By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Governor David Paterson's proposed state budget will include significant reforms to the public higher education system in New York. It will give the State University of New York greater flexibility to become centers of jobs creation.
The reforms are intended to free SUNY from an "over-burdensome system of overregulation threatening the ability of our public higher education system to successfully adapt to changing educational and fiscal circumstances," Paterson said.
Paterson's proposal will do for the entire SUNY system what University at Buffalo President John Simpson was seeking for UB last year. Simpson says that includes giving SUNY trustees the authority to set differential tuition rates for individual campuses, based on the recommendation of the college president.
"These are common-sense reforms that will create no additional costs for taxpayers, while providing flexibility to the State University of New York," Simpson said.
The State Senate passed a bill last year that would have given the University at Buffalo the authority to go it alone under its UB 2020 program. But the bill stalled in the State Assembly after legislators in other areas of the state wanted similar flexibility for other SUNY campuses.
Full implementation of the UB 2020 strategic plan will increase UB's annual economic impact on Western New York and New York State from $1.7 billion to $3.6 billion and create thousands of new jobs.
Click the audio player above to hear Mark Scott's interview with President Simpson now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.