Officials 'stunned' by proposed state budget cut

University officials said yesterday they were "stunned" by Gov. Robert Casey's budget proposal which denied funding for the University, ignoring administrators' request for nearly $41.2 million. "This is my eighteenth budget and I have seen funds frozen and cut, but I have never seen us eliminated before," said James Shada, assistant vice president for Commonwealth relations. "I was certainly shocked to go to zero." The University, which last year garnered $37.6 million from the state after heavy lobbying, has received state funding every year since 1903. Administrators said they did not expect to be completely left out of Casey's proposal this year. Stephen Golding, executive director of planning and budget, said while he did not expect the University to receive a funding increase, he hoped the budget would reflect the status quo. "I couldn't have anticipated that the governor would entirely take the University out of the [state's] budget," Golding said. "I thought that after last year when we demonstrated the value of the University to the Commonwealth . . . there was a greater understanding of its importance and contribution to the Commonwealth." Casey's proposal is just the beginning of the state's budget process. The Pennsylvania state legislature will consider the proposal before devising the final budget for fiscal year 1993. Administrators said it is too early to tell what impact Casey's proposal will have on the University's programs. "There's no crystal ball here," Golding said. But Executive Vice President Marna Whittington said that the University's schools have almost finished their budgets for fiscal year 1993 and will have to reopen and adjust the numbers to account for the lack of state funding. Administrators added that it is also too early to know if the University will have to cut financial aid, institute a building moratorium or ask the Trustees to approve a University-wide deficit to counteract the potentially devastating effects of the proposal. All of these options were considered last year, when Casey proposed cutting the University's state appropriation almost in half, from $37.6 million to $19 million. In fact, the University Trustees last spring approved a $6.7 million deficit which became unnecessary when the state legislature restored most of the University's funding. "If we asked for [a deficit] on a $19 million cut, I would have to speculate that it is a potential part of the strategy for 1993," Golding said. Whittington said that while a deficit is a possibility, she does not think it is a good policy for the University to adopt. In his proposal yesterday, Casey cut $118 million dollars from higher education, including state-related universities such as Pennsylvania State University and Temple University and private institutions which receive state aid such as Drexel University and the University. Administrators vowed to fight Casey's proposal, which they said reflects his lack of commitment to higher education. "It's clear we have to challenge the budget," Whittington said. "[Casey's is] a short-sighted solution that does not really consider the long-term ramifications." But she added, "we have to displace somebody else in the budget to get our money back and that is a tough thing to do. $37.6 million is a lot of money." "All institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania -- both public and private -- deserve more support than the Governor is recommending," President Sheldon Hackney said in a statement yesterday. "We will be appealing in the strongest possible way to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth to help us avoid these cuts that would seriously harm the University of Pennsylvania." Staff writer Stephen Glass contributed to this story.

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