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About
the Bulletin
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Vol. XLIX, No. 25 |
Notice of the Board of Trustees Public Hearing
To: All Concerned Individuals
From: Thomas F. Egan, Chairman, Board of Trustees
Date, Place, and Time
Purpose
In Order to Register to Speak at the Hearing:
Muriel A. Howard, Ph.D.
Good afternoon. Welcome to the newly renovated and renamed Warren Enters Theatre.
Alumni Tom Fontana from the class of '73 and Diane English from the class
of '70 provided the leadership for the capital campaign culminating with the
reopening of this space last June. It was a $2 million renovation. At that
time, the technology was "state of the art." Here we are, eight months later,
and I'm told it's still pretty modern! If you want to see this theater in
operation with all its bells and whistles, you need to come see our students
perform The Good Person of Sichuan. It opens on March 24th.
Today I will talk about developments of the past year, and will share my
vision for the year ahead. Buffalo State continues to move forward and to
fulfill its mission through dedication, resolve, and innovation. We can do
this because we are focused on our goals.
Without hesitation, I will begin with our fiscal situation.
We anticipated that we would have a hard year, and we did. This reflects a
national trend in public higher education. In addition, you may remember
that last year SUNY initiated a "Save Harmless" model designed to protect
campuses that did not earn enough money through the allocation model to
cover operating expenses. The result was that the 13 comprehensive colleges
gave up money to cover expenses at the research centers and at Cornell
University. That cost Buffalo State $5 million, and we are still feeling the
effects. Now this fall, we had a dip in our enrollment, compounding our
financial burden.
Naturally, I want to thank everyone for their dedication to this institution and
to our students during these lean times. By pulling together, we have been
able to continue to pursue our priorities. We still managed to award 14
sabbaticals for the coming year. We have an excellent faculty and staff, and
in most cases, planning and frugality have protected our students from
feeling the full brunt of the resource reallocation and the struggling upstate
economy. I also thank the members of the College Council, President's
Advisory Council, Community Advisory group, and Buffalo State College
Foundation board for their advice and support.
We have seen the governor's proposed budget for the coming year, and we
look upon it with guarded optimism. Please be forewarned: I look at
everything with optimism! There is a Chinese proverb that says, "A diamond
cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without
adversity." Here's our lucky chance to become perfect!
It is worth noting that SUNY is the only state agency that has not been
proposed for a cut in the governor's budget this year. In fact, the state
university is proposed for an increase. The proposed budget is divided into
two parts: our operating budget and a capital budget.
For operations, we will need to look closely at the way that funds are
allocated within SUNY. We do not foresee additional allocations for
proposed salary increases, or for inflationary increases to cover such items
as higher utility bills. We also foresee a loss in support funding for academic
equipment. We expect no tuition increase.
For the capital budget, we have been given credit for our acquisition of the
Ruslander property, a 5.2-acre plot of land at 750 Grant Street, which
we now own, and so our proposed capital budget is $56 million.
The program study for the renovation of the Science Building is under
way, and we expect that an architect will be named in the coming
weeks. Our capital priorities for next year will continue to include
renovation of the Science Building, construction of the Technology
Building, and ways to enhance the quality of student housing. We will
have to watch the end of the budget year to see which of these projects
gets support.
In addition, the governor proposes a $100 million allocation for the
college to acquire and, in concert with the community, develop the H.
H. Richardson property next door, with funds for the development of a
Burchfield-Penney Art Center building. In the governor's vision, this
site will be a Center of Excellence in Education and a central part of
Buffalo State. Should this happen, in addition to the educational
benefits and the acquisition of much-needed space, our campus will
instantly become one of the most beautiful and architecturally
significant in America.
TECHNOLOGY: SABRE / DEGREE NAVIGATOR
Let's talk about technology for a moment. It is a critically important area,
and we have only begun to develop our twenty-first-century outlook. A
Technology Plan has been adopted to guide the college for the next five
years.
A recent New York Times article cited studies done at NYU, the University
of Texas at Dallas, and MIT indicating that investment in technology alone
brings little or no benefit. So, we could give every person on campus a
laptop, and it might have no impact unless technology has been integrated
into our institutional culture.
Organizations that benefit from technology centralize and computerize work
that is easily quantified, and decentralize work in ways that meet
individualized needs.
As we develop information technology for the college, we have the
opportunity to decentralize systems in ways that meet the needs of individual
departments and students better. We have already begun to increase our
institutional effectiveness through systems like Blackboard and instant
messaging, which enable us to collaborate online in ways that make e-mail
seem cumbersome and fax machines archaic.
We will continue to develop and integrate SABRE and Degree Navigator
more and more effectively. You will be submitting grades electronically at
the end of the semester, so be ready.
I thank everyone who has been engaged in helping with this process,
especially with limited resources. We appreciate your impassioned and
candid feedback and advice—and we have listened. It has been a rigorous
process, and it will continue until we achieve perfection.
ADMISSIONS
This month in Newsweek, Jane Bryant Quinn laments what she sees as the
erosion of support for public higher education. "For higher-level jobs," she
observes, employers usually want to hire graduates from four-year colleges.
She is concerned that she hears so little emphasis on access, and that the
nation's leaders seem content to have two classes of education: one for the
wealthy, who are groomed for leadership, and another for the children of
lower-income families, who are encouraged to learn labor-intensive trades.
This is as inequitable as it is economically unwise. As we see more and more
entry-level positions relocated overseas, the mission and core values at
Buffalo State become more and more important to our region and to our
nation.
It is no accident that the statement of our core values begins with access to
quality public higher education.
Still, in a world of increasingly limited resources, we cannot and will not be
as generous with admissions as we have been historically. If high schools
cannot prepare students up to an adequate level of ability, we cannot always
make up the difference. It is not fair to admit students we cannot hope to
graduate.
We will still work to provide access to higher education, especially through
our Educational Opportunity Program, which we will continue to support
fully. Still, EOP must also develop strategies to attract students who are
more academically competitive. In addition, next year we can expect to see a
50 percent reduction in admissions through our STAR program.
This also puts us on notice to continue and expand programs that support our
public schools.
It is our first strategic direction to "engage students in rigorous learning
experiences, both in and out of the classroom, that heighten their aspirations
and transform their lives." We take on the difficult task of quantifying this
more aggressively. It will require leadership from all of us. We will need to
focus on retention efforts; it is far more efficient to retain students than to
recruit new students to replace them.
Our best graduates are as good as the best graduates at any college in the
world. NYU did not graduate Deborah Oppenheimer, winner of an Oscar for
Best Documentary; Buffalo State College did. MIT didn't graduate Susan
Bies of the Federal Reserve Board; Buffalo State College did.
On the surface, it may seem that I am sending a contradictory message. The
truth is that we need to strike a balance between access and academic
excellence. This year's dip in enrollment occurred mostly at the graduate
level, and began to set in when tuition was raised abruptly at the eleventh
hour. We did not have difficulty filling an academically stronger freshman
class. Expect this trend to build momentum.
FUND-RAISING
In the same vein, our McNair Scholars Program was re-funded by the U.S.
Department of Education for another four years. The total award will be
approximately $1,250,000 and will be used to prepare first-generation-college
students and students from underrepresented groups for graduate
study.
A program like the Ross B. Kenzie Family Presidential Scholarship program
funds high-achieving underrepresented minority students—providing for
academic excellence, diversity, and access, all in one gesture. External
funding for such programs is critical!
This is a change in the culture of the institution. Our alumni, many of whom
attended Buffalo State in the days before tuition was charged, are
unaccustomed to contributing to the college, and there is a public perception
that we are entirely funded by the State of New York. Gone are the days.
Just 10 years ago, New York State contributed more than half of our
operating budget. This year, that figure is down to 30 percent. We need to
continue to seek alternative funding sources and additional state support.
Since my first year at Buffalo State, fund-raising at the college has
quadrupled—from $1.5 million to $6 million annually. Our goal for next
year is $7 million.
Over that same period, the cash assets of the Buffalo State College
Foundation have tripled. From about $5 million, they now stand at about $16
million, a new high, representing our sixth consecutive record year.
Last year, the college hosted 73 alumni events, a 48 percent increase over
the previous year. These were attended by 4,200 people, or a 137 percent
increase over the previous year.
Our faculty/staff annual campaign, led by Dick Lee and Hank Mann,
increased to $177,000, representing a 29 percent jump. I thank you! Our
students thank you!
Endowing the Future, our planned giving initiative chaired by Jim Brandys,
is slated to raise $10 million. These are funds people promise to give to the
college in their estate planning. We have already raised over $6 million.
In December, our prestigious Art Conservation program, under the
leadership of Distinguished Service Professor Chris Tahk, received nearly a
million dollars from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to enhance its
instruction and research. Some of the moneys from the six-year grant will be
used to fund a professorship named after Andrew W. Mellon.
We are nearing the completion of the search to fill our first endowed chair,
the Woods-Beals Chair in Urban and Rural Education—funded by Eleanore
Woods Beals from the Class of 1950 and her husband, Vaughn.
Buffalo State recently received its first-ever "federal earmark." Our Center
for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education received nearly $100,000
through the support of Congressman Jack Quinn.
Last year, the college Foundation expended nearly a million dollars in
scholarship funds directly to students through 138 different scholarship
programs funded through private donations to the college. These
scholarships, which involve no state or federal aid, support over 300 students
at Buffalo State. Our Institutional Advancement Office does an excellent job
with half the staff of our benchmark institutions, and exceedingly low
overhead. Over the past two-year period, they raised more money than any
other SUNY college. In view of the needs of our students, our aspirations in
the areas of recruitment and retention, our goals for faculty and staff
development, and our capital needs, we need to invest in the fund-raising
area, strategically and quickly.
In the weeks ahead, we will continue to pursue our Strategic Plan. We will
now be seeing the changes for which we have prepared. More than 800
faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community leaders contributed to the
creation of the plan, which was finalized in 2002. This plan reaffirms our
mission, augments our core values, and provides a vision for our future.
Several action steps are under way, and some critical initiatives are now
coming to fruition.
Expect that implementation will bring change.
There will be reorganization across the college. In Student Affairs, in
Institutional Advancement, in Academic Affairs, and in Finance and
Management, we will see reorganization of departments, student service
areas, business service units, faculties, and academic support areas in a way
that will strengthen the learning experience of our students.
As part of this process, Academic Affairs, under the leadership of Provost
Ponton, will begin to implement our Academic Plan very aggressively. We
said we would move on this, and here we go!
The plan ensures the centrality of students, teaching, and learning at Buffalo
State. Published in the Bulletin
last week, the plan defines our academic
priorities and provides direction for achieving distinction in the academic
community.
The provost is already engaged in discussions with the other vice presidents,
the deans, department chairs, directors, and program managers.
As we go forward with the plan this semester, most resources to support its
goals will come from the reallocation of existing resources, and by that I
mean both fiscal and human. Beyond that, we will use external resources
whenever possible.
The overall Academic Plan is a five-year initiative. Among our specific
initiatives:
As we realign the institution, we will also be looking to enhance and
highlight our institutional distinctiveness, or those attributes that give us the
unique identity for which we want to be known and admired. This will be
important as we work to earn prestige and sustain public support.
Our students continue to exert leadership and to be involved with a variety
of activities to promote civic awareness, diversity, safety, and a variety of
issues. Tonight, the Campus Safety Forum is hosting two nationally
prominent experts in sexual-assault prevention in Rockwell Hall.
Students provided leadership for the expansion of library hours.
Construction has begun for the creation of a new late-night study quad in
Butler Library. This space will have traditional study areas, 60 computer
stations, private study rooms, its own separate entrance, and restrooms.
Expect it to open right after spring break, just in time for the big study
crunch!
For the purposes of Intercollegiate Athletics, Buffalo State is a Division III
school. In addition to developing leadership and team skills, a Division III
athletics program should also serve as a recruitment and retention tool. We
are delighted, therefore, that Buffalo State was awarded a 2002–2003
USA Today NCAA Academic Achievement Award. In November, Buffalo State
was honored for the Highest Student-Athlete Graduation Rate above the
Student Body Average for 1996–2002, which came with a $20,000 award.
Last year when I gave this speech, we were still awaiting the final report of
the Middle States Association for our reaccreditation. Not only were we
reaccredited through 2013, we received a commendation!
All of this adds up to a vibrant and expanding academic community. The
challenges we face are a reflection of the heights to which we aspire as we
seek to provide our students with the best possible academic experience. We
declare ourselves committed to becoming a nationally recognized leader in
public higher education.
Thank you, all!
Muriel A. Howard, Ph.D. 
A Visit with Toyomi Igus,
Igus's books focus on the African American experience and her own experiences
growing up in a multicultural Japanese–African American family. Through her personal
accounts, she will address the importance of multicultural literature and its role in the
elementary education and English education classrooms. Her visit to the college is part of
a five-day visit to Buffalo-area schools.
The event is supported by generous donations from the Strother-Maxwell Private
Foundation, Project FLIGHT, the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education,
the Buffalo State Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee, the Equity and
Campus Diversity Minigrant program, and E. H. Butler Library. Grant applicant: Amy
Rockwell, associate librarian, E. H. Butler Library.
Campus Services Employees Honored
Alberto Cappas (Custodial Services), Lawrence Clark (Campus Services and Facilities),
Bobby Demmons (Custodial Services), George DuBois (Central Receiving), and Carmen
Martorana (Campus Services and Facilities) each received $200. The awards are funded
by a planned gift from Horace "Hank" Mann, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor
Emeritus of exceptional education.
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SkillSoft E-Learning
More information about the SkillSoft E-Learning Program is available from the Human
Resource Management Web site,
www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr.
Employees also may register for courses on the site.
This month's SkillSoft courses may be taken in CyberQuad's Faculty/Staff Workroom, E.
H. Butler Library 310,
by appointment only; call Paul Reynolds at ext. 3361. Please check in at E. H. Butler
Library 315 (CyberQuad) before starting.
Webmaster Training
Alumni Association Upcoming Events
On your mark, get set, reunite! Enjoy an evening of great food, fellowship, and fun that is
sure to take you down memory lane. Reunite with former teammates and coaches at this
second annual event, cosponsored by the Buffalo State College Intercollegiate Athletics
Department.
Cost: $15
Stretch those legs, put on your running (or walking) shoes, and gear up for the seventh
annual Bengal 5K Run and Fun Walk. Proceeds benefit the Buffalo State Legacy
Scholarship Fund. Join faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the college in a
great time on the racecourse: Enjoy the benefits of good fitness and help raise scholarship
dollars. There are many volunteer opportunities available, as well!
Cost (before March 24): $18/general; $16/Buffalo State faculty, staff, and alumni; $10/students
Alumni, faculty, students, and friends of the criminal justice program and alumni chapter
will honor outstanding professionals in the criminal justice field at this annual banquet
and awards ceremony. James Joyce, Niagara County coroner, will be the keynote
speaker.
Cost: $35; $300/table of 10; $10/student sponsorship
For reservations or more information regarding any of these events, contact the Buffalo
State Alumni Association at ext. 6001 or alumni@buffalostate.edu.
Summer/Part-Time Job Fair
This is a great opportunity for students to meet with employers and discuss
summer and part-time employment opportunities. Employers representing summer
camps, business, industry, and community service organizations will be accepting
applications and conducting informal interviews. A list of participating employers is
available at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/cdc/sptparticipants.html. Please share this information with your students.
College Senate Meetings Curricular proposals should reach the College Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211, by Friday, March 12 to allow sufficient time for spring-semester processing. Proposals received after this date are not guaranteed action before the end of the semester.
New Courses:
PHY 507 Energy and Force Interactions for K–8 Teachers. Designed for
elementary teachers interested in gaining confidence in their understanding of
physics and the nature of science. Focus on interactions and energy. Topics
include energy, force, friction, gravity, magnetic fields, light, and electricity. Not
appropriate for students with extensive physics background.
Trustees' Designation:
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About
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