The Executive Committee of the State University of New York Board of Trustees, meeting in Buffalo on Monday, July 22, approved a 1996-97 financial plan that allocates $120,418,200 in state appropriations to Cornell University's four statutory colleges. That allocation represents a shortfall of $2.4 million from the $122.8 million level required to support base-level programs plus cover the increased costs of operations, according to Nathan Fawcett, director of statutory college affairs at Cornell.

The SUNY trustees' action came after the New York State Legislature passed a 1996-97 budget on July 13, after more than three months' delay, that restores $51.9 million to the SUNY operating budget, prohibits a SUNY tuition increase for undergraduate New York state residents, restores full funding for the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and increases unrestricted direct institutional support for the endowed sector of Cornell (Bundy Aid).

The restorations to the SUNY operating budget leave a remaining gap in SUNY's financial plan of $46.7 million, which must be closed through management efficiencies, early retirements and program reductions.

"Although the shortfall of $2.4 million will require further program economies on the part of the statutory colleges, we are very pleased that the Legislature -- with the strong leadership of Assemblyman Martin Luster and Senator James Seward -- was able to close as much of the gap in SUNY's operating budget as it did," said Henrik N. Dullea, vice president for university relations. "And we are also pleased that we were able to reach agreement with SUNY that the allocation to the statutory colleges at Cornell of the remaining shortfall will be fair and equitable ."

The $2.4 million shortfall is substantially less than appeared possible soon after the presentation of Gov. George Pataki's executive budget last December. Although this relief is welcome news, Fawcett noted, "SUNY has advised campuses to plan a contingency reserve in the event the state requires a mid-year expenditure reduction to maintain a balanced financial plan. As the statutory college deans work with their departments to implement a 1996-97 financial plan, they will be considering the colleges' shares of the shortfall allocated by SUNY, potential mid-year adjustments, as well as any financial pressures stemming from other college income sources," he said.

In addition to funds received through the SUNY operating budget, the statutory colleges also receive state support through special legislative initiatives and through grants and contracts with other state agencies. The new budget includes a number of such initiatives for the statutory colleges at Cornell, including the Labor Studies Program and the Program in Employment and Workplace Systems (PEWS), a continuing Workers Compensation Study and a new Women and Work Institute in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations; the North Country Agricultural Development, Farm Family Assistance, Agriculture in the Classroom, Grape Entomologist and Golden Nematode programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; the Rabies Control Program and supplemental funding for the Mastitis and Avian Diseases programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine; and the Parent HIV/AIDS Education program in the College of Human Ecology among others.

On a universitywide level, special state funding for programs at Cornell included new support for the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State, increased funding for the NYS International Education Task Force and ongoing support for the Theory Center in Science and Engineering and the Center for Advanced Technology in Biotechnology.

In addition to Assemblyman Luster and Senator Seward, Dullea cited "the special assistance we received at this legislative session from key members of the Legislature that resulted in either new or increased funding for programs here at Cornell: Edward Sullivan, chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee; William Parment, chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee; Catherine Nolan, chair of the Assembly Labor Committee; John R. Kuhl, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee; Kenneth LaValle, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee; and James Wright, chair of the Senate Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee, who played a major role in the expansion of the North Country Agricultural Development program."

At least one contract program, the Equine Drug Testing Program conducted for the State Racing and Wagering Board, has been cut by approximately $150,000, which will require immediate steps to reduce program expenditures.

The restoration of TAP funding schedules will benefit eligible students in both the statutory and endowed divisions of Cornell. The state's ability to hold SUNY tuition constant also will benefit statutory college students. The statutory college tuitions approved earlier by the Cornell Board of Trustees anticipated an increase in SUNY tuition of $250 for resident undergraduate students and proportional amounts for other students. Proposals will be prepared for consideration by the Cornell board that will delete the SUNY portion of the planned increases in tuition. When the board has acted on those proposals, students and their families will be advised of the process that will be followed to adjust statutory rates and billings.