The new chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education says the 14 state-owned universities are unsustainable in their current form and the system must undergo a fundamental transformation and redesign.

Dan Greenstein laid out his vision for the system after he was formally sworn in on Wednesday. He has held the position since September.

Greenstein told the board of governors that transforming the system will include the universities combining more of their business and administrative functions to become more cost-efficient.

He said the state universities must stop competing on every dimension, but align around a shared vision and pursue it together. 

“In a transformed system – a sharing system – every student on every campus has access to the full breadth of academic programming at every other campus across the system,” Greenstein said.

Greenstein said the system must also partner with Pennsylvania’s other colleges and universities and explore new public-private partnerships.

The state system universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.