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Jubelirer Touts Juniata College's Success During
Independent College Day at State Capitol
HARRISBURG -- Senator
Robert C. Jubelirer (R-Blair) today offered his support for legislation that
would provide Pennsylvania's independent colleges and universities with $250
million in construction bonds to build and renovate college facilities across
the Commonwealth. The measure would create an estimated 8,900 new jobs and spur
economic growth in communities across Pennsylvania.
Jubelirer joined
representatives of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of
Pennsylvania (AICUP) at a press conference October 18 during AICUP's annual
Independent College Day at the Capitol. The event featured several exhibits
from private colleges and universities, showing their success stories in student
research, allied health programs, public service and the arts.
During the press conference,
Senator Jubelirer touted the success of Juniata College, located in Huntingdon
County.
“Juniata College has long
enjoyed a deserved reputation for academic excellence. Their programs of
special renown and expertise are in areas critical to establishing and
sustaining Pennsylvania leadership,” Jubelirer said. “But Juniata, under the
leadership of a dynamic and forward-looking President in Tom Kepple, is also
building a reputation for economic contribution, for community outreach, and for
education accessibility.
Jubelirer also praised
Juniata's marquee program, Science in Motion, which connects students to the
best instruction and the best equipment.
“In nearly everything we do
to advertise Pennsylvania, we tout our outstanding higher education
institutions. Given what they mean to our state, it makes sense that we explore
every potential avenue for helping them, and we are open to their ideas for
achieving continuing excellence,” Jubelirer said. “I commend these institutions
for their academic leadership, for their community involvement, and for their
economic contribution.”
In March 2005, AICUP
released a study that shows the state's independent colleges and universities
contribute $18.3 billion annually to the state's economy. The institutions have
more than 71,000 employees and a payroll of more than $4 billion. The employees
pay more than $60 million in state income taxes every year.
For more information on the
impact of Pennsylvania's independent colleges and universities, log on to
www.aicup.org or call 717-232-8649.
Senator Robert C. Jubelirer's
Remarks
News Conference --
Independent Colleges & Universities
October 18, 2005
When someone asks about
Pennsylvania’s strengths, the right answer has to include our wealth of colleges
and universities. Our public schools are certainly competitive with their
counterparts in other states, but we get a real edge when our private
institutions are matched up, with the number we have, the diversity we have, and
the quality we have.
The student enrollment stats
are eye-opening, but it is the catalog of results that is most impressive. Each
school can rattle off a roster of name graduates, but they are turning out
thousands of well-educated, highly-motivated, poised-for-success individuals
year after year.
The old stereotype of the elite
liberal institution, walled off from the community physically and
intellectually, is disproved in many places, but no more so than in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania, home to Juniata College.
Juniata College has long
enjoyed a deserved reputation for academic excellence. Their programs of
special renown and expertise are in areas critical to establishing and
sustaining Pennsylvania leadership.
But Juniata, under the
leadership of a dynamic and forward-looking President in Tom Kepple, is also
building a reputation for economic contribution, for community outreach, and for
education accessibility.
The marquee program, Science in
Motion, connects students to the best instruction and the best equipment, an
indispensable experience otherwise unobtainable. The entrepreneurial center is
working to create the support for the small business startups key to growth and
opportunity in small communities and rural areas of the state. The college also
brought a lot of groups together to apply for and receive a KIZ designation.
In measuring the economic
impact of these schools, it is no longer enough to count just the direct jobs
and purchases of goods and services. These schools are now fully engaged in job
creation, business development, and entrepreneurial encouragement.
I do not want to suggest that
everything I know about private higher education has come from Juniata, but they
have taught me a lot about the prominence and potential of the fine collection
of schools who are part of this association.
In nearly everything we do to
advertise Pennsylvania, we tout our outstanding higher education institutions.
Given what they mean to our state, it makes sense that we explore every
potential avenue for helping them, and we are open to their ideas for achieving
continuing excellence. I commend these institutions for their academic
leadership, for their community involvement, and for their economic
contribution.
Jubelirer
Pileggi
Sen. Robert
Jubelirer spoke at an Oct. 18 news conference in the East Wing Rotunda to
offer his support for
legislation that would provide Pennsylvania’s
independent colleges and universities with $250
million in construction bonds to build and renovate
facilities across the Commonwealth.
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