The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Phyllis Camesano

As Buffalo State College and all SUNY institutions face enormous fiscal challenges during the upcoming legislative session, SUNY has launched an aggressive budget advocacy initiative.

The campaign, called “SUNY Advocates,” urges all campus communities to help build public support for investment, not cuts, in SUNY and provides the communication resources to rally friends and supporters, especially elected officials, on our behalf.

It centers on a special Web site with talking points, templates for letters, tips on writing effective e-mails, and basic action items for faculty, staff, students, and alumni to spread the word and recruit others in support of smart investment in SUNY.

The Buffalo State College community, friends, and supporters can use the Web site to sign a petition urging legislators to invest in SUNY. There are also letters that can be sent to all key constituents urging their support, a calendar of upcoming events, and news updates about the budget and legislative action.

“SUNY has made it easy for us to mobilize, make our case, and be heard,” said President Muriel A. Howard. “Strong state support for the State University of New York translates into a strong workforce and improved quality of life for all New Yorkers, now and for future generations. I urge everyone to use the advocacy tools, starting with signing the petition.”

The core tenet of SUNY budget advocacy is that a strong public higher education program is more important now than ever in assisting individuals with career development and New York State with economic recovery. SUNY’s budget recommendations, called the “pillars,” aim to unleash the power of SUNY while asking the state to simply cover its basic obligations:

• Pillar one makes the case for a state budget that provides funding to cover the mandatory costs associated with the state government’s negotiated contracts, energy costs, current student enrollment, and continued expansion of the recruitment of world-class research faculty and local training for critical, high-need jobs.
• Pillar two calls for a rational tuition policy that will allow students to properly plan for their educational costs and provide funding to enhance academic quality.
• Pillar three recommends more flexibility and less red tape, thereby facilitating public-private partnerships to unleash entrepreneurial opportunities on campuses and generate new revenues to help support academic missions and build local economies.
• Pillar four urges reforms that will enhance SUNY’s operational efficiencies and respond to the growing needs of local residents, businesses, and governments.

From now through March, the Legislature will be analyzing the governor’s proposed budget, including SUNY cuts, and also weighing outside opinions. This period defines a window of opportunity for creating a groundswell of support for investment in SUNY and the pillars as a reasoned strategy for progress without burdening New York State.