While it’s true that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania classifies Penn State (along with Pitt and Temple) as “state-related” and outside the PASSHE system of colleges and universities which have less autonomy, that’s not really relevant to whether Penn State is a “public university.” Decades ago, but long after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania created the “state-related” designation, Penn State, Pitt, and Temple all tried to shield themselves from First Amendment and civil rights liability by claiming they were “private” and not “state actors,” thus immune from certain constitutional and statutory provisions that apply only to state actors. The federal courts uniformly shot down that defense, ruling that the schools are in fact “instrumentalities of the state,” thus “state actors” subject to, inter alia, the First Amendment. Penn State hasn’t tried to make that failed argument again in nearly 40 years. In later litigation, Penn State argued it was an “instrumentality of the state” for purposes of tax exemptions, and the state courts agreed. As one court noted, “the legislature intended Penn State to be a state educational institution” and “the Attorney General of Pennsylvania has consistently regarded Penn State as such an institution,” e.g., for purposes of exemption from certain taxes that apply to private but not to public educational institutions. In addition, the court noted, the legislature directly subsidizes Penn State’s operating budget; the state’s Department of General Services funds and supervises the construction of buildings on Penn State’s campus, just as it does for state agencies and PASSHE colleges and universities (but not for private colleges and universities); university employees are part of the state employees retirement system; and the political branches of state government, specifically the governor, appoint a large fraction of the university’s Board of Trustees. If the state legislature, the state Attorney General, federal and state courts, and Penn State itself all agree that the university is a “public university” or an “instrumentality of the state,” it’s pretty tough sledding to claim otherwise.
Angel, meet pin. Now dance.
You guys are really arguing past yourselves.
Do wish Penn State, our public university, was actually a more affordable “state” school! DS is at Bama because PSU was grossly unaffordable for us and same for many other families we know. Have nothing good to say about it in any conversation. Same with Pitt.
Penn State is state related and doesn’t serve the residents of the Commonwealth first…
http://www.pahomepage.com/news/auditor-general-releases-penn-state-university-audit/748374995
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-nws-penn-state-tuition-audit-20170622-story.html
http://triblive.com/news/education/12431474-74/audit-penn-state-most-expensive-public-university-in-big-ten-conference
@PetulaClark any way we can somehow raise the OOS mandate to no more than 25%? Because having it capped at 18% is just nonsense, imo. More OOS students would make the UNC system stronger, particularly the likes of UNC Wilmington, App State, UNC Asheville, and UNC Charlotte.
Is 2017-18 the year Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln universities become fully private?
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/10/is_2017-18_the_year_penn_state.html