The Board of Governors approved the new program at a meeting today, after Gov, Ridge announced the additional state funding. The State System already receives $40 million a year from the Commonwealth for capital projects.

“This added funding pledge from the Commonwealth will enable our universities to continue to grow and to enhance their facilities for the benefit of students,” said outgoing Board Chairman F. Eugene Dixon Jr., who was instrumental in helping to obtain the increased funding commitment from the administration and in developing the new policy. “We are grateful and look forward to continuing to work with the governor’s office to help assure the State System remains an important part of Pennsylvania’s future.”

Projects that have been proposed under the newly designated Capital Facilities Investment in Pennsylvania’s Future Program include a heavy emphasis on science and technology buildings and facilities that will help promote community and regional economic development.

“This new policy establishes a uniform method for identifying and supporting those projects that are most important to the System and to Pennsylvania,” said Christine J. Toretti, chair of the Board’s Finance, Administration and Facilities Committee, who helped design the new program. “The increased Commonwealth support will make possible the construction and completion of projects that are essential to helping to prepare Pennsylvania’s workforce of tomorrow. We will focus on creating state-of-the-art science and technology centers and facilities on our campuses that will address the most important needs of the communities in which they are located and of the entire Commonwealth.”

Under the new policy adopted by the Board of Governors, universities will be required to raise at least 50 percent of the funds needed to build new academic facilities. Those projects receiving the greater public support will receive a higher priority recommendation for public funding.

Full Commonwealth funding still will be requested for projects when alternative funding sources cannot meet the life-cycle renewal, renovation or replacement requirements of facilities or supporting infrastructure systems. Such repairs must be required to maintain health and safety standards; to achieve regulatory compliance with existing and/or new legislation; or to maintain safe occupancy, efficient operations and building code standards.

Prior to selecting the projects that will be recommended for funding under the new program, Toretti’s Finance, Administration and Facilities Committee, along with the Executive Committee of the Board, reviewed all of the campuses’ capital needs. A total of 132 proposed projects were examined as part of the comprehensive review.

The projects then were rated based on how they would best serve the needs of both the universities and the Commonwealth, and on their anticipated level of community support.

Some of the projects that are expected to receive funding through the new program already are included in the System’s four-year-old Academic Facilities Renovation Program (AFRP). The additional funding will help ensure the renovated and expanded facilities are truly state-of-the-art.

Several universities also hope to take advantage of the additional state funds and expected private support to design and build new science and advanced technology centers. The project review process was designed to help identify where such facilities are most needed.

The new funding pledge represents the second major infusion of capital funding offered by Gov. Ridge. The AFRP program was started after the System received a six-year, $40 million annual commitment from the governor to help repair and renovate academic buildings on each of the state-owned university campuses.

Prior to the Ridge administration’s initial funding pledge, the release of capital funds from the Commonwealth was uneven, making it difficult to design a long-term facilities renovation plan.

In total, since 1992, the Commonwealth has contributed or pledged about $415 million in capital funding to the State System. The System has committed or will commit nearly $190 million in operating and private funds for the various renovation and construction projects. Student fees have contributed another $150 million toward the construction of auxiliary facilities, which include student housing, dining halls and student recreation centers.

As a result of that combined investment, about 175 academic and other buildings across the System have undergone or are scheduled to undergo major renovations. Several new classroom buildings and a number of new student apartment buildings, student unions and recreation centers also have been built to meet the growing needs of the campuses.

The Board’s new capital improvement policy also requires the universities to seek public/private alliances when constructing new student residence halls, parking structures and other auxiliary facilities, which do not receive Commonwealth funding. The Board still may approve System bond financing of projects to renew, renovate or reconfigure existing Commonwealth-owned auxiliary facilities when it determines that public/private alliances are not practical or feasible.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.