UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Penn Staters speak with one voice, elected officials stop and listen. And there is no greater way to stand up and voice support for Penn State with leaders in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., than to become a Penn State Advocate.
Join Advocate Penn State now — signing up takes less than a minute.
As Penn State's advocacy network, Advocate Penn State is the easiest and most effective way to speak up for Penn State students, families, faculty and staff. Advocate Penn State provides the resources and tools to empower Penn Staters to use their collective voice to show elected officials just how valuable Penn State is to the commonwealth’s students, communities and economy.
Those who join Advocate Penn State will receive no more than 12 emails annually to prepare them for a few simple advocacy action requests throughout the year.
“Our students, staff, faculty and friends are already our greatest advocates — we need everyone to get involved and lend their voices on behalf of Penn State,” said Zack Moore, vice president for Government and Community Relations. “Your voice matters to elected officials and your positive Penn State stories are a vital asset to supporting our legislative priorities.”
A direct impact on Pennsylvania students and families
Each year, grassroots advocacy helps Penn State to secure crucial state funding that contributes directly to the in-state tuition discount, helping to keep a world-class Penn State education within reach for students and families across Pennsylvania.
For 2023-24, Penn State is requesting a $115 million increase in its general support funding from the state — money that would directly benefit Pennsylvania students and families.
"This year, as we seek this increase to our funding, support from our advocates is going to play a huge role in this process," said Moore. "I know we can count on Penn Staters to show their support and let their elected officials know just how important this funding increase is to them personally.”
This historic request reflects an issue of fairness for Penn State’s Pennsylvania resident students, who are significantly underfunded on a per-student basis compared to their peers at other Pennsylvania public universities, who receive between $2,600 and $3,400 more per in-state student than Penn State. University leaders are asking that Penn State’s funding per Pennsylvania undergraduate, which currently ranks last among the state’s public universities, be increased to align with that of the next lowest-funded Pennsylvania public university on a per-student basis.
Conversations about this year’s requested increase will continue with Penn State’s partners at all levels of state government from now until June 2023. The support of Penn State’s advocate base will be critical throughout the entire process.
All members of the Penn State community are encouraged to join Advocate Penn State at advocate.psu.edu to voice support for the University's state funding and stay up to date on all of Penn State's legislative priorities.