APPROPRIATIONS
HEARINGS
February 26, 2008
Statement
by
Ivory
V. Nelson, Ph.D.
President,
Lincoln University
Good
Morning. Chairman Evans and members of
the House Appropriations Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
provide
you with information and to answer your questions about Lincoln University
and our 2008-2009 Operational Budget Request for Commonwealth support.
I
am Ivory V.
Nelson, President of Lincoln
University. With me this morning is Mr. Michael Hill,
Vice President for Development and External Relations.
Lincoln University has
completed its
153rd year as the nation’s first historically Black
chartered
university. We have provided you with
information to illustrate and justify that the historic mission of Lincoln University is as necessary today
as it
was in 1854. The partnership support of
the Commonwealth with Lincoln
University is crucial in
sustaining our ability to
provide quality instruction, student assistance and technology
innovation; all
necessary in assuring that Lincoln
graduates are highly competitive in the global marketplace.
With
98% of Lincoln
students
receiving some form of financial assistance, the University is
considered a “best
buy”: providing a quality higher education experience to residents
of the
Commonwealth. We have a proven track record of significantly out
producing
other universities in graduating Black Americans in the fields of
science and
technology. Additionally, our alumni data indicates approximately 54%
of our
graduates remain in the Commonwealth; thereby producing graduates who
contribute and participate in the economic vitality of the State.
During
the past
seven years, Lincoln
University has
attained
high marks that set it apart from peer institutions.
In 2000, Lincoln ranked 2nd in the
nation in graduating Black Americans with baccalaureate degrees in the
physical
sciences; in 2001, Lincoln University was listed among the top twenty
universities nationwide where 40% or more of its physics graduates were
women. In 2004, Lincoln became one of three
historically
Black universities to receive an A3 Underlying Bond Rating from Moody’s
Rating
Agency. Between May 2000 and May 2007, Lincoln has awarded degrees in
biological, physical, computer, general sciences and mathematics to an
average
of 25% of the graduating class; and approximately 10-15% of our
undergraduates
go on to graduate school.
The
aforementioned
statements are only examples of accomplishments that substantiate Lincoln University’s ability to provide
a
quality education to an impressive list of persons of color who have
distinguished themselves as doctors, lawyers, educators,
businesspersons,
theologians and heads of states. All
accomplished through quality management and stewardship of very limited
resources.
Since
2001-02 through
2007-08 Lincoln
University’s
Commonwealth appropriation
has increased from $12.55 million to $13.79 million—an increase of $1.2
million
during the seven years. The Governor’s
recommendation for 2008-09 is $13.99 million.
With these very small appropriation increases over the six
years, and
since Lincoln’s primary source of operational funding is significantly
dependent on tuition and fees, we have had to make some very agonizing
tuition
and fee decisions while recognizing that 75% of our students come from
households earning less than $50,000 per year. Along with these painful
tuition/fee decisions, we have managed wisely using strategic planning,
cost
containment, prioritized programs and spending restraint to maintain
increases
in our operational budget averaging 3.75% a year for the past four
years.
Although
the
students we serve come from households earning less than $50,000 per
year, our
admission process is not open. The average SAT score of a freshman
student
entering Lincoln for Fall 2006 is 849
while the
national average was 863 and the Pennsylvania
average SAT score was 809.
Lincoln University
recognizes and
understands demands of accountability in higher education must be met,
and we
must meet the demands while maintaining a dedication to our primary
mission. We
believe we meet the demands of educational accountability in the areas
of
finance, graduation and retention rates and increased faculty
productivity. We
have had no external or state audit findings for the past five years.
The University’s
six-year graduation rate is 42.0%. The
freshman retention rate calculated for Fall 2007 was 69.0% and the
average
faculty week student contact hours for our faculty is 12.5, the highest
in the
state.
Although
the
University has a very talented and diverse faculty, with 77% holding
the
appropriate terminal degrees and 57% with tenure, competition to
recruit and
maintain quality faculty now focuses on markets that place differential
values
on different skills. The ability to
maintain quality faculty, especially in the competitive disciplines, is
seriously hampered by the limited availability of fiscal resources to
provide
competitive salaries.
In
Lincoln University’s
formal submission, which you have before you, and the attached summary
to my
testimony, we are seeking $23,000,000 in funding to support three basic
areas: Educational and General,
Technology, and five designated areas of Academic Excellence. Each area of excellence identified is an area
where minorities are underrepresented as graduates; namely, the
sciences and
mathematics, teacher education, mass communications, business and
technology
(accounting and finance) and the arts.
In
closing, when you
examine the records of Lincoln
graduates, you will find many that are leaders in their chosen
profession. As we continue Lincoln’s “legacy
of excellence,”
Commonwealth support will allow the University to continue to
·
provide
high quality
education;
·
recruit
and retain a large
number of Commonwealth youth as well as deserving youth from the wider
populations;
·
recruit
and maintain a
highly qualified faculty;
·
provide
the necessary
academic support and retention services;
·
provide
significant quality
opportunities for minorities in underrepresented areas; and
·
upgrade
the University’s
technological capabilities.
Thank
you very much
for this opportunity and for your support.
I am available to answer any questions that you might have.
Ivory
V. Nelson,
Ph.D.
President
*************************************************************************************************
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2008
▪ 2009
Operational Budget Request Summary
Lincoln University
On April 29, 2004, Lincoln
University,
the oldest Historically Black College in the nation celebrated its 150th
anniversary. The University reaffirmed
its mission as a “premier Historically Black University
that combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based
undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet
the needs
of those living in a highly technological and global society.”
The
historic mission of Lincoln
University
is as important today as it was in 1854.
Young people everywhere, especially in the Commonwealth, are
still
looking for universities that allow matriculation without regard to
class, race
or socio-economic background. Thus, the
partnership between the Commonwealth and Lincoln University
is crucial to the accomplishment of the University’s instructional,
academic
support, retention and technology efforts to provide an education that
will
continue to make our students competitive in the global marketplace.
The University recognizes
and understands that higher education is changing, and the University
has to be
a part of the change while maintaining a dedication to its primary
mission. The demands for educational
accountability become more intense by the day.
Increased accreditation demands, better outcome assessments,
improved
graduation rates, increased faculty productivity, workforce
preparation, and
the shifting of the burden of payment toward the individual student and
the
parents have become the accountability standards for all higher
education
including Lincoln
University. The continued support of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
will assist Lincoln
University in
meeting
these challenges and preparing students for this new millennium.
EDUCATIONAL
AND GENERAL ▪ $17,000,000
Lincoln University is committed to access, affordability and
academic
excellence for its students. The
Educational and General appropriation helps the University keep its
tuition and
fees competitive, thereby reducing one barrier to access and
opportunity. Undergraduates at Lincoln University
pursue an undergraduate core curriculum in the liberal arts and
sciences. Lincoln
has earned the national distinction of graduating a significant number
of Black
Americans in the sciences—a yearly average of 25% undergraduate degrees
in the
sciences. Salary data gathered by the
American Association of University Professors and published in the Chronicle
of Higher Education (April 2002) show that Lincoln University
faculty lag behind their colleagues at other state-related and
state-supported
institutions. In spite of these data, Lincoln
maintains a
richly diverse faculty, very appropriate given our mission, and one
that is
well credentialed with 77.0% having terminal degrees or their
equivalent. The maintenance of this very
diverse faculty
is becoming more difficult as the “available resources” from the
Commonwealth
to compete are not keeping up with inflation or competitive pressures.
TECHNOLOGY/DISTANCE LEARNING ▪ $3,000,000
Lincoln University has
received an initial grant of
$1,500,000 to begin the replacement of its Academic/Administrative
Software
System with the Datatel COLLEAGUE System at a projected cost of $3.1
million.
This request is to further support the implementation of the Datatel
System to
fully develop a WiFi capability on campus and at the Urban
Center and provide for a
distance
learning capability between the University’s main campus and 3020 Lincoln Plaza
(its graduate and continuing education center in Philadelphia).
PROGRAMS OF EXCELLENCE ▪ $3,000,000
Lincoln University’s
Strategic Plan has identified five
areas of Programmatic Excellence. Each
of the areas identified are areas where minority students are
underrepresented
as graduates. Thus, the University seeks
Commonwealth funding to target and produce graduates in the following
underrepresented areas:
Computational Science (Environmental,
Chemistry,
Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology
Physics, Computer Science, Biology and
Mathematics) ▪
$1,025,000 per year
To fully implement
the efforts provided by a new five-year
$2.4 million commitment from the National Science Foundation (NSF),
Lincoln
University is requesting $1,025,000 per year in Commonwealth funding to
fully
support the academic year by way of scholarships (50), faculty members
(2), and
scientific equipment.
Teacher Education and Urban Pedagogy ▪
$600,000 per
year
Lincoln University has identified the
preparation of
qualified minority teachers in the Commonwealth as a strategic focus. Lincoln
University is
seeking
Commonwealth funding of $600,000 per year to support scholarships for
20
students, 2 faculty members, a new PRAXIS Laboratory and
tutor/counseling
services to make it more attractive for each student to enter education
as a
profession.
Mass Communications ▪ $475,000 per year
Lincoln University is seeking Commonwealth
funding of
$475,000 per year to provide scholarships for 20 students, 2 faculty
members,
and upgrade the television and radio laboratories, and, at the end of
five
years, to produce a minimum of 20 graduates per year who will have the
requirements to seek positions as writers, producers or directors in
the
communications arena.
Business (Accounting and Finance) and
Information
Technology ▪ $500,000 per year
Lincoln University is seeking Commonwealth
funding to
target 20 students yearly and, at the end of five years, to graduate 20
students per year in accounting and finance to address the shortage of
minority
students choosing accounting and finance as careers.
The funds are needed to provide scholarships
for 20 students yearly, 2 faculty members and upgrade the SAP
Laboratory.
Joint Lincoln
University—Barnes Foundation Program
▪ $400,000 per year
Lincoln University is
seeking Commonwealth funding to target twenty (20) students yearly at
the end
of five years to graduate 20 students per year in the Art Program. Thus, we are requesting 20 undergraduate
scholarships at $5,000 each, one (1) faculty member at $75,000, and art
equipment totaling $225,000.
SUMMARY OF FUNDING REQUEST
·
Educational
and
General
$17,000,000
·
Technology/Distance
Learning
$ 3,000,000
·
Programs
of
Excellence
$ 3,000,000
Total Request
$23,000,000