UUP Press Releases

CONTACT: Denyce Duncan Lacy or Don Feldstein at (518) 640-6600
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 17, 2007

UUP encouraged by Commission's call for more full-time faculty, urges full state funding for new SUNY faculty

United University Professions Acting President Frederick G. Floss today praised Gov. Spitzer for establishing the New York State Commission on Higher Education to improve access to and quality for the state's public higher education institutions.

"We are encouraged that the Commission's report calls for the hiring of 2,000 more full-time faculty at the state's two public university systems," Floss said. "The Commission is on the right track in recognizing that hiring additional full-time faculty is vital to building an outstanding university system."

"However, the state needs to fully fund -- through state support -- the costs of hiring the additional full-time faculty, rather than expecting SUNY and CUNY to provide the income from anticipated enrollment growth or tuition hikes. We agree with the Commission's recommendation that 'mandatory costs' be financed by the state, but we urge the state to include 'enrollment growth' in its definition of mandatory costs," Floss said.

Floss also said UUP looks forward to presenting detailed recommendations when the Commission holds public hearings prior to the issuance of its final report.

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, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO.     

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