SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 | Commentary by CHARLES MITCHELL

Pennsylvania’s Public Universities Have Indigestion

If you ask them, they'll say they're hurting because budget-slashing Gov. Tom Corbett just forced something nasty down their throats—namely cuts to the subsidies they receive from Keystone State taxpayers.  Their problem, many of them say, is not enough money, and the only answer is raising tuition on students and parents.

MAY 19, 2011 | Commentary by ANDREW GILLEN

Spending for Higher Education Doesn't Create Economic Growth

The Coleman Report, published in 1966, and subsequent experience and analysis has demolished the idea that inputs alone are very useful in explaining the output of K-12. As the college level, the college attainment rate is also quite stubborn in spite of dramatic increases in funding over the years. In other words, spending more does not au

APRIL 27, 2011 | Commentary by GILES HOWARD

A Pitt Student’s Take on Corbett’s Budget Proposal

As a Pitt student, I will not be joining in those manufactured protests, nor will I be participating in lobbying activities like Pitt's yearly "Harrisburg Day" when the University spends tuition money to send busloads of students and administrators to the state capitol to lobby for increased funding. Indeed, as a Pitt student, I think t

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

The Right Questions for Penn State

Stacy Brown of the Pennsylvania Independent—which, in the interests of full disclosure, CF launched but no longer controls in any way—is asking the right questions this morning in his story on the Penn State University Board of Trustees.  Let me give you three reasons why.

1. A close look at the board must be part of any reasonable path forward for Penn State.  Every single board member who was paying attention could and should have known about the investigation of Jerry Sandusky months ago, even if the administration never said a word, because the Patriot-News here in Harrisburg (no small potatoes there) broke the story in the spring.  If the board did not ask questions and get answers after that, that's a huge deal.  At the end of the day, they—no one else—are responsible for ensuring that Pennsylvania taxpayers' generous investment in Penn State is used well.
   
   
2. Even at this stage, when the charges against Mr. Sandusky remain unproven in a court of law, it is crystal clear that as president and head football coach, Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno did not face meaningful accountability until it was way too late.  Holding the president accountable (and, through him, other senior leaders) is any board's main responsibility.  But that's practically impossible at Penn State given the way the board is constituted.  First of all, it has 32 members.  Have you ever seen a group of 32 accomplish anything?  Secondly, those 32 are themselves accountable to a variety of constituencies.  Some are appointed by the Governor, some are elected by alumni, some are "elected by organized agricultural societies within the Commonwealth," and so on.  That's an unworkable system and other states, such as Virginia, have better ones.
   
   
3. There are already indications that we won't see true reform at Penn State.  The critical one is getting far too little play and it is this:  After initially making the longtime provost, Rodney Erickson, the interim president and promising a national search for a new leader, the board has ditched the search and given Dr. Erickson the job, period.  A far better approach would be the one the University of Colorado took in 2005 following a football-and-sex scandal that cost the president's job, appointing a respected outsider, former U.S. Senator Hank Brown, to oversee a clean sweep.  He did such an effective job that when he retired, the Wall Street Journal called him "the best college president you've never heard of" and (somewhat jokingly) asked him to take the helm of Harvard.  I don't know what Dr. Erickson knew and I don't pretend to, but the CU approach is a much better way to inspire confidence from a shaken state than the same kind of insularity that seems to have created the crisis in the first place.

One final piece of disclosure:  I used to be a full-time employee of, and remain affiliated with, an organization that has many opinions on university governance and that Hank Brown helped to found.

posted by CHARLES MITCHELL | 10:27 AM | 0 comment

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

End Transparency Exemption for Penn State

Penn State officials will soon be under a different kind of investigation—an investigation by taxpayers. In the aftermath of the child sexual abuse scandal, Rep. Eugene DePasquale is introducing a bill requiring full transparency from the state-related university.

Under the current Right-to-Know law, all state-related universities—Penn State, Temple, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln—are exempt from standard right-to-know requests. In other words, these universities receive taxpayer funds—over $500 million last year—but are under no obligation to reveal to taxpayers precisely how they spent these funds. The current law requires the universities to post their 990 tax forms, the salaries of officers and directors, and the highest 25 salaries annually, but these general documents provide little insight into universities' enormous spending.  Nor do they give access to information that state agencies and local governments must provide to citizens.

The calls for transparency are not without reason: Obviously, the handling of the Sandusky scandal calls into question the judgment of the university leaders, but this isn't the first case of suspected foul play. Dr. Michael Mann, a meteorology professor at the university, has been accused of manipulating and destroying research to prove his theory on climate change. The university's resulting investigation proved a wash.

And consider the following facts that speak volumes about the university's fiscal management:

• Penn State has reduced early morning classes because they are unpopular with students and some faculty, while the university's strategic plan suggests facilities are being underutilized.
• Penn State increased administrative staff per student by 70.8 percent between 1993 and 2007. The University of Pittsburgh increased administrative staff by 54.7 percent, according to a Goldwater Institute study.
• Taxpayers provided nearly $3.5 billion to Penn State over the last decade while tuition doubled to $15,250.
• At Penn State's main campus, 58 percent of students graduate in four years. This compares with 11-45 percent at its 19 branch campuses, where enrollment has been declining.

It's time to open the books on Penn State.

posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 10:33 AM | 0 comment