Penn State exist as well to foster that which cannot be measured in dollars and cents: to foster the spiritual in our students; to help them understand their heritage; to develop an appreciation of the visual arts, literature, and music; and to help them prepare for lives that have direction and meaning beyond the strictly economic.

And surely our most important contribution to economic development is educating the next generation of workers workers who understand that Michelangelo is not just one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Toni Morrison is not the second baseman for the Yankees, Sandra Day O'Connor is not an actress on L.A. Law, and a fresco is not a brand of soft drink.

Penn State is blessed with an outstanding library, soon to be greatly expanded; the Palmer Museum of Art and other galleries; several venues for theatre and fine music; and a broad array of entertainment possibilities. We intend to nourish, feature, and expand our commitment to the humanities and the arts.

Facilities Planning

For the first time ever, Penn State has been able to map out a systematic long range construction plan to meet the University's most pressing facilities needs. This has been made possible through a new partnership with the Commonwealth that commits capital funding for a five year period. We have thus embarked on a $500 million facilities plan involving new construction and renovation to support the academic programs of the University and enhance the educational experience and quality of life for our students. Most of these projects will expand and update classroom and laboratory space across many University locations. The ability to take a considered approach in this critical area is an important step forward for Penn State.

We have also begun the process of updating the master plan for the University Park campus, last revised ten years ago. The growth and development of this campus and the surrounding region raise important questions about the physical environment we wish to provide for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Those questions are being addressed with the active involvement of campus and local com munity groups. We welcome this involvement. Moreover, to those who live and work near our campuses throughout the Commonwealth, I wish to say that Penn State intends to be a good neigh bor and good community citizen while providing our students with the quality of facilities they expect from a national university.

Stewardship for the Future

Our stewardship of Penn State's resources is a matter of both public trust and institutional pragmatism. It is of paramount importance to the future of the University that we use Penn State's resources prudently and find a way to excel in spite of the historic constraints of the funding Penn State re- ceives from the Commonwealth. Although this year we were fortunate to receive a 3 percent increase in the state appropriation, the trend in our state funding, when adjusted for inflation, represents a prolonged decline since 1991.

Our strategy to address this situation has three parts: reallocation from administrative to academic areas; reduced costs through improved efficiencies; and development of new sources of income.

For Penn State to succeed in the coming years, there must be a realignment of resources and academic aspirations. The University will continue to eliminate duplication in programs and services, move resources from declining programs to more promising and effective ones, and shift funds from administrative functions to support teaching, research, and service. The budget for this academic year reflects this shift, with several million dollars transferred from administration to academic units.

At the same time, there must be a continuing and aggressive effort to reduce costs and create more effective and efficient ways of operating. We will encourage the use of technology to improve administrative efficiencies such as replacing paper student files with electronic ones, developing on-line publications such as the University academic bulletins, and creating shared data warehouses.

We must also be realistic and forthright about the need to generate new revenue streams to protect and enhance Penn State's quality. We will always put quality first, even if this means raising tuition. This year, we have extended differential tuition at Penn State to recognize the greater costs of educating upper-division students, and we recognize through a tuition surcharge the exceptionally high cost of certain academic programs. The resulting rate changes are being phased in over three years.

We will continue to seek new funding from the state. Joining with other institutions in the public sector of public higher education in Pennsylvania, we are proposing to the governor and legislature a four-year plan that would provide an annual "stay-even" inflationary increase in each institution's state support, plus an additional increase to make Pennsylvania's colleges and universities more competitive nationally and thereby enhance the competitiveness of the Commonwealth overall. I am hopeful that the cooperative nature of this proposal will be persuasive. In bringing it forward in Harrisburg, I won't hesitate to point out surveys that show a majority of Pennsylvania adults feel that the state should place high priority on funding its colleges and universities.

Penn State's new capital campaign will be of profound significance in bringing new resources for our future. The primary focus of the campaign is on building endowment in support of the University's academic community. The largest piece will be undergraduate student support. We have just completed the first year of the campaign's leadership phase with rousing success. A record $94.9 million in gifts was received in 1996-97, a 14 percent increase over the previous year. The early impact of key campaign initiatives is well in evidence, with a 60 percent increase in new undergraduate scholarship contributions last year and a nearly 25 percent increase in new graduate fellowship support. As one of the nation's premier graduate institutions of higher learning, this latter success is of special relevance.

This strong start to our capital campaign is very exciting as we work toward establishing a campaign goal eighteen months from now. I'm delighted to add that outstanding volunteer leadership for the campaign is now in place, thanks to the enthusiastic work of Campaign Chair Ed Hintz and Vice Chairs Ted Junker, Bob Klein, and Bill Weiss.

The investment by Penn State family and friends is among the strongest measures of the University's success there could possibly be. I thank all who have recognized Penn State's achievements through their philanthropic support. These gifts make a tangible difference in the ambitions and accomplishments of the University each and every day.

Humanizing Penn State

I've said many times that humanizing Penn State is one of my highest priorities. I truly believe that people are the University's greatest resource and that people, when given the opportunity and encouragement, will do their jobs to the very best of their abilities. This is true for our students, faculty, and staff.

The job of our students centers on learning. I am pleased to say that Penn State's student environment has improved in conjunction with recent efforts to promote responsibility and good citizenship. Many of these efforts have focused on raising awareness of the problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption and offering constructive alternatives to alcohol-focused events. Two years ago, a third of the students at the University Park campus said they missed a class due to drinking; that percentage fell to less than 20 percent last year. Whereas 27 percent said they got behind in school as a result of alcohol use two years ago, the figure dropped to 17 percent last year.

Building on this progress, we are beginning this academic year to communicate early and often to incoming students the importance of developing academic and social responsibility. I wrote to every incoming freshman at University Park with this message, and our orientation program this fall was substantially revised, including the re-establishment of the President's Convocation at University Park and a videotaped message from me at our other campuses to open the school year with a serious note, in addition to the social events.

I know how hard it is for the faculty and staff to work in an environment where one of the continuing messages is, of necessity, "do more with less." I wish to temper that message.

First of all, let me say that I and others who are entrusted with Penn State's oversight are tremendously appreciative of the hard and creative work done on behalf of this University. It may be ironic that so very often one of the rewards for good work is more work, but I hope all of our employees take pleasure in knowing that Penn State could not be attempting to do so much without the outstanding contributions made by the faculty and staff.

Let me also say that our goal is 100 percent employee productivity and 100 percent employee satisfaction. If something's not working, tell us what it is and we'll fix it or explain why we can't. We are working to make Penn State's administrative practices more open and responsive, but we need everyone's help to accomplish this end.

We also need everyone's help to assure that Penn State is a welcoming place for all. I am grateful to our Board of Trustees for reaffirming last year the importance of the University's policies of nondiscrimination and affirmative action. Penn State's leadership in access and equal opportunity is among the most important contributions we can make to the future.

But having the right policies is simply not enough. We must devote ourselves to the perseverance of fairness, equity, pluralism, and compassion in our University. I ask you to join me in this walk.

Closing Thoughts

In closing, I wish to comment on the downsizing trend in higher education and the criticism that Penn State should not try to be all things to all people. The issue is a lot like the two stores trying to catch their customers' attention. One advertised, "Everything you need you will find here." The other's sign read, "If you don't see it here, you don't need it."

With everything I have said today, it shouldn't surprise you to know what my own feelings are on this matter. I believe, as did George Atherton, one of Penn State's most visionary presidents, that our University has a grand destiny to fulfill. If there is any university that should strive, through its educational programs-through its teaching, research, and service-to be all that it can be, it's Penn State. This is our mission, our land-grant heritage, and our great promise for the future.

The many and diverse enterprises in which Penn State engages create a synergy that rises to the challenges and complexities of the times. Economic development, human development, cultural development, instruction, research, outreach and cooperative extension, health care, and alumni services overlap and interplay to weave higher learning into the fabric of society. That's a necessity in this world, and I am tremendously proud of Penn State's ability to do so much.

I am not saying that we must teach everything, be the best in everything, or do everything that others do. I am not saying, in this time of fiscal constraint, that we must do things that are humanly or financially unrealistic. What I am saying is that within our means but with maximum efficiency and all the energy we can muster, within the boundaries of our long-range plan and our articulated mission, let us be all that we can be. Let us rise to today's challenges. Let us be motivated not by the many inevitable reasons to avoid doing, but rather by that one brilliant reason for doing.

This, then, highlights our plan for the future: to attract, retain, and support the best faculty, staff, and students; to invest in multidisciplinary programs that will benefit society and enhance quality of life; to integrate higher learning into the life of the Commonwealth, its communities, and its people; to lead nationally and cooperate internationally; to attract the funds needed to provide for a secure future for a great University; to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us; and to always put people first, knowing that it is on their shoulders, and on yours and mine, that dreams can be realized.