April 09, 2014
Chancellor Brogan outlines ‘Vision for the Future’
Contact:
Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) remains committed to
its mission of providing high-quality, affordable education, and will be guided by
its new strategic plan, “2020—Rising to the Challenge” in fulfilling that mission,
Chancellor Frank T. Brogan said today in his first State of the System address. He
further stated that his goal is for PASSHE to be recognized as the “most flexible,
most collaborative, and most student-focused” university system in America.
“We all know that these are challenging times for the State System,” Mr. Brogan said.
“Perhaps never before in PASSHE’s history has it been more important for us to work
together to achieve our primary mission of providing high quality education at the
lowest possible cost to students. We must never waiver from that mission—from that
promise—to our students and their families, no matter what obstacles are set before
us.”
Mr Brogan delivered his first State of the System address following a brief ceremony
officially recognizing his installation as PASSHE’s fourth chancellor. Mr. Brogan
was named chancellor in October at the conclusion of a national search.
After a little more than six months on the job, Mr. Brogan expressed confidence in
the future of the System’s 14 universities, declaring that their future can be even
brighter than their past.
“I say the future of this System is full of promise and possibility,” Mr. Brogan said.
“If we’re willing to make smart—sometimes difficult—choices and strategic investments
of our time and resources, the State System will continue to advance, and continue
to fulfill its promise to Pennsylvania for decades to come.
“We can do nothing less for our students, who arrive on our campuses every year full
of fresh hopes and dreams for their own futures. In a few weeks, thousands of those
students will walk across the stage on graduation day, ready to start the next chapter
in their lives—confident in the knowledge and skills they have gained at one of our
universities. We must do all we can to ensure thousands more will have that same opportunity.”
PASSHE, led by its forward-thinking Board of Governors, already had made significant
strides to ensure that long-term future by providing greater flexibility to the universities
and encouraging greater collaboration among the universities to make the greatest
use of available resources, according to Brogan.
In January, the Board granted five universities permission to adjust their tuition
and fees to better address their individual program costs and enrollment demands.
Additional flexible tuition proposals, developed by the universities themselves, are
under consideration.
Over the past few years, the Board also has refined the program-review process so
that proposals submitted by the universities can be acted upon more quickly, especially
when they are tied to immediate workforce needs.
The universities have been working together to address critical needs in the healthcare
industry across the Commonwealth. Over the last several months, four universities—Bloomsburg,
Clarion, Edinboro and West Chester—have received approval to offer new doctoral degrees
in nursing that will help provide advanced care nurses in virtually every region of
the state.
“As our universities reposition themselves to meet the demands and fiscal realities
of both today and tomorrow, our focus must be laser sharp so that we can best prepare
our students to be successful in their careers and in their lives, as leaders in the
new economy,” Mr. Brogan said.
PASSHE, which comprises Pennsylvania’s 14 public universities, is receiving essentially
the same level of state funding it did in 1997-98—17 years ago—even though the schools
are currently enrolling 15,000 more students than they did then. That statistics takes
into account recent enrollment declines—driven by the state’s changing demographics.
“Our university leaders have done an extraordinary job of managing their budgets through
six consecutive years of reduced or level state appropriations,” Mr. Brogan said.
“They have done so even while our annual tuition increases in most of those years
have been held at or below the rate of inflation.
“It hasn’t been easy, and has required us all to make very difficult—even painful—decisions
that affect programs and people. It has forced all of us to think long and hard about
how to best position our universities for the future.”
More difficult decisions lie ahead, the chancellor added. The universities will make
the necessary adjustments to ensure their programs remain relevant and that available
resources are focused “on what students want and the Commonwealth needs.”
“To that end—and as a means of assisting the universities in these efforts—we will
conduct a region-by-region gap analysis to determine where shortages of educated workers
exist and how our universities can help address those shortages with new or expanded
programs,” Mr. Brogan said.
The universities also will look to expand online learning opportunities to better
serve current students and to open up new opportunities for others, the chancellor
said.
“There are thousands of individuals in the Commonwealth who started a degree program
at one our PASSHE schools, but left before completing it—for financial, academic,
or any number of personal reasons,” said Mr. Brogan. “I firmly believe we can meet
these students where they are and identify online opportunities that will enable them
to complete a degree or certificate and take one more step up the career ladder.”
The PASSHE universities are vital players in the state’s economy; 90 percent of the
students who attend the institutions are Pennsylvania residents; 80 percent remain
in the Commonwealth immediately after graduation to take their first job or to continue
their education in graduate school. Most will remain here to live, to work and to
raise their families. More than 500,000 PASSHE university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
“No one can question the value of these universities to their communities and to the
Commonwealth,” Mr. Brogan said. “Pennsylvania needs PASSHE to be successful. Our students
need us to be successful. And, working together, I am convinced the best days for
the State System are yet to come.”
All costs related to the investiture ceremony were funded through private donations
received from Highmark, the Pennsylvania State Employee Credit Union (PSECU) and M&T
Bank.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with about 112,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities
offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study.
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. PASSHE also operates branch campuses
in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including
the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and PASSHE Center City in Philadelphia.