Yesterday was Advocacy Day for the State System of Higher Education, as students, faculty, staff, and alumni from all fourteen state-owned universities rallied at the State Capitol.
Led by Chancellor Dan Greenstein, nearly 150 people gathered in the rotunda of the capitol building before meeting with lawmakers, pushing for more state funding for the beleaguered State System. Greenstein said the group’s message was simple: the State System needs the support of the General Assembly to remain the “affordable, high-quality option that it is.”
Governor Wolf has proposed a state appropriation of $475.1 million in the new budget, which would be an increase of about $7 million. The State System has asked for $505.8 million, which would be an increase of $37.7 million.
Chancellor Greenstein later tweeted that the event was “fun”, and that it was more than about higher education and the State System. He said Advocacy Day is a “powerful lesson about our democratic form of government.”
