FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2017
Stack Meets with Mansfield President Fran Hendricks
MANSFIELD –Lt. Governor Mike Stack traveled to Mansfield University of Pennsylvania today to meet with
school President Fran Hendricks and talk about news reports surrounding the future of the university and ways the school and the community can respond.
“I wanted administrators and the community to know that there is strong support in Harrisburg for our state system schools as well as for the students and communities they serve,” Stack said. “We need to do better in helping universities that are geared toward helping middle-class students succeed. I assured General Hendricks that he can count on my help.”
“I appreciate the Lt. Governor’s time and effort, both in coming to campus and in being an advocate for Mansfield and the state system,” Hendricks said. “We believe Mansfield is invaluable to the Northern Tier, the Commonwealth, the country and the world and welcome the Lt. Governor’s support.”
The meeting comes in the wake of reports that some schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education might be at risk for closure due to declining enrollment and state support stalling at pre-recession levels.
Stack, a former Army National Guard Captain who served 14 years as a Senator in the General Assembly, now chairs the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission, a group charged with gathering resources to preserve the jobs and vitality of the state’s military bases.
“We have experience in mustering what we need to make the best case for communities,” he said. “We need our state schools and the communities they serve to take the same approach, recognize their interdependence, and act as one.”
After the meeting, Stack traveled across Tioga and Potter counties to meet with public officials and community leaders to deliver the same message as the deadline for Pennsylvania’s next budget nears.
MEDIA CONTACT: J.P. Kurish – 717-787-3300, jkurish@pa.gov