Correction appended
HARRISBURG -- Penn State President Graham Spanier said this morning's House Appropriations Committee hearing "boosted my confidence" that funding to the university will increase.
Although Gov. Ed Rendell recommended a .78 percent increase in funding for Penn State earlier this month, Spanier, who spoke along with the presidents of Temple University, Lincoln University and the University of Pittsburgh, appealed to the committee for increased state support.
"What we have to have as a constant, at the very least, is the quality of our institution," Spanier said. "The governor's budget recommendation would pay for five months of the utilities' cost. That's only one of 100 or 200 significant items."
Universities are forced to continue to operate with diminished state support, Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, said.
"You've done a lot with less from us," Frankel said. "It is disturbing. We're not doing our job here."
Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, the committee's chair, said the legislature would work to better serve universities in this year's budget.
"I really do believe we are trying to do this differently, to change the DNA of this process," Evans said. "At the end of the day, this isn't our money - it's the taxpayers' money. ... It's a delicate balance."
This article contains an inaccurate quote by Penn State President Graham Spanier. He said "The governor's budget recommendation would pay for five months of the utilities' cost increase. That's only one of 100 or 200 significant items."
