The blare of police sirens echoed through Albany’s West Capitol Park, intruding on UUP President Phillip Smith’s impassioned call for action to more than 300 unionists at a rally to save SUNY from massive proposed state budget cuts. The irony wasn’t lost on Smith.

“Yeah, there are sirens,” he shouted over the din as the crowd cheered. “This is an emergency! We have to defeat these budget cuts. We have to defeat the so-called Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act. We cannot sacrifice SUNY.”

The Feb. 5 rally—attended by UUPers, members of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and the AFL-CIO, students and other SUNY supporters—was the latest in a series of UUP’s advocacy efforts to reverse Gov. David Paterson’s planned $153 million cut to SUNY. If approved, SUNY’s budget cuts would total $562 million over the last two years.

The rally wasn’t the only effort UUP made to fight the cuts.

UUP brought busloads of members and supporters from chapters across the state to Albany in January and February to urge legislators to save SUNY. On Jan. 26, the union’s largest Advocacy Day contingent—65 members and supporters—traveled to the Capitol to meet with legislators.

In February, the union kicked off a far-reaching television and Internet campaign opposing the budget cuts. The commercial will be shown across the state (see related story, page 6). UUP also launched SaveSUNY.org, a Web site to inform SUNY students, parents and the public about the impact of the planned state cuts.

The site includes a petition and letters to state lawmakers, and visitors to the site are urged to ask their e-mail contacts to also take action.

UUP’s chapters also mobilized. Members at Brockport, Cortland, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, Plattsburgh, UAlbany, Purchase and the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI) have met with local legislators to spread the word that SUNY’s mission as an accessible, affordable higher education option for state students will be in jeopardy if the governor’s reductions aren’t derailed.

And the UUP Web site, www.uupinfo.org, has a series of letters members can fax to legislators calling for an end to SUNY budget cuts and the Act, to support the hospitals, and to save NYSTI.

“We’ve got to let the legislators and the governor know that the cuts the governor has planned for SUNY will hurt the citizens of New York,” said Winfield Ihlow, an Oswego delegate who marched in the rally.

The budget cuts aren’t the only battle UUP is fighting.

The union is also working to turn away Paterson’s so-called Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act. If passed, SUNY tuition could jump by as much as 10 percent next year. The “flex” plan—which Smith has dubbed the “Endangerment and Injury Act”—would allow colleges to unilaterally impose differential tuition at SUNY schools and limit legislative oversight.

NYSTI is in the governor’s cross-hairs; Paterson wants to eliminate state funding to NYSTI by 2011-12, forcing it to exist on ticket sales and donations. That’s impossible, Smith said. SUNY’s teaching hospitals and health science centers would be required to absorb $75 million in new mandatory costs and fringe benefits in Paterson’s budget proposal.

“Our message has been that in a time of economic downturn, people have the greatest need for education and affordable healthcare—the two things that Upstate Medical University does,” said UMU Chapter President Carol Braund. “We are united in spreading the word that the level of cuts being directed at SUNY is disproportionate to the cuts to all other areas of spending in the budget.”

Smith and the other speakers embraced that message at the rally, one of the largest in UUP history. Members and supporters—many of them from NYSTI—marched loudly on the park’s oval sidewalk, waving signs and chanting slogans such as “Hey hey, ho ho, budget cuts have got to go.”

Assemblyman John J. McEneny (D-Albany) told the crowd that it is wise during hard times for the state to invest in education and its young people.

“Our SUNY system was free at one time,” McEneny said. “How far we have sunk since then.”

UAlbany student Alex Naidoo thanked UUP for standing up for students. He said that he and many of his friends may be forced to drop out of school if the Empowerment Act were adopted and tuition soared.

“I think this is going to affect me personally and it’s going to affect tons of other students,” he said.

NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta applauded UUP for standing up to the cuts for the sake of K-12 students who are “still in the pipeline.” He urged the union to fight

Paterson, who he said was trying to “privatize” public higher ed. “What you’re doing here today is the right thing,” Pallotta said.

During his short speech, former NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin contrasted President Obama’s statements on the importance of higher education during his 2009 visit to Troy’s Hudson Valley Community College and Paterson’s penchant for slashing SUNY.

“We hear the president of the United States say how important higher education is and then we come home to Albany and hear our governor say it isn’t that important at all,” said Lubin, as the crowd roared its approval.

Smith, who railed at the budget cuts and picked apart the Empowerment Act, ended the rally by asking members to turn toward the Capitol and tell the governor “No!” The crowd responded by chanting “No more cuts!”

“Help me to tell this governor we’re not going to stand for it,” Smith said. “We’ve had enough cuts. You’re not going to abandon us.”

— Michael Lisi

NBC “Today” show weatherman Al Roker believes he wouldn’t be where he is today without his SUNY Oswego degree and the guidance he received from a pair of former UUPers who helped swing open doors in broadcasting for him.

“Dr. Lewis O’Donnell, he was a local broadcasting legend who played Mr. Trolley on ‘The Magic Toy Shop,’ set up my first job (interview),” Roker said during a recent phone conversation from the “Today” show set. “I was in Doc O’Donnell’s TV performance class and, at the end, he told me about a weekend weather job at (Syracuse TV station) WHEN. Soc Sampson, who was in charge of graphics at Oswego, helped me make two weather maps that I could draw on and we did tapes and sent them to the news director. I auditioned and I got the job.

“Doc always preached ‘Get your foot in the door,’ so I figured I’ll do this weather gig until a directing job opens up,” Roker continued, laughing. “I wouldn’t be at NBC today if it weren’t for SUNY Oswego. I’m very proud of that school and my SUNY education.”

Roker is in very good company. Over the years, thousands of SUNY graduates have gone on to make amazing achievements in science, medicine, business, broadcasting, journalism, entertainment and dozens of other fields.

SUNY graduates are Pulitzer Prize winners, doctors, astronauts, and war heroes. They are entrepreneurs who played roles in the development of the Apple Macintosh computer, SoBe energy drink, Jolt cola and the Internet social site, MySpace.

SUNY alumni are award-winning authors, and Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony award winners. They are top executives at VH1, IMAX, A&E Television, Disney Cruise Lines, and the Gospel Music Channel. Two Brockport alums, Dave Trembley and Stan Van Gundy, manage the Baltimore Orioles and the Orlando Magic, respectively.

Politically, they affect change statewide, nationally and internationally. Fredonia graduate James Foley is the Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Croatia. Oswego grad Heraldo Munoz is the Chilean ambassador to the United States, while Oswego’s Marianne Myles is U.S. Ambassador to Cape Verde. And Cortland grad Ann E. Dunwoody is the U.S. Army’s first female four-star general.

“I had the opportunity to consider schools like Marist and Syracuse and I’ll tell you, it was a no-brainer for me when it came to going to Buff State,” said Tom Calderone, a 1986 Buffalo State graduate who is executive vice president and general manager of music video cable network VH1. “I was able to secure internships; I got individualized attention and hands-on experience. I mean, I was program director of the (school) radio station in my sophomore year.”

For Alex Storozynski, a 1983 New Paltz graduate who won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and wrote “Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution,” SUNY was where he discovered his passion for journalism.

“New Paltz certainly helped my career,” he said. “It was the first stepping stone and a huge stepping stone. It was the first place I got real bylines and the first time I got state senators mad at me for things I had written.”

Alums like Storozynski and Roker know the value of a SUNY education, which explains the disdain they have for continued state cuts to the University, which amount to more than $410 million over the last 18 months. Such cuts have resulted in fewer classes and courses for students, and spurred hiring freeze and tuition increases.

“SUNY attracts great students who will hopefully stay and achieve success in the state,” Roker said. “You look at survey after survey, and when it comes to bang for your buck, you can’t do much better than SUNY schools.”

“Proper funding of SUNY is essentially creating an economic engine for New York,” said Storozynski, president and general director of the Manhattan-based Kosciuszko Foundation. “You’re not only giving jobs to people who work at the colleges, you’re creating a talented pool of employees who will go out and get better jobs. It’s an investment that pays for itself.’

Howard Permut, president of the MTA Metro-North Railroad, credits his Binghamton University degree in geology for giving him the skills necessary to pursue his career. Permut, a 1973 Binghamton grad, was part of the original team that created Metro-North in 1983 and has been instrumental in expanding the railroad’s service area, ridership and revenue.

“I had some really good professors at Binghamton who taught me how to think and analyze problems and situations,” Permut said. “They made you think about things in a much broader context than the right answer. It gave me a good background and the tools to go on to graduate school.”

Calderone, Roker and Storozynski all benefitted from the mentoring of memorable professors and the hands-on experience they got at SUNY, both in and out of class.

Storozynski, who wanted to be a diplomat, was drawn to New Paltz by a course to study the United Nations for a semester. He changed his career choice to law and settled on journalism after former UUPer and political science professor Alan Chartock, executive publisher of the Legislative Gazette —a state government newspaper featuring stories by SUNY students—spoke about an internship with the paper in class.

“I figured that attorneys should know how to write, so I took an introduction to journalism course and Chartock came in and said ‘If you’re a serious journalist, you should do an internship at the Gazette,’” said Storozynski. “So I did the (Gazette) internship and I got bitten by the journalism bug.”

“I don’t know of other undergraduate universities that have programs like that,” he continued. “At that time, Hugh Carey was governor and I got to go to press conferences, and I got to meet Mario Cuomo. What college student gets to go to press conferences and ask questions?”

Calderone, awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Buffalo State in 2008, felt the same way about his SUNY experience. Energized by UUPer Tom McCray, one of his communications professors, Calderone became program director of college radio station WBNY and turned it into an influential alternative rock outlet that was one of first in the country to air new music by U2, 10,000 Maniacs, R.E.M., and Goo Goo Dolls.

“10,000 Maniacs, they were like our house band and we’d have them play when we’d bring shows like R.E.M. to town,” said Calderone. “We had major record labels who would tell us that their artists would sell records because we played them. That’s why R.E.M. would play Buffalo four to five times a year.

“The classes I took and all the teachers there were so amazing and so connected to what was happening,” he said. “But working on the radio station and the television station was just as important.”

For Roker, his time at Oswego has proved invaluable; his SUNY education and the contacts he made at college led to his big break. Roker knows this, which is why he often returns to Oswego to speak to students. It’s also one of the reasons why he made a sizeable donation that led to the college’s student television studio being renamed in his honor in 2007.

“I believe in that school,” Roker said. “We don’t have a large football program, or the other things that engender school loyalty at other schools. At SUNY, you love your school because of your classes, your professors. It’s a summer evening on Lake Ontario, watching that sun set, or the fierceness of the winter snowstorms. It’s those things.”

On top of it all, Roker said, “These schools are economic engines that are going to fuel New York’s growth.”

— Michael Lisi

Juliette Price came to Oneonta with a year’s worth of college credit earned in high school and a goal to graduate in three years, which would give her a jump on finding a job and save her parents a full year of college tuition.

So much for best-laid plans.

Instead, Price, a junior pursuing a double major in anthropology and French, is going to be at Oneonta for an extra semester because she can’t get the advanced French courses she needs to earn her degree. According to Price, one teacher retired and fewer course sections are available. So she’ll have to wait an extra semester until the course she needs is offered.

“I was really frustrated when I sat there with my advisor and realized it wasn’t going to happen,” she said. “I didn’t take all those (high school Advanced Placement courses) for fun, I did it to help my family out and cut out a year of college, and I end up getting stuck anyway. It’s very discouraging.”

Price’s parents considered summer courses for Juliette, but they clash with her work schedule. And dropping French isn’t an option; after college, Juliette plans on working as a journalist covering international politics.

“It’s a sore point for me,” said Price’s father, Scott Price. “Higher education is tough enough to fund without having (the state) ship tuition money off for other purposes. Picking on higher education is regressive.”

Juliette’s situation isn’t unique. At campuses statewide, SUNY students are increasingly feeling the impact of $410 million in state cuts to SUNY over the last 18 months—including a whopping $90 million midyear slashing of the University’s budget in October that knocked SUNY funding to its lowest levels since the 1990s.

Courses have been cut and classes are packed at many campuses, while other schools are coping with a shortage of professors and an over-reliance on part-time faculty to fill the void. Still other campuses have seen cuts to services and increases in student fees. And SUNY students absorbed a pair of tuition hikes in the spring and fall that increased college costs by $620.

At Plattsburgh, the administration is considering cutting almost 70 jobs to cover an expected $3.8 million state aid gap. In November, Plattsburgh President John Etting informed full-time faculty that they may be asked to teach a fourth course or assume additional responsibilities in the upcoming spring semester.

Starting in fall 2010, all full-time faculty at Plattsburgh, except for those who teach only graduate courses, will teach a minimum of 21 credits per academic year. The move is a “temporary measure” to address the potential impact of the state’s $90 million midyear cut to SUNY.

Further, professionals who have been teaching for extra-service pay may be asked to teach one academic course per year—and have that duty built into their performance programs.

Plattsburgh student Jay Koo can relate. Koo, a student leader on campus, spoke out about the state cuts to SUNY at a student-led rally on campus in late October.

“I’m a child from the ghetto and the disenfranchised like me need an education,” he said. “These budget cuts are putting a lot of kids in jeopardy.”

UAlbany senior Samantha Bernstein was forced to take out more student loans to help pay for her education, a bill her parents are helping her cover. What irks her more than the increase is that 90 percent of the spring tuition hike went to help offset New York’s budget deficit. This year, 80 percent of SUNY’s tuition increase will go to the state; 20 percent will go to SUNY.

“I don’t think students would mind a tuition increase so much if they knew it was going back to their school,” said Bernstein, who, as a senior, had trouble getting required classes for the fall semester. “But I think this state university has become the ATM for the state, that we are who they go to when they need money to fill the deficit that they created. And the students carry the burden.”

Plattsburgh student Charles Meyers is also feeling the sting.

“I’m worried about larger class sizes and fewer course sections,” he said. “I’m already experiencing it in my psychology classes. Right now I have four classes with 50 people in them and they’re taught only once a week. The courses I need are not being offered or are only offered at the same time as other courses I need.”

Nancy Burton, whose daughter, Annie Leue, is a Fredonia freshman, can empathize. Even though Annie came to Fredonia with 30 credit hours earned in high school AP classes, Burton is already bracing for the possibility of paying for an extra semester based on the difficulty Annie had in getting courses. To compound that, her daughter’s three scholarships run out after four years—meaning that the proposition of a fifth year of college will be an expensive one.

“It’s infuriating to me that I’m paying tuition but it’s not going for tuition,” she said. “It’s going to support something else in the state that I’m already supporting with my tax dollars.”

“We have to invest in the state university system not only for our kids, but for the University to be recognized as a national leader,” she added. “We have it all here and we’re squandering it by not investing appropriately.”

— Michael Lisi

Nelson Perez knew he had to do something.

His dream of being one of the first in his family to earn a college degree hung in the balance.

Perez, a college-bound senior at New York City’s Food and Finance High School, was well aware of the deep midyear cuts to SUNY and the City University of New

York (CUNY)—$90 million and a targeted $53 million, respectively—ordered Oct. 6 by Gov. David Paterson.

That’s why he was at a podium at the corner of E. 68th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan on a rainy October evening, looking out over hundreds of sign-waving CUNY students and higher ed unionists—including more than 100 UUP members—gathered to protest the latest wave of state cuts.

“For me,” Perez said, “being the first generation in my family to go to college, I need as many doors open as I can get.”

Too many doors have already slammed shut for Perez and thousands of New York’s college-bound high school and community college transfer students, due to ever-deeper state aid cuts to SUNY. And more will close unless UUPers, legislators, parents and the students themselves step up and start speaking out, said UUP President Phillip Smith.

“We cannot sit still as SUNY is systematically dismantled,” Smith said. “We must unite and fight to keep SUNY strong.”

Students, legislators sign on

SUNY students have certainly gotten the message. Less than a month after Paterson announced his midyear cuts, SUNY students mobilized to protest SUNY cuts at nearly two dozen rallies statewide.

Legislators have also chimed in, including the chairs of the Legislature’s Higher Education committees, Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, and Sen. Ken LaValle, ranking minority member of the Senate Higher Education Committee. LaValle, Stavisky and Glick are on record in opposition to the cuts.

So are Sens. Darrel J. Aubertine, Neil D. Breslin, Brian X. Foley, Suzi Oppenheimer, William Stachowski and David. J. Valesky. They joined Stavisky in decrying the cuts in an Oct. 8 statement on Stavisky’s Senate Web site (http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/governors-proposed-cuts-higher-education).

“We believe this is an unfair burden on New York’s students and the state’s economy,” the statement said.

Students and UUPers echoed that message in rallies at Plattsburgh, Albany, Oneonta, Buffalo, Oswego, New Paltz and more than 15 other two- and four-year SUNY schools in late October and early November. Staged by the SUNY Student Assembly, the University’s statewide student government organization, the events drew hundreds of students and UUP members to rally against SUNY cuts.

“Students are concerned with being able to afford school and there’s fear that another tuition increase could still be on the table,” said SUNY Student Assembly President Melody Mercedes, a Buffalo University senior. “Class sizes are larger, fewer services are available and all at a higher price. There is genuine fear.”

At Plattsburgh, UUPers joined with students to decry the cuts; at the end of the rally, dozens of students symbolically burned fake $100 bills with Paterson’s face on them.

“It is unwise and unfair to balance the state budget on the backs of students,” said Plattsburgh UUPer James Armstrong. “Why should students and parents be the ones to suffer?”

“I’m the student that no one wanted,” said Plattsburgh senior Lisa Rinaldi. “Those like me who have been told to ‘sit down, shut up and be quiet’ now need to speak up, be heard and be listened to. This is a violent act against us.”

It’s easy to understand the students’ ire over cuts to SUNY; they are the ones feeling the sting of more than $410 million in cuts to SUNY over the last 18 months. They’ve seen fewer courses, increased class sizes and a reduction in the number of instructors through hiring freezes.

After absorbing an unexpected spring tuition increase, students receiving funds from the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) could lose as much as $120 per TAP grant with Paterson’s plan to cut $26 million from the program in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, it’s become increasingly difficult to gain admission to SUNY schools, as campuses deal with record enrollment and applications. And thousands of students will likely be turned away from SUNY campuses this year because schools won’t have the funds to offer enough courses to handle the enrollment growth.

“We need to educate students about what’s going on because it affects all of us,” Mercedes said. “Our purpose is to educate students to reach out to legislators. We’re fighting for our education.”

Plattsburgh Chapter President David Curry lauded students for lashing out against the cuts to SUNY.

“The students clearly recognize the challenge to public higher education that this budget cut represents,” he said. “They understand the value of investing in higher education.”

Smith, who in October urged chapter leaders to form “crisis outreach committees” to spread the word locally about the impact of cuts to SUNY, said he hoped members will work with students to protest the cuts and to stress how a properly funded SUNY can do much to extricate New York from its financial situation.

“There is great power when we all unite for positive change,” said Smith. “Together, we can keep the University whole.”

— Michael Lisi

Preparing for the worst: UUPers ready campuses for possible H1N1 outbreak

 Nobody wants to get the flu.

And nobody wants to see it spread like wildfire through a college campus.

Cases of the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, have hit pandemic proportions worldwide. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed nearly 50,000 cases in the U.S. and its territories since the virus first appeared here in April. The CDC recently placed college students among several high-risk groups for this new strain of influenza, and has redoubled its efforts to inform institutions of higher education about the threat of a potential outbreak.

Nobody knows if or when an outbreak will occur. But one thing is certain: Reports of the H1N1 pandemic have heightened the awareness of SUNY administrators, prompting them to develop new or update existing Flu Pandemic Plans.

As a result, UUP members around the state are finding themselves on the front line of defense. In conjunction with the CDC and campus administrators, UUPers have worked feverishly to write response plans, monitor the latest health data, disseminate information, and prepare to administer the vaccine as soon as it becomes available.

“The CDC has presented an extreme scenario, but it’s still wise for campuses to stay on top of things,” said UUP member Richard Peagler, director of counseling and student development at SUNY Cortland and a member of the campus Pandemic Flu Committee. “If you look at the H1N1 flu in a pandemic sense, it can devastate a campus. Keeping a handle on the situation will definitely have an impact on how we get through the academic year.”

Out in front

From the moment the World Health Organization declared that a global pandemic of the human H1N1 virus was under way, academic and professional faculty at SUNY campuses and health science centers kicked into high gear, teaming up with administrators and colleagues to put up-to-date response plans in place.

For example, members of the Incident Management Team (IMT) at Binghamton University, which had one confirmed case of the H1N1 virus last year, wasted no time fine-tuning an existing pandemic plan for “a broad range of responses based on different levels of possible exposure,” said UUPer Gail Glover, senior director of media and public relations. The IMT has identified and stocked medical and support supplies, created an educational campaign focused on good health, and developed plans for large events such as commencement, she said.

“The IMT is keeping a watchful eye on the influenza situation at the global, national and local levels,” said Glover, an IMT member. “We are prepared for a possible wider spread of H1N1 influenza.”

Spreading the word

Awareness and prevention campaigns are major components of the pandemic plans in place on SUNY state-operated campuses, and UUPers have stepped up efforts to spread the word about H1N1 symptoms and the ways to keep the flu from spreading.

Giving students the information is one thing. Getting them to listen is another.

“It is amazing to me that students are so blissfully unaware of how germs get exchanged,” said Potsdam Chapter President Laura Rhoads. “They’ll read signs and wash their hands, then turn around and share a drinking cup with someone else.”

What to do?

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius recommended that colleges be innovative in the way they disseminate information. She said most college students are linked to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and are more likely to use newer technologies as their information sources.

UUP members have taken heed, using new and traditional methods to keep students up to date on the latest health facts. Campuses are using e-mails, text messages, fliers and posters to get students’ attention.

SUNY Cortland has set out table tents in dining halls that call attention to the warning signs, and are holding open forums to dispel the myths about the H1N1 virus.

“The more we keep the misinformation to a minimum, the better off we’ll be,” Peagler said.

Empire State College students are typically older than those on other SUNY campuses, so many are already dealing with the H1N1 flu as parents of young children, according to Chapter President Jacqualine Berger. For these nontraditional students, additional information is coming to them through NYSUT.

In addition, UUP has posted information from AFT at www.uupinfo.org that lists precautions for college employees.

Emergency alert plans

Campuses that need to take serious action, such as closing a campus or residence hall due to a widespread outbreak, will turn to SUNY NY-Alert, a Web-based emergency alert notification system that enables campuses to send out critical emergency information concurrently through phone, e-mail and text messaging.

Members who develop, control and operate these emergency response systems stand ready to implement them on a moment’s notice.

“Our members will be an integral part of the response plan, should the necessity arise,” said Purchase Chapter President John Delate. “But we are all hopeful that the swine flu will not pose a serious threat to anyone.”

In sickness and in …

SUNY campuses are following the CDC recommendation for “self-isolation,” which calls on students with flu-like illness to stay away from classes and limit interactions with other people, except for seeking medical care, for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever without the use of medicine. Faculty are letting their students know they won’t be penalized for missing classes. At many SUNY campuses, UUPers have included a footnote in their course syllabi that guarantees a sick student can make up class work, lab assignments and other projects once the threat of contagion passes.

“I have talked to my students about what to do if they are ill, and how we can get them through course material, by using electronic communications and greater flexibility with exams,” said Rhoads, a professor of biology. She is also using the “buddy system” in her lab courses, making it possible for lab partners to share duties and results.

Empire State College’s smaller classes and one-on-one instruction “make it very easy for me to modify or adapt assignments if students are unable to meet with me,” added Berger, noting she will arrange to work with students online, through e-mail or by telephone.

Many campuses are also making accommodations for sick students living in residence halls; those who opt for self-isolation will have their meals delivered to their rooms.

“We want students to isolate themselves for a day or two, and delivering meals will make that possible for the students living on campus,” said Cortland’s Peagler. “We’ll also be able to monitor and evaluate them to see if the flu is manifesting itself.”

Of note to faculty and staff is the CDC recommendation that campus administrators review and revise, as needed, policies such as sick leave for faculty and staff that make it difficult for them to stay home when they are ill or to care for an ill family member. In turn, UUP members are developing contingency plans that colleges can implement in their absence.

Preventive measures

Even at UUP’s smallest chapter—the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI)—people are being careful.

“Since last winter, our backstage area and dressing rooms have been stocked with hand sanitizers,” said NYSTI Chapter President John Romeo. “Our actors have close contacts in greeting audiences after shows, as well as close physical contact with fellow performers.”

Hand-sanitizer dispensers have also been installed in strategic locations around several SUNY campuses, most notably near doorways to residence halls and student centers and in other high-traffic areas.

Several UUPers have expressed the importance of leading by example, and are encouraging their colleagues to wash their hands, cover their mouths while coughing, and talk frankly with students about the implications of influenza and other serious illnesses. Some faculty have incorporated discussions on the pandemic into their course work.

Hot shots

Prevention is the best medicine. And the best prevention is inoculation.

With college campuses a veritable petri dish of flu activity, UUPers are positioning themselves to immunize students and employees as soon as the vaccination is available. As The Voice went to press, the vaccine was expected by mid-October, though details of the type and availability of vaccines were still being worked out. Newsday in late August reported that a nasal H1N1 virus may be available for children, but by all other accounts the majority of vaccines will be administered by needle in two doses, three weeks apart.

Several campus-based health centers are in contact with state and local health departments, who will provide the protocols for inoculation. Many are working with the CDC to see how much serum will be available, and still others are surveying students to determine how many will actually take the vaccine.

Meanwhile, members at SUNY’s three teaching hospitals—in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse—are in ongoing discussions with campus administrators about procedures and regulations for voluntary and mandatory immunizations.

At Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, UUPers are “engaged in labor/management talks about how best to protect the community and address the concerns of our members,” said statewide Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud, president of the union’s Brooklyn HSC Chapter. “It’s a work in progress.”

Upstate Medical University Chapter President Carol Braund said UUP members there have been part of the discussions about the seasonal flu, as well as the H1N1 virus from the time it emerged as a health issue.

“Our members are the physicians, residents, managers and nurses that are—and will be—at the forefront of this process,” said Braund, an assistant director of nursing. “We were part of the campaign to encourage everyone to get the flu shot last year and will be a part of the H1N1 flu immunization plan this year.”

– Karen L. Mattison

CDC safety tips

#1: Take preventive actions.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• If you have flu symptoms, the CDC recommends you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, and limit contact with others to prevent infecting them.

#2: Watch for H1N1 symptoms.

• The symptoms of H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu.
• Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
• A significant number of people who have been infected with H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

#3: Take time to get vaccinated.

• The CDC recommends a yearly seasonal flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against viruses.
• Vaccination is important for people at high risk of seasonal flu complications, such as the elderly, pregnant women, children, and health care workers.
• A seasonal flu vaccine will not protect against H1N1. An H1N1 vaccine is in production.
• People at greatest risk for novel H1N1 infection are children, college-aged students, pregnant women, people with chronic health issues, and the elderly.

More than a year later, those fears have been realized at many of SUNY’s four-year colleges and teaching hospitals.

With enrollments bulging, high student retention rates and a record number of applications to SUNY schools each year, many UUPers are finding themselves doing a lot more with a lot less on the job. As budgets are shaved, some college presidents are leaving positions vacant, looking for new positions to cut, and contemplating—or have already begun—dropping sections of courses that don’t meet new, higher enrollment quotas.

And despite a tuition increase approved by SUNY in 2008—90 percent of which was kept by the state to cover its budget shortfalls—the situation is certain to grow worse if Paterson turns talk of yet another round of SUNY state aid cuts in 2010 into reality.

The squeeze is on.

 “Enrollment is supposed to stay steady this year, but there wil be fewer (faculty) and they will be working longer hours,” said Darryl Wood, Binghamton Chapter president. “We’re not replacing people who leave, a double whammy because there are fewer faculty and more students.”

“Everybody is holding their breath,” said Yolanda Pauze, Farmingdale Chapter president. “Our president has not used the words ‘hiring freeze’ yet. He keeps saying he’d love to hire more people, but I don’t know whose crystal ball is cracked because I don’t see it happening.”

Times are especially tough at New Paltz, where college President Steven Poskanzer announced a $6 million deficit reduction plan in April that included phasing out the nursing program, temporarily shelving offerings in five graduate subject areas, cutting 70 jobs (51 are already eliminated), reducing new faculty hires, dropping the December graduation ceremony and cutting 35 low-enrolled course sections—with plans to drop courses with fewer than 20 students after fall registration.

New Paltz isn’t alone. According to reports in commercial and student newspapers, on college Web sites and in campus publications, many SUNY schools are beset with similar troubles as they contend with ever-growing enrollments, a flurry of applications and fewer dollars to deliver a quality education.

To wit:

• Hiring freezes and other restrictions (travel, equipment purchases, volunteer work reduction, four-day week, etc.) were or are in place at Albany, Plattsburgh, New Paltz, Geneseo, Potsdam, Canton, Cortland, Fredonia and Upstate.

• Positions will be or have been cut at Albany, Buffalo State, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Fredonia, Canton and Upstate.

During a recent meeting of elected UUP chapter officers, Albany Chapter President Candace Merbler reported that close to 100 faculty and staff positions have been eliminated at the university center.

• A number of schools, including New Paltz, Plattsburgh, Purchase, Fredonia, Geneseo, and Cortland, have increased class sizes. Other schools aren’t opening new course sections until every seat in open sections is filled. Low-enrolled courses that don’t meet new enrollment minimums will be dropped. Stony Brook is considering cutting several low-enrolled programs.

• Plattsburgh, Cortland and Farmingdale are relying more than ever on adjuncts. New Paltz is reducing its reliance on adjuncts, choosing to cut sections instead.

“For more than a year, we’ve been sounding the alarm about how devastating the budget cuts to SUNY are and will be to students, their families and communities,” said UUP President Phillip Smith. “So much of what we projected has unfortunately come to pass. SUNY must be properly funded to meet its mission: to offer an affordable, quality education to all qualified students.”

Flocking to SUNY

And there are more qualified students than ever knocking on the doors of SUNY schools, looking for a quality education at a price that won’t send them spiraling into debt for years to come.

SUNY colleges and university centers have seen substantial increases in freshman applications. Binghamton and Oneonta broke admissions records for fall 2009, while Old Westbury and Delhi saw applications jump by more than 36 percent since 2006, according to newspaper reports and school Web sites. Overall, SUNY schools got more than 317,000 applications in 2008-09, a 14 percent increase.

The surge in applications—most notably at SUNY’s four-year technology schools, where the New York Times reported that   applications jumped by 11 percent for fall 2009—has much to do with the economic downturn. With fewer job openings, high school graduates and laid-off workers seeking new careers are flocking to college.  SUNY’s affordable, quality education has been an easy choice for many cash-strapped parents and students.

Not surprisingly, most schools have seen enrollments swell over the last 10 years. Enrollments at Plattsburgh and Morrisville are at five- and four-year highs, respectively. Brockport will have its largest freshman class in 25 years in the fall; 1,125 students will be enrolled. Oswego and Potsdam have seen huge increases in transfer student enrollments; Oswego saw a 26 percent increase in transfer applications, while Potsdam had a 17 percent rise in transfer applications and a 29 percent jump in enrollment.

Fredonia exceeded its target for freshman for fall 2009, but it was forced to turn away “a lot of good students” due to the budget cuts, college President Dennis Hefner said in a May 8 press release. “Unfortunately, the excessive cuts we’ve incurred by the state Division of the Budget have meant that many qualified and deserving students are being left behind.”

Yet, Fredonia is counting on funds from over-enrollment to help close an estimated $3.5 million budget shortfall for 2009-10, according to information on its Web site. Over-enrollment brought in more than $1.2 million in additional funds to Fredonia in 2008-09 and is  anticipated to score almost $1 million in 2009-10.    

Even Delhi is bulging at the seams, with a record enrollment of about 3,100 students for fall 2009. The technology-based school, one of SUNY’s fastest-growing colleges, is “pretty much at capacity on campus,” said Craig Wesley, Delhi’s dean of enrollment services.

To meet demand, Wesley said Delhi has “grown off campus”—the college holds six four-year courses at community college campuses in Schenectady, Syracuse and Cortland, and offers an online bachelor’s nursing program. It also raised admission criteria for some majors; like many SUNY schools slammed by applications, it can afford to be more selective.

These days, it’s a lot harder for students to gain admission to a SUNY school, according to newspaper stories published in Buffalo, Oneonta and Syracuse on the topic.

“It takes a low- to mid-90 average and 1200 or above on your SATs to get into a SUNY Binghamton or a SUNY Geneseo,” said Russ Weinlein, a guidance counselor at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School in Saratoga County. “Applications to SUNY are up, so it become more difficult to gain admission to many SUNY schools.”

But enrollment growth has caused SUNY schools to struggle to deliver the quality education they are known for as they juggle ever-widening budget cuts, hiring freezes and job cuts, and burgeoning class sizes.

“As class sizes grow, it means that teachers will have to teach in a different way,” said Binghamton’s Wood. “Instead of multiple papers and essay exams, teachers will do more multiple choice tests and assign fewer papers. Students will not get the same quality education and it’s clear in my mind that this going to happen.”

“First, you have a solid enrollment and then not enough funds to provide services,” added Farmingdale’s Pauze. “We can’t give them the service they’re paying for.”

Farmingdale has dealt with low numbers of full-time employees—especially professionals—over the last 10 years. With its transition to a four-year baccalaureate institution in 1995 and the school’s steady enrollment growth—a 62 percent increase from 2000 through 2008—full-time hires haven’t come close to keeping up with necessary staffing needs, she said.

More than half of the academics teaching at Farmingdale are adjuncts. Some offices, including the Transfer Credit Office, Student Activities and the Student Success Center, are run by one or two people, Pauze added.

“There are people serving multiple departments because we don’t have enough staff,” she said. “I know our hiring has been solid for several years, but we always lose a bunch of people so we have yet to get up to the numbers we need in the academic and professional ranks.”

Adjuncts, who play a huge role in helping colleges manage and maintain growing enrollments, are finding themselves picking up more slack than ever at schools with hiring freezes in place. That’s not the case at New Paltz, where as many as 100 adjuncts weren’t renewed for fall. Others are teaching one course, which means they don’t qualify for state health insurance coverage.

“The administration’s goal is to eliminate 35 (course) sections per semester and they’re targeting adjuncts,” said Peter Brown, New Paltz Chapter vice president for academics and a distinguished service professor of German. “They say what they’re doing is more efficiently using resources. But a lot of adjuncts are losing their livelihood and their health insurance.”

Brown’s low regard of his administration’s budget crisis response (“I think Poskanzer is using the situation as a pretext to eliminate programs that are actually being cut for non-economic reasons”) doesn’t resonate on some other SUNY campuses. Several UUP leaders acknowledged that their campus leaders are doing what they can with what they’ve been dealt.

“I have to give the administration a certain amount of credit,” said Wood. “Reserves are being used judiciously and they’ve reiterated their commitment to no retrenchments. I think the university is doing its best to deal with a very difficult situation.”

A number of colleges, including Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Cortland, have taken myriad steps to avoid cuts to staff and programs. At Potsdam, where the administration is eyeing a $3.7 million shortfall for 2009-10, the school has invoked restrictions on travel with state funds, equipment purchases and restraints on “Other Than Personnel Costs” expenses.

At Cortland, overtime and travel for faculty and staff have been curtailed.

A major portion of the campus will be closed during the winter break, temperatures will be lowered in swimming pools and a four-day work week was considered for summer sessions. Canton began a four-day work week in December 2008.

Plattsburgh also has travel restrictions in place. The school has increased its facility rental fees, limited overtime pay, eliminated the winter commencement program, delayed significant contracts and purchases, and offered volunteer work reduction to eligible employees. 

However, more than a few Plattsburgh UUP members have shied away from that program, said Plattsburgh Chapter President David Curry.

“We support the concept,” he said. “But many people feel that if they take voluntary work reduction, there’s a fear that it might make them look (to administrators) like their job isn’t necessary.”

UUPers said they will continue to do their best on the job despite looming budget cuts and the ever-present possibility of widespread hiring freezes, program cuts and job layoffs.

But more support is needed from SUNY System Administration, which in June pushed aside a state Division of the Budget proposal to distribute $75 million in SUNY funds to its 64 campuses to help diminish the hit from last year’s mid-year budget cuts. SUNY also kept $40 million that DOB recommended be used to mitigate campus budget shortfalls.

“I’m sure (Farmingdale’s administration) could be doing more, but at this point, our biggest problem is statewide administration,” said Farmingdale’s Pauze. “The blunders up there are hurting everybody. It leaves too many administrators to come up with interesting ideas that aren’t well thought out.”

— Michael Lisi

Presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks out during a recent rally in Illinois

NYSUT Executive VP Alan Lubin, left and NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi express their thanks to former Sen. Joe Bruno, right.

UUP member Michelle Collins, a business advisor at SUNY Canton’s Small Business Development Center, reviews business plans with Lucas and Sarah Manning, co-owners of the Partridge Cafe in Canton