What would you do with $45 million?
If you were Penn State, you'd spend it replacing a building that already exists.
That's what the construction of the new Creamery cost, according to Office of Physical Plant (OPP) officials.
Don't forget the money spent on construction at Medlar Field, the new baseball stadium, which OPP officials said cost about $26,000 an hour.
Whether or not you love Peachy Paterno and baseball diamonds, you'd probably assume these and other multi-million dollar building projects wouldn't be going on if Penn State didn't have more than enough money to cover educational necessities.
You'd be wrong.
Penn State President Graham Spanier told state legislators in late February that without more state funds, Penn State may have to resort to layoffs in certain departments and university-wide budget cuts.
Last Friday, university officials confirmed that layoffs, especially in the agricultural department, are likely. Penn State's Cooperative Extension plan, which assists Pennsylvania residents in agricultural, nutritional and community development initiatives, is expected to face the most layoffs.
While discussing the layoffs, Spanier acknowledged the importance of agriculture to Pennsylvania. He also said Pennsylvania relies on Penn State's contributions to the industry, including its research on subjects like West Nile disease.
He's right.
The Penn State we all know and love had humble beginnings as the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, created in 1855 specifically to teach students to apply scientific knowledge to farming.
Today, agriculture remains one of the top industies in Pennsylvania and contributes nearly $45 billion to our state's economy, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Agriculture researchers recently brought Penn State national attention for their study of a mysterious decrease in the honeybee population.
Does a university with the highest in-state tuition of any public school in the nation really lack the funds necessary to maintain our research programs and faculty?
They say the money just isn't there. We can, however, find money to beautify the HUB lawn. Phew, just when I was starting to worry.
As budget constraints threaten the funding for a department that is literally the root of our school, we are planning yet another unnecessary building project.
OPP officials announced Tuesday that the HUB lawn will be landscaped, its lighting and sidewalks redesigned, and a terrace for outdoor seating and concert performances will be added. As of now, the new stage has borough permission to be used a maximum of only six times a year for amplified performances.
It's no wonder that when state legislators see some of the things Penn State spends money on they hesitate to give us the money we request. Last year, Spanier flew to Harrisburg in a plane owned by the university and asked the state House Appropriations Committee for more funding. If someone asked me for money after arriving at my door in a $5 million plane that has a yearly maintenance cost of about $760,773, I wouldn't take them seriously, either.
I hope in the years to come the state will appropriate more money to Penn State. We need it. We deserve it. And we should fight for it. Until then, we should use the money we have for the things we need -- and Pennsylvania needs -- most.
In the end, it's all about priorities. Our focus on producing ice cream shouldn't be giving Breyer's a run for their money. We don't need to maintain planes like we're Southwest Airlines.
We don't need to be able to put on mini-Woodstocks on an immaculately groomed HUB lawn. And we don't have to produce future Yankee pitchers.
We're a university. Students come here to learn from faculty experts. Pennsylvanians rely on us as research leaders. When the budget gets tight, our faculty and our research capabilities should be the last things to go.
