On Tuesday, September 9, Slippery Rock University President Karen Riley welcomed faculty, staff and the community to a town hall meeting to discuss the state and future of the university.
Held in the Smith Student Center ballroom, the president emphasized the increase in enrollment numbers, discussed the matter of funding and highlighted projects that were completed. The town hall drew mostly faculty and staff, who were recognized throughout for their achievements and vital role they serve at the university.
Enrollment, by the numbers
President Riley highlighted the increase of students to Slippery Rock University for the 2025 fall semester. For the 2025 fall semester, Slippery Rock University has 8,646 enrolled students, with 7,103 of them being undergraduates and 1,543 being graduate students. This marks a 2.6% increase from the 2024 fall semester, when Slippery Rock University had a total of 8,425 students, with 6,877 being undergraduates and 1,548 being graduate students.
“This enrollment, if it stays even within 10, will be the highest since 2020.”
She also expressed that the semesters’ numbers indicate that this is the largest year-over-year gain since 2016. She acknowledged that 2016 was a very different time for the university, but that these numbers show strength for our current times.
“We’re in an enrollment cliff, and this is the biggest year-over-year gain that we’ve ever had since 2016? That’s crazy!” President Riley exclaimed.
The new enrollment numbers indicate a trend for Slippery Rock, as according to Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), Slippery Rock University saw an enrollment increase of 0.4% from the 2023 fall semester to the 2024 fall semester. Slippery Rock’s enrollment increases are also a means for celebration when you take into consideration that PASSHE’s total enrollment for all of its schools has been decreasing steadily since 2010.
Money makes the university go round
While the discussion of the university’s finances was met with good spirits, a sense of uncertainty was felt by some of the speakers.
Dr. Jason Hilton, professor and Slippery Rock chapter president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College & University Faculties (APSCUF), began the town hall emphasizing what we don’t know.
“We are waiting, still, for the state budget to be finalized three months after it was due. That delay casts a shadow over our local budgeting process with the resulting austerity measures needed to survive without state funding leading to real concerns about our capacity to preserve the quality of education, for which Slippery Rock is known.”
As of the publishing of this article, Pennsylvania has not agreed upon a state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year due to gridlock in a divided state legislature. While a significant portion of funding does come from the state government, tuition takes up a plurality of revenue, with 45% of the entire university’s revenue being derived from tuition. Appropriations from various forms of government make up 35% of tuition, followed by 11% from various fees and 9% from investments and other sources of income.
Finished projects and the plan for the future
President Riley discussed components of the university’s strategic plan and how progress has been made.
She highlighted several of the new projects completed over the past several months, including improvements to the McFarland Recreation Field, improvements to Kasnevich Field, improvements to Rhoads Hall interior, restoration of the facade of North Hall, the Bailey Library Math Lab, the refurbishing of Starbucks, upgrades to Swope Music Hall’s HVAC system, upgrades to Building F’s cooling system, and the new roof on the Old Stone House, which is located on Route 8 in Brady Township. She also highlighted the ongoing renovations to the campus pond between Stadium Drive and Kiester Road.
“We were really looking at: How do we provide a premier student experience? How do we provide all of our faculty, staff and students with the tools they need in order to do their jobs most effectively?”
President Riley showcased the university’s strategic plan, explaining that the university is still in its implementation plan. She said currently, the university is assessing progress, evaluating outcomes, and making changes to the plan, if necessary.
