Submitted by Open_Veins_8 t3_109o008 in Pennsylvania
trillb0t t1_j445rrv wrote
Reply to comment by Severe_Lock8497 in How Penn State abandoned a big pledge on racial justice by Open_Veins_8
And she's going to deliver those results by not doing anything and paying no one anything extra! At least she'll get some adoration from the rich white school's rich white trustees.
Severe_Lock8497 t1_j447u40 wrote
Penn State, like many universities, is strapped financially. When interest rates were low, universities engaged in an arms race of capital spending knowing full well that the pool of students was going to decline. Maybe they did it to gain a competitive advantage and attract the smaller group of available students. But the chickens have come home to roost. Barron overspent, and now she has to clean up his mess. Her focus should not be on, as you say, "paying no one anything extra." Her focus should be on the core missions: (1) teaching; and (2) quality research for which there is an actual demand. The greatest injustice right now is schools ramping up fees and expenses on the middle class and saddling them with crippling debt. And most of this was just to finance a bloated bureaucracy and to fund pet projects of people who are not focused on educating students. It's almost criminal.
trillb0t t1_j44amsw wrote
It is almost like there is a demand for this type of research. You also missed that third core value about PSU higher-ups using university planes for personal trips and university funding for their 70k raises.
Severe_Lock8497 t1_j44krhi wrote
If someone wants to step up and fund the center and its research, I'm sure PSU will listen. And I would never defend improper spending. You could cut a significant percentage of the administrative payroll without affecting the core mission one bit. You might even improve performance. Waste and entitlement naturally flow when administrators believe that the institution exists to serve them. But the same thing happens with certain faculty members who contribute nothing of value. Cut them all, get the finances in shape, and curtail or even cut tuition for those who can't afford it. PSU was a land grant institution that educated first-generation students from ag and blue-collar back grounds. They need to get that attitude back.
69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j4700y6 wrote
> Penn State, like many universities, is strapped financially.
Penn State is the most expensive land grant university in the country and has a $6.2b endowment.
Severe_Lock8497 t1_j472zts wrote
I didn't know that it is the most expensive. Not a good fact. The budget of that place is staggering, which is why it needs to get back to core missions. But when bureaucrats get to decide how to spend other people's money, they tend to spend it on things important to them. Universities have lost their way. But I do have some hope with Dr. Bendapudi. She seems to have a toughness that the virtue-signaling Barron lacked. Time will tell.
69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j473tcb wrote
The cool thing about the phrase "virtue-signalling" is that you can safely assume that anyone using it is a psychopath and ignore them.
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