Rodin off to visit Pa. lawmakers

University President Judith Rodin will share her ideas and concerns about higher education with elected officials in both Harrisburg and Washington over the next two days. According to Vice President for Government and Community Relations Carol Scheman, Rodin's trip is an effort to ensure continued cooperation between the University and the organs of government on which it depends for its general welfare. "We are obviously in Pennsylvania and the fate of where the state goes, how well the state is able to operate and the success of the governor is going to affect us in many different ways," Scheman said, citing the importance of universities as repositories of knowledge. Rodin agreed, adding that she met with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and his opponent, former Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel, before November's general election to talk about "higher education in general and Penn's interests in particular." Specifically, Rodin said she wants to find ways that the University "can be more rather than less creative" in financing students' educational costs, with the support of the Commonwealth. Funding for basic research is also on Rodin's agenda, in light of the ongoing debate over the federal government's policy of reimbursing public and private universities for the indirect costs of such research -- the building of necessary facilities and the provision of administrative support services, for example. In December, Ridge asked Rodin to serve on his Keystone Committee, an advisory body of business leaders, policy experts and academics from across the state that will offer policy reform ideas for education, health care, transportation and economic development initiatives. The Committee will undertake study missions in five states around the country, aiming to learn from policies other states have implemented to solve similar day-to-day problems. But Rodin has said she will likely attend only a portion of those, due to her responsibilities here on campus. Rodin characterized today's meeting with Ridge and the other Committee members as a "follow-up" to her November conversation with the governor. Scheman said in preparation for the meeting, she contacted "colleague institutions" in other states who have worked closely with their respective state governments. "[Rodin] is going into this meeting armed with contacts and progressive initiatives [from] other states," she said. "State governments have had differing relationships with independent universities all over this country, but it's clear that the financial stability of state?affects universities in many different ways."

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