Audio Recording from the Meeting, 2014 February 27

Any opposition?
There's much correction on the adjournment.
I think you have to run the numbers,
making a motion which you can.
He's not a statutory source.
Somebody else should obey the motion and second the call.
So I guess we didn't adjourn.
We're trying to get one of them now.
I mean, I have a quicker one.
You never know.
I need that date on.
It has never been a record of four.
I don't think so.
Director Ag, I'm sorry.
What's your focus?
Thanks, Pierre.
With that, we'll adjust that.
We're in no opposition, though, so approve.
And we'll go right into the report in the session.
Well, good afternoon, everyone.
And thank you for a very interesting start to you.
2014.
I'll try to be very, very brief in my overview comments,
but there have been a couple of broad areas that I thought
was important that we have an opportunity to bring you up the date on.
As you know, we have participated on the last 14 months of
the show that I've been president of this great university.
Our desire to move this universe into the next level of excellence
and to run the organization we put the system for benchmarks
on the table that we would utilize as the broad framework
of how we will go about cheating in the next level.
And just want to highlight the progress that we're in that scheme.
I defend the process that we're using.
I'm off to an advanced piece, four sticks in the ground,
and I'm on the top.
I'm going to have to have a bit more about two of them.
What I like to do is during the course of perhaps
that our next meeting, we can take a deeper dive on some of these issues
particularly regarding some of the ones that have stood right
to be acting inside the house.
There's a couple of other associated issues before the act
could be carried in.
I think we're being very helpful for us to spend some time talking
about the new enrollment management strategy that we're rolling out
and how it gets systematically to the new academic programs
that we plan on rolling out as well because both are absolutely
critically important strategies to enhance the student experience
at the university that we're going to have to purchase time
to increase in more non-resident, non-resident,
and international students.
And hopefully we'll improve student satisfaction.
And the other components of that kind of thing
are kind of doing an adding-illegative program.
So as it relates to the enrollment management fees,
we are very aggressively pursuing enrollment strategy
that will allow us to systematically do a much better job
than what I think we've done in the last five or six years
where I think most of the people that relative to the other
student research centers are in the moment actually a decrease
where the other university centers in enrollment
went up substantially.
In fact, it's always good to have some object in the mirror
that you look back at to see how much is getting on you.
The last time I had my staff to check,
approximately that can be seen with them.
Binghamton University, which had always historically been
2,000 to 3,000 students less than you all been,
you've come all the way and Binghamton is only less than 1,000 students,
less than enrollment at the University of Oregon.
And my good friend, Harvard Stingett,
there articulated me this state of the University of rest
a couple weeks ago that by the end of 2020,
it will be over 20,000 students.
I take that because I think it's important for us to keep that in mind.
Certainly it's not our goal and it's not our desire to just grow
enrollment just for the sake of doing so,
just for some bragging rags about the number of students.
But I do think it's critically important that we think about our enrollment
management strategy and the context that this university has
to capacity to accommodate a significant number of new students.
And there are certain cohort of students that we have not
been able to attract in the past.
These new degree programs will provide that opportunity.
But at the same time, we haven't had an aggressive enrollment management
strategy that was designed to bring high ability students from other parts
of the country.
We've been very less dependent to the extent that up until last year,
about not a 2% of our students came from the state of New York.
Now it's about 8%.
And you all know the demographic shifts that are occurring.
There are only two counties of the 64 counties in the state of New York
where the way that a lot of the folks that measure this stuff
are looking at are the number of 4-year-olds that are in that category.
The number of 4-year-olds 10 years ago.
And the 4-year-old cohort is increasing the significant number of students,
which means that the number of young people that are going to be available
from the state of New York.
To attend a university, I'll be, this way,
be declining precipitously over the next decade.
So my point is, what has gotten us here,
won't get us to where we need to get in the future.
And so we're keep talking about a different moment of strategy,
not because of just because of the financial modifications,
but also because of the problematic implications,
and the long term vitality of this university,
as a comprehensive research university.
So this is something from my perspective,
and this present is a big deal.
And so we would like to have an opportunity to come back
into the main meeting and give you a detailed opening on
enrollment management strategy, and solicit your support,
your questions, and that we all can gain a deeper understanding
of why this is absolutely critical that we do this right.
We don't have an option because the state still
is going to be able to do this right.
And we will surely lose ground, but just because of the
democratic shifts along.
So anyway, I can't emphasize that enough.
And I think this may be one of the topics that you here
to appreciate really having an opportunity to better understand
what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what can this
come to have.
Now on the up-brother, will you move in to what actually
happens in the enrollment process?
Absolutely.
So what we're doing is how we modify those practices over
the last 12, 14, and 24, how we are strategically
doing things that we haven't done before, like hiring recruiters,
and hiring the shareholders in places of the country,
where there is a growth in those four-year-old cohorts,
where we can anticipate because of the prize point that we
charge for tuition.
And we really need to leverage that opportunity to be more
aggressive and recruiting students from the southeast,
from parts of the Midwest, parts of the west where these
criminal breathes are actually growing.
I think the hope for a program.
Good.
Councilor.
Yes.
I think it's the kind of thing we clearly need to make sure
that Council gives a chance to understand and weigh on it,
weigh on and support it.
Thank you.
Just a couple of words, and I don't really think it makes sense,
or incorporation in many.
One, I just received an email especially from the Alumni
Association, where they were sponsored by school.
Right, fair and dark.
And a couple of them were in New Jersey too.
And I think something like that may be covered with
guidance, council, visits, or whatever might make a lot of sense,
because obviously New Jersey is stoned through a way,
and we look pretty attractive to people from New Jersey.
Fast part of the strategy is to be more aggressive.
We need to all be fighting.
The part of the strategy, Pat, is to recruit more aggressively
and border states as well, as part of the strategy.
Not just California and Nevada and places like that,
or Georgia.
It's the first time I'd ever seen them do anything outside of New York.
I just note that in Alumni Association, I don't know,
anybody's talking, each other.
We are talking to each other, actually.
This is the third year we are doing it.
Oh, OK.
Third year we are doing this, but we are becoming more active
and publicizing it.
We targeted, also, Connecticut, and Massachusetts area.
And it works twofold.
Our alumni are always hearing from me and for all these reasons.
But this also gives them an opportunity to participate
in colorment and just giving, to getting them closer to university.
So we work very closely with admissions office
and wherever they want us to go, we go and do that.
The other point I was going to bring up,
and I don't know if it makes any sense,
but at least, P-Tech high schools have heard about these P-Tech programs.
And since STEM, across the system, I know we are trying to recruit more STEM students.
And obviously, the P-Tech schools are STEM students.
And the kids come out of those programs with an effective
and associates degree and science and so on.
And maybe if we had a scholarship program or something
that you can graduate from a P-Tech school or somewhere in some proximity to Albany,
you get an automatic pass to come to school there.
So students that don't want to go work at that point
but want to continue their education,
this might be a way to bring them in and improve our STEM numbers.
I don't know if that would be appealing to both, but...
No, I don't know.
...the idea.
Yes, yes.
But as far as the Scott and the Governor has already proposed,
I guess it's an adjunct to be a full scholarship to STEM students.
So that basic...
Well, this would, and this would only be, they don't only need two years,
because they're already through the...
That's correct.
So that would work.
Some marketing or some deal like that would be a great way to...
I think that's a legislative issue, I believe,
because I brought this up with a chancellor actually two weeks ago
about the youth of the year program for the Boys and Girls Club.
And so it's a pretty well-established program pretty well known.
And I said, how can we somehow sponsor the youth of the year
and basically came back and said, you can't do that except for through
legislative action.
She can't say that I can give a scholarship to that program.
But of course, you said, if I don't want to pay for it, then...
So I'm going to take credit for it.
Maybe that's, I mean, since Glitch resolved to have one of the other things,
is maybe that's one of our scholarships for people to contribute to,
is something along these lines.
Well, you're absolutely right in, and ties into the next point I want to get into,
and that is the degree programs that we are rolling out because...
Albany has a very strong reputation as it relates to humanities program,
language programs, and some of the other social sciences programs.
But where we are less known and where we have obtained a bill capacity is
in its STEM areas, and that's one of the reasons we are proposing,
and part of the overall strategies to significantly increase the number of Indian and Indian
and the green programs we offer.
So let me just talk about that.
I think you have excellent, the points you made, pattern excellent,
and it clearly needs to be part of our strategy going forward,
because as the other state we talked about,
and that is another vehicle for attracting a type of student that clearly had not been interested in you all being,
and, candidly, because we did not have the programs they were interested in.
I think you all know more than once I've talked about the fact that there is no public engineering option,
and the entire capital region that this down to here, other than what the NAMS school of NAMS science,
an engineering home.
There's no public option.
They're all private, and the shifts that are going on in the country at the moment,
are dramatically different than a decade of over-family.
Their families were willing to sacrifice, take equity out of their homes to pay for their kid to go to RPI,
or one of the private engineering schools, even after RPI would give them a scholarship.
Now those families are saying, no, sorry, we can't afford you to have to go to a public school.
RPI is like the third most expensive student in the country.
And the other part that we are hearing that allow the people to sit at four from our corporate partners in a capital region,
and are constantly asking the question, why doesn't you all be able to help her that certain type of engineering agrees?
And you all know that there's a room behind it, and there are actually policies and statutes from the State Department that basically says,
we can't basically bring on it politically, that you all be in a shell-not open degrees in certain areas.
We worked our way through most of that.
And so now we are very, very clear in making significant progress on our first engineering program.
That has been approved by SUNY Central, which will be a computer engineering, computer and network engineering,
as how it was originally framed as a lot of support from SUNY Central.
It's probably going to end up being more computer engineering, and we will probably not put as much emphasis on a network and peace,
because what we are hearing from our corporate partners, that's probably less appealing than just computer engineering that deals more with just both software and hardware,
is what seems to be the most interesting thing at this juncture.
We've a symbol of a very aggressive strategy that involves consultation with some of the finest engineering schools in the country,
and we brought in consultants from the University of Illinois, a computer engineering school, and we're also getting the advice of an innovative engineering program that was started
about 10, 15 years ago over in Massachusetts, the only school with engineering,
and which has a very interesting approach that's not only theory, but the students also must have been, at least a year, working in there,
in a firm, in that area of particular interest.
Our idea is how do you keep creating hybrid between those two very strong research-based approach, and more practical hands-on approach that hopefully will allow these students to come out of you all being ready for the workplace,
and be as attractive, if not more attractive, than students coming out of some of the private options that are existing today.
I think that's great. When will you start that?
They're working on the curriculum now, and I think the first students that are going to start in fall of 2015, and the way that we're structuring this,
we thought it would be more cost-effective and more practical to start with transfer students.
We expect our first group of students to be juniors that are transferring from Hudson Valley's, connected to other community colleges,
and then the following academic year will bring in freshmen into the program.
I think we're looking at 25 or 30 transfer students in the first year and then build up from there.
I'm taking a lot of time talking about this because this is the future of this university, and perhaps more important for me to give you an overview of these efforts rather than talking about some of the other wonderful things we're doing.
This is a big deal, and we see this as the catalyst, or the nucleus, if you will, that we plan to build a broader, extraordinary effort around that's going to expand on existing work that goes on in the College of Computing and Effort Management.
I think it would be important that we have time as a part of the council meetings where you'd understand the potential and the process that's involved here.
We're not doing this in isolation for our potential employer.
We're creating an advisory committee that involves people from places that need global boundaries, folks that know what will be current and future employment opportunities are,
and we're going to utilize our expert teams to help shape these degree program.
So we're very excited about that.
I'm looking.
Accenture has been a pretty big supporter of sort of MIS type systems stuff in the school business, so you may want to include them.
Obviously, it's more of a software, not the hardware.
But given that they're already, I mean, I think they have an Accenture room and it's giving them a new and it's so fun.
There may be some cross-partification there.
The other area in terms of academic expansion, you will also hear about.
So we think that we've missed opportunities to really advance our L.O.D. health program.
We're fortunate that we have a very fine school of public health as unique and respected that is the only one in the country we know of as a joint venture between a Department of Health and an academic department or college at a university.
So now we have been rethinking the kinds of degree programs we offer there, and it's very, very clear that there are some opportunities as well to create programs that's going to attract students into very high demand areas and all of the aspects of health care, what you're talking about, patient therapy or whatever it might be or actually from that all the way up to medicine.
So we are contemplating modifying our current very, very successful one of the largest programs in the College of Arts and Science and National University is a Bachelor of Sciences in Health.
I'm sorry, I just got there. The Human Biology degree program. That's the one that's very, very successful.
A lot of demand for that particular degree program. We are thinking about realigning that program to be a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, which more broadly prepare students to go into any aspect of L.I.D. health, medical school or whatever it might be.
And so, I promise folks who heard the group we're looking at that as well as the potential of developing and very related, very clarity about maybe all the kinds of programs that have a great relationship with patients like SUNY Downstate.
And that's the next thing we're talking briefly about. I think you all know that that thing is finally, I think there's light at the end of the tone for SUNY's assistant administration to get a sell-out from under which has been leading at 13 to 14 million dollars a month.
And concurrent with all others, we've been working with Downstate to try to figure out what we can do in terms of a shared services arrangement to help them further reduce their costs.
And at the same time, increase a linkage with the medical school where we can advance some of the L.I.D. health programs that we're looking at about.
And so, we'll keep you informed on that as well. You've heard about Open SUNY. The chancellor is online and interested.
She's throwing out a couple of funded honor programs for this effort. We're deeply involved with it and will remain deeply involved because we do think it's going to provide an exciting opportunity where going forward, that won't be any excuse for a student anywhere in the SUNY system for not graduating on time because they couldn't get a course.
Because now you will not be limited to just the courses on new opportunities campus and the whole of Binghamton Games.
And the issue of transferability hopefully will be resolved. And that's the biggest thing I see of all of this, this opportunity for the nearly half million students and the SUNY system to be able to access any time critical courses that it needs, that they need in order to graduate at a time of the fashion.
And so we will continue to keep you updated on that as well. You probably are a part of the state of the dress talked about creating this statewide early morning ledger system called MISANET.
And just to remind you, this is one of the strategies that this is not an isolated strategy. This is throughout of our GMI SUNY 2020 proposal to create this initiative.
It is a public private partnership with a private company that provides a lot of the equipment that's necessary to create these weather stations.
And you also heard together talk about it not only in a state of the state, but the day before when Joe Biden was here following up on Hurricane Sandy issued the governor also mentioned.
And if you saw the slide presentation, we were very pleased to see you all being mentioned as well as our School of Veterans for Education Science Department of Homeland Security.
And the check is all but in the bank on this, about $18 million to prove the role of our current weather detection system from 27 sites to 127 sites.
And the governor is really 100% behind this because there is very compelling data that shows that the state of New York is more likely to experience one of these kind of traffic weather events than probably out to any other state dimension.
And so we just want to hear from you.
So I wasn't aware of that. We're in the case of the United States.
This is why the governor is really hot on this because this thing will be completely engraved on your 27th site.
It's going to help with early prediction so that the state can do a better job with deploying resources to these potential disaster areas.
So we're very excited about this. You know about Bob Harris. So I won't go into more detail about that. But I think we're making progress from this white bean in terms of biohaviors.
Sometimes we're the course of this year building this $35,000 square foot facility where they will locate and create a bill of our reactor as well as locate the sales force.
And essentially the whole operation will be moving from Tel Aviv where I think there's limited opportunity to market their product to the US where they see a much greater market potential as well.
This is not just something that's going to benefit this company and its bottom line.
It's going to thrive innovative research at the University of Albany. It's going to provide an opportunity for the clinical trials that are associated with this product to be done not only by our cancer research center.
Albany Med is going to be a site upstate and downstate also. So it's going to put us on the map if you will in terms of doing innovative cutting edge research.
And what is now called functional foods and we also encourage a center on functional foods. And this is going to be an opportunity again for University of Albany to distinguish yourself.
Just a couple of other issues to update you on a question of sure you all are curious about what progress we're making with the mid to the youth between college and high scale science and engineering and you all being.
And you recall one of the critical questions that I put forward the last time we talked about this. I told you that it was difficult for us to think too hard about an MLU until it was better understanding of what the academic model is going to be for now going forward.
Even though this has not been publicly announced, the governor did kind of slip the slide in his presentation that showed up in Unica this thing called CNSCIT.
And so that tells you what the academic model is going to be there will the board trustees will be looking at a proposal or a passing resolution to create a merger between CNSC and Sunni IT because that is effectively the only way that they can meet the goals of CNSC becoming degree range.
And at the same time not create a 6 to 5 campus was they were very adamant that they weren't going to support that they supported the the ability of CNSC to become independent from you all being a degree range not in the way that required creation of a 6 to 5 campus.
So with that knowledge in mind and understanding what asset CNSC can attract or use from Utica Sunni IT. We have a conversation that has resolved pretty much the areas that will be included in MLU between CNSC and you all being just going to focus on providing approximately 18 credit hours of little education requirement that will be provided for those CNSC students.
It also provides opportunities for us to provide dormitory space, food service and recreational activities for those students that are CNSC and MLSURS. Thank you very much again. That's a critical and important one.
And what we try to do as a part of this approach is number one, give us best for the students to make this whole transition process a single possible for students.
And one of the things that we did resolve so was that students will have the option, particularly those students that made it this fall, will have the option of either getting a CNSC degree or a degree from the university at all being.
And we thought that was critically important as well as a couple of other details that yet remain to be worked out.
Just kind of where we stand at this juncture and we are getting close where I anticipate that we hope that we can have an MLU that is mutually agreeable and sign off between NANO and the University of all being in the Chancellor's office no later than April.
What does that mean? What does that mean? The merger of CNSC and SUNYI-T? Nobody knows.
How is that different from what we all would be able to see?
Yeah, I mean, what's the benefit? That's an IEED question politically, I suspect.
That's not an IEED question. These are fundamental questions that people are going to be asking once this becomes out with because it's going to be hard.
I'm just talking to you here. It's going to be hard to explain that.
It's going to be hard to explain because people are going to ask, well, why wasn't you all being good enough?
They also are going to be asking those questions. But, you know, that's...
They don't have to answer. They're not going to be good enough.
So normally the merger once on top is one on top.
Yeah, of course. CNSC was on top.
Because one of the guys is the acting president at SUNYI-T right now.
That's your personal question.
So CNSC will have oversight for all of the programs that curivocologism programs that currently exist at UDCA.
So essentially, the only way I see this working is essentially that campus rule we essentially be managed.
We're all practical purposes from Buller Road.
I don't know what they're going to do about staffing there, but essentially the decanted about it, you know,
Lane Cali-Aurles will have oversight for both Buller Road and SUNYI-T.
That's the model going for them.
And I've talked about this pros and cons of this, how this can be done, and how it plans to go about managing all that.
One of the things that we were concerned once became clear, so we suspected that this was the only way for this for quite some time now.
The greatest concern for this council and for this university is to have some sense of assurance that out of this merger and out of this MLU
that we're not creating a situation where now engineering-agreed programs in particular that are offered at UDCA.
All of a sudden now will be offered from Buller Road, which will directly compete with what we're trying to build in our only engineering effort.
I don't care exactly what is offered at UDCA because they already have some engineering programs that's fine.
But we can't have fun Buller Road all of a sudden they're all in computer engineering, particularly just the ones that they have.
That's just not something that I can agree to, and that's something that will be extremely harmful to university at LV.
And all along in all of this, the core principle we put on the table is that we support the first bowl of CNS and become a board team, but it can't be done at our expense and it can't be done in a way that some of you might return to the heart of university.
That's where I brought them on.
So I'm just informing you that that's the model. These are the issues that we're trying to deal with.
And I think over the last couple months we've made significant progress in helping CNSE folks to understand the cost of instruction.
What it actually cost to educate a student.
And I still think that there is a little bit of concern that the numbers that we're putting on the table, but it actually cost or inflated in some way.
I can assure you that they absolutely have already inflated. These are the numbers that send you system active academic administration uses across the entire system.
And so these are some of the challenges in some of the opportunities there as well.
And we are on the positive forward. The more the side of this that involves the future of the ULBDS, we're trying to protect our academic gets.
We are looking at ways to more seamlessly and positively collaborate with CNSE as well on some of the issues where mutual collaboration will be beneficial.
Both to CNSE and ULBDS.
So what is all of that become public?
When it's all about the good.
It's sort of a public message.
And the paper as it's all emergency talking.
No, yeah, the whole.
Well, it's monstance.
It's monestanding that the voter trustees will vote on or pass a resolution at their March meeting.
I think it was in the Utica paper yesterday.
Yeah.
So this is one of the best things that we're seeing for the last three months.
Everybody's not the silly Utica faculty of voter known as several months ago.
Yeah, I heard about it.
Yeah, people, you know, and so we decided it was nonsense to keep, you know, enjoying a round of what is the most kept secret in state of New York.
Because, you know, we just need to be candid about this because I needed to know what we were dealing with, what the model was before we were going to deploy our financial team.
You know, folks, uh, uh, better folks have been an enormous amount of time trying to wrestle this thing to the ground in a way.
And we were very, very, very clear that we, because I'm learning how started with you provide everything that you've always provided.
And I said, no, time out of the way.
You may not want that because I knew the scenario was going to be that once they got into this and learned a lot, they were going to find out, wait a minute, why are we paying you to do this?
And what I can get it from somebody I think.
And so we've been trying to be very clear about only providing those services where you can't do it virtually.
Right.
Also proximity, you know, like dormitories and health care and recsport.
If you don't get it from you all being, you can get from some other to private schools in the area, but it's going to cost you a couple of lot.
Right.
And clearly, I don't think there's an interest in building some of this capacity over food roads.
So, uh, that's what you're looking at.
I mean, it might be that when you said recsports, it's recsports.
Somebody can't be on a lacrosse team.
No, they can't.
So that's all that's all I want.
That's what we have to do.
Is that an our coalition?
Say if it's an our side.
I mean, I'm asking, what's good for us?
We there might be a player that you may want that have to be yours.
That's the idea of stores like that.
Yeah.
That matter.
You know what I mean?
I do.
You don't want any of them.
I always like to have opportunities.
I'm not sure it's just one of my friends.
No option.
If you're not a UIT or not a UIT, we provide services to other students all the time.
We do it the same road.
We have an entire dormitory that we ran out to the same roads.
That's basically what we propose to them.
We will give you 100 beds and one of our dormitories, the vibes of transportation back and forth.
So I'm just kind of giving you a window into some of the things that send you MMO U.
But there are certain things where we cannot treat them as you all bring in students.
Certain issues regarding library access is one.
Oh really?
That's one big one.
There's only limited things that we can do.
Yeah, they can come in.
We're not going to put a door up and check IDs, but they will have limited access to some of our libraries.
It's just the way the licensing issues start getting right.
So we're trying to make this as seamless as possible.
And there are certain things we can't do.
The academic portion of the meeting is that of our lay-up.
That will go away at some point and we will face to many total amount of funding.
Are you sure you want us to do this?
Because they could get these 18 credit hours, particularly with open soon.
They can get it from any place. They don't have to get it from us.
And they can actually have the ability to create their own generate requirements.
Every campus has the ability to decide and they pick the side that they don't need to be teen credits now that we have to capacity to deliver.
Or they could send you to the faculty down and teach on their own campus.
Check it out.
Very well, does there are geniuses?
Can we go up and not bridge a little bit into the discussion we're going to have later about what's our role?
What's the council's role with respect to this issue?
So that was my point because the resolution that we passed was somewhat open-ended that we were going to come back and visit this.
And that happened a day after the Board of Trustees did it.
I didn't know if there was another resolution that would have to some action leave it also have to take.
Just looking at the role, it would seem that we have a dog in this race somewhere.
You know, and that's why I'm receiving as much time as I am making sure you understand what's going on here.
Because the discussion we were going to have on the front end is about the role of responsibility.
I see this as one of the issues that he has responsibility to understand what's going on.
And the voice you were paying in and help us shape how we go about doing this.
We have to start the process of negotiating and going back and forth and educating about the pros and cons, what was good for us, what was good for them, and how we can do this in a way that's as seamless as possible.
But I think that is a Mr. Chairman, a very fundamental question.
What's the role of the council in this issue and having opportunity to come back and talk to you about the MOU?
Because this is a kind of issue I think that you're going to be engaged with.
So in regards to students who are in the CMC program and these are the data, since they can grant those three times, those are things that come up with your advice for students or with that so how to come to society and see what's going on.
Well, I think what it's you're getting at, for those students who are currently in CMC they can decide if they want to stay.
Those that are admitted in 2014 can decide, I'm not sure if they include in 2015 or not.
I don't think so.
I think until they have the role of accreditation.
One day you have their own accreditation which may be the perfect candidate if you could be two years away.
It could be 15-16 before they are actually, you will have a situation where those students are.
And now give me wrong, this is not unheard of in the engineering programs.
Before I left Minnesota I helped build a program with one of the other universities system where for the first two years it was not an accredited program.
Students still enrolled. The goal is that you won't eventually go students who say that they've graduated from an accredited program.
But it is totally possible within APEP, the entity that does the accreditation of engineering programs to allow you to start a degree program and give you students can apply, they can financial aid, the whole nine yards.
But it normally takes a year or two to get their accreditation in place.
So the students that are currently enrolled, students that will enroll and the fall of this year would be graduating from the accredited program that's already accredited.
Since the program is already accredited but it's not that you already.
So once it moves then they lose their accreditation, they have to apply for their own accreditation in conjunction under the oscases or the already.
And this is the other reason that they are moving, I think, to already accredited university.
They were not moving to the, they were going to do their own and independent, they were much more proficated together.
And so this will some way make the accreditation process easier because when the IT is already accredited in conjunction with programs.
Did I answer your question?
No, because I was just wondering if they are at a such a best at the day finish their program, they kind of feel like they would have to do their degree wouldn't really count.
Yes, they are getting one degree because they finished this, because it's not a kind of a reciprocated company or other universities as something of, you know, the out of the world, you all would need a degree, would definitely be transferred over and university accepted.
Yeah, well, you know, that's one of those questions where the industry has been, as a recent study, I just looked at yesterday where I think there is not complete agreement about the value of the degree, the whole issue of accreditation, where you graduate from, etc.
But you know, the most degree engineering schools clearly know that it's very important to have those programs accredited.
Otherwise, I do think you get into questions about being able to graduate school and also being accessible to employment opportunities from certain companies.
But you know, just, I'm not sure this is clear. My understanding is there's two levels of accreditation.
All these accredited by this regional group, and that would include CNSC.
Yes.
As, and I don't know, SUNY-IT has accreditation from that group.
Yeah.
And they probably also have a bit of accreditation for the, I assume they have a bit of accreditation.
Engineering school, professional schools like engineering, business, medical, whatever, have separate accrediting bodies.
And CNSC, I don't believe, is accredited by that separate engineering body.
So, somebody who goes to say MIT, not only do they have a regular school accreditation, they get, they also have the engineering accreditation.
CNSC graduate today does not, they just, they have, you know, your basic educational accreditation, but not necessarily an engineering accreditation.
So, a reminder, not specific to that comment, but I don't think this is just going to be a flash in the pan once this really becomes mainstream.
So, I know that there's not a long waiting list for the recordings of our meetings, but I'm guessing that there may be once that happens.
So, I just want to remind everybody that I don't know that it will be unusual for our friends to be listening to the entire recording to get individuals comments on what's happening here.
Just, just this cautionary note.
I guess before I move that topic, what's the moment now at CNSC?
About 250 undergrad was in graduate students.
And they're planning to roll out.
I'm sorry?
They're planning to roll out a program?
Yes.
So, what would that do to your capacity to roll out?
I mean, if you have a store 150 CNSC students, well then you can't take an additional, which we've, we've made it clear that we've offered to the VAD 100 VADS.
Oh, all right.
It's 100.
Yes.
Because you're talking graduate students don't typically learn what kind of facilities we have and not all undergraduates.
So, we're probably providing VADS for what, maybe 100, or 100 total of 135, 140 undergraduate students will write.
And we made it clear that we are doing this at the expense of dividing VADS for our own students.
Because as you all are very much aware, we have to put students over across the Washington Avenue in a hotel.
Never thought.
Yeah.
And this is going to go to exacerbate that problem.
But we're trying to be good partners here and the citizens and trying to help this again with the primary goal of not making this as seamless as possible for us.
And so, I think that's really the undergraduate students that will be going through this transition.
I didn't mean for us to get this deep into weeks on this, but I do think it's a healthy conversation.
And I stand by anything that I've said as a part of the public record of this.
These are real questions.
These are fundamental issues that I think as President I have to deal with.
And I think as members of this council is important for you to be here as well.
Any other questions on that?
Anything else on the President's report?
I think we have one.
Does everybody in the room has met me in?
We have a couple of minutes.
Follow the cabinet.
Yes.
And just to make a part of the record, could you introduce your new chief of staff?
Yeah, it's my pleasure to introduce my new chief of staff who is not so new anymore.
She's been in for two and a half weeks now.
And talk about the business move.
By far, I think clearly she's gone through that.
But Dr. Leanne, work with us, is resident of Minnesota initially born under the committee and born in,
if I remember correctly, from a good Finnish family.
Tendered the university as a Minnesota, both undergraduate and graduate school.
I met her when she was a graduate school in the College of Education and Human Development,
and she was pursuing her doctorate in higher education administration.
She actually worked in the provost office as an RA.
That's when I first had a chance to work with Mary.
She worked very closely with the provost of myself and the provost of Gaudet and I,
president of University of Vermont.
She worked with the two of us on a number of initiatives.
The one that we remember mostly was the strategic planning process that involved 34 task force.
So I knew if she could manage 34 task force,
a place like University of Minnesota, she had great skills at it.
And so that's where we had a chance to work closely together.
And then she went on left the president of our provost office.
I don't remember the time line.
It went to the Carson School of Management,
which is the University of Minnesota Business School,
where she was the assistant dean and chief of staff to the dean of the business school.
Then I think there was a change in leadership.
Dean decided to go to Michigan,
and Leanne decided to come to the big apple.
And I kind of lost track of her and didn't really realize she was out here until in front of her about maybe a little bit more
a lesson a year ago,
when she was been working as a consultant with A.K.A. consultant.
She was a consultant at the consulting firm that worked with Chancellor,
as an expert on her senior 2020 strategy.
And she was doing some work on another project with a chancellor on this pretty-of-two career line,
when I got a call from her wanting to introduce me on behalf of the chancellor.
And I knew that there was only one Leanne working with a new world.
And so I knew it had to be her.
And so the rest is history.
They say, so you're talking to someone that is very well qualified to do this job.
She's already demonstrated that in the two and a half years that she's been here.
Because not only I've talked mostly about her higher ed experience,
but Leanne also worked for the Minnesota Timbermore, Wolfe in Marketing.
She knows Andrew Collegiate athletics.
She's done a enormous amount of volunteer work in the community.
And I can tell you, hopefully you can tell that.
I think the production that I'm extremely pleased and will enjoy that she's here.
And she's already demonstrated great capacity to help us think about how the vastest university so we're glad to have her.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Very happy to meet you.
So you stole talent from the chancellor.
Right.
So rep but not.
I do, and I hope I'm not out of bounds.
I don't think I am.
So I do want to make a motion that we go into executive session for one quick question.
I think it qualifies for executive session.
It was someone second to second.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Is there anything else if not we will move Clara?
So I'm glad we don't know me and Clara about the next list we've been representative.
Basically, I have like a couple things I want to bring up.
I want to bring up one and concerns with what you're talking about before is dorms and stuff.
A big issue that has been going on with state of population only been seeing is the fact that renovation dorms only going on on the uptown campus.
While downtown alumni quad is kind of just left there.
I mean, obviously, you know, money has been spent in a certain way.
But at the same time, like those who live in alumni, now all of us live there by choice.
There is no more room on the uptown campus.
The downtown campus isn't that bad because I don't know myself.
But it's just there's certain things that could potentially be improved.
And we're going to start working continued on the uptown campus.
And I know the downtown quad should also be looked at as something that is a needable improvement, especially because most of the transfer students at the coming to this university do end up there and they don't end up on campus.
So if you want to continue this trend of transfer students coming of international students or exchange students coming.
This is definitely the first thing they get to see about our university.
And then they go to the big campus uptown.
I think that's definitely a big point to kind of bring to your attention.
Also, I wanted to talk about this is like something a little bit more personal to me.
So in April, it's going to be three years since I lost a different amount of suicide.
And we're doing one of the organizations that I'm part of at School School of UA Live.
And we're a suicide prevention fundraising group.
And we're doing a walk in May with AFS community.
It's called Out of the Darkness.
And it happens behind the Endgame one.
And there was a point here when I was looking at the survey talking about the council's help with fundraising.
And I think there is the school budget, especially the SA budget.
It's so small and there are an extent that I can't always help others.
So I was actually hoping that maybe this council can help with things like that because suicide prevention would become like a second meeting killer for college students.
And it's definitely going to be important because we're all part of the university.
And clearly the students are the ones that keep this university running as well as the staff.
So I actually would like to have that as attention.
I have donation forms and sponsorships.
If you guys would like to do that, I would not have been out in the staff.
So I definitely would like to support on that.
Also, I'm just off my channel though.
So that was in 2019.
Yeah, so definitely the closet like that.
Also, I was going to talk about the blue fleece services that's been going on this year.
Like I know we've changed a bunch of them.
But a bunch of them will also start to differentiate.
Like, one piece used to be like meal trays now.
It's only lunch money and a lot of people don't get enough lunch money.
They only get meal trays.
So it's been a big issue that's been hearing a lot about that certain things are only offered through lunch money.
You know, certainly, the jewels don't get as much or they don't plan for certain clients because they call us more.
Also, I don't know if you can talk to the president of the website.
But there's this new thing going on about $20 fee to add to a student fee to help out with a bunch of things.
But it's never been special about any students of what is more than $20 going to.
I think that's a big thing.
You can tell how well you keep in contact with the essay president for a bunch of people that work there.
I keep in close contact with them.
So I think it's really important to know.
The student population to know exactly where the extra money that they're going to bring me in the spotlight.
Because it's all under trying to entertain that.
You might go on it, but to students who are already on the brink of struggling to pay for school.
It's definitely a little bit more than we already have.
Is this $10 a month or $10? It's $120?
It's $120.
$120 is just a master's job.
Yeah, is that what it was?
Yeah, I wanted to rub you a paper.
It was one of the things that we wanted to mention.
But I think I definitely had talked a long enough so I'm glad we moved on.
But this is a campus wide fee that we're proposing and we've been working with essay about this issue because we are one of the two campuses in terms of the university centers that don't have some kind of campus wide fee as students pay.
And the campus wide fee is intended primarily to address a critical issue that I hear almost several times as a semester when the weather is warm enough.
I mean, it's been time on the podium interacting with students.
They complain about, they said, one of the reasons you see us getting on those buses every Friday afternoon, heading to Manhattan or someplace because there's nothing to do here on the weekend.
Absolutely nothing. And I can tell you, I'm absolutely appalled at the amount of money that our students have success offers.
Having that budget to support late night program and weekend programming for our students is hopefully an act when this just really not enough.
And so what we're looking at is what we can do and my office as we go through the budget process, we'll be looking at how we can find some resources to upgrade that budget.
But at the same time knowing that in order to do this right, we need to do what some of the other university centers have done.
Not all of them. Not just having a kind of a campus wide fee that's used to cover and finance some of this late night program.
So it's all about how do you have the money to put on programs and activities that students can get engaged with so they don't have to go home or come to Manhattan every weekend.
But don't you already have a point? I was going to ask, isn't there already?
Yeah, there's a student fee that's, sometimes they can't support $100 and might be able to all find a check.
But I totally like it. It was a fee when I was here. It doesn't cover the kinds of things we're talking about.
What about those things? Yeah, that $40 or $5, what does it go to Steve? Some of it is.
It's doing so here. Yeah, it's doing the association around for them. They pretty much determine how that money is.
We don't have any sale. We don't have any distributors. Those dollars.
What would be the difference with $120? What about going to, I say, and then I'll go to the office.
And I'll go to the office. I'll go to the office.
Right to suit students' success, Claire.
Because I've read so much of that or the people I've talked to because I was just at the town hall meeting the other day that the students have.
And they frequently touch stuff on it. And then you have half of the senators saying, oh, this is great.
This is wonderful. And they have saying, no, this is bad. And we don't even know what it is.
So like the biggest problem, however you know, we want to support it. We don't even know what it's going to.
Like I definitely didn't. And I probably know a little bit more about it than most people do.
Just because I keep in contact with the people who work in the last night.
It's an important issue. And it's important that we started out by initially just talking to the leadership of that saying about what or not this was a good idea.
And it's very clear that we need to do more to be very transparent about what is these about where the funds will reside and what they're intended to do.
And so I appreciate your perspective on this.
I'm sure as anybody knows that I'm going through the college search program process right now and every place I go, they don't talk about the fee, although I'm sure it's there in the quarter of $9.
I'm going to pay, but they talk about what the kids can do. You know, here are the, that's one of the main things here are the activities that they have.
And they are significant and they run, you know, run the gamut.
So I think that's somehow we have to compete, somehow we have to provide programming that does not include a bus.
I just want to understand that because in recent times, even when you're talking about earlier about enrollment and how it's gone down, I think it's because you all believe there's so many things that have been there for the room.
And it's like a tradition. It's like, you know, your parents and your parents are friends have gone to all that they went through.
And then you go to all the many, many road through it, like, you know, various activities. And now it's like those things aren't really present.
You have so many more. So our campus is going to feel like a community. It feels more like a school in and out.
Like we do have like these like hard times and fun.
You know, just repeated what I hear repeatedly.
Yeah.
And I'm welcome to put in them and talk to the people around us.
And here's no real opportunity to develop that sense of community.
And this folks, if you don't invest resources to do this, it makes this whole enrollment strategy that we're talking about much more difficult.
As well as the alumni fundraiser.
And that's absolutely well, that's everything is connected. This is all connected because I tell our enrollment management folks all the time, the best recruiters for this university or the students that graduate from here.
And they can have a wonderful experience in the last week.
If they don't come away with that strong sense of community, which I'm sure all of you must have had otherwise you probably wouldn't be sitting around this day.
What is it you all be doing or some other experience?
It's very back fattening, yeah.
Yeah, that wasn't too careful.
We were all in the room.
We were all in the room.
I was just asking that.
I was just asking that.
That's fantastic.
Well, that's fantastic.
That's family fattening for a number of years.
And it was really great.
Well, let me just go on the record right now folks, so you can fire me and get it over with.
It's not going to happen under my watch because I've watched the videos.
It started out very, very positive.
For a number of years it was a very positive community building event.
I did it marked until this thing that frankly I was embarrassed.
The actions that I saw from our students and the fact that I'm really surprised that someone hasn't died of been severely injured.
And so I'm sorry.
I can't support it because the liability is too great.
It will be irresponsible for me to support something like this when I know that there are other ways to build traditions that students can be proud of and come away with a strong sense of community.
That thoughtment has been redesigned in a way that makes it even less conducive for the kinds of antics that went on during the founding.
It really is a big liability folks.
And you don't believe me?
What happened to post some of the videos in the last three or four years that you can watch on your own?
Because a massive little confidence you will come away for the same sense of concern that I have that's present in our university.
A lot of students actually work in certain and embarrassed by some of the antics that occur.
So you can have a moment of the option of what you think that would be possible to finish because we've been hearing this was because she talked to you.
Steve, you want to talk about that?
Sure.
I'm just going to have one the reason that it wasn't finished last fall.
Yeah, because the weather got...
It had to do with the subcontractor that's going to spread the last floor on the found floor itself.
He didn't get it done.
There wasn't much we could do to make it happen.
It's supposed to be here this in April with a big enough crew to get it done.
So we're very optimistic that we'll have...
But it has to be a certain temperature.
It does.
And it has to be over a certain temperature before you start.
And it happens...
It's not going to happen.
It's all the plants and all the pretty light.
And also...
I mean, that's all.
There was some of the materials.
Yes, we also had to tear up some tarotso that wasn't stolen.
It wasn't going to stand up.
So we're not using that particular touch.
So I want to...
Okay.
Commencement.
It'll be done by commencing.
Just one question on the student fees.
Sorry.
I'm sure that I covered by tap.
But maybe in student loans and telegrams we've covered part of those fees.
They're probably eligible for that.
Or if not, is there some mechanism for the students that need the full need that they're really can afford that extra?
Okay.
I don't know what it is.
These are not covered under those.
I can't borrow three of them.
You can't borrow three of them.
Yes, but I don't understand for long.
But maybe a student initiative maybe for tap-related fees.
I know that the racism tap may not happen, but that may be something to...
I know my grants don't cover opinions, but our goals do.
Because I know that my grants will cover my classes, but my loans will cover any much of the university's basketball.
Anyway, this is an important issue.
We decided it was time to put it on the table.
At the same time, we're also trying to deal with some other fee issues regarding access to facilities.
That graduate students have access to some of our other export facilities.
And most of the fee that is used to cover that comes from the undergraduate side of the house.
That's another issue of kind of parity that we're trying to address it as well.
Okay.
I'm going to try to move this along.
I feel like I'm bad.
The graduate, the fact that these fees may be covered by loans,
we've been talking about this for a couple of years now,
and have to have the loan and effort to make it.
All right, now while that's paid,
we want to short-term the 80s today.
It means that at 120 per semester over the course of the graduate students,
or at the graduate four years here,
that'll come out to three homes to another grant, and not to long to walk down.
No, that's Jim out of.
Thanks, Jim.
Okay, let's carry.
Okay, let's carry.
Oh, is it Gary?
I'm sorry, I was carrying.
Sorry, Gary.
I'm sorry.
I was carrying.
Sorry.
The government council update.
Gov has been very busy with the past several months.
And one of the first things we did in December was to draft a resolution regarding the three vacant seats
that resulted in the resignation of the CNSC Senators.
And so we addressed that.
And what we decided to do is reapportion those seats,
evenly among the next 44 school and college assignments.
We also have been working for a very long time on a charter amendment,
we're the composition of CPCA, council law and commotion, and continuing appointment,
and it was an information that was brought to us about a conflict in the union contract
and our charter and bylaws.
And finally, I'm happy to report that we have seats on the walk down.
We have approved the rationale for the amendment, and we hope to bring that to the Senate for conversation
and then pass it at the following Senate meeting.
We've also been working on redesigning or not really redesigning,
but repurposing the focus of one of the councils,
which is the Committee on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the community and responsibility,
also called CACA core.
And what the focus of that, what we want to do is to make sure that it will focus on issues that were created
when that council was first formed.
And so the principle is that the widest possible scope for freedom of expression
is the foundation of an institution dedicated to vigorous inquiry, robust debate,
and continuous search for a proper balance between freedom and community responsibility.
So this is an amendment that's in the making, it's not finalized yet,
but that is something that we're working on.
Governance is also one of the charges of governance is to self-assess the faculty and professional staff
and students views of about shared governance and consultation.
So we have drafted a survey, that's why I was curious about that survey,
and we're going to present this on the survey, and we hope to finalize that survey
and disseminate it in March, the end of March, to faculty, professional staff, and students.
And then share that with the Senate, because one of the things that I think is really important is that
this governance and shared governance is shared.
If it's shared throughout the university, it's shared with faculty, professional staff, students, and the administration.
And so we need to take a pulse on what we're doing and what we can do better,
and where we're following short, we need to educate, reach out more.
So I'm very happy to have student involvement, which brings me to the point that one of the things
that the President raised about the CNSC UDACA merger is,
if students are on campus, then, and they wish to participate in the Senate, as we have some students from CNSC,
so that would be something that, of course, I'm chair of Gov, and we need to talk to the council members.
But our opinion always has been welcome to that.
So I don't know if that has been brought up in any conversations.
Any questions?
Questions?
I have one.
It sounds like that's a pretty comprehensive survey that you're going to put out.
Is that the only survey that the university does, or does the administration do a survey, or just wondering about
who's asking the questions from what perspective?
So is that the only survey?
On governance, on issues of governance.
Is it specific to just the issues of governance, or is it campus life?
No, it doesn't do.
It's just governance.
Right.
It's sharing governance and consultation.
Anything else?
The conference coming up sponsored by the president of the Student Faculty Senate in college,
trustees, Tina Bergwin.
On Jan 9th, I'm chair of governance, and it may fit into what we're going to talk about ACT,
is hopefully taking an active role in that on governance, of the first conference.
I actually want to explain this.
Yes.
Thank you for being here.
Okay.
Gary, are you with us?
Gary?
I am.
Yeah.
So, this of course, the idea is going to be pretty brief.
The primary focus of the GSA activity is then on the internal organization of the GSA,
as well as involved in our relationship with the administration.
A lot of folks have been employed if they are not too affect.
One is the presidential forum, which is something that only does not encourage intent and possible discussion in the routine meeting.
We are going to appreciate our efforts to be involved with the fact that we're discussion over the relationship of our interaction
role with forming before versus the role of the undergraduate.
But everything is pretty far to go to there.
The one of your efforts that we're working on our relationship is that both very interactive and university administration
is the role of our MTAHR, multicultural affirmative action.
A chairperson, who at this point in the GSA, has had very limited responsibility for
and what we're doing there is laying groundwork for how that individual would be more involved with the campus,
is diversity often in order to better facilitate a multicultural attitude
throughout the graduate student audience, hopefully, to simply really building it that way.
One is to think of that specifically occupy a lot of graduate student attention often,
but that's the idea of that. It would be very large.
The other two issues were born on. It is that there are antennae that gets them out of turnover in the US,
in the current GSA in this region.
Both the people who have re-regulation because of the workload this year was just proved to intend to then.
And we've had a point that's been confirmed by our assembly.
So, I think as many of you interact with the GSA keyboard to the president has on board in one occasion,
then this would be why I think it might be significant to face this.
And finally, that we're working through the final pages of our by-laws,
which should be ratified at the point in April. And that's the two part for it.
Thank you. Is there a report from Tim?
Tim, are you there?
Yes, I am.
Oh, I'm sorry. Tim, I didn't know you were with us.
Anything? Anything to report?
Yes. I've stated in the past, I guess, the overall, the overarching goal of the Alumni Association is to work with the university
in establishing a lifelong connection with its abums.
And in that regard, most of our programs have that whether it's homecoming or the Goldman head-backed goal.
And in that vein, the Alumni Association has recently begun a new program, which we call UAlbany Connect.
It is specifically targeted at the metro New York area and the capital district area,
which are the homes of a huge bulk of our alums. At least initially, we may expand it in the future,
depending on how it goes. We've already met up a variety of events in both the metro New York and capital district area.
We've met postcards to target alumni in both areas, inviting them to come to the event.
We've emailed all alumni for who we have email addresses in those areas,
pointing out both the reliant and postcard should have arrived in the mail.
And if it didn't, that we have websites set up where they can go and see the dates and locations for events.
And as part of that as well, we're offering a promotion.
We get away weekend to start target spring during the track season.
So somebody who will attend an event and the more events you attend, the more entries you get.
So somebody will be winning a very nice weekend for the spring.
So all of which is part of our ongoing effort to stay connected, to get connected,
and to have the alums want to be continuing their connection to the university.
And also I was interested in the bomb day discussion.
Oh, I know that off the radar, maybe it should be, but the homecoming event that we had last year was a new effort for us.
As you may recall, it was wildly successful and we intend to pursue that.
And the hopes of turning that into the kind of signature event that people every year will be forward to at least one.
And that person in conjunction with sporting events and other activities on campus,
was continuing and keeping up their connection to your office, which we all love and want to see.
Thank you. Any questions of time?
I'm going to move to a new business.
Mr. Mayor, can I hold the phone?
I can do whatever you want.
And our lengthy detail discussion on the first thing I have is I feel that you just an update on where we stand and turn to the budget.
I think also something you differently about the whole budget process.
And then just want to give you a brief update on the couple of other personnel issues that I made.
So I apologize for it.
I didn't apologize for the fourth year, but UH request this year is, you know, we kind of, the process with you is you kind of back into your request based on what the governor put on the table.
And we know the put his budget also out about a month ago.
And what we largely what we're asking for is never response to and part some critical needs, but also things that were not included in this original budget proposal.
Under end of my soon 2020, I was supposed to be a maintenance of effort that would cover the cost of new employees.
And in the budget proposal this year, we are mandated more or less to give the increases.
And we've already started that process, gave increases for 2013 and their others in play for 2014.
And unless that is restored in a budget, it essentially can be as much as a $9 million essentially, to our operating budget.
And we have to go ahead and deliver those increases, even though the funds were not supposed to be coming out of the revenue generated by M120.
And frankly folks, that's the only place where we can get the money.
So essentially it's going to be a cut.
And this translates as to as much as $900 or at least as many as 50 of those $200,000 by the back of the decision that we were supposed to be creating or adding under M120.
That will not happen.
Was that an oversight or was there a conscious decision?
I think it was an improvement.
It must have been very conscious because it's supposed to be part of the agreement that this was supposed to be maintained.
And essentially the new revenue from the $300 that we were able to increase to wishing each and every year was going to be the funds that we would use to finance the expansion of enrollment.
The interest of $1300 and the heart is $280,000, and now we would have to divert some of that money and not have to be telling them from wrong.
No, you're not?
That's the only way we can pay for the union increases that have been approved by the legislature but then we have to cover it costs.
And so that is one of the issues.
And not only you all may be advocating for, but the whole system is going to be advocating for that as well.
And so that's one of the places where our priorities align with SUNY.
The other place is the governor has in his budget proposal approximately $500 million or critical maintenance issues.
We think that's a good start.
You all know we still face the $1.2 billion that we faced this time last year and growing.
And SUNY system administration has decided that we need to double that amount.
And so we're advocating for a big $1.2 billion, what the critical maintenance means that our fair share would be roughly listed about $56 million or so?
Yes, exactly right.
Out of the $500 million, our share is $28.6, so it's $67.2 billion.
Which, you know, if you remember the last decade, the University of Pennsylvania, C. Dover 320 million.
And that's been critically important to allow the renovation of the fountain and the other renovations that are going on in the top and the dormitories as well as the lecture hall on the porting as well.
So we certainly hope we can get back to a point where we have a long-term strategy for capital projects rather than these one-all kinds of situations that we're in now.
And I'll wrap up here in a minute, just FYI, legislative visits are scheduled for March 34th.
Well, we will be spending essentially most of those two days at the legislature talking one-on-one without a legislative delegation about our needs and advocating for what we need at the University.
One critical component as well that we were really surprised was in finance since this revenue resources.
We weren't asking anything from the state.
As a part of anyone who wants to be a finance strategy that was supposed to be the first parking garage, I still absolutely amazed when I came to you all meeting.
I said, well, where are the garages? They must be underground. I know there must be garages underground.
Only to learn that we don't have any garages, but under 2020 we were supposed to be getting our first garages a part of the E-Tech project.
And unfortunately, all we'd ask for was the approval to go to a design bill process so that we could bring that garage online and save ourselves about $1.2 million if it's not, if we don't get started by the way.
And unfortunately, that was not approved. So what we were only asking for is to prove to use our own resources to build this facility and we're having a bit of difficulty getting that through as well.
So any of you that have direct line, this is where we're going to be talking about your roles and responsibility.
If you have the ability to influence any of this for a positive outcome, we start to go to appreciate it.
And this garage is a big deal and it's critically important that we do now. Otherwise, it's going to cost us at least another $1.2 million if we have the delay.
And the rest of their...
Someone not a Pimpat or a Phanano website.
No, it was not.
It was just a meanest.
Anyway, I'm just here to provide information not to explain it. So let's move on.
We're also, soon, is April 29th and 30th. So as planned, we'll make sure where that's, so we plan to speak that as well.
And I'm going to forego any discussions about fundraising updates and when it's partying, we want to say something there.
And lastly, I just want to talk to you about a couple of searches and things that are going on.
You just met Leanne. You know, we were doing a search for CFO. We were not able to make our heart out of that search process.
And that contains someone that Steve has been trying to retire for decades.
You know, I'm trying to just do a couple of years.
He's not repulsed.
He's looking kind of tired.
And unfortunately, we thought we had a potential replacement that didn't work out.
And we continued a search.
But we, given the search form and the search committee, noticed that this has to wrap up by April 15th.
Otherwise, I'll be the CFO and get the first one to go back.
That's what I thought.
Anyway, you just talk to new buildings at least.
Let me just end with a couple more.
I'll do a poll.
This is more.
We also, you know, we've restructured the Chief of Staff portfolio.
You know, this deal was both the Chief of Staff and government relations person.
I made a decision probably mid-year last year that was not the model that I thought was giving us the most effective strategies and effectiveness going forward.
That led to hiring Leanne.
And Leanne is now in the process of interviewing potential candidates for the government relations position.
At this day and age and the kinds of things, I just, I'm going to tell you about that position is absolutely difficult.
And so we're going to be moving forward.
Hopefully in the next few days or so she's going to be coming forward with a recommendation for tomorrow.
So we'll have a government direction of the relations director tomorrow.
So that's great.
So just one other confidential matter that it absolutely has to remain confidential.
Take a soft that.
I think I want to consider a negative sector.
Why is the Steve is working on that?
I hope the market is in the position.
Well, there's something that I want to go ahead.
The other change that I made as you recall last fall was when transition out the vice president for communications and marketing.
Pass it over to partying to manage that entity.
And I can tell you the amazing job of helping that unit to continue this state focus.
Not just the state focus and many things that have school.
They actually advance the marketing communication agenda significantly.
The first time we've ever at field boards and publicized by the one principal of us.
But.
But.
And so we have has a lot of background experience and communications factor under interest.
We're living in general, and we're currently.
And so we have now passed the oversight for the communication market unit to her.
She's looking at a recommendation from the consultants we had hard to.
And Steve Bob Elpore Steve Greenbrook.
We're hard to give us an assessment of that unit.
What he used to be doing.
We're done going forward.
Man is looking at that.
And we hope to have a permanent solution about where that unit is going to reside within the administrative structure and.
And how it's going to move forward.
Because again, and where we live.
And the capital communications in some university is a nice thing to have.
You live in divide and.
Absolutely.
And in this community.
And we realize how important it is.
Then lastly, are we off the record?
No, not check.
We need a motion to go into executive session.
No second.
Second.
Okay.
Okay.
Council is of the utmost importance and our first role in responsibility.
So that goes the last time.
We'll move quickly.
Yes, the question is she's.
Back in open session.
The new business, the update on Skylar School acquisition.
That would be moving.
Actually, James Jackson asked for for this update.
That's why it's on the agenda.
You know, we bought the Skylar School.
We were thrilled to get it.
Two million dollar purchase price.
The deed got finally recorded in November.
So it's ours.
Lockstock and barrel.
Building was built in 1912.
127,000 growth square feet.
It's a big building.
Takes up a 2.69 acre footprint.
And its addition increases our downtown square footage by 30%.
So it's been really, really good addition for us.
That's the good news.
Long term, it needs, really needs a gut renovation.
Much of what you would see inside also dates to 1912.
It's going to cost about 47 million in last year's dollars to get that done eventually.
We set aside 6.2 million in capital money out of money that we already had in hand to address near term needs.
Replace some pretty scary heating plant components.
Looks like something on our Frankenstein movie in the basement this year.
So we've got it.
We've got to stabilize with respect to heat.
We've got to fix the roof.
Spend about 1.1 million doing that.
Removing asbestos.
We drilled the hole in the sub basement and of course crude oil bubbled up.
So we had to we had to we had to we bait oil leaks that occurred over the years.
So it's all sorts of remediation that needed to be done.
Eventually it'll be used for mixed use academic and research.
School of Social Wellfare.
We'll move over there from Richardson.
That will give us this wingspace to renovate Richardson.
This is a big part of our facilities master plan.
We're going to consolidate some some units in rock.
A fellow college that are co-located now in other places.
We'll be able to bring them back into the fold.
We'll have additional classroom space all good so we can program down there and take some of the load off the classroom.
We'll give us more capacity basically and the the academic podium now uptown is overloaded with respect to scheduling.
And we'll also be able to relocate some academic units from uptown down to the building.
Or in the Richardson one of the rehab buildings in order to give a swing space on the podium to get busy to get busy there.
A couple more thoughts.
We've kicked off the the state environmental quality review act process to address the environment impact of our change of use from K-12 to higher education.
We've included collective impacts of parking.
We've got a planning on doing a deck on the current Thurlotera slot.
We need to talk to the neighbors about that as you can expect.
We're getting some pushback.
We're going to expand and renovate page hall as part of this and other domino to fall.
And we'll add an addition potentially to Halley.
So reviewing all those things with respect to Seeker.
All of these we've discussed before part of the facilities master plan.
Part of our grand scheme and all we need is money.
So I'm going to ask a annoying question, but it was from the accounting degree that I got at the University of Albany.
But we're going to pay $400 a square foot.
$400 a square foot is class AAA space.
Why would we pay that much for?
In large part because it's so proximate to the downtown campus,
there was no other place to do that.
Who do we pay the student to?
Schoolers gone.
We paid $2 million.
Now we're paying approximately $47 million.
$49 million for the whole course.
That seems like an awful.
I mean, I'm sure those are the correct numbers, which is why I'm saying.
You could, you know, you're only building 127,000 square feet.
Why couldn't you just...
I've got 127,000 square feet.
I'll give you my building for half of that.
So, you're gone.
I mean, that's just a huge thing.
And when they're in relative terms, they know it's government.
And design's end and soon in government design standards.
You can...
You can build the same property that we can build for half of what costs us
after we go broke.
I just said, you couldn't buy it.
You could cut it and do it, Brandon.
Wasn't that school referred just to a couple of you?
No.
Because I know I've worked with the teachers.
And they all had to move out for a year while we got.
I've been all through the building, Joette, and I haven't seen anything remotely looking like rehab space.
Anyways, part of the capital plan is in the way.
You can understand from a real world perspective that doesn't make sense.
Somehow, and I wish I knew all of the mechanisms that I should.
But across Fuller Road, they're somehow using different metrics to be able to...
Because of their ability to build and lease back.
Well, first of all, to groundless.
Second of all, you know this.
It's a whole different scenario.
That whole thing years and years ago, it was deliberately set up as a totally separate type of run.
To avoid exactly the same.
It was just behind side, it probably should have the foundation by a Skylar.
You don't have the same building issues and requirements, you think.
Which is what we were trying to get to, the parking deck on campus.
We wanted to do that as a groundless.
That's what got knocked out of the...
You can't compare what they're doing to what's being done.
But there's no more cost-efficient way than that.
The school business building, I thought the contractor did that.
I thought they had some special dispensation and at least were able to use...
TLA is probably one.
Somehow, I thought we did some of the costs.
As well as still a $50 million project.
It's given that the foundation could have done that for $36.
Right, right. That's what...
It's always cheaper to do it.
It's very, very commercial.
The design bill is...
If you can imagine if we can do this by design bill, it almost makes the cost for you.
You got these ansularious issues that come up when you're not doing it to $501.3.
You got to the foundation requirements.
Union issues, I'm telling you, it's always more expensive.
That's why the whole thing was done.
That's why SUNY IT was done the way I designed SUNY IT.
Well, I was going to say, can the foundation purchase it now?
Maybe, but then how would we pay for it?
We've got state capital behind this project.
We wouldn't be able to use that money.
So we have to come up with our own.
How much is the state funding?
Yeah, but it's funded in a different way.
It's got a different spot on the legislative list.
Would we be eligible for some of the economic development money for that project?
Maybe eligible, but whether or not you get it, just ask us a question.
Like your chair and your committee, right?
We'll save the state $20 million bucks, you know?
No, sir, it's the kind of projects that they've been looking.
I mean, that's some of the kinds of projects they've been funding around the state.
It seems to me.
Yeah, but you know, it's the model.
Michael will tell you about a hard road on the level.
And that was that one.
That would kill his reputation.
You can't protect the forward.
Yeah, so you can't watch him doing it.
It's not a third party.
You don't have competitive bidding, all this.
Right? It's a whole different.
The ground needs to revenue source stream the...
To totally different animal.
And this is why a lot of campuses started looking at this other way to do that.
We think it's an attractive project.
I'm glad it's just that the cost is...
By definition, high.
Yeah.
The cost you're talking about would be roughly comparable to what it cost to know a research facility.
Which is usually between three and four hundred dollars in square three.
Yeah, it's not a UN-load.
That's what makes sense.
You could cut the whole place and build a brand new one.
Get a brand new building.
Right.
I mean, literally, it's interesting.
That's on 2.69 acres.
It's not comparable to a limo bond.
But I've got 11 acres in a beautiful gym.
You can have it all half the price.
All right.
Let's move on.
Is there any other questions on that?
I'll say he's got none of those left.
Okay.
So, far-deen...
So, positive and negative.
So we want to thank far-deen for arranging for the space for us and arranging for the food and for all of those wonderful things.
But there's nothing that is ever free with far-deen.
So, I think it's a change for that.
He's slipped in another naming resolution.
So, I need to...
I need a motion to accept a waiver of advanced notice.
So that we can consider this motion.
All right.
So, any objection?
Seeing none, then that is approved.
And we can address the motion that you all should have in front of you.
Some of you.
Okay.
Michael, would you do a clienty?
Is that a clienty?
That's right.
Steve, was that sent out?
Wasn't in the packet.
No, no.
It wasn't in the packet.
It was too late.
It just got to a yesterday.
Really?
It wasn't in the packet.
I'll see if I can get the chairman to read it into the record.
So, I'll read the motion.
The University of Albany has pledged a gift of $500,000 to the University of Albany Foundation to support the Emeritus Center of the University of Albany of which $100,000 already has been received by the Foundation E-N,
whereas opened in November 2006,
the Emeritus Center of which Professor Reese was the founding president,
serves retired faculty and professional administrative staff, designated as a Maritai by sponsoring programs designed to facilitate and promote the educational and scholarly.
Mission of the University.
And, whereas the University and recognition of this generous gift and pledge wishes to name the Emeritus Center the Reese Emeritus Center,
and whereas the University and further recognition and appreciation of this gift and pledge wishes to name the Emeritus Center in honor of professional reason perpetually.
Now, therefore be a result that the Emeritus Center of the University of Albany here and after,
and named in perpetuity and reason of the Center in recognition of the very generous gift and pledge of Professor William L. Reese,
would somebody make that motion to get it on the table?
So, who?
Second. The discussion on the motion.
I would assume that falls and then through the guidelines.
Yes, this recognition opportunity is in line with the previously approved guidelines of the University Council and the University of Albany.
Is there any contingency, not that this ever happens?
And I don't know this person, so I'm talking in generality, not with this particular person, but often there's an out-in-case-something bad happens,
either the person doesn't fulfill it or they go to jail or do something where we don't want their name.
Do we have any kind of provisions for that anywhere?
In the memory of understanding the foundation that has the Professor Reese that says if the use for these changes or anything happens that we've hung for to the University of Albany Foundation Board has the right to resonate this gift.
But if we're the ones that are doing it, should that be here?
No, no, no, no. It goes in the MOU and what happened was years ago, remember I've gone up to something many years ago.
And yes, it was then put in from that on that said that if certain things happen like felony convictions, all this kind of state, then there would be an opportunity.
It doesn't need to be there, but it's in the sign MOU, which is better because this doesn't mean anything.
You wanted in the MOU that sign by the event of the gift you've been put together.
I agree with all of that, but I thought we're the only one that has the authority to authorize the name.
That's really subject to the terms and conditions of the MOU.
Okay.
Then what it should say to you again, it would come back.
There should be a whereas in there.
It says we drew the subject to the MOU terms and conditions of the MOU.
That's what I was looking for.
That's what would be the right thing to kind of close the little bond.
Right. For your play going forward.
Yes, I'm just, you know, I agree the same.
John, you could add that, right?
But that, you would just make a motion to add an additional whereas clause that says something to the effect that, you know,
the resolution is adopted contingent to the inclusion of a whereas clause.
Some use the effect that the terms and conditions of the MOU would be followed, including any restrictions on further use of the name, subject to, you know, character issues or something.
What the maker, the two that made the motion, second the motion, agreed that.
Yes. Then it's amended for that.
Okay.
Any other discussion on the motion?
Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.
Any opposition?
No.
approve. Thank you.
Michael, may you use this opportunity to give a fundraising update?
Sure.
Just three quick items as of January 31st.
We were off at 34% compared to our last year.
You know, fundraising dollars and our audited numbers for last year's endowment performance was 11.9%.
And we were third among, we were at second campus among the three as soon as centers as far as performance of our endowment.
Buffalo was 12%.
Stony Brook was 10.4 and being at them was 11%.
Overall, the portfolio that we are managing is just over 50 million dollars.
Our endowment is right around 45 million dollars at the university.
And so one item that the million dollar goal that we had for the Jones scholarship, we are around 70% more of our goal right now.
And next week we are having a foundation meeting at 4 o'clock at the Hearst Tower followed by a reception at 6 o'clock.
I hope you'll be able to answer this.
Next Thursday, 6th.
Yeah.
Thank you.
If there was nothing else in motion to it, well, no, I don't know.
I think we need to talk about that a little bit more.
My legal counsel on this side of the table is putting things in front of me that says that we, it doesn't appear that we have any, that there is down the sand.
There is no wiggle room on going into executive session on this topic or turning the recording on.
Well, there is.
I feel strongly that our rights as board members, I'm not sure that we have been doing it in a way that was intended by legislation.
So I may bring an amicus suit against whoever I need to in order to perhaps fully flesh out our rights as a board member.
Since there's a potential lawsuit on the table and that is a matter that is allowable to go into executive session, I just would chairman make a motion to go into executive session and discuss this matter.
Well, is there a second to that?
John, I hope you wrote lots of times before.
I think it's a little far-fetched, but it certainly serves the purpose.
It's a word that is second.
It's a pretty qualified second.
Well, why don't we go into executive session to discuss this?
I think at least that that's just there because the issue of how we handle this and that we can certainly end at that session.
We're rather still difficult.
I'll come back and say two-one line.
So we're now an executive.
Okay, so I'm going to make a motion to it.
I'm sorry John.
Second.
We're a term.
All right, I'll get it.