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State budget brings good and bad news for UB

UB President John B. Simpson
WBFO news photo
UB President John B. Simpson

By Joyce Kryszak

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-949873.mp3

Buffalo, NY – Governor Cuomo's proposed cuts to SUNY likely will directly affect students and programs, according to UB President John B. Simpson.

UB has already absorbed $63 million of cuts over the last few years. Now, Cuomo has proposed an additional ten percent cut for the SUNY System. Just how much UB would have to absorb of the roughly $170 million cut is still unknown.

UB President Simpson said UB has already tightened the budget as far as it could without affecting academic programs. But he said now everything is on the table.

"I think literally everything is in play this year, and in play in ways in which I've never seen in my career in higher education," said Simpson.

He said they will have to consider academic cuts, as well as cuts to student support programs and community outreach. Still, Simpson said the news could have been worse. Even larger SUNY cuts had been rumored.

And there was good news for UB 2020. The governor is calling for SUNY schools to have control over purchasing and entering public-private partnerships. Allowing them to set tuiton rates, however, was not included in the executive budget.

Simpson said it is a start.

"Governor Cuomo's budget at least began to make some head-way at changing some of the restrictions we've had to better determine our future," said Simpson.

But he added that the governor's proposed budget is just the beginning of the debate with state lawmakers over the provisions for UB 2020, the funding cuts and all the other details of the budget.