UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Approaching the one-year mark as the president of Penn State, Eric J. Barron has spent significant time over the past 12 months getting to know the University again – from its students, faculty, staff and alumni to legislators, corporate and foundation partners, and local community members. In that time he has received a consistent message.
“People are hungry for all of the good news about Penn State,” Barron said. “And I have been reminded about what Penn State excellence is all about.”
Barron took the helm of Pennsylvania’s flagship public university on May 12, 2014, arriving from Florida State University, where he had been president for four years. No stranger to Penn State, he had served on the faculty of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences from 1986-2002 and as dean of the college from 2002-06.
While he has spent considerable time meeting constituents to understand their many perspectives, Barron has moved forward on a number of new initiatives and seen growing successes University-wide.
On Friday (May 8), Barron reviewed his first year as president for the University’s Board of Trustees, noting the achievements of the Penn State community and opportunities for the future.
When he took office, Penn State was in the process of setting a record for applications for admission. That record – for both graduate and undergraduate admissions — is on pace to again be eclipsed this year.
“Record applications, selectivity and student quality are increasing,” Barron said, noting that SAT scores across the freshman baccalaureate applicant pool continue to trend upward. He added that Penn State presents a strong value proposition for students, with the University continuing to be highly regarded by employers as a place to recruit.
Barron stressed that third-party reviewers readily see the successes of the University and have made note of them in recent reports. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education delivered praise, as its visiting team reported that Penn State meets all 10 of its requirements and has 14 institutional strengths worthy of commendation. These include leadership in ethics and compliance, outstanding quality of faculty and programs, improved governance, financial security and living of the land-grant mission.
Moody’s Investor Service recently awarded the University an Aa2 rating with a positive outlook. The report stated that the rating reflects Penn State’s “position as one of the nation's largest and leading public universities, sustained philanthropic support, modest financial leverage and significantly strengthened governance and management practices.”
The president discussed faculty excellence and Penn State’s strong research program, which have resulted in research expenditures of more than $800 million for each of the past four years — ranking Penn State among the nation’s elite research institutions. Despite a downturn nationally in funding, from areas such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense, Penn State research continues to grow with an 18.5 percent increase over the same time period last year in contracts and grant funding.
“We have outstanding faculty who continue to work harder to not only attract funding in a tough market but to also make research advancements that impact the world,” Barron said, adding that 43 faculty members have earned membership in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Penn State also is among the top 20 institutions for faculty who receive Fulbright Awards.
Barron also praised students, who are excelling and being recognized with numerous prestigious awards. The president said that Penn State students in 2014-15 received notable honors including the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, International Children’s Peace Prize, 13 student Fulbrights, the Campbell Trophy and the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being.
In athletics, Penn State student-athletes achieved a record number of Academic All-Big Ten honors while continuing to surpass the national average for Graduation Success Rate. On the field, men’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer and men’s volleyball have won conference championships this year and women’s volleyball won its seventh National Championship.
“Penn State faculty and students compete at the highest level, and achieve the highest level of recognition available,” Barron said.
The University also continues to lead in educational technology and curriculum delivery, Barron reported. U.S. News and World Report in January ranked Penn State World Campus No. 1 among all universities for online bachelor’s degree programs. The University’s growth rate of online programs is well above the national growth rate, while the academic colleges and their faculty drive the quality of delivery, Barron said.
Philanthropy and the success of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students provide promising opportunities for coming years, Barron said. He noted that the 170,000 donors to the campaign are the most ever to any university campaign, which ended June 30, 2014. Most crucially, support for students grew substantially during the campaign, with the creation of 91,000 scholarships and awards.
Barron outlined several areas on which he plans to continue to focus: access and affordability; student engagement; economic development; job creation and student career success; technology and diversity and demographics; as well as strategic planning for future excellence. Throughout the past year, Barron has taken these topics and thoroughly discussed them at board meetings. He also began this year by highlighting these consepts to spark broad conversation at every Penn State campus he visited, and with every alumni group he met. His set of six imperatives are built around issues facing all of American higher education, but Barron is drilling deeper to discover where Penn State can improve or “do more” for our students, citizens and the Commonwealth.
He cited an expanded commitment to the land-grant mission with the start of the Invent Penn State investment in economic development and student career success along with widespread support for entrepreneurship in the University community. Barron has made an initial investment of $30 million in this economic development initiative as a one-time, start-up and capital outlay as well as annual funding of more than $5 million. His plans include leveraging this investment to work with legislators, the Wolf administration, state officials, local officials, citizens and business leaders to maximize the impact.
“We have a great story of success to tell,” Barron said. “Penn State is remarkably strong and growing stronger, and new initiatives have the potential to take us even further.”