Attendees: President Ivory V. Nelson, Vice President Grant D. Venerable, Vice President Howard E. Merlin, Vice President Michael B. Hill, Chief Larry Woods, and Ms. Diane M. Brown

Minutes of the February 3, 2003 Cabinet Meeting were approved.

Commonwealth Budget Outlook
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported the Governor Rendell has ordered an additional $125 million cut in spending this year. This is in addition to the $433 million the Schweiker administration had set aside in anticipation of a budget shortfall. The article further reported that "not only is the situation grim for the current fiscal year, which ends in June, by ….. is scrambling to cobble together a state budget plan for the 2004 fiscal year…….in the face of a projected $2 billion shortfall, about 10 percent of the budget.

Senate Appropriations Hearing
Lincoln University's appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee relative to its 2003-2004 budget has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 1, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. in Harrisburg. The hearing will be held jointly with the other State-related institutions.

Schomburg Publication
A recent book titled "Emergence of African-American Culture," published by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, cites "Lincoln University, the first historically black college in the United States, was founded in 1854, and Wilberforce University…opened in 1856…" The book also reports that the first schools for blacks were established in Charleston, South Carolina (1695), and New York City (1704), respectively.

The Cabinet meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.

Diane M. Brown
Assistant to the President