It is humorous to watch Penn State University try to have it both ways on the public/private institution front.  A few years ago Penn State and its allies took a case all the way to the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court to keep from disclosing the salaries of several employees – including a little-known football coach by the name of Joe Paterno.  They also have not cooperated with several state higher education efforts, including a transfer/articulation program and the statewide data system, and their tuition is twice that of other state institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania.

In hindsight, Penn State may have been too clever by half.  Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has turned the tables on Penn State and its “state-related” sisters Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University.  Governor Rendell has decided that none of the federal stimulus dollars made available to Pennsylvania should go to these four schools, which works out to about a $20 million loss for Penn State alone.

According to Penn State’s spokesperson, the loss of this $20 million would be “devastating” to the University.  Apparently not devastating enough to cause the institution to reconsider its “state-related” status.  Instead Penn State is trying to do an end-run around the Governor by making its case directly to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Despite enjoying this amusing turn of events, I do not think the amount of power given to governors to determine who does and does not receive federal stimulus funds is a good thing.