Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Wagner This partnership with the Commonwealth is crucial to continue to have that platform
of access. >> Rafferty It's a fascinating environment
in which to see everyone meld together to gain an education.
>>Kaiser We do serve the underserved and that is our commitment.
>>Hughes It's just an incredible gem. Really, is a very special place.
[room noise] >>Corman Obviously we'd like you to react
to the proposed budget for Temple University, which would involve a 30 percent reduction
from last year's budget. >>Wagner It all comes down to access. Temple
provides access to research, to public research, higher education experience that is crucial,
not only to the intellectual development of our students but also, the economic development
of the Commonwealth. >>Corman With the evaporating support of universities
over the last few years, one of the discussion items that's going to go on within that panel
is probably privatization of these 4 universities. What impact that would have and what decisions
your board would be faced with if you change from a public mission to a private mission?
>>Wagner Temple does not want to be privatized. We want to be public. You get the sense of
the intricate role that Temple plays in the fabric of the community of Philadelphia. And
it's all about access. If we move forward with these types of cuts, Temple will survive.
Temple will still be a research institution, Temple will still recruit great faculty and
we will do great things, but there will be a lot of students who will not have access
to a Temple education if we are a private institution.
>>White I found particularly impressive your administrative cost cutting. I know what a
big percentage of your expenditures are faculty salaries and I guess I would like to know
what is your faculty, if anything, and it sounds as if they are doing things to help
with the budget crunch. >>Englert When I talk with them, the things
they told me was to make certain that we take care of our students. That reflects the attitude
of our faculty. We've made every attempt to make reductions in administration across the
University, including at the Provost level, etc, before we go into addressing the core
mission of the University, which is the teaching mission.
>>Hughes The crime of this budget proposal is it's taken this gem. It's, you know, in
the business of putting it out of reach for so many people. The worst part about this
process, Larry, goes to you and the health system, okay, because that's where the double
whammy is happening. All these cuts happening, you know, many of them unnecessary, quite
frankly, all right, all these cuts happening. How are you going to, how are you going to
withstand it? >>Kaiser The challenge that we face is a huge
one and it really is a double whammy because we are being hit from all sides. So, what
have I done to try to answer this? Well, as you know we've acquired the Fox Chase Cancer
Center. We expect to close that deal on June 30th. So, what I've tried to do is expand
our book of business to where we do have some commercial payers and managed care payers
to help me offset my commitment to the citizens of North Philadelphia and to those who can't
afford anything other than be covered under the Medicaid program. We can't turn these
patients away. They come into the hospital, we take care of them. That's just how it goes.
And for that matter, patients are transferred to us when they don't have insurance, and
we take those patients. So, we do serve the underserved and that is our commitment.
>>Corman We look forward to working with you over the next few months to put a budget together
that hopefully represents the best interests of the people of Pennsylvania. Thank you.
[group says Thank you]