Underlining the importance of UUP in helping to shape the future course of higher education in New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has appointed UUP President William Scheuerman as a member of his new statewide Higher Education Commission.

Scheuerman stood with the governor in May as Spitzer announced the 29 members of the commission that he said would lay the foundation for not only economic growth, but also for the future of the state’s public and private higher education institutions.

“Education is the critical link in an innovation economy,” the governor said during a press conference in Albany. “Education is what draws investment. Innovation is what creates the skills for our students. Innovation and education together will create the vitality we want.”

The governor praised the University as one of the state’s great assets, but added, “We all have a lingering sense that, as wonderful as it is, it could be better.”

For SUNY to improve, Scheuerman said adjustments need to be made.

“Among the most critical concerns is the need to formulate a predictable, reliable funding stream for public higher education,” Scheuerman said. “Addressing that issue will preserve the quality of our public colleges and universities as they struggle to cope with growing enrollment and the need to hire more full-time faculty. Key to quality higher education is lower student/faculty ratios on all our campuses.” Spitzer is looking to the commission to redefine SUNY. “The problem with SUNY is that it has so many masters,” the governor explained. “SUNY has a Board of Regents, a chancellor, its own trustees, the Legislature and the governor. There is a disparate governing structure that to a certain extent has not permitted an articulable strategy and unifying theory about what it can or should do.”

Spitzer has the commission on a tight schedule. He has asked for a preliminary report by Dec. 1 and the final report in June 2008. — Donald Feldstein