Mission Impossible?:

Reshaping the UCTs in the new millennium

New York state’s five colleges of technology are tucked away in the picturesque hills of New York’s northern regions, where people tend to seek work-related degrees so they can earn a living on a farm, on a golf course, in a greenhouse, or as a welder, veterinary assistant or arborist.

While agricultural programs once dominated these institutions — formerly known as agricultural and technical colleges — the demands of a changing economy have left tracks for technology to become a major player. At some of the campuses, technology has even supplanted agriculture as the dominant education offering. New technology programs have been introduced, and others have been expanded into four-year baccalaureate programs swiftly becoming the pride of SUNY’s University Colleges of Technology (UCTs): Alfred, Canton, Cobleskill, Delhi and Morrisville.

All these new initiatives present opportunities and yet they come with conditions that bear weight on the UCTs, already heavy with existing concerns. Financing the four-year programs is a concern; as is workload, salary disparity and enrollment-based budgeting.

“Imposing new assignments, such as the four-year degree programs at the five colleges of technology, means that sufficient state support is necessary for their success,” said UUP President William Scheuerman.

The state’s funding mechanism, RAM (known more recently as BAP), has already weakened the way in which the UCTs are supported financially.

“This objectionable scheme leaves the UCTs without the support they need for their innovative, yet expensive, programs,” Scheuerman said. “RAM rewards only those campuses with increased enrollments and research endowments.”

The UCTs are being asked to develop four-year programs and, while the state funding process allows more money for upper-level courses, it also rewards for enrollment. This puts the UCTs in a “Catch-22,” according to Frederick Monaco, chair of UUP’s statewide UCT Committee and president of the UUP chapter at SUNY Canton.

UCTs are asked to offer new upper-level courses, but they cannot get more money for them until they increase enrollments. They cannot increase enrollments, Monaco explained, if they do not have the money to hire faculty to teach the additional courses.

While the UCTs did receive “extra” money from the state this year, “it was nowhere near what we need,” Monaco said. “We all took a hit.”

Basing technology-based programs on enrollment thwarts any growth of those programs. UUPer Michael Murphy, a distinguished teaching professor in the natural science department at SUNY Cobleskill, who has participated in two formal presentations to the SUNY Board of Trustees on salary disparity, sees it firsthand every day.

Murphy cites Cobleskill’s histotechnology program: “Our graduates take biopsy samples and work them into microscope slides for the pathologist. It’s the only such program in a seven-state area. That program requires relatively small classes because it’s very, very technical, and has reasonably expensive equipment that needs to be replaced periodically. Our department has had an equipment budget of zero for the past seven years. That’s just one example. It’s clearly the way SUNY is distributing the money.”

At many colleges, class size ranges from 50 to 200 students and courses include textbooks, rather than advanced technology. SUNY’s enrollment-based funding plan would reward those campuses.

“But that 10-student histotechnology class services all of New York and another six states. The benefit financially to New York is enormous. Sometimes you have to make exceptions for special funding related to the technology,” Murphy said.

As reported in the January issue of The Voice, each UCT fell short of the 3.7 percent increase it needed just to meet operating expenses — two campuses received an increase of less than 1 percent.

SUNY focused on the fact that it was still an increase from the previous year.

“Each campus, in bottom-line dollars, received more money from the state,” said William Murabito, SUNY-appointed executive director of the UCT — formerly called the Strategic Alliance. “That’s the challenge of the campus, to meet its budget.”

He also promised that “there will be more money” for the campuses, and that the concern about funding has been brought to the UCT.

“As we move forward, there will be richer allocations for baccalaureate programs,” Murabito said. “As other issues develop, like the cost of technology, there’s a process for them to be considered by the RAM committee.”

Murabito noted that Chancellor Robert King’s recently announced proposal to raise $5 billion for SUNY will mean that campuses will have a goal of raising a total of $1 billion. Sponsored research will account for $1.5 billion, capital programs will generate $2 billion and $500 million will come from campus-generated revenues (students, campus services and operations revenues), according to King’s plan.

“Our (UCT) faculty have already been very successful with business and industry donations of equipment, which helps defray costs. It’s something we don’t have to buy,” Murabito said. “Also, it means students are working on the same equipment being used in their industry.”

Murabito said special funding has already been allocated by SUNY for items such as the new UCT admissions viewbook that is now circulating, increased advertising, enrollment management and a technology specialist on each campus to help develop distance learning. Administratively, a director of institutional research has been hired to collect and analyze data to help support campuses in management decisions. Another staff position is dedicated to resource development, including fund-raising.

The UCT will also be publishing a newsletter three times a year — aimed at legislators, campus faculty and staff — to bridge the information gap.

The four-color viewbook describes each of the five colleges and allows a student to apply to any of them with forms included the book. It will be sent to people requesting information on the UCTs and, this year, it will be promoted in states contiguous to New York, as well as in Canada and Asia. Different areas will be targeted next year.

It is this very idea of collectivity that inspired the creation of the Strategic Alliance about five years ago for the state’s agricultural and technical colleges. The alliance wanted to uniformly respond to the challenges they were encountering as small, specialized colleges competing in a savvy educational market. Today, that concept of togetherness has formally become the UCT, which works with the Presidents Council and the Advisory Council (which includes UCT presidents, faculty governance, business and industry representatives, and college councils). While all five campuses have unique, special missions, they share the common denominator of hands-on learning. “The Strategic Alliance was established so there would be a joint marketing strategy and coordinated degree development to avoid duplicate degrees,” reported Frederick Kowal, UUP chapter president at SUNY Cobleskill and statewide membership development officer.

At one time, a single financial officer was envisioned for all five colleges, but that plan has not materialized. Each of the UCTs, as of 2000-2001, went back to having its own budget line after a period sharing one budget slot in the trustees’ financial plan, according to Kowal. A common calendar was also planned, but that did not come about. One primary UCT issue that is still in the shadows — despite the presence of a unified, five-campus network — is salary disparity between the UCTs and the other SUNY colleges. The disparity affects both faculty retention and recruitment, according to Kowal.

The natural sciences department at Cobleskill, for example, lost five faculty members in eight years due to low salaries, according to Murphy, who added that two of them left to earn more money teaching K-12.

The 1984 UUP contract addressed salary disparity, and the state funded about 30 percent of the salary difference for the first year, then said it ran out of money.

“Since then, UUP has raised the inequity issue at each round of negotiations. The Negotiations Team was very articulate and comprehensive in arguing the position that salary inequities must be addressed,” Kowal said. “However, the state — and especially SUNY — seem unwilling to consider workable solutions.”

“The University is aware the issue has been brought forward and is in the process of reviewing it,” said Murabito. He said no timetable is set for the review.

UUP is stepping up its own review. An executive-level committee created during the last round of negotiations is now examining salary disparity between the UCTs and other SUNY colleges, according to UUP President Scheuerman.

While the UCTs forge further into the world of technology, distance learning and baccalaureate degrees, it is obvious that students are not the only ones with homework to do. Academic and professional faculty have to make changes and learn new methods, and advocacy remains a top priority.

— Liza Frenette

Power surge: Grants provide UCTs means for online degrees

Nearly a million dollars in federal grants have been awarded to the five University Colleges of Technology (UCTs) so they can jump into the world of online education, focusing on rural students and those who cannot attend classes during traditional hours.

Two grants totaling $991,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative program will enable the UCTs to formulate asynchronous distance learning, using the Internet. In asynchronous learning, there is no set time for class; students can read the materials any time of day, and can respond to comments from other students, as well as the teacher.

The new courses will be touted as a means for people in the workforce to take courses, benefiting the business community of New York. Business and industrial leaders who want their managers to upgrade their skills can have them take courses right in a plant. Individuals can also take courses on their own time.

“The grants will allow us to undertake workforce training,” said Frederick Kowal, UUP chapter president at SUNY Cobleskill and statewide membership development officer. “We should applaud the colleges for this and offer to continue our support to the UCTs in their drive to shift their mission. That’s all part of our legislative program.” According to Joseph Kennedy, president of SUNY Canton and chair of the UCT Presidents Council, which meets eight times a year, the funds will go through the SUNY Research Foundation.

“We’re using the money to develop online education. We hope to put a degree online,” he said.

The grant will be used as seed money to develop workforce bachelor’s degrees. The new UCT four-year degree in information technology, which a student on any of the five campuses can take, is an example of an offering that could be developed into an online degree, according to Kennedy. A second four-year degree in technology management, for which approval is still pending, could also be delivered online, he said. The technology degrees can be paired with other specialized areas, such as construction, financial services or telecommunications.

Details have not yet been worked out on how students would complete the lab and technological work necessary for earning a UCT degree. Kennedy said that the military is currently looking to develop a course that would use virtual reality technology for lab work. Some online degrees rely on brick-and-mortar colleges for student lab work.

“A lot of people aren’t able to come to campus,” said William Murabito, executive director of the UCT. “This will allow us to deliver courses to people in a variety of environments, especially the workplace.”

The actual garnering of the grant itself is being touted as an early success story for the UCT: Three years ago, the campuses banded together and hired a federal lobbying firm representing education to seek grants for them. The HUD grant was not a competitive grant, but rather an earmark, or member item.

Congressmen Sherwood Boehlert (R-New Hartford) and James Walsh (R-Syracuse) helped to secure the grant. Boehlert said the money would help develop the UCTs as workforce training centers. Walsh said the expanded educational outreach would help the UCTs build a skilled workforce statewide and enhance the state’s competitiveness.

Kennedy said the majority of the grant money will be spent on developing individual courses, which will involve hiring faculty to prepare the courses for online. The faculty member will be the “content expert,” according to Kennedy, and a specialist in online course design and management will set it up for the computer.

“For the first time through, it’s very expensive,” Kennedy acknowledged. Once a course is set up online, he said, expenses would lessen because the course and the design will be established. He said each online course will still be faculty-mediated and will have enrollment limits.

“It is the faculty role to create the educational product the college delivers,” Kennedy said.

“A cautionary note on workload is required here,” Kowal added. “There is a real need to get some commitment from SUNY on a workload statement just in the area of distance learning. We have been pushing for this for a long time.” The original UCT distance learning network was set up in 1996. It allows students at one campus to take a course offered at another campus through videoconferencing.

— Liza Frenette

Colleges of Technology to showcase their talents

On Feb. 27, each of the five University Colleges of Technology (UCTs) will set up displays in the Legislative Office Building to demonstrate what makes them tick. Showcasing the UCTs is an idea that UUP has revived because of the changing mission of the colleges and the need for resources to support those changes.

Academic and professional faculty from the UCTs will further spread the word about the need for more resources by lobbying legislators throughout the day as part of NYSUT’s Higher Education Lobby Day.

Tables and displays will be set up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that visitors can see firsthand the range and depth of the programs offered at the UCTs. The concept is one of an “open house,” except that the colleges are bringing their goods to the Legislature. They may not be able to bring along their greenhouses, fish hatcheries, golf courses, horse farms, computer technology centers, architectural design centers, medical labs or veterinary operating tables, but they will be demonstrating what student degrees are available by supporting these facilities.

“We will be accenting our need for resources as we move in the new directions, and we deserve them thanks to the economic impacts our institutions have,” said Frederick Kowal, UUP chapter president at SUNY Cobleskill and statewide membership development officer.

The theme of the event is twofold: “Moving Forward and Keeping Traditional Strengths,” spotlighting the college’s new four-year degrees, as well as showcasing the two-year technical degrees.

“The baccalaureates have arrived at the UCTs,” said Clayton Smith, a UUPer who chairs the enrollment and marketing team for the UCT. He is director of admissions and marketing at Cobleskill.

New four-year degrees include health sciences at Canton, equine science at Morrisville, agriculture business management at Cobleskill, computer technology at Alfred and golf-course management at Delhi.

At the last UCT showcase, which the union hosted five years ago, Canton college representatives displayed a wooden bridge that had been made to scale to demonstrate its engineering program, Smith said. Other campuses had interactive displays.

— Liza Frenette

AFT report questions if online ed is off course

Declaring that “educational quality, not financial gain, should guide where, when and how distance education is employed,” the AFT has drafted a set of quality standards for college-based distance education programs. With its release, UUP’s national affiliate also issued a challenge to those in Congress who propose sweeping changes in the rules and regulations that affect online learning.

Distance Education Guidelines for Good Practice is based on a 2000 survey of AFT members who teach distance learning classes, previous studies by the union and a resolution at AFT’s last convention.

The guidelines call for, among other things, clear standards for content support, technical support and counseling for students, protection of intellectual property rights and proper training for faculty. The guidelines also state that “full undergraduate degree programs should include same-time same-place coursework.”

Highlights of survey

In AFT’s survey of distance learning practitioners, the overwhelming majority enjoyed teaching through distance learning. Eighty-four percent of respondents indicated they would readily teach another distance ed course. However,

70 percent felt that no more than 50 percent of the classes offered in a degree program should be delivered through distance learning. Half of those polled received no added compensation or release time for the additional time necessary to develop an online course, despite the fact that 90 percent of those surveyed found a significant difference in preparation time necessary for the distance learning environment.

AFT President Sandra Feldman said, “The growing popularity of distance education calls for a close look at its application and an emphasis on developing and maintaining high standards.”

Added Feldman, “While online and distance learning are, in general, good options for taking one or more courses, this does not automatically mean that it is acceptable for an entire undergraduate degree program to have no in-class component.”

Congress to re-examine rules

Last month, a congressional panel, The Commission on Web-based Education, called for a full review of the regulatory barriers that impede the Internet. One barrier noted by the commission is what is known as “the 50 percent rule” that prohibits the granting of federal student aid to students who are not in a classroom seat for at least 50 percent of their academic program.

Commission Vice Chair Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), who has called the 50 percent rule “archaic,” said that “seat time is sort of irrelevant.”

With the exception of a handful of programs that have been granted waivers by the U.S. Department of Education, the class-time requirement has effectively barred online colleges from arranging federally backed financial aid for enrolled students. Said Feldman, “While we might favor some changes in the class-time requirement, we strongly oppose its wholesale elimination.”

“This law is on the books for a reason, besides the obvious education argument that education takes time, and time in class is beneficial,” she added. “An Internet-based degree program, like a correspondence school, is much harder to audit than a traditional program. The chances for abuse are greater.”

Congress will likely consider the elimination of the student 50 percent rule and similar regulations later this session.

General principles

AFT’s guidelines for distance learning contain the following general principles:

• Distance education students should be given advance information about course requirements, equipment needs and techniques for succeeding in a distance learning environment, as well as technical training and support throughout the course. No student should be offered distance education as his or her only opportunity to obtain a public college education.
• Close personal interaction should be maintained in distance education courses among students and between teachers and students through electronic means and, whenever feasible, opportunities for same-time same-place interaction should be provided.
• Equivalent library materials and research opportunities should be made available to distance education students.
• Assessment of student knowledge, skills and performance should be as rigorous as assessments in classroom-based courses.
• Academic counseling and advising should be available to distance learning students at the same level as it is for students in more traditional campus environments.
• Academic faculty should shape, approve and evaluate distance education courses. Faculty who teach distance education courses need to be adequately compensated and provided with the necessary time, training and technical support to develop and conduct classes. Faculty should retain creative control and intellectual property rights over the use and re-use of distance education materials.
• Full undergraduate degree programs should include classroom-based coursework, with exceptions for students truly unable to participate in classroom education.

The entire report, Distance Education Guidelines for Good Practice, and the survey can be found on the AFT Web site at http://www.aft.org/higher_ed/technology. Hard copies of the report are available for $2 by writing to the AFT Higher Education Department, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.

Keeping up with the Joneses

Distance education is one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education.

In addition to for-profit online businesses such as eCollege, Jones and the University of Phoenix Online, the nation’s top universities are increasingly adding their names to the list of for-profit online ventures. Columbia, Stanford, New York University and Temple are among those offering online degree programs. Some have partnered with former junk-bond king Michael Milken’s online higher education venture UNext.com. In fact, 70 percent of the nation’s more than 4,000 two- and four-year colleges offered online courses last year, up from 48 percent in 1998, according to Market Retrieval Service.

UUP President William Scheuerman, an AFT vice president and chair of AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council, said, “It is critical that we hold online programs to a high standard of academic rigor, and ensure interaction among students and with teachers.”

Added Scheuerman, “These degrees won’t be worth the paper they’re printed on, credits won’t be accepted for transfer and the people who earned these diplomas will have a hard time having them accepted in the workplace and elsewhere if standards are weak.”

‘Cautiously optimistic’:
Governor’s budget proposal is a step in the right direction

The governor’s budget proposal for SUNY is a step in the right direction but another step is needed to adequately meet the needs of the state university, according to UUP President William Scheuerman.

“It’s a starting point, but it’s the best starting point we’ve seen in years,” Scheuerman said.

Scheuerman said UUP was especially heartened that Gov. George Pataki, for the first time, publicly addressed the union’s top two legislative priorities — the need for more full-time faculty lines and a resolution to the fiscal crisis at the teaching hospitals.

Still, Scheuerman added, the Executive Budget is far from perfect. It increases the SUNY operating budget by $55 million, far less than the nearly $82 million requested by the Board of Trustees. That increase, if left un-changed, will meet contractual requirements and inflation costs but will leave little for other initiatives, including the full-time lines. Spending on more full-time faculty would be left to the discretion of the trustees.

“However, with the governor saying that full-time faculty is one of his priorities, our job will be easier when we go to the Legislature — which has always been willing to work with us,” Scheuerman said. “It’s now up to us to make our case and get more money to fund the lines.”

Scheuerman said the governor’s plan for the teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse was the result of years of hard work by UUP. He gave special credit to Rowena Blackman-Stroud, Edward Drummond and Raymond Colton, presidents at those health science center chapters, respectively, for helping to lead the fight. Highlights of Pataki’s plan for the hospitals include:

• The state will contribute $136 million over a seven-year period toward the total three-year accumulated deficit of $325 million; the hospitals will be required to raise the rest of the money over the same period.
• The state will provide $51 million to address the deficit in 2001-02; an extra $15 million will be applied to past years’ deficits.
• The governor will seek legislation that will provide “enhanced operation flexibility” and pursue other cost-efficiencies.

— Frank Maurizio

VOTE/COPE donations hit all-time high

UUPers did it again, establishing another record for contributions to VOTE/COPE, NYSUT’s voluntary, non-partisan political action fund.

UUP members, realizing the importance of political action to their professional lives, contributed more than $107,000 in 2000, up about 4 percent from the previous year. That total was part of the more than $3.5 million — also a record — raised for VOTE/COPE throughout NYSUT, UUP’s statewide affiliate.

“Each year, more of our members see the importance of VOTE/COPE and the effectiveness of their voluntary contributions,” said Alan Lubin, head of NYSUT’s legislative and political action program. “Our collective voice is made stronger by the willingness of our members to help fund efforts to get our issues heard and acted on.”

Eileen Landy of Old Westbury, UUP’s statewide VOTE/COPE coordinator, agreed, adding: “I am so proud of our members. Our totals just keep increasing.”

Landy cited the 2000 elections as proof of the effectiveness of VOTE/COPE-funded political action. She said recent legislative successes in Albany could also be attributed to VOTE/COPE.

“Through VOTE/COPE, UUP is a presence when it comes to legislative lobbying,” Landy said.

While just about all chapters upped their contributions, Landy gave special recognition to Brockport, Delhi, Old Westbury, Stony Brook HSC and Farmingdale — UUP’s top VOTE/COPE chapter once again — for significant increases. She also lauded the union’s retirees who, for the first time, had their own VOTE/COPE campaign.

Landy credited the regional coordinators for UUP’s VOTE/COPE success. They are Patricia Bentley, Plattsburgh; Edison Bond, Brooklyn HSC; William Canning, Oswego; Frederick Floss, Buffalo State; Frank Maraviglia, ESF; Malcolm Nelson, Fredonia; Robert Pompi, Binghamton; Edward Quinn, Stony Brook; Fayez Samuel, Farmingdale; Kathleen Southerton, Stony Brook HSC; Edward Van Duzer, Brockport; and Doris Weisman, Stony Brook HSC.

“None of this would happen without those people out there,” she said. “This really is done chapter by chapter.” Final VOTE/COPE contribution totals for 2000 will be announced later this month. The 2001 VOTE/COPE drive is now under way. Chapter leaders this month will receive new campaign materials to conduct local drives.

UUP President Scheuerman said this year’s campaign was as important as the last: “UUP must continue to press for its legislative agenda in Albany. We need to be ready to deal with whatever comes from the new leadership in Washington, D.C. We need to remain vigilant.”

— Frank Maurizio

Standing up for SUNY: Top lawmakers recognize the role public higher ed plays in New York

UUP knows — and values — the many friends it has on both sides of the political aisle. Friends who are willing to go out on a limb for public higher education in New York. Friends who understand that the state university cannot survive without proper funding and more full-time faculty.

In other words, Friends of SUNY.

Two such friends are Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who, despite powerful opposition on a number of fronts, have persevered in their fight to restore SUNY to its place of pre-eminence in American higher education.

In recognition of their dedication to the state university, these two legislative leaders are being honored as this year’s UUP Friend of SUNY Award recipients. The two are scheduled to receive their awards in conjunction with the union’s Winter Delegate Assembly this month in Albany.

“Without their advocacy and support for SUNY’s mission of quality, affordable and accessible higher education for all New Yorkers, this system would have seen massive layoffs, reduction in services, erosion of quality of instruction and support for students and curricula and, quite possibly, a few campus closings,” according to one of the nominating petitions, submitted by the Plattsburgh chapter. “We recognize that both these leaders have taken serious and risky steps to ensure continued — and even renewed — support for the state university.”

Bruno (R-Troy), who was first elected as the Senate’s president pro tempore and majority leader in 1995, has put education and economic development atop his legislative agenda.

As an example of his vision, the senator helped to create a new agency — the New York State Office of Science Technology and Academic Research — and has pledged to work with SUNY to provide funding for technology and laboratories. Additionally, he provided funding for SUNY Albany’s East Campus Research Center in East Greenbush, again leading the way to establishing the Capital Region as an area rich in technology.

Bruno also led the Senate in reconstituting the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI). He also allocated the necessary funding to bring NYSTI staff closer to former levels of employment and provided grant money to purchase and renovate buildings for NYSTI operations.

In honoring Bruno, NYSTI chapter nominators stressed: “Again and again, he has demonstrated both the vision to see the long-term value of SUNY to the people of New York and the leadership to put that vision into effective practice.”

Silver (D-New York City), who was first elected to the Assembly’s top leadership post in 1994, has made education the hallmark of his tenure as speaker.

Many of his pro-education initiatives have been supported by UUP and its statewide affiliate NYSUT, including LADDER (Learning, Achieving, Developing by Directing Educational Resources). This comprehensive program stresses academic standards and the need for early-childhood learning to achieve educational success and, at the same time, targets resources for smaller class sizes and vital school repairs. Through LADDER, the state also established the nation’s first pre-kindergarten program for all 4-year-olds.

“As speaker of the Assembly, and prior to that as an influential New York City assemblyman, Sheldon Silver has listened to his advisors and committees and to us, as advocates of SUNY and CUNY, to continue New York’s wonderful commitment to public higher education,” according to his nominators.

Widely acclaimed as one of the new Democratic leaders of this generation, Silver is dedicated to re-establishing the Assembly as the guardian of New York’s middle class and working families. In nearly a quarter-century of distinguished Assembly service, Silver has chaired a number of influential committees, including Ways and Means, and has received myriad awards and honors from religious, environmental, health care, education and community groups.

The Friend of SUNY Award is non-partisan and may be given to individuals, the media, corporations, agencies, organizations, labor groups or elected officials.

— Karen L. Mattison

Speaking out: Binghamton professionals evaluate their jobs; seek more input

UUP professionals at SUNY Binghamton want to have their voices heard about issues that affect their work environment and are interested in contributing to the organizational process at various levels of the university, though many feel they are not given the opportunity to do so.

Those were some of the results of a survey the union’s Binghamton chapter conducted of its professional members last fall, to assess job satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. While 72 percent said they’d like to be involved in decision-making at their department or program levels most or all of the time, less than half (49 percent) said they are. At campus levels above their own units, only 92 of the 250 respondents who want to be involved at least some of the time have that chance.

“We did this survey to take the pulse of our professional faculty and share the outcome with campus administrators, so our members’ concerns could be addressed,” said Darryl Wood, chapter vice president for professionals.

“The findings show that professionals, by and large, are fairly happy on campus because they are perceived well by their immediate colleagues,” Wood said. “But, outside of their departments, professionals are clearly interested in having an impact on university policy so administrators do not make system-wide decisions in a vacuum. Unfortunately, the survey responses show that not enough of our members feel they are welcomed into that process.”

Notably, more than 80 percent of respondents commended the school for its training opportunities and the unit-level support available for those choosing to enhance their skills. However, a similar number also noted a substantial increase in both workload and work complexity, without an accompanying boost in human and financial resources.

“Lack of resources is a statewide problem at SUNY,” said John Marino, UUP’s statewide vice president for professionals. “University decisions often get made as ‘unfunded mandates’ — whether it’s at the department, campus or systemwide level.”

Survey results were shared with Binghamton President Lois DeFleur and, at Voice press time, a labor/management meeting to discuss the findings was scheduled.

“Generally, I was very pleased with the positive aspects the professionals expressed about their work — they are involved and are kept involved, overall,” DeFleur told The Voice.

DeFleur wasn’t surprised about the workload increase, which she said is “very common in higher education,” adding that she wants to hear more about the issue when meeting with the union.

Of the 507 professional UUPers on campus, 301 — or 59 percent — completed the survey. Its topics were developed as a result of three focus group sessions, where cross-sections of the professional members were invited to respond to a series of open-ended questions.

“The response rate was impressive, which indicates the depth and breadth of commitment of professionals on campus,” Wood said. “Also, the feedback from the focus groups helped us develop a relevant survey. The areas addressed tapped into the real issues that professionals feel are important.”

The analysis of the results was made available electronically through the UUP Web site, enabling all interested members to see the complete report.

The survey — charged by the chapter’s executive board — was a natural follow-up to one a few years ago that questioned both academic and professional UUPers about campus administrators, according to Binghamton Chapter President Robert Pompi.

“Professionals, specifically, have another set of concerns,” Pompi said. “Compensatory time, the faculty promotional scheme and opportunities for supervisory feedback are different for professionals. This survey allowed us to get a clearer picture of the issues of a group of people we represent.”

Several of the issues — such as communication and consultation, workload and recognition for professional growth and advancement — merit further attention from supervisors, according to Fran Goldman, who ran the chapter’s survey with fellow UUPers Wood, Linda MacKenzie and Anthony Poole.

For example, Oracle — the integrated software program embraced at Binghamton over the last three years — has increased the duties of many professionals and brought a lot of their recognition and workload issues to the forefront, said Goldman, assistant to the chair of the department of art history and a UUP delegate.

“By and large, professionals will accept most increases in their workloads. They take on challenges and don’t want to get in a rut,” Goldman said. “We all understand that eventually, Oracle will make the flow of, and access to, information easier and freer. But, the transition to that point, which may be three or four years down the pike, is stressful.”

To Goldman, the survey responses characterize her colleagues’ bottom line as follows: “We like the challenge here, but look at, and recognize, the increase in our workload. Don’t take advantage of professionals’ goodwill to continue doing the job without some kind of reward. Instead, recognize us in some manner for our dedication and devotion, and our willingness to accept new challenges.”

— Lisa Feldman Reich

Binghamton’s heartland: Faculty forge new trails to rare nature preserve

What you hear, first, is the silence.

If you listen long enough, there’s the sweet noise of the red-winged blackbird through the thicket. A little later, there’s a blue jay chirp. And then, thanks to the warm fall, there is the trill of a peeper.

These are not exactly typical sounds of a college campus. But it’s all here at the SUNY Binghamton Nature Preserve, a special attribute of this university center. What makes the 190-acre gem even more special is that faculty invested in the land themselves, teaming up with university officials to buy adjoining private land to make sure the preserve stays, well, preserved.

Faculty who contributed to the purchase and upkeep of the land include UUPers Julian Shepherd and Anne Clark, associate professors of biological sciences; David Wilson and Dale Madison, professors of biological sciences; Richard Andrus, an associate professor of environmental studies; and Richard Pastore, a professor of psychology.Shepherd, who tends to a flock of prairie dog ticks in his lab when not out walking around the nature preserve, said a farmer owned land bordering the pond. Rather than risk its development, Shepherd involved faculty in buying the land. A successful grant helped, while the college kicked in money and the owner donated 14 acres.

That faculty responded with such fervor is no surprise. Some of them got their start back on Earth Day in 1970, when they laid on the ground alongside students in front of bulldozers ready to level the area and turn it into baseball fields. Administrators later backed off from their original plan, and it was agreed to create a nature preserve instead.

Now, students from biology, geology and environmental sciences are sent to the preserve on assignments. They observe, research and collect. Art students go there to draw.

Clark, a behavioral ecologist, uses the preserve with her students to research birds. One class of students donated money to build a bridge across the pond, which has expanded from five to 30 acres due to an ambitious beaver population that keeps constructing dams. Gnawed trees are found sprawled everywhere around the pond.

Clark said more land means more organisms, which is essential for the work of biologists.

“The nature preserve is a major resource,” Clark said. “The larger it is, the more diverse. Tiny patches of saved land are not as good.”

The loose-knit group of faculty, staff and students calls itself Friends of the Nature Preserve. They take hikes and make and fix trails, creating an array of marked paths that now wind through marsh, pond and forest land.

And they take time to tend to the small creatures of life. Madison made asphalt ramps so salamanders could successfully migrate across the concrete curbs from campus and into the preserve each spring.

Shepherd, reaching out to a redwing pond skimmer that has landed on the railing of a bridge, said his goal is simply to promote biodiversity.

“All species of nature are interesting and beautiful,” he said.

— Liza Frenette

UUPers in the news:

Paying tribute — Dozens of former students of David Landrey — a recently retired Buffalo State associate professor of English — paid tribute to his unique contributions to their lives, to poetry and to their community. The event included a reading by Landrey and inspirational performances by his students.

“I don’t think (Landrey) necessarily believed he was making a difference in our lives; I think he passionately believed that each of us could make a difference in the world surrounding us,” said former student Brian Lampkin in the weekly newspaper Artvoice. “It was a humble and powerful distinction.”

This is spinal tap — An Upstate Medical University scientist has been awarded a nearly $450,000 state grant for research aimed at helping to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Dennis Stelzner, a professor of anatomy and cell biology, plans to experiment with olfactory ensheathing cells and spinal cord regeneration. His research is funded through the two-year-old State Spinal Cord Research Trust Fund, which is financed through a surcharge on drivers for traffic tickets.

Stelzner’s $444,562 grant was one of 10 projects to receive $3.6 million in state funding for up to two years of research.

UUPers sought to advance pay equity

By Alyson Reed

In a recent poll conducted by Lifetime Television, working women ranked equal pay as a top priority for Congress in 2001.

Overall, 93 percent of African-American women, 91 percent of Latinas, 90 percent of Asian-American women and 87 percent of white women said equal pay and benefits for women should be one of the top policy priorities in the United States.

Fair pay is an issue with which America continues to struggle. The problem is complex. Sometimes, women and minorities don’t receive equal pay for doing the same job as their male or white counterparts. This can happen when the base salaries are unequal or when the opportunities to make more money are not distributed equally. Recently, CBS agreed to pay $8 million to 200 of its female technicians who filed a class-action lawsuit saying they had been denied favorable assignments, promotions and opportunities to work overtime. In addition, the plaintiffs said the work environment was generally hostile to women.

On a broader level, because socialization in America is not free from gender or race bias, women and minorities continue to struggle against stereotypes that make it harder for them to be hired and which lead to an undervaluing of the work they do, especially when they make up the majority of workers in an occupation.

Overall in 1999, the median annual earnings of women were only 72 percent of men’s salaries. That’s down from 73 percent in 1998. When looking exclusively at the earnings for women of color, the wage gap is even worse. African-American women make 65 percent of white men’s earnings and Latinas make only 52 percent. Men of color also experience wage disparities. The ratio for African-American men is 81 percent, while that for Hispanic men is 61 percent.

To help end wage inequities, the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), a nonprofit organization working exclusively to achieve pay equity in America, coordinates the annual observance of Equal Pay Day. This year, Equal Pay Day will be observed by thousands of local advocates on Tuesday, April 3. Tuesday symbolizes the day when women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous week.

UUP has been a valued member of NCPE and shares the goal of achieving fair workplace practices. Members of UUP can join the Equal Pay Day campaign to raise awareness about wage inequities and how to solve them. UUPers can help to mobilize their communities by holding a press conference, rally or panel discussion about the wage gap; asking women to wear red and carry red purses to show that women’s pay is “in the red;” and coordinating a workshop for women on how to negotiate a fair wage.

Participants around the country will be working toward concrete solutions, by meeting with employers and enforcement agencies in their states. Each local participant or “partner” receives a complete organizing kit, including background information on equal pay, activity ideas, media relations materials and buttons.

Working together is the best way to ensure that all Americans get the respect that comes with a fair paycheck. For more information on hosting an Equal Pay Day activity, contact NCPE by e-mail at fairpay@aol.com or by phone at (202) 331-7343.

(Alyson Reed is executive director of the National Committee on Pay Equity.)

Work in progress:

Let the healing begin — More than 280 registered nurses at Menorah Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., chose the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals/AFT as their new union after casting ballots in November. Menorah is one of 15 facilities owned by Health Midwest in the Kansas City area. The election at Menorah is part of the grassroots movement Nurses United for Quality Patient Care, which first got off the ground in 1999.

Steelworkers president steps down — United Steelworkers of America President George Becker, a member of the union for more than 50 years, will retire this month. Becker, 72, served as president of his local and in other union capacities before taking over the top post in 1994. He will be succeeded by Secretary-Treasurer Leo Gerard; General Counsel Jim English was selected by the union’s executive board to serve as secretary-treasurer.

Staying put — Members of the IUE-CWA Industrial Division at Quadrtech recently won their second major court victory in their effort to keep the Gardena, Calif., jewelry manufacturer from moving to Mexico. Prior to a National Labor Relations Board hearing on unfair labor practices, the owner settled with the 118 workers, agreeing to recognize the union, to stay in Gardena and to negotiate in good faith for a contract. A federal judge earlier had issued a rare injunction preventing the company from moving to Mexico.

Striking guild — As The Voice went to press, Seattle’s two daily newspapers made “final” offers to the more than 1,000 striking workers, but the Pacific Northwest Paper Guild claims the offers are incomplete. Guild members struck The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligence on Nov. 21, seeking higher wages and better benefits. The strikers’ online paper can be found at www.unionrecord.com.

Payback — Fighting back against their misclassification as “independent contractors,” 225 supermarket delivery workers recently won a $3 million settlement for pay they deserved but never received. The workers, mostly African immigrants in New York City, are members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/UFCW. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer launched the successful investigation of wage and hour violations.

Oswego UUPer teaches conflict resolution in Ghana

It may have taken nearly a quarter-century to heed the words of musical legend John Lennon, but people in some parts of the world are beginning to “give peace a chance.”

And UUPer Marcel Kitissou of SUNY Oswego is among those showing them how.

Kitissou, director of the college’s Peace Institute, recently took his nonviolence beliefs to the West African nation of Ghana. Kitissou, a senior staff assistant in the college’s political science department, was part of a multinational delegation that spent three weeks teaching conflict mediation skills to 40 parents, teachers and community members at the Montessori School in Kumasi, a city of two million people.

This summer, Kitissou will return to Kumasi to train students to resolve problems without resorting to violence. “The political situation in West Africa is unstable everywhere but Ghana right now,” Kitissou said, noting that the Kumasi school is drawing students from other countries. “We can train the students who come to the Montessori School and they can take home what they’ve learned.”

Kitissou said the program was very successful the first time around. The delegation had not expected 40 participants and was forced to split the Ghanaians into two 20-person groups. The first segment was trained in basic and advanced conflict resolution; the second received basic training only.

It was hoped the Ghanaians would apply their training not only in their professional lives, but also at home, Kitissou said. “To resolve conflicts without violence was a big discovery for them,” he noted. Religious leaders even planned to use it for disagreements between churches.

The concept of conflict resolution was a popular topic in Ghana, even before the delegation arrived. The country’s president, Jerry Rawlings, had gone to Japan to take courses in the subject.

But it wasn’t always easy to convince the Ghanaians to view the world as a global community, Kitissou said. “They want to be Ghanaians first,” he said, and then be trained in international skills.

“What has emerged from global culture is an elite more eager to control global technologies than to respond to the needs of their communities,” Kitissou said. “This school focuses on rooting students in their own culture first, then giving them skills for the international arena — practically the reverse of what’s going on in other places.”

— Karen L. Mattison

Ethnic groups to meet

A joint conference representing national study groups for different ethnicities is set for Feb. 12-17 in Houston. UUPer Linda Nell Phillips of SUNY Fredonia is one of the organizers.

Represented are the National Association of African American, Hispanics and Latino Studies, the International Association of Asian Studies and the National Association of Native American Studies.

Phillips said the three groups joined forces last year to fill a void for scholars and writers of various races and ethnic groups who were looking for an outlet to publish and interact. Last year’s conference included nearly 600 presentations, some of which were published in the coalition’s Journal of Intercultural Disciplines.

For more information, contact Lemuel Berry Jr. of Morehead State University at (606) 783-2650.

Briefly:

Solidarity is theme of Winter DA — The union’s 2001 Winter Delegate Assembly agenda is chock full of business and comradery, ranging from a keynote address on the plight of workers in the Mexican maquiladoras to the presentation of this year’s Friend of SUNY Award winners.

Union organizer Martha Ojeda, executive director of the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, will offer a firsthand account of the harsh realities of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Mexican workers. The six-person band “Solidarity Singers” — including Albany UUPer Lawrence Wittner — will entertain delegates following the keynote address.

Immanuel Ness, an assistant professor of political science at Brooklyn College/CUNY and author of Organizing for Justice in Our Communities: Central Labor Councils and the Revival of American Unionism, will keynote the Speaker’s Forum.

Meanwhile, the union will present Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver with this year’s Friend of SUNY Awards for their continued support for the state university (see related story, Page 5). Scheduled to speak during the academic delegates meeting is Michael Engel, author of Struggle for Control of Public Education: Market Ideology vs. Democratic Values.

Delegates will also debate a number of policy issues at this DA.

At your service — New UUP Administrative Office employees ready to serve union members are: Abigail Zenner, who was recently hired as research/legislation assistant. Her main duty is to assist in the development and implementation of research and legislative projects, including constructing various databases, conducting UUP surveys and providing monthly membership reports. Zenner earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin. Kenya Coleman is on board as secretary to the statewide vice presidents. She provides numerous support services, including preparing correspondence, processing mail, scheduling meetings and helping with travel arrangements.

Also, Robert Trimarchi has left his post as UUP’s research/legislation assistant to serve as the union’s technology administrator. His duties include help-desk support, computer training and network administration.

Disability survey serves many purposes

The UUP Disability Rights and Concerns Committee wants to know if people with disabilities are having their needs met on campus and, at the same time, looks to build a “disability community” throughout the state university.

“We’re in this thing together,” said committee Chair Sally Knapp, a UUP delegate from SUNY Albany. “We have a responsibility to make SUNY accessible to people with disabilities. UUP is a wonderful forum for us to have our voices heard.”

Knapp said the statewide committee was charged by the union’s Executive Board with monitoring SUNY’s implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and making recommendations regarding disability rights. To meet the charge, the committee has begun a two-part investigation that includes a 28-question survey and a campus-by-campus review of ADA compliance.

Results of the investigation will also aid the committee in developing a SUNYwide network among people with disabilities.

The survey

Close to 1,000 UUPers responded to the survey, which was distributed to members by chapter presidents last fall. Of the respondents, 235 are people with disabilities; 70 have volunteered to monitor ADA compliance on their campuses.

Survey responses were not cross-tabulated and results were not finalized at Voice press time. But early indications are that SUNY still has a lot of work to do.

“We have heard complaints from some of the respondents,” Knapp said. “On one campus, for example, many of the buildings do not have handicap-accessible bathrooms.”

In addition to demographics and types of disabilities, the survey questioned what accommodations, if any, SUNY has made for people with disabilities. The committee is also answering requests to contact respondents directly to discuss their personal experiences.

The committee will meet early this month to discuss the distribution of survey results, according to Thomas Kriger, UUP director of research/legislation.

Monitoring compliance

The ADA requires all public facilities to meet its regulations. Soon after the legislation was passed, SUNY instructed each of its 64 colleges to appoint an ADA coordinator and to conduct campus-by-campus self-evaluations to determine if regulations were being met. ADA self-evaluations, as well as the mandates outlined in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, were to be completed by 1995, according to Knapp.

“Our monitors will see how well their campuses have done in meeting the charge of self-evaluation,” Knapp said. If she were to venture a guess, she wouldn’t doubt that a number of regulations have been overlooked. “Some campuses think they only have to build a ramp to be in compliance. Our monitors will be looking for things such as accommodations for the hearing impaired and braille maps for the blind.”

Knapp said a “checklist” will be distributed to monitors before the end of the semester. The checklist, still in draft form as The Voice went to press, will include specific areas the committee would like monitored.

“We are not claiming to be experts,” Knapp said. “We are looking to gather information so we can make recommendations for changes.” Monitors will also be asked to provide the committee with a list of concerns specific to their respective campuses.

Building a community

The committee will use the information to foster networking among people with disabilities on the 29 state-operated campuses.

“The idea is to bring these people together to form a disability community,” Knapp acknowledged. “In the past, people in a wheelchair never felt they had anything in common with a blind person. But we do.”

Knapp, a librarian, maintains SUNY Albany’s systemwide listserv that provides disability-related news and serves as a forum for communication on relevant issues. More than 40 survey respondents have already signed on. For more information, contact Knapp at sk314@csc.albany.edu.

— Karen L. Mattison

To the Editor: Many thanks

The Disability Rights and Concerns Committee thanks everybody who responded to its survey last fall. The committee also thanks the chapter presidents who distributed the survey and Tom Kriger, UUP director of research/legislation.

The response far exceeded our expectations. More than 40 people have been added to our disability listserv. Seventy volunteered to assist us with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) monitoring; 28 asked to be contacted individually. We will also be contacting those people who want to network with others using the same adaptive technology.

— Sally Knapp, Chair, Disability Rights and Concerns Committee

Candidate statements due March 16

Delegates to the union’s 2001 Spring Delegate Assembly will elect three statewide officers and six Executive Board members.

In addition to electing board members, delegates will cast their ballots for president, secretary and membership development officer. Of the nine people elected to these posts, two must be professionals and one must be from the specialized college category.

In accordance with DA policy, candidates running for statewide elective position may have statements printed in The Voice, which is mailed to all members of the UUP bargaining unit. The following provisions apply:

• Candidates may submit a statement of up to 500 words and a photo for publication in The Voice. If a candidate wishes to submit a lengthier statement, it will be set in smaller type to give all candidates equal space.
• Candidate statements must be typed and double-spaced. Candidates are encouraged to submit statements by e-mail or on computer disk, accompanied by a typed copy. The Voice can accept files in Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, DOS-Text and Ascii.
• Statements and photos must be received in the UUP Administrative Office, 159 Wolf Road, Albany, N.Y. 12205-1177, by the close of business Friday, March 16.
• Candidate statements will be published by order of election and in alphabetical order in even-numbered years and reverse alphabetical order in odd-numbered years.
• All materials must be supplied by the candidate and will not be returned.

Note: Individuals interested in submitting a candidate statement should contact The Voice for editorial guidelines.

Planning for retirement

Too young to retire? UUP cannot help you meet the age requirement sooner, but we can tell you how to potentially increase your retirement income. The answer is to contribute to a 403(b) program.

UUP endorses the Aetna Opportunity Plus* program — which is a variable annuity issued by Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company (ALIAC). Why? Opportunity Plus offers more than 30 investment options, allowing you to tailor investments to personal objectives, time and level of risk tolerance. Also, Opportunity Plus has well-trained representatives who can help you identify long-term goals and develop a plan to attain them. The representatives who work with the SUNY campuses are professionals, and are held to strict standards set by UUP and NYSUT.

How does the program work? The 403(b) program — similar to the private sector’s 401(k) program — provides UUPers the opportunity to use pre-tax dollars for retirement planning, allowing participants to set aside part of their pay through payroll deduction and invest it in one or more investment options.

First, you decide how much of your income you can afford to invest, up to the IRS maximum. That amount is automatically set aside from your paycheck and invested for you in the investment options you choose. Because contributions are deducted from your pay before income taxes are assessed, you pay less current federal and state taxes. And, you don’t pay taxes on interest earnings until you withdraw the money, usually at retirement. As a result, you have shifted income from peak earning years into later years when you could be in a lower tax bracket. Remember, this will not impact or reduce your pension system’s retirement benefits. Also keep in mind that you can participate in a 403(b) plan regardless of the pension system you belong to.

The 403(b) account that you establish is yours to take with you, even if you leave SUNY. But there may be penalties for withdrawals prior to age 59 1/2.

How do you start investing for retirement? First, contact the Aetna Investment Services, LLC, representative assigned to your location. To find out who that representative is, contact the office located at UUP headquarters at (800) 438-1272 or call the Aetna Opportunity Service Center at 800-OPP-INFO (677-4636).

If you already participate in a 403(b) program, whether with Opportunity Plus or with TIAA-CREF, it is always a good idea to schedule periodic meetings with your representative to see if your investment choices still meet your expectations.

Prospectuses are available which contain additional information on the charges and expenses. Read carefully before investing. Financial planning services offered by and Securities distributed through Aetna Investment Services, LLC (Member SIPC), and authorized broker/dealers with which it has a selling agreement. Variable annuities are long-term investments designed for retirement purposes. Early withdrawals may be subject to a 10% federal penalty if taken prior to age 59 1/2. Money distributed from the annuity will be taxed as ordinary income in the year the money is received. Variable annuity sub-accounts fluctuate with market conditions and, when surrendered, the principle may be worth more or less than its original amount invested. UUP is reimbursed by ALIAC for administrative costs and expenses in support of the Opportunity Plus Program.

Gail Maloy

Long-term care insurance helps with the unexpected

Long-term care is assistance with the routine activities of daily living — such as eating, bathing and dressing — for an extended period of time. The need for long-term care can occur at any time and at any age due to an unexpected accident or serious illness.

Why should UUP bargaining unit members buy long-term care insurance when they already have medical or disability income insurance? These types of insurance typically do not cover the cost of long-term care services. A member’s finances could be quickly depleted without additional insurance to help cover the cost of long-term care. Medical insurance and HMOs cover traditional medical services, such as hospital care, doctor visits and medications. Disability income insurance is designed solely to replace a portion of lost wages for those unable to work. Medicare provides only limited coverage for long-term care services, and members may have to be a certain age to qualify. Medicaid generally won’t provide assistance for long-term care until most of a person’s assets and income have been used to pay for the cost of care.

Bargaining unit members considering a long-term care policy are encouraged to examine the MetLife Long-Term Care Insurance plan endorsed by NYSUT Benefit Trust.

Members are also encouraged to consider signing up immediately because rates are based on the participant’s age as of the date MetLife receives the enrollment form. (Other carriers base the rate on age as of the effective date of coverage.) The longer members wait to get coverage, the higher the cost and the greater the chance of developing a medical condition that may preclude coverage.

Members are able to customize the plan to meet their specific needs.

For more information, call the long-term care insurance experts at MetLife at (800) 638-0133.

Gail Maloy

The Last Word

Plan today for tomorrow: Working life and retirement are a continuum: Are you thinking ahead?

By Pearl Brod and Claire Meirowitz

Why should you, a working member of UUP, be concerned about retirement? Sure, you’ve thought about it, and there are days when you’d give your right arm to retire right then and there. But, in general, retirement is pretty far from your everyday concerns.

Well, speaking from the other side of the fence, there are some things you should consider. After all, during your working life, you think about and plan for retirement in many ways. You put money into pension funds, annuities, insurance, bank accounts, mutual funds and the like — all for your future retirement.

Then you retire and are at the stage of life when you are no longer salaried, but dependent on the steps you took and the choices you made during your working years to provide for your future. The two stages of life are interdependent — and that’s why interaction is needed between you, as salaried, unionized employees, and us, as retired UUP members.

And, by the way, the benefits that UUP negotiates for you now are those that you’ll have during retirement. If it weren’t for the union’s persistence, we wouldn’t have the health, dental and drug plans and the many other benefits we enjoy as union retirees. Therefore, the strength of working together as a union carries forward into the rest of your life.

But, by the same token, not only do you have to provide for your financial future, you also have to lay the foundation for your collegial life after retirement. You’ve probably made many friends at work and your colleagues respect you for your achievements. But what happens when you walk out that door for the last time? Unless you’ve worked with your colleagues to prepare for that day, you may be in for a major shock.

For example, some SUNY colleges and university centers provide retirees with office space, secretarial support, parking privileges, library privileges, an e-mail account, campus newspapers and newsletters, invitations to major events, retiree associations and other such goodies — all of which are richly deserved after a lifetime of service. But, at many other SUNY campuses, retirees are dropped like hot potatoes. It can make retirees feel as though the rug had been pulled out from under them. One day, you’re respected, admired and useful. The next, you’re history as far as your campus is concerned.

So, what can you do to make sure you’re in Column A rather than Column B? You can work now with your colleagues in a number of ways:

• First, find out what the story is for retirees on your campus.
• If you find your campus offers retirees some — but not all — of the benefits mentioned earlier, you can work with your UUP chapter to set up a retiree “arm” that can, in turn, lobby for the perks.
• If your campus is one of those that totally ignores its retirees, your path is clear, with nowhere to go but up. Working with your UUP chapter, you can do something about the situation. Working alone, you probably won’t succeed.
• We know that all SUNY colleges and university centers have alumni associations. Why can’t they also have retired-employee associations? We can do many things to aid our campuses, from contributing funds to helping faculty to mentoring students, and more. Retirees and working employees have much to offer each other.

(Pearl Brod is chair of the UUP Committee on Active Retired Membership. Prior to retirement, she served as dean of students and as a professor of psychology at SUNY Farmingdale. Claire Meirowitz is editor of The Active Retiree, the newsletter for UUP retired members, and was director of community relations and publications at SUNY Old Westbury before retirement.)

To the Point: A hopeful first step

By William E. Scheuerman
UUP President

It may be a little too early to say with absolute certainty, but it appears that SUNY’s chancellor and the trustees are actually on their way to becoming serious advocates for the University. And if they are, I don’t think it’s out of line for UUP to take a little credit for the change. After all, participants in Albany’s political arena know that UUP is an established and effective player in state politics.

Given the infinite number of agencies and organized interests seeking finite state dollars, we know from experience that the governor is unlikely to recommend an increase in SUNY’s budget if the trustees don’t ask for one. Why should he when so many other agencies do ask for more? In the past, the trustees didn’t ask for much, if anything, in the way of new money. UUP was always there to remind the trustees of their responsibilities as caretakers of our great public college system. This fall, UUP was at it again. We had several meetings with SUNY leaders to discuss ways of improving the University’s budget and how we might work together to make SUNY a better University. I say with great caution, we may be on the right track. Just look at what’s happened so far.

This year, SUNY’s trustees broke their old mold. For the first time in recent memory, they asked the governor for a real increase in funds. They requested money to cover the costs of collective bargaining and inflation. They also asked for funding for several initiatives that respond to our call to introduce qualitative criteria into the University’s fiscal plan. The new initiatives include funds for more full-time faculty posts, the hiring of distinguished faculty, technology resources, student-life improvements, and library and academic support services. Did they request enough money to solve all of SUNY’s problems? No. But they were more aggressive than in the past, and their budget request sent a clear message to the governor that it’s time to invest more in SUNY.

On Jan. 16, the governor released his budget proposal. It didn’t provide the trustees with everything they asked for, but it, too, was a step in the right direction. It contained $55 million for collective bargaining and inflationary costs, but no monies for the trustees’ new initiatives or new faculty lines. Significantly, the governor’s budget message publicly recognized the need for new full-time lines at SUNY, a major breakthrough given the fact that, in past years, SUNY leaders campaigned against new faculty positions. This should make our effort in the Legislature to get new faculty lines a little easier this year.

That’s the good news. The bad news is the trustees’ budget request to the governor did nothing to address the hospital shortfall. But numerous conversations with the chancellor and the governor’s aides reassured us that the forthcoming plan had to be acceptable to UUP. What is acceptable to UUP? A plan that solves the hospitals’ fiscal plight, providing it has no negative impact on the hospitals’ employees or on their teaching and public missions.

At Voice press time, we don’t have full details. What we do know is somewhat encouraging. The budget provides some monies to address the structural deficit at the hospitals — some $51 million more for fiscal year 2001-02 and $15 million for previous years. It also provides a seven-year plan to allow the hospitals to pay off past debts. While the money doesn’t come close to resolving the more than $300 million shortfall, it’s a step in the right direction. As important as the money, is the governor’s public acknowledgment that there is a problem with hospital funding and his proposal takes steps to address the problem. And the governor publicly recognized the hospitals’ public mission — an issue that was up for grabs in recent years. We remain cautiously optimistic as we prepare to begin our search for devils in the details.

All-in-all, we’re in a better position than usual to get a little help from our friends in the Legislature. And you can count on us to use our full political clout to build on what the governor has already proposed.