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SUNY Presidents to Lawmakers: An Investment in SUNY is an Investment in NYS Future

Scott Willis
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WAER News

  

The leaders of five SUNY Schools today put their collective voices behind a plea to state lawmakers for more investment in their institutions as the they begin budget negotiations this week. The leaders gathered at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, where president Quentin Wheeler said almost half of the buildings in the SUNY System are 45 years old or older.

"There are lots of maintenance issues and especially like us (ESF) that's very science, technological and engineering intensive. We have a lot of laboratories there are health and safety with that."

CEO of  Upstate University Hospital Dr. John McCabe says funds are extremely limited for any kind of physical improvement.

"My capital checkbook today is at zero. My need right now for that is borrowing authority. I have one pool of funds to spend at the moment. If it comes down to replacing the roof at University hospital this week it's competing in the same pool of dollars as a new nurse at the bedside. That's intolerable for us and the citizens of Central New York"

But it's not just infrastructure.  SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum says it's about providing opportunities for students who are just looking to get ahead.

"Cortland has 6300 undergraduates. We actually had this fall 370 students who mom and dad did not make $5,000 last year. Think of that. In here there are in college and  in one generation we will break the cycle of poverty. They will become doctors, teachers and business people, it is an extraordinary story. "

Onondaga Community College President  Casey Crabill affirms the benefits of a SUNY investment on New York State's future.

"If you look at the institutions represented in this room you can see the pathway from the very beginning of higher education thru everything those students could imagine whether it is being a scientist or being a doctor or being a teacher, that is what SUNY makes possible." 

The leaders are calling on Lawmakers to create a new investment fund to support student programs and services to help them graduate, and extend the SUNY 20/20 Program, including a tuition policy that helps students plan their expenses for their entire college career.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
/
WAER News
(L-R)Dr. Erik Bitterbaum, Dr. Gregory Eastwood, Dr. Quentin Wheeler, Dr. John McCabe, Dr. Casey Crabill, University Hill Corp. President David Mankiewicz, and Dr. William Murabito

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.