|
SpeechesPenn State Appropriations: Statement by President Graham B. Spanier
Graham B. Spanier
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee: These are challenging economic times, and I think it is critical that Pennsylvania citizens understand what they get in return for their investment in Penn State. So today I would like to put Penn State's appropriation request within the context of our net return to the Commonwealth. March 1, 2005 In my 10 years as President of Penn State, I have often spoken about the range of Penn State's research accomplishments--from creating artificial hearts to curing mushroom blight. As one of the ten most prolific research universities in the nation, the discoveries of our faculty are legion. The list is equally long of the businesses that we've created and the Pennsylvania companies that we have supported. But now, thanks to an economic impact report prepared by the highly regarded firm of Tripp Umbach, I can say to you with certainty that the Pennsylvania State University does more to power Pennsylvania's economy than any other single entity within the Commonwealth. Penn State is the leading driver of economic impact in this state, generating more than $6.1 billion in direct and indirect economic impact statewide. According to the Tripp Umbach study, for every dollar of appropriation that you gave to this University last year, Penn State returned $19.42 in total economic impact and $1.56 in tax revenue to the Commonwealth. You cannot match that kind of return on any other investment that you make. Penn State's economic impact in Pennsylvania is so significant that it dwarfs that of other leading public research universities nationally. The $6.14 billion in direct and indirect impact does not include induced economic impacts, such as the value of services that Penn State provides to businesses, commercialization of research activities, increased earning power of Penn State alumni (which I should point out is nearly $10,000 more than the average Pennsylvanian) and the impact of businesses owned by alumni--some 15,000 alumni own businesses in Pennsylvania that employ 425,000 workers. The induced economic impact of these and other activities totals an additional $6.9 billion annually. Perhaps most notable is that Penn State's economic impact reaches every community of the Commonwealth. All 67 counties of the Commonwealth benefit from job creation, business development and direct University spending. I point to our economic impact because I think it is important that members of this committee and this legislature appreciate that this isn't just an appropriation of state money, but quite literally the very best investment of funds that you could make in the future of our state. Our 2005/2006 appropriation request reflects our best efforts to keep costs down while seeking a restoration of prior cuts in Commonwealth appropriations. We are asking you to restore our funding level to the initial appropriation received 4-years ago in 2001/2002, which would be an increase of $17.6 million or 5.6 percent. We do not seek these funds simply to replace the budget cuts that we have made over the last several years. Rather, they will be used to help support basic operating cost increases in major areas such as insurance, libraries and strategic initiatives that will allow us to better serve our students and the Commonwealth. We have one major investment priority in our appropriation request, and that is for additional funding for the College of Medicine. The average appropriation for medical schools nationally is approximately $50 million. Last year Penn State received only $4.8 million for our College of Medicine--the smallest appropriation of any public medical school in the country and less than 10 percent of the national average. Increased state support is absolutely critical to the future of our medical school and I ask you to give serious attention to this vital need. I want to close by thanking the members of this committee for your past support during difficult budget times and for your faith in the important mission of this University. We are very proud of the impact we have on Pennsylvania, and I hope you will help us continue to create jobs, make important new discoveries, enhance agricultural production and open the doors of education to citizens in every corner of this great Commonwealth. |
