From: Poughkeepsie Journal
September 12, 2008

By Cara Matthews
Journal Albany bureau

ALBANY - It will be hard for the State University of New York to absorb $96.3 million in additional budget cuts, particularly since campuses already are leaving faculty positions unfilled, offering fewer classes and restricting costs in other ways, officials said Thursday.

"It's a very, very short window to make any changes, if any, for the fall semester," James Van Voorst, interim chancellor for finance and administration, said of the latest reductions ordered by the governor and Legislature. It could also be difficult for the spring semester, he said.

H. Carl McCall, chairman of SUNY's Finance and Administration Committee, asked Van Voorst during a meeting Thursday to report soon on how campuses will be affected. The issue will be discussed again at Tuesday's full Board of Trustees meeting, he said, although campus-by-campus specifics likely will not be available by then.

"The impact on the campuses will be very, very serious. We're not sure at this moment what that will be but we need to know as soon as possible," McCall said.

Faced with an ongoing economic slowdown and projected budget shortfalls, the Legislature and Gov. David Paterson have made a few rounds of budget cuts to state agencies. The state budget enacted in April gave SUNY $38.8 million less than last year, and the school subsequently had to make another $11.2 million in cuts. Now the 64-campus system has to trim $96.3 million more.

The school has a cap on spending tens of millions of dollars more in SUNY-generated revenues - such as from dormitory and hospital fees - to comply with required state spending reductions.

All told, the net impact on SUNY over last year's funding is $210 million, school officials said.

In the best-case scenario, campuses will have to share about $40 million in additional cuts, McCall said. The balance of the $96.3 million will be absorbed by the system administration, he said.

"The numbers being suggested for cuts are almost incomprehensible by the faculty and it's hard to see how the university could keep up its normal operation given these cuts," said Carl Wiezalis, president of the University Faculty Senate.

Kenneth Levinson, SUNY Geneseo's vice president for administration, said the school has been greatly affected by the $1.4 million it has had to make in reductions so far. The campus has a hiring freeze on professors, and eight to 10 positions will not be filled. Enrollment is up and class sizes are larger. The school had to cancel its introductory freshmen seminar courses, he said.

Geneseo has placed restrictions on filling non-faculty jobs, Levinson said. The budget for purchasing supplies and equipment has been slashed 12 percent. Buying new computers for faculty and the computer lab is on hold.

The cuts interfere with faculty's ability to do research, Levinson said. There is less money for professors and students to travel to conferences and present papers. Certain federal grants require matching funds from the institution, so the school will not be able to apply for them, he said.

"We don't want to do anything that compromises the quality of our educational offerings, but we're being pushed right to the wall," Levinson said.

Union not pleased with cuts

United University Professions President Phillip Smith said the union was not happy with how the last round of cuts was spread across campuses. It was divided up based on a formula that takes enrollment, research activities and other factors into account. Larger campuses are more able to absorb the cuts than smaller ones, he said.

Smith said he is concerned it's now the middle of September and there are no firm plans on how campuses will be affected.

"It's a little late in the game to start making changes and indeed, most campuses cannot," he said.

The budget cuts could affect some students' ability to graduate on time because certain courses will not be offered in the spring, Smith said.

SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum said the cuts mean classes are larger on his campus and professors are less able to work closely with students. If people are retiring or leaving, they will not be replaced, he said.

Other consequences of having less money are fewer books and journals being purchased by the library, not as many computer upgrades and little faculty and staff travel, Bitterbaum said.

"We realize that the problem is real for New York state, everyone has to share in the pain, but I think we have been given a larger share of the cuts than most state entities," he said.

Joseph Hankin, president of Westchester Community College, said community colleges are not being hit as hard. The school has had about $71,000 in cuts for rent, child care and its nursing program, he said.

Enrollment is up about 5 percent over last year, and tuition from those students will help make up the loss from the state and then some, he said.