Penn State’s Mission and Public Character
Mission
Penn State is a multicampus public research university that educates students from Pennsylvania, the nation and the world, and improves the well being and health of individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service.
Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education offered through both resident instruction and online delivery. Our educational programs are enriched by the cutting edge knowledge, diversity, and creativity of our faculty, students, and staff.
Our research, scholarship, and creative activity promote human and economic development, global understanding, and progress in professional practice through the expansion of knowledge and its applications in the natural and applied sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and the professions.
As Pennsylvania’s land-grant university, we provide unparalleled access and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth. We engage in collaborative activities with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners here and abroad to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge that is valuable to society.
Public Character
Penn State, founded in 1855 as an agricultural college, admitted its first class in 1859. The Pennsylvania legislature designated Penn State as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution in 1863, which eventually broadened the University’s mission to include teaching, research, and public service in many academic disciplines. Penn State has awarded more than a half-million degrees, and has been Pennsylvania’s largest source of baccalaureate degrees at least since the 1930s. Although the University is privately chartered by the Commonwealth, it was from the outset considered an “instrumentality of the state,” that is, it carries out many of the functions of a public institution and promotes the general welfare of the citizenry. The Governor and other representatives of the Commonwealth have held seats on Penn State’s Board of Trustees since the University’s founding, and the legislature has made regular appropriations in support of the University’s mission since 1887.
Today Penn State is one of four “state-related” universities (along with the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and Lincoln University), institutions that are not state-owned and -operated but that have the character of public universities and receive substantial state appropriations. With its administrative and research hub at the University Park campus, Penn State has 23 additional locations across Pennsylvania. While some of these locations, such as the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, have specialized academic roles, they all adhere to a common overall mission and set of core values and strategic goals.
* * *
This institution purports to have public character. It is a Land Grant University with considerable public funding. Mr. Freeh, I’ve read your recommendations but would go further in stating that any taxpayer funds to this institution over the past 14 years are tainted and that that the chain of command certainly includes the “Big 4” plus the Board of Trustees but goes up the line to those who commit annual funding.
Please see the Freeh Report on the Penn State/Sandusky scandal and its recommendations for reform.
Is there anywhere in that mission statement and statement of public character that says: “We owe our life to football and making money from football, academics and degrees are secondary and at all costs, if our staff are molesting non-student minors let’s protect them because football is the source of our funding and these kids were damaged anyway.”
I didn’t see it, but looked it up and read it twice. I don’t see anything about athletics or the NCAA or Big Ten.
As a consultant who has helped many non-profits over the years, I’ve never seen “mission creep” go so far from what was set as a bar by the Board of Trustees. Now blog posters are saying we’re ignoring the athletes and they should be paid as pros for their mediocre grades in a college they’d have never been able to attend unless they could toss, catch or kick a ball. NCAA is amateur sports. They’re looking to be drafted into the NFL, this is their interview! They already get every perk on campus, please don’t call the NCAA “indentured servitude.”
That’s off the mark but as weird as this thing gets, it only gets stranger. What’s going on in other Big Ten locker rooms? Doping? Rape?
Whatever the NCAA does, I hope the Middle States Conference audits this school for its academics. If an organization accepts Federal, State and other public and private funding it must keep certain standards or be banned from those funding outlets. Penn State spent 22 years not working on implementing a law that required reporting of sex offenses and other crimes.
Mr. Sandusky was fired (paid off $160K to leave and keep his mouth shut) but was still given access to the grounds and showers and therefore kept his “hook” for disadvantaged kids to be abused by him and they covered the whole thing up.
The Freeh Report came out at 9:00 a.m. yesterday morning and it was the first time Penn State’s Trustees and staff saw it. There is yet to be a University response. A task force must be analyzing the report. I would advise the spokespersons to be high enough in the food chain to make a difference, apologetic to all the vindicated victims (then donors, staff, students, alums) and announce plans for change to not have the athletic department run the University.
Less than that, and the American people will not be satisfied with your response to this tragic situation. Going to/graduating from Penn State will no longer be an honor. Fix this, Board of Trustees and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No one else can do it for you. Not in a nonprofit mood this morning due to severe disappointment that other university presidents and Trustees are feeling today. Dee
Cooking with Dee 