In an effort to make sure that funding for more full-time faculty is not a one-hit wonder, UUP President William Scheuerman appealed for additional funds in the 2007-08 state budget to hire more full-time faculty, as well to accommodate enrollment growth.

Scheuerman testified at a hearing conducted by the Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education, looking into the impact of New York’s 2006-07 budget on the state’s public university system. The Legislature added $151 million to SUNY’s allocation, including $25 million to hire full-time faculty.

While he lauded the Legislature for its funding restoration for the SUNY-operated campuses, Scheuerman cautioned more dollars are needed to make up for a decade of underfunding.

“We believe you have set the stage for subsequent actions that would counter, over time, the impacts of historically unfunded enrollment growth and structural deficits caused by inadequate funding of mandatory costs and inflationary increases,” Scheuer-man told the committee members.

Playing catch-up

He emphasized his point using figures showing that in 1990-91, more than 75 percent of SUNY’s budget was funded by the state. By 2005-06, the percentage of state funding dropped to 51.

“The state-operated campuses were placed in the untenable position of either denying access to many qualified students who could not afford to attend a private institution or, as was the case, to teach more students and provide vital student services with a faculty greatly reduced by inadequate budget resources,” Scheuerman said.

Just how far is SUNY behind when it comes to full-time faculty? Scheuerman said if the same ratio of full-time faculty to full-time students from the mid-90s were applied to 2005-06, SUNY would have nearly 2,000 more full-time faculty than they had last year. 

Scheuerman urged the committee to not only maintain the current level of state funding for SUNY in the 2007-08 budget, but also provide new state support to compensate for additional mandatory expenditures and enrollment growth.

UUP garners support

Joining Scheuerman at the hearing were other higher education advocates, including New York State United Teachers, its statewide affiliate, who supported putting the brakes on chronic underfunding.

“Improving New York’s economy can be a reality, if we continue to invest in SUNY, CUNY and our community colleges,” NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin said. “Our colleges and university systems can be the engine that powers New York’s economic resurgence.”

Prior to Scheuerman’s and Lubin’s testimony, SUNY Chancellor John Ryan reiterated his call for more full-time faculty. Ryan told the panel that while recent hires have raised the number of full-time faculty to nearly 65 percent, his goal is to reach 72 percent.

Scheuerman collected support over the union’s drive to stop the potential privatization of SUNY’s three public hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse as recommended by the Berger Commission.

“The proposals cannot be implemented without undermining health care quality and the capacity of these public institutions to continue serving, effectively, the populations of their respective communities,” he said.

Committee member Assemblyman Joel Miller characterized privatization as dangerous.

“Privatization is not the only answer and I’m not sure it’s ever the answer,” Miller said, a statement that drew applause from the audience.

The president of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, John DeRosa, registered his opposition to privatization.

“We can’t train the next generation of physicians if we can’t provide the best medical care,” he said. 

—Donald Feldstein