In a year of unprecedented political and financial volatility in New York state, it’s inevitable that SUNY would be affected. But the University found itself squarely in the middle of the state budget battle over the summer, when the governor used the so-called Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA) as a bargaining chip that for months blocked passage of the last component of a new state budget.

UUP waged a fierce fight against PHEEIA—and it paid off. When the state Senate approved the final piece of the state budget Aug. 3—a revenue bill—PHEEIA was not a part of it. Sens. William Stachowski and Brian Foley, who represent districts near Buffalo Center and Stony Brook, respectively, surrendered in their collective effort to stall approval of the revenue bill unless it included PHEEIA.

“In putting aside the enactment of the governor’s proposal to permit SUNY to unilaterally raise tuition and enter into public/private partnerships, the Legislature has preserved access and affordability while protecting SUNY’s core public mission,” said UUP President Phil Smith. “We thank them for their thoughtful and wise decision regarding an issue of critical importance to all New Yorkers.”

But pushing PHEEIA aside was not easy.

The union waged an aggressive multi-media campaign that included half-page ads in several major newspapers, including The New York Times and Newsday, as well as in nearly 150 weekly newspapers. The ad asked readers to visit savesuny.org, a website launched by UUP to promote public awareness of the dangers of state budget cuts and PHEEIA. The site encouraged visitors to sign an online petition and fax letters urging lawmakers to reject the SUNY budget cuts and SUNY flexibility proposal. That micro website and uupinfo.org yielded nearly 25,000 faxes and more than 4,500 online petition signatures. In addition, Smith wrote an opinion column presenting the case against PHEEIA that appeared in nearly a dozen newspapers. Six other daily newspapers printed a letter to the editor from Smith.

The budget was more than two months late when the governor placed the PHEEIA legislation in his June 28 budget extender bill. The Legislature—faced with the choice of approving the extender bill or rejecting it and sparking a state government shutdown—put together and approved an alternative budget plan without PHEEIA. Their action removed the governor’s chief political weapon: the threat of a government shutdown. But the budget remained incomplete because of the Senate’s inability to pass the revenue bill.

The stalemate continued as proponents of PHEEIA waged a desperate campaign to turn the tide in their favor. For example, when UUP member Edward Herman of Buffalo Center wrote an opinion column against PHEEIA that ran in the Buffalo News, proponents fired back with letters and columns attempting to undermine UUP’s position. But UUP’s message was getting through, as exemplified in an editorial in The New York Times.

“Giving New York’s university system a few world-class campuses is a lofty idea. It just doesn’t belong in a hastily drawn compromise as part of a very late budget. The Legislature should drop the idea and finish the budget,” The Times wrote.

While UUP succeeded in turning PHEEIA aside, the fight is not yet over. Even as the Senate voted to finalize the budget without PHEEIA, Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson announced the “framework” of a deal on SUNY “empowerment” had been reached with the governor and the leadership in the state Assembly.

Details of the deal had not been released as The Voice went to press.

“We’re not exactly sure what this means,” Smith said. “We do know that we need to continue to be vigilant to protect SUNY as an institution of public higher education.”

The details on SUNY budget cuts were clear, and gloomy. Facing an ultimatum from the governor to enact a new state budget, the Legislature approved a portion of the spending plan that trimmed SUNY’s budget by another $152 million, bringing the total reduction for the state-operated campuses to $562 million over a two-year period.

Given the late passage of the budget, the full impact of this latest round of cuts had yet to unfold, but UUP members are bracing for more of what they’ve already seen: hiring freezes, job losses, fewer courses, larger class sizes and many more students looking to enroll at SUNY.

The hurt has already hit System Administration, where the University’s decision to shut Nylink translates to the loss of 12 jobs in Albany. Nylink provides a variety of services to more than 500 libraries, including most of SUNY’s and all of CUNY’s libraries. SUNY claims declines in Nylink’s revenues as a result of a changing business environment led to its demise.

“SUNY’s decision to shut down Nylink is very unfortunate,” said John Schumacher, UUP chapter president at System Administration. “Nylink was making real progress toward re-establishing the revenue needed.”

The New York State Theatre Institute took a major hit—$1.6 million—more than half of its state support. With more than a dozen chapter members exploring early retirement, NYSTI Chapter President John Romeo predicts NYSTI will face a difficult road ahead.

“NYSTI’s operation will be downsized, the amount of education and production will be downsized, and the administration will be severely hogtied as a result of the governor’s cuts,” Romeo said.

Even before the budget gained approval, Stony Brook’s administration virtually closed its Southampton campus effective this fall. Thirty-three employees received non-renewal notices; 42 others were transferred to the main Stony Brook campus.

Also on Long Island, about 200 part-time faculty at Farmingdale got served with non-renewals.

Now is the time for SUNY to dip into its rainy day funds, Smith said.

“This is more than just a passing shower—SUNY is reeling from a torrential downpour,” he said. “We must hold the chancellor to the promise she made during legislative budget hearings to apply $147 million from SUNY’s reserves to make up for state aid cuts.”

— Donald Feldstein