SRU trustees approve 2023-24 budget proposal at quarterly meeting

Slippery Rock University president Karen Riley speaks at Friday’s SRU council of trustees quarterly business meeting, during which the SRU council of trustees approved the University's proposed budget for 2023-24

Sept. 29, 2023

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University council of trustees approved the University's proposed budget for 2023-24 at the council's quarterly business meeting. The council meeting was held Sept. 29 at the Russell Wright Alumni House and Conference Center.

With an 8-2 vote, the trustees approved the 2023-24 budget with total expenditures of $153 million and a projected positive net position. This includes a planned use of $3.5 million in prior year allocations to support strategic initiatives. The proposed budget, which will be forwarded to the Pennsylvania Board of Governors for approval at its next meeting, Oct. 18-19, reflects a five-year freeze on tuition increases. 

SRU received an additional $3.6 million in state appropriations, helping offset increased personnel expenses and inflationary cost increases. The University has kept tuition flat since 2018-19.

Also during Friday's meeting, the trustees heard presentations from Cierra Mitchell, a trustee and political science major, and Dallas Jackson, associate professor of physical and health education.

Mitchell shared details about her summer internship in Washington, D.C., with The Fund for American Studies, a nonprofit educational organization that provides opportunities for the next generation of leaders in government. She worked 30 hours per week for two months in the office of U.S. Rep. Al Green from Texas.

Jackson talked about how SRU faculty are becoming credentialed educators by the Association of College and University Educators, the only nationally recognized collegiate teaching credential endorsed by the American Council on Education. To earn the ACUE credential, faculty members learn evidence-based teaching practices by completing four, eight-week courses offered through SRU's Center for Teaching and Learning.

The trustees also received the President's Report, reports from its standing committees, and other informational updates.

The next quarterly business meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7-8.

More information, including a link to meeting materials, is available on the council of trustees webpage.

MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 |  justin.zackal@sru.edu