UPDATE: The Penn State Board of Trustees approved the capital plan during its meeting on May 5.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At its meeting on May 4, the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning moved forward with a new University capital plan for fiscal years 2023-24 through 2027-28. The plan will go to the full board tomorrow (May 5) for approval.
A maintenance-centric plan was outlined to address aging campus facilities, infrastructure and building systems. On the University Park campus, 56% of the buildings are more than 25 years old, and 36% are more than 50 years old. At the Commonwealth Campuses, those numbers are 55% and 19%, respectively.
The nearly $2.2 billion, five-year capital plan was co-presented to the trustees by Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for Finance and Business/treasurer, and William (Bill) Sitzabee, vice president of facilities management and planning and Penn State’s chief facilities officer.
“Investing in our facilities is critical to fulfilling the University’s mission,” said Thorndike. “We created this capital plan striking a careful balance of today’s financial limitations and meeting the teaching and research needs of our world-class institution.”
Approval by the full board would represent an endorsement of the overall plan, which serves as a roadmap for future facility investments. Individual projects will still require board approval, in accordance with Board of Trustee bylaws.
“We often think about student success as what goes on inside the classroom or lab, those learning spaces need to meet the needs of our students for them to reach their full potential. An investment in facilities is an investment in student success. New and updated facilities are also needed to support Penn State’s cutting-edge research and other activities across our campuses,” Thorndike added.
The proposed five-year plan advances spending of $810 million from the University’s education and general funds, which represents a 45% reduction in spending from the University’s prior capital plan. Education and general funds are primarily used for repairs, renovations and construction of classroom and program-related spaces at the various Penn State campuses. These funds are derived from a combination of sources, including state capital, tuition and fees, philanthropy, and reserves, among others.
Additionally, the upcoming capital plan proposes $22 million for College of Medicine-related projects.
The remainder of the spending, approximately $1.2 billion, will be funded directly by the University’s self-supported units, including Auxiliary and Business Services, Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Applied Research Laboratory, for projects related to those respective areas. Tuition dollars are not used as a funding source for the self-supported units’ projects.
Lastly, approximately $160 million in the current plan will roll forward to address the remaining projects deferred in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 University capital plan.
“The vision for the next capital plan is maintenance-centric with a focus on keeping our buildings healthy and open,” said Sitzabee. “While there will be some new construction, our main focus is addressing our aging facilities and renewing various building systems like HVAC, roofing, plumbing, and much more.”
The Board of Trustees will be updated annually on the status of the capital plan’s execution.