 |
Dr.
Kathryn J. Engebretson leads the
William Penn Foundation's efforts
to revitalize Pennsylvania's economy.
Dick
Ackley--Campus Photography |
Pennsylvania was the third slowest-growing
state during the 1990s. Unemployment continues
to hover around 5 percent, and only 22.4
percent of residents have bachelor's degrees,
compared to nearly 25 percent nationwide.
Despite these trends, Dr. Kathryn J. Engebretson
is optimistic about Pennsylvania's future.
As president since 2001 of the William
Penn Foundation--an organization which
in 2003 funded $61.2 million in new and
continuing grants in the areas of arts
and culture; children, youth and families;
and environment and communities--she is
actively involved in efforts to help Pennsylvania
revitalize its economy. She recently discussed
with Penn State Outreach the new initiatives
that aim to address Pennsylvania's challenges.
Q: What
issues does the foundation currently face?
Engebretson:
Although the foundation has clear grant-making
strategies, there is so much need, which
makes it difficult to decide what to fund.
Often, what we in the philanthropic community
can do is constrained by who we can get
to partner with us to achieve and institutionalize
change. Because of economic changes, many
Fortune 500 companies have left the Philadelphia
region, so we have fewer strong corporate
partners to help leverage the grants we
make.
Q: Historically,
the foundation has funded initiatives
in the Philadelphia region. Why support
statewide policy initiatives?
Engebretson:
It has become evident that we would get
more leverage for our foundation dollars
through policy change than by funding
direct services. For instance, we actively
promote early childhood education, quality
child care, equalization of education
funding across school districts and smart
growth. Most important policy is being
made at the state level, so we supported
the Brookings Institution study of Pennsylvania,
with the Heinz Endowments.
[Editor's
note: Released last year, the Brookings
Institution report “Back to Prosperity:
A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania”
made strong recommendations that the Commonwealth
invest more heavily in education and workforce
training.] We wanted to give a wake-up
call to the state--to spur action. Thanks
to President Graham Spanier, who responded
immediately when I invited Penn State
to be a part of this effort, Vice President
for Outreach Craig Weidemann attended
the February retreat funded by William
Penn and the Heinz Endowments, where 50
leaders from across the state began the
discussion of how to address the issues
identified in the report, including the
framework for a targeted campaign to advance
change.
Q: What
role can Penn State play?
Engebretson: As a
leading education institution in Pennsylvania,
Penn State can play a role in research
and in getting Brookings' message out
to the counties through its Cooperative
Extension system. It's also important
to have Craig Weidemann on the Steering
Committee that is developing the Campaign
to Renew Pennsylvania. This effort will
take the report's recommendations to Pennsylvanians,
who will develop and advocate for solutions
for their areas. We anticipate funding
this campaign, which is being incubated
by 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania.
Q: Do
you have any more details on the Campaign
to Renew Pennsylvania?
Engebretson: The campaign
is a targeted, collaborative, three-year
effort by a network of organizations and
individuals committed to securing changes
in Harrisburg that will advance the state's
economic competitiveness and make renewal
of communities a priority of state policies.
It will be launched later this year.
Q: What's
next for Pennsylvania?
Engebretson: Pennsylvania
has serious economic challenges--the manufacturing
sector is in decline; we have a large
population over 65; and we are losing
our young people (see "Pennsylvania's
Brain Drain" in the
Workforce,
Community & Economic Development
section). Many states have the same problems,
but they don't have Pennsylvania's assets--our
higher education institutions, health-care
industry, natural resources, beautiful
towns and amazing history. Through the
Renew Pennsylvania campaign, we hope to
build on these assets to make Pennsylvania
a strong economic competitor in the global
marketplace.
