PRESIDENT’S REPORT by GEORGE PHILIP
President Philip discussed the events that occurred during the weekend of March 12. There has
been considerable property damage totaling approximately $12,000. There have been about fifty
arrests so far and 15 of those were UAlbany students. Those students are going through the
judicial process and are temporarily suspended. Most were upper classmen. There has been
damage to the university’s reputation and the stature of a degree has been diminished. Next year
the campus will be on spring break during that time but he does not anticipate that will eliminate
the problem since we can’t make students leave their off-campus residences. President Philip
will meet with Mayor Jennings and St. Rose President Mark Sullivan to discuss the matter
further. President Philip discussed a potential plan with the City of Albany for having a police
presence on Hudson Street through the acquisition of a residence that would be converted into a
community police station. He said the University is also working with the city to create new
rules for landlords and greater code enforcement.
President Philip responded to a question about how the break would be scheduled. He said the
February break would be delayed until March and then there would be a break for the Passover
and Easter holidays.
Budget:
An agreement is in process for some restoration of fund which would impact the SUNY
hospitals. The SUNY hospitals were zeroed out by the Governor and any restoration under $1
million will be nonviable. SUNY has indicated that any shortfall will be shared by the 28 state
operated campuses, increasing the cuts to UAlbany. The President said those restoration are
critically important with the lack of a tuition increase in the budget. The Governor announced a
summit of the four university centers and Chancellor Zimpher to discuss UB2020 and a rational
tuition policy. The increase in tuition needs to commensurate with an increase in TAP. A
discussion with the Governor will take place after the budget is in place.
SUNY Senator White referred to the resolution passed by SUNY University Faculty Senate
Executive Committee which supports a proposal for a five-year rational tuition plan. He asked
if it would be helpful to have other bodies support the need for such a plan. President Philip said
any endorsement is helpful, especially from the student union as well as the University Senate.
The President said it’s important for the faculty to say they support this.
President Philip responded to questions about the reductions announced in October and the
follow up announcement to maintain minors in those programs. He said that some emails have
been received as well as messages from publications but the response has not been as
voluminous as it was to the first announcement. He said the Provost is in discussions with the
CAS Dean to discuss the process of ending programs in the affected areas. The President
expects the timeline will be soon. President Philip explained that UAlbany has joint degree
programs with Albany Law School that are part of the language programs and ALS needs to be
involved in the discussions. President Philip affirmed that we would not be admitting students to
majors to the affected programs next year but will allow admissions to minors in those areas. He
said the University will honor its commitment to current students who are majoring in those
programs.
President Philip said the University needs to invest ample resources in its undergraduate
programs. We are third tier as an undergraduate institution which he said is unacceptable. The
University falls short on full time faculty to student ratio and we cannot afford to further reduce
the number of students. The tier one student population has increased over the years but there
have been repercussions from bad press. Other SUNY campuses have a better faculty/student
ratio because they have a different mix of disciplines. The President said we need to increase the
number of out of state students we bring to the campus. SUNY Binghamton has realized $10
million more in tuition alone due to the number of out of state students attending, even though
they have few students than UAlbany. President Philip said he appreciated the support and
candid views that everyone has provided. Secretary Leonard thanked President Philip for his
quick efforts to support the Japan Relief Fund.
