Chancellor John Cavanaugh from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) showed concern about the economic state of Pennsylvania in front of a large crowd Wednesday afternoon in the Alumni House.
Cavanaugh, who has been the chancellor of the PASSHE since July 2008, praised the system for their recent efforts in the Bloomsburg area, which has suffered a large amount of damage due to flooding.
The city of Bloomsburg was closed for over a week.
"Institutions all over the system reached out in all kinds of different ways, lending help to students and lending them their support," Cavanaugh said. "That's really one of the great things about our system."
The chancellor went on to discuss the situation of our state economy.
Pennsylvania's state revenue does not look good, due in part to the funding of the disaster relief taking place in Bloomsburg.
Cavanaugh is hoping that there may be a jump in revenue because of the aftermath of the flood damage. The community will need to buy supplies in order to make repairs to their damaged homes and town, thus creating more revenue.
"The spike doesn't last a long time, but sometimes they have a way of offsetting each other," said Cavanaugh.
On a federal level, Pell Grants, which are need based grants given to lower income students, will likely look to change within the next few years. The Higher Education Act (HEA) will either keep the maximum amount of Pell Grants allowed and cut the eligibility, or the HEA will leave the eligibility and cut the grant money given to students. Cavanaugh reassured the audience that no significant changes will be made in the near future.
"The good news is that there is going to be no major slashing of the Pell Grant if the committee cannot come to an agreement," he said.
Bradley Wilson, chair of the philosophy department, asked Cavanaugh about the lobbying efforts for the proposed 50 percent budget cut last spring. Pa. state schools actually experienced no more than an 18 percent cut.
"The total spend number for the budget decreased by $300 million," Cavanaugh said. "That was the biggest variable of the equation."
The chancellor does not believe in screaming and yelling in order for state schools to make a point that they are angry. Instead, Cavanaugh encouraged faculty to proceed by rebuilding trust with legislation and also focusing on relationships amongst PASSHE.
"Politics, like a lot of things, are about relationships," Cavanaugh said. "There are other ways to solve a problem."
Chancellor Cavanaugh will return to Slippery Rock University in December for commencement.
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