UUP Press Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 27, 2007

SUNY classes resume with additional faculty, but more are needed

As a new academic year begins, the president of the nation’s largest higher education union says that SUNY is better equipped than it’s been in years to handle the record number of students enrolled this fall, thanks in no small measure to the union’s push for additional state funds.

William Scheuerman, president of United University Professions (UUP) and Chairman of the American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT) Higher Education Program and Policy Council, said the hiring of new full-time faculty enables SUNY to decrease the size of classes and offer students the courses they need to graduate on time. But Scheuerman emphasizes that much more needs to be done.

“As a result of prior years of underfunding, SUNY still needs 1,500 more full-time faculty to make up for the long-term loss of full-time faculty lines,” Scheuerman said. He emphasized that ever-increasing enrollment makes the need that much more critical.

“The number of full-time equivalent students at SUNY’s state-operated campuses has risen by about 30,000 since the late 90s,” Scheuerman said. “Assuming that student enrollment continues to grow, the gains of the past couple of years will quickly evaporate unless faculty hiring keeps pace with enrollment growth.”

UUP is looking to pick up where it left off, after two straight years of funding for more full-time faculty. So far, about 200 new full-time faculty have been hired, while 300 more positions are in the process of being filled.

UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 New York State-operated campuses, and is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO. As chairman of AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council, Scheuerman represents 150,000 higher education union members across the nation.

UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 New York state-operated campuses, and is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.     

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