Exclusive: Gallagher says Pitt must take state funding battle seriously

Pitt’s state funding and resulting tuition discount for Pennsylvania students is in doubt, according to Chancellor Patrick Gallagher.

Gallagher spoke exclusively on Wednesday afternoon with The Pitt News about his concerns surrounding the funding, which Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed to be $159 million for the upcoming budget cycle. The chancellor said the potentially bumpy road is not because of an issue with the state budget itself, but instead what he described as “leverage.”

“It’s a variety of other issues where they’re trying to basically use the funding to express discontent or concern about some unrelated activity. My concern is they don’t understand what that funding provides,” Gallagher said. “That’s really why we went all out, saying you’re dealing with something that has been a successful partnership for almost 60 years, and you’re trying to send signals with something that’s going to hurt people.”

Pitt is one of four state-related universities in Pennsylvania — the others being Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — which receive funding each year from the state legislature. The state House of Representatives and Senate vote on a separate bill for each university, and must receive two-thirds support from each chamber in order to pass.

The University also pays for a large part of the in-state discount — about $117 million, roughly 43% of the total — from its own budget.

Pa. House Republicans raised fetal tissue research connected to Pitt as an issue during the 2019 budget cycle, the same year that the federal government under then-president Donald Trump announced it would cut back federally funded fetal tissue research. Several Republicans have cited pro-life stances while denouncing the research and voting against Pitt’s funding.

The University hired the Washington-based law firm Hyman, Phelps & McNamara last fall for an independent review of its fetal tissue research to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. The firm said in a report released last December that Pitt was fully compliant.

Jason Gottesman, a spokesperson for the state House Republicans, said the budget process is “in its infancy” and added that “speculation by outside groups and stakeholders” is “not warranted” at this point.

“Discussions continue about funding for all education needs and the final decision about any spending will be made by the caucus and then the body as a whole,” Gottesman said. “As always, we are and will continue to be supportive of the students and families of Pitt. Any decisions about whether or not to provide or keep in-state tuition discounts is made by the University of Pittsburgh, not the General Assembly.”

Pitt only uses its state funding to provide a tuition discount for Pennsylvania students, which Gallagher described as “essentially passthrough funding,” adding that he believes this makes “these other issues” become “extraneous.”

State Rep. Dan Frankel — a Democrat who represents the 23rd state House district, which includes parts of Oakland — said he couldn’t remember the annual vote ever being “an issue” until last year.

“We haven’t seen anything legislatively, although last year during our appropriations discussions in our final vote, we had — for the first time in my memory — a significant number of Republican members voting against its appropriation,” Frankel, who has served in the House since 1999, said.

Frankel added that as application and enrollment rates have increased in recent years, it’s important to keep Pitt as an affordable option for Pennsylvania students.

“Pitt has become a very desirable school for students in our state and across the country, and I think it’s very important for us to maintain the ability to provide in-state tuition for Pennsylvania students,” Frankel said. “It’s important for Pennsylvania, it’s important for our communities that we keep talented students here and this helps incentivize them.”

House votes on Pitt’s funding haven’t always been contentious. A Pitt News analysis of funding decisions since 2007 showed the tallies for Penn State, Temple, Lincoln and Pitt used to never be separated by more than a handful of votes.

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