Feb. 8, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Kathryn Morton, or 717-236-7486
Gov. Tom Wolf today unveiled his 2022 budget proposal that prioritizes Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education students through a variety of initiatives:
- A $75 million (15%) increase to the budget line-item for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education
- $200 million for the Nellie Bly Scholarship program, which would benefit both State System and community-college students by lowering their overall cost of college and decreasing or eliminating their student debt at time of completion
- $150 million in American Rescue Plan funding that will go to faculty and staff support; diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and continued marketing for State System students
- Additional funding to fight student hunger and for the “It’s on Us” initiative
The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties has released the following statement from its president, Dr. Jamie Martin:
“This proposal will change the landscape at our universities for current and future State System university students. We applaud Gov. Wolf for this much-needed investment in the future of the State System and the students it serves. The increased appropriations funding, scholarships and other student-centered initiatives move the State System back toward its original mission of providing a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students. Public higher education is supposed to be affordable. Not fulfilling this promise has devastating effects on our Commonwealth.
“We look forward to helping to move these initiatives across the finish line and once again thank Gov. Wolf for his steadfast support. We approach this budget with our students as the focus. We must not forget our students do amazing things while they are enrolled in our universities and after they leave them. They are first responders, nurses, police officers and physicians; they work with our children as teachers and counselors; they find success in business, science and art; they work for nonprofit organizations and in government. We are the beneficiaries of their successes, and they deserve our support that is included in this budget.”
APSCUF represents about 5,000 faculty and coaches at the State System universities: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.