Penn State faculty senate resolution calls for halting proposed budget cuts next fiscal year

The Penn State faculty senate is calling on the university’s administration to halt the proposed budget cuts for the 2025-26 fiscal year and instead use a multi-year planning process with a budget model that involves each stakeholder from the start.

The recommendation comes after the university announced in January it plans to make nearly $100 million in cuts for the 25-26 fiscal year, which is expected to significantly impact commonwealth campuses.

The faculty senate passed a resolution to recommend the administration “halt proposed budget cuts and initiate inclusive planning process,” 75-39 during Tuesday’s meeting. The resolution states the “cuts threaten the University’s mission, jeopardize the livelihood of faculty and staff, and exhibit a lack of consideration and commitment for diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives.”

Instead, the resolution calls on the administration to initiate a comprehensive, multi-year planning process with a “reasonable budget model” that includes a collaborative approach with all stakeholders.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, some senators asked about the Academic Program and Portfolio Review that is underway. The APPR will look at “adjusting program offerings that may be duplicative, no longer necessary or undersubscribed,” according to a news release.

The APPR process will analyze all of the program options available at Penn State and the leadership and faculty will gather information on how well the programs are meeting student needs, the release states.

Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor, said in the release such a review is needed to make sure the university is offering courses that attract students.

“If we have courses that don’t attract students, we are not being good financial stewards of our students’ tuition dollars — this is applicable across our full enterprise, here at campuses, University Park or the World Campus,” DelliCarpini said. “The APPR process will help us all determine the right degree portfolio by location and provide the data and rationale for more flexibility in our offerings.”

The release states that the “university is focused on careful evaluation” and no decisions have been made. Additionally, allocations for the fiscal year 2025-26 have not been determined yet for individual campuses.

Justin Schwartz, executive vice president and provost, said during the faculty senate meeting Tuesday many aspects of the project are evolving, including the timeline, and have identified working groups that will populated by the hundreds of people who volunteered to be part of it.

During a question and answer session with Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and Schwartz, Efraín Marimón, a professor in the college of education, asked if shared governance of the recommendations from the APPR would be honored by the university leadership and board of trustees.

“...We have been on many task forces, there have been many recommendations in the past from groups have put in hours, years of time, putting out similar recommendations, only to be disregarded or set aside,” Marimón said. “So I guess part of that is to ask, whether after this process that is collaborative, participatory and taking into account consultation, in the spirit of shared governance. Would that those recommendations be honored by the executive leadership and the Board of Trustees?

Bendapudi said “there’s no question in my mind” that when it comes to curriculum and programs, the control belongs to faculty. She said it’s easy to say that they’ll do every recommendation, but can’t because she doesn’t know what’s coming in. But in terms of the academic side of the programs, she said it’s a faculty-lead matter.

Another professor asked what happens if the recommendations aren’t enough and doesn’t help the budget crisis as much as it needs to. Bendapudi said they can’t follow just one path and are looking at this to show that they’re doing everything responsible. She said they can’t give up on fair funding for Penn State.

“If we could get on parity even (Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education), we’re talking about $108 million. It’s $145 million a year if we were brought to parity with Pitt. I just have to caution that some of these we’ve only begun talking about it, that it will take time. I’m under no illusion that things will change overnight,” Bendapudi said, adding that she’s continuing to advocate for performance-based funding.

Last month, the faculty senate sought greater involvement in university decisions and asked Bendapudi and the board of trustees chairperson to formalize an agreement that grants greater “shared governance.” Bendapudi on Tuesday said she, some of her leadership team, the board chair and vice chair, and faculty senate leadership have met to discuss it, and plan to meet again about it.

There are portions of the agreement, she said, that she had no questions or concerns about, but wanted to meet again about other parts of it.

“It’s very much on my mind. We are continuing the conversation,” Bendapudi said.