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Dear Temple community:
I want to take a few moments to make sure that you are aware of a very unusual and unfortunate situation involving the commonwealth of Pennsylvania's support for Temple University, how we are responding to the current situation, and what the implications could be if the impasse continues.
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Dear Temple community:
I want to take a few moments to make sure that you are aware of a very unusual and unfortunate situation involving the commonwealth of Pennsylvania's support for Temple University, how we are responding to the current situation, and what the implications could be if the impasse continues.
Due to a lack of action by the state's elected officials, Temple University is facing a $175 million budget deficit—nearly $150 million for its educational programs and another $26 million for Temple Hospital. This has come about because of an eight-month delay in approving a commonwealth appropriation for Temple, Pitt, Penn State and Lincoln.
For the last two days, I have been in Harrisburg making the case for Temple's funding in individual meetings with commonwealth leaders and in testimony before the Pennsylvania State Senate Appropriations Committee and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. Temple benefits immensely from the outstanding leadership and intelligence of Committee Chairs Pat Browne and Bill Adolph and Minority Chairs Vince Hughes and Joe Markosek.
In my private meetings and in both appropriations committee settings, I explained how we have opened doors to the American dream for a more diverse class of students through the Temple Option; how Fly in 4 has helped more students graduate on time and with less debt. I described Temple Hospital as “the indispensable provider of healthcare in Philadelphia,” treating almost 150,000 patients without private insurance in our emergency room last year—many for life-threatening injuries.
I emphasized the undeniable fact that Temple University has held up its side of the partnership with the commonwealth, and we now expect the state’s elected officials to do their part. I am encouraged that we received strong bipartisan support for the critical role that Temple plays in educating and caring for our state’s citizens. Our legislators clearly understand that commonwealth funding for Temple is not a state expense, it is an investment in our graduates and our researchers who will allow Pennsylvania to thrive in this knowledge-based economy. We need to continue, though, to fight tirelessly to obtain the commonwealth funding Temple has earned.
I remain hopeful that the budget impasse in Harrisburg will break and Temple will receive its appropriation. While we will work with Pitt, PSU and Lincoln to forcefully advocate for support, the reality is that without state action, we will be looking at a massive budget deficit.
Chief Financial Officer Ken Kaiser is examining all options that would be available to us if the budget impasse continues. Unfortunately, among those options that we will have to consider are layoffs, tuition increases and changes in the type of free services that we can provide at Temple Hospital. I commit to you that we will not act precipitously and that we will discuss options with all parties in the campus community so that any decisions will be made transparently.
Temple has carefully stewarded its resources and has made difficult spending cuts in the last few years—including, as I am sure many of you will remember, eliminating five varsity sports. We downsized our administrative staff and have kept the growth in the cost of operating the university below the inflation rate.
In the coming days and weeks, we will continue our advocacy campaign. I laud Temple Student Government's leadership for their activism and for playing a key role in making our case to Harrisburg. I want to particularly thank TSG Vice President Binh Nguyen, TSG Auditor General Alex Woodson, TSG Director of Local and Community Affairs Melonie Collado, and TSG Director of Campus Safety Brett Ennis for joining me in Harrisburg yesterday to speak with elected officials and humanize the implications of this political impasse.
You, as members of the Temple University community, also have a vital role to play. If you have not already done so, I urge you to sign up for TALON (the Temple Advocates Legislative Outreach Network) by emailing Temple Government Affairs at tugovaff@temple.edu. Your voice can become an essential part of our awareness campaign.
Our goal, in addition to receiving our Commonwealth appropriation for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years, is to strengthen Temple’s partnership with the state so we can continue to provide talented and motivated students of all backgrounds with access to a high-quality college experience, meet the healthcare needs of Philadelphia and conduct pioneering research. Temple is an extraordinary university and a tremendous asset to Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, these contributions are being put at risk. I will keep you apprised of our progress in the days and weeks to come. |
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Sincerely,
Neil D. Theobald
President |
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Executive Office of the President
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1330 Polett Walk, Sullivan Hall 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19122
215-204-7521
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