Coalition of presidents issue statement in Albany today to stress importance of higher education to state's future

Contact: Jacquie Powers
Office: (607) 255-5678
E-Mail: jkp3@cornell.edu


ITHACA, N.Y. -- A coalition of presidents from nine independent and public colleges and universities released the following statement in Albany today (Feb. 26) to stress the importance of higher education in keeping New York state economically and educationally competitive.

The presidents held a briefing for members of the news media in the Assembly Parlor, Room 306 of the State Capitol Building, at 11:30 a.m. At that time, they released the joint statement addressed to the governor and members of the state Senate and Assembly.

New York's colleges and universities are integrally linked to the future economic, cultural and social health of the Empire State. As the Governor and members of the Assembly and Senate work to determine the priorities for the investment of scarce state resources in the days ahead, higher education should be an important part of their agenda. Indeed, our sense of urgency about the importance of higher education to the future of New York State and its citizens brings us to Albany today.

Higher education is a major industry in New York State. Almost one million students receive its services, and they range from young adults to senior citizens. Our colleges and universities pump billions of dollars annually into the state economy through institutional purchasing, capital improvements, spending by faculty, students, staff and visitors, and the taxes paid by our employees. On an annual basis, they bring into New York more than $1 billion in federal research grants alone.

The institutions we represent ­ large and small, public and independent, liberal arts and community colleges ­ provide a driving force for educational innovation and economic development in every corner of our state. Our alumni find their earning capacity substantially enhanced as a result of their education; the state's employers regularly point to our highly-trained and responsible workforce as a significant factor in attracting and retaining jobs within our borders. The research and scholarship we undertake is critically important to the state's future, as it has been in the past. Our core business is education and research, and we do it well.

The state's support for higher education institutions and the students they serve has been extraordinarily important to this legacy of success. Over the last half-century, the record is remarkable for its vision and achievement. Bipartisan political leadership built and developed the State University and City University, located community colleges within reasonable commuting distance of students in every part of the state, recognized the independent sector as a vital component of the entire higher education system, and helped students and their families find the financial capacity to attend the college of their choice. Elected officials saw these actions as wise and prudent investments ­ investments in intellectual capital that would more than pay for themselves in increased economic activity, greater tax receipts, technological and cultural innovation, and a well-educated and responsible citizenry.

We believe the state acts wisely when it increases its investment in higher education and, thereby, enhances the future well-being of the Empire State. While each of us individually might have particular priorities for state support, there is an overwhelming consensus on behalf of the following programs and policies:

• Student Aid - The state's highly-respected Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), which provides undergraduate and graduate student financial aid to New York residents, currently reaches 270,000 students from middle- and lower-income families and must be supported. Increased state support for TAP is needed to ensure student access to postsecondary education, to permit student choice among institutions of widely different tuition levels, and to enhance student retention in their programs until achievement of their education goals.
• Flexibility - Just as the businesses and industries we support must be flexible to meet the constantly changing demands of the economic and academic marketplace, so must our own institutions be given the managerial and financial flexibility to operate effectively and efficiently. Public sector institutions should be able to respond rapidly to changing external forces, particularly in the field of health care, to establish flexible tuition policies, and to carry over financial balances from one year to another.
• Direct Institutional Aid - New York's program of direct aid to the independent sector helps make possible the major role of these schools in baccalaureate and graduate education in New York. The real partnership of these institutions in the state's higher educational mission depends on this aid, which has eroded substantially over the last thirty years.
• Opportunity Programs - The Higher Educational Opportunity programs (HEOP and EOP) in the public and independent sectors that provide economically and educationally disadvantaged students additional support services should be maintained and strengthened. At a time when national and state priorities are directed to increasing participation in the work force, no more effective programs have been created to accomplish that objective than those at our public and independent institutions.
• CATs - For more than a decade, the state has supported Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) at leading research universities throughout the state. These thirteen centers have formed direct partnerships with New York businesses and industry in such critical emerging fields as biotechnology, materials science, computer software engineering, and medical technology. In the last two years alone, the state's CATs have generated over 2,675 new jobs and helped create new companies, business activities, and technologies that produced an additional $78 million in personal and corporate income taxes.

These are difficult financial times. State financial support for higher education, including institutional funding per student and other forms of aid, has been substantially reduced over the last eight years. The institutions we represent in both the public and independent sectors have adjusted their programs, pooled their resources, trimmed their budgets, and cut their costs. To the fullest extent possible, they have sought to cushion their students and faculty from the effect of these reductions, increasing the provision of financial aid from their own resources to retain the opportunity for student access and choice; but their ability to continue to do so is stretched to the limit and they need help in the priority areas we have identified.

New York's colleges and universities play a major role in keeping our state economically and educationally competitive. We have come together at this time to emphasize the urgency of this endeavor and to speak to the statewide community. We look forward to working with our elected officials to meet our common goals and make this partnership prosper.

President Thomas H. Jackson
University of Rochester

President Augusta Kappner
Bank Street College of Education

President Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J.
Fordham University

President L. Jay Oliva
New York University

President Hunter R. Rawlings III
Cornell University

Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds
City University of New York

President George Rupp
Columbia University

Chancellor John W. Ryan
State University of New York

Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw
Syracuse University

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