University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Dr. Myron Taube English The Universigf has just gone throu h another financial crisis. Soon it will go through anotlgier. The onhf uncer- tainty is when. The reason for the inevitability ofthe crisis is obvious: money. Pitt needs money. The problem is not so much economics as philosophyg not procedures but priorities. U' it were a question of in- competent management, we could throw out the rascals and bring in competent men. Q' it were simpbf a question of maximum utilization of space, we could maintain Forbes Field as an outdoor lecture hall. The problem is more com- plex. Given the mish-mash quilt-work pattern of Penn- sylvania politics, it is almost impossible for Harrisburg to work toward established goals. If it is onbf incidentalhf important that this university is vital to the economic lyfe of Pittsburghg politicians, busi- nessmen and those who work here understand this kind of dollars and cents talk. More important is that the Uni- versigi is one of the few institutions in the country still sensitive to the needs of the peo le. But will sociegf sup- port an institution whose benqiiys to the community are vast, but oj7en not immediatehf visible? Will Pitt alumni support nancialbf the institution that has been the spring- board or much of their success? It is all a question of values. will this be a recurring situation, and if so where does the future of the University 1169 19

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Dr. David Brown Mathematics Unfortunatebf, I do believe that this past year was the first of many years offlnancial problems for Pitt. Until the entire tax program of Pennsylvania is overhauled, I see no hope for a long range jinancial solution for this university and for higher education in general. KU my jigures are correct, the commonwealth has over I 50 sep- arate and unrelated taxesj. In my estimation, the key in- gredient for such a tax rqform is a personal income tax. I believe the jinancial future of the universigf will be austere at least for a couple of years. We will see no new expansion in terms of either personnel or facilities. I hope, as a result of this dilemma, that the university community will take an active role in the elections for state legislators. It was during this period that our traditional six Great Professors were selected and asked to comment concerning the University and its past Iinancial crisis .

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Dr. Harry J. Werner Earth and Planetary Sciences Since I don't know much about the details of the Uni- versitys fnancial problems, I suppose that I 'm qualnfied to speak as an expert. It seems to me that many of our present day experts, on both sides of the so-called genera- tion gap, who speak with a great deal of authority on various subjects realbi don't have much frst-hand experi- ence in matters in which they prifess to be experts. lim better qualifed to talk about roc s than about fnancial crises. Nevertheless, I suspect that the Universigi is here to stay, and I suspect until the day of a complete tax- payers revolt the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will continue to help defray the expenses of the University. University education is becoming more and more on a par with high school education - probabhi in more ways than one, but Iill attempt to stick to the subject. Every- body, or almost everybody, goes to high school. We are at the age where evgybody, or almost everybody, will be go- ing to college, an the responsibility ofpaying rests on the State, or more precisebf on the taxpayer. However, it seems to me that the run-of-the-mill taxpayer who is putting the money into the pot is becoming more and more unhappy with the manner in which that money is being spilled out of the pot. Education is one of the better financial investments that we, as taxpayers, can make. The return on educational dollars comes back many fold by way of uture taxes and the development of a greater number o responsible citi- zens. The real crisis is not financial, but rather the need of development of a greater percentage of responsible citizens. Question: Hthe University and its past financial crisis . . . will this be a recurring 20