Harrisburg—A contingent from Mansfield University was among the student-led teams from each of the 14 universities that comprise Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) that canvassed the Capitol on Wednesday, April 6, meeting with legislators to discuss the important role the universities play in each of the campus communities, as well as in their regions and across the Commonwealth. 
MU students Riley Thomas, English major, Harding, PA; Tracey LaFrance Environmental Biology major, Wyalusing, PA; Jenna Townsend, Psychology major, Lawrenceville, PA; Damien Wickizer, Vocal Music Education, Laceyville, PA and Emily Edwards, Chemistry major, Sugar Run, PA, along with President Fran Hendricks and Council of Trustees Vice Chairman Steve Crawford, both Mansfield graduates, talked with legislators about their own college experiences and how important the education they are receiving is to them and to their families. About 90 percent of the more than 100,000 students who attend State System universities are Pennsylvania residents, and the vast majority will stay here after graduation, to work, to live and to raise their families.
Thomas was selected to speak on behalf of the more than 100,000 State System students during an event in the Capitol Rotunda.
“We really do represent the future of Pennsylvania,” she said. “Most of us have lived here all of our lives; and most of us will stay he re. When you support Mansfield 
University—when you support the State System—you’re not just helping out me and my family; you really are helping yourself, and your neighbors. You’re helping to build a stronger Pennsylvania.”
In addition to the students, Hendricks and Crawford, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michele Conrad, Nichole Lefelhoc, Career Center director, Alumni and Government Relations Director Lindsey Sikorski and Adam Murtland, Digital and Electronic Media manager, represented Mansfield.
In all, nearly 150 students, faculty, 
administrators, trustees and alumni took part in the two-day advocacy effort on half of the State System. They began their Capital visits Tuesday.
“We have a great story to tell – and it’s one that impacts not just our students, but everyone in the Commonwealth,” Chancellor Frank T. Brogan said.. “The contributions our universities make all across Pennsylvania are enormous.”
In addition to meeting with legislators, representatives from each of the universities set up displays in the Capitol Rotunda, where they demonstrated some of their top academic programs and research projects and provided information about their schools to Capitol visitors.
The State System will receive about $ 433 million from the state this year to help support the operation of the 14 unive
rsities. That funding represents one of the best investments Pennsylvania makes each year, Guido Pichini, chairman of the State System’s Board of Governors, said.
“Not only do these universities provide opportunities to students who otherwise might not be able to attend college, they serve the entire Commonwealth,” Pichini said. “They generate enormous economic activity in their home communities, in their regions and across Pennsylvania—to the tune of nearly $7 billion a year.
“In total, the universities produce $11 in economic activity for every $1 received from the Commonwealth through our annual appropriation,” he added. “That’s quite a return on investment, and it is something that benefits everyone in Pennsylvania.”
The State System universities combined have about 12,000 employees and support about 62,000 additional jobs, many with the hundreds of small businesses that thrive in the campus communities, contributing significantly to Pennsylvania’s economy.
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