University Times

In its annual operating budget request, Pitt is asking the commonwealth for $198.54 million for fiscal year 2008.

The request for FY08, which begins July 1, 2007, includes nearly $174.8 million in E&G funding, an 8.5 percent increase.

Other line item requests include an 8.6 percent increase (to $480,000) in funding for disadvantaged students, an 8.5 percent increase (to $2.34 million) for rural education outreach, an 8.4 percent increase (to $567,000) for the Services for Teens at Risk program and an 8.5 percent hike (to $472,000) for student life initiatives.

Also listed are 8.5 percent increases for medical line items for the School of Medicine (to nearly $9.75 million), Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic (to more than $8.5 million), the Dental Clinic (to more than $1.14 million) and the Center for Public Health Practice (to $448,000). Although the medical line items appear in the annual non-preferred appropriation request, they now are funded through the state’s Department of Public Welfare with Medicaid matching funds as part of a federalization initiative that started in FY06.

In its request made last week, the University stated that the state’s 4.5 percent FY07 appropriation increase “is the most generous boost in years” but also noted that declining federal support for student aid and research is taking its toll.

“Because the University is so strong in biomedical research, cuts to the NIH budget have a disproportionate effect on us. And because Pitt continues to enroll large numbers of students of modest means, cuts to federal financial aid programs also have a disproportionate impact on the University and on the families we serve,” the request stated.

The University also cited a Chronicle of Higher Education report that shows Pennsylvania is not keeping pace with other states in its funding for higher education. “State support for higher education increased [in FY07] by an average of 6 percent nationally, while Pennsylvania’s increase was only 1.6 percent, placing us 39th among the 50 states,” the request stated.

Bolstering its case that the state lags in its funding for higher education, the request noted that Pennsylvania’s per-capita spending of $156 is 45th in the nation and its 28 percent increase in higher education appropriations over the past decade place it at No. 41 nationwide.

For FY07, the University requested $192.8 million, which would have been a 10 percent increase in the appropriation; ultimately, the legislature approved an appropriation of $164.6 million.

Pitt’s Board of Trustees in July approved a $1.55 billion budget for FY07, which included a 3.25 percent increase in the compensation pool and tuition hikes of 5.9 percent for in-state undergraduates at the Pittsburgh campus.

Pitt’s request will be considered as the governor prepares his proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which typically is announced on the first Tuesday in February. Following the governor’s budget proposal, public hearings are set in the state House and Senate before a final budget is proposed. The legislature is required to approve a budget by the June 30 state fiscal year-end.

—Kimberly K. Barlow