Although President William R. Greiner expects the New York state legislature to reduce the amount of tax money given to SUNY in next year's budget, the proposed tuition increase could fill the revenue void that the cut would create, he said during "Talk of the University," the monthly WBFO call-in show he hosted on Tuesday night.
"The expectation is that there will be a significant cut in the state tax support for state universities," Greiner said. "The proposal by the governor was to raise the tuition $1,200, and that increase would largely offset the tax support reduction."
Greiner said the $1,000 tuition increase proposed by the State Assembly in a report he read would not be enough to cover a drop in tax revenue.
"If that happens, and there is no restoration of state tax support, then that's going to be a serious loss for the SUNY system," said Greiner.
According to Greiner, conversations he has had in the past few weeks suggest a solution to a proposed cut to funding for the Tuition Assistance Program and the Educational Opportunity Program.
Greiner said these conversations have indicated "there will be a significant restoration of funding for the Tuition Assistance Program and for the (Educational) Opportunities Programs, somewhere in the order of $250 million."
Greiner said he does not expect the tax-support cut to affect the number of faculty and staff employed by the university, although some departments, such as University Facilities, have been hit by funding reductions in the past.
Greiner said the Center for Excellence in Bioinformatics does not expect adverse affects from the reduced tax support because the center relies primarily on government and private grants and industrial partners.
Greiner and Mike McKay - Greiner's regular co-host - also discussed the announcement earlier this week that UB set a record this year for research funding.
According to Greiner, the university received close to $239 million for various research programs, an amount he credited to, among others, Jaylan Turkkan, the vice president for research, and Provost Elizabeth Capaldi.
The president also credited the influx in research grants since the mid-1990s - which he labeled a "flat" period for research at the university - to a maturation of young faculty members hired during the period, who are now reaching their research prime.
Greiner said the university "is on track for another significant increase" in research funding next year, based on the success researchers at UB had during this fiscal year.
Greiner praised several departments, including the Department of Chemistry and the School of Social Work, for increasing the amount of funding they received over the past year.
"We positioned ourselves well during the '90s to be able to take advantage of this," said Greiner.
One caller asked Greiner to briefly discuss the upcoming Lee Road Project - a collection of student housing and commercial developments connecting the Academic Spine and the Ellicott Complex.
According to Greiner, a preliminary plan for the project calls for the inclusion of an "Alumni House," which he said would include a small number of guest-rooms available to alumni, a meet-and-greet center and conference facilities.
He said the project will play an important role in the development of the North Campus over the next "three, five or six years."
Tuesday's broadcast is expected to have been Greiner's final appearance on the show, since he is set to retire from the position of president in June.
Greiner said he would probably be emotional during the upcoming commencement ceremony, which will be his 13th as president of UB.
"I have mixed feelings about it," Greiner said. "I tend to be sentimental. I'll probably break into tears at various times during the weekend."
However, Greiner said, there is a chance he will be back in the president's office next fall. If the University Council does not appoint a successor to Greiner prior to the start of the fall semester, he said, he told SUNY Chancellor Robert King that he would stick around a little longer.
"Who knows?" Greiner said. "I may be back here next September."
