The Buffalo Center Chapter of the United University Professions (UUP), the union that represents many UB faculty and staff members, will hold a referendum to demand that UB "break all ties" with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Business Council of New York State.
UB UUP members met Monday afternoon in the Student Union Theater to finalize the language of the referendum. The next step is to hold the referendum; it will go out by mail to all of UB UUP members, and if a majority supports the referendum, the union will proceed to take action against the university, according to Michael Behun, the president of UB UUP.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP) and the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS) are chambers of commerce at the local and state levels, respectively.
Union members see the university's involvement with the two organizations as incompatible with the mission of a public university. One version of the referendum reads, in part:
"The Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Business Council of New York State engage in lobbying and partisan political activity unrelated to the legitimate mission of SUNY."
The BNP operates a political action committee called the Committee for Economic Growth, which advocates for and against political candidates and public policy on behalf of the BNP.
In the upcoming elections, the BNP has publicly endorsed Republican Chris Collins for Erie County executive, Democrat Paul Dyster for mayor of Niagara Falls, Republican Chris Jacobs for Erie County clerk, Democrat Mark Schroeder for Buffalo comptroller, and Democrat Craig Bucki for state assemblyman.
UB President Satish K. Tripathi sits on the BNP's Board of Directors, and the university is listed as part of the BNP's "President's Circle" of "major investors," alongside businesses such as Bank of America, KeyBank, and First Niagara.
University spokesman John Della Contrada said that UB is interested in improving the Western New York and New York State economies, and he said that the school must engage with the BNP and the BCNYS to accomplish that goal.
He also pointed out that many universities nationwide are members of such organizations.
"The SUNY mission clearly states that SUNY institutions should participate and share their expertise with local governments, school districts, businesses and civic organizations for the purpose of enhancing the economy and well-being of the community," Della Contrada said in a statement to The Spectrum. "For this reason, UB has been a member of the Business Council of New York State since 1992 and has been a member of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and its predecessor organization, the Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce, since 1951."
Della Contrada's statement refers to the portion of the SUNY mission statement that reads, "The state university shall...encourage, support and participate through facility planning and projects, personnel policies and programs with local governments, school districts, businesses and civic sectors of host communities regarding the health of local economies and quality of life."
When asked to comment on the UUP referendum, BNP Senior Director Thomas Murdock said the BNP has been a supporter of UB and its goals.
"The Partnership has worked since its inception 19 years ago to support UB's continued growth, as it is an economic powerhouse via the size of its operations, via the intellectual property it generates, and via the talent it has recruited to [and] retained in our region," Murdock said in an email. "We have been a major backer of UB 2020, particularly by having business, community, and government leaders agree it was the highest regional development priority in Buffalo Niagara. We continue to support UB and believe our efforts have significantly helped it achieve greater stature and have greater community impact."
But some faculty members feel that regardless of the support that the BNP provides to UB (or vice versa), UB's membership is unethical and possibly in violation of the law. The UUP referendum states that UUP "shall investigate and report to its members whether any laws or SUNY policies may have been violated."
"The referendum proposal reminds the UB administration of its core mission," said Professor James Holstun, of the English department, in an email. "UB is a public university obligated to serve the citizens of New York State. It's not a business, so it shouldn't be paying dues to a chamber of commerce like the BNP or the BCNY. It's not a private individual, so it shouldn't join them in endorsing political candidates and legislation. And it definitely shouldn't be contributing money, directly or indirectly, to the BNP's political action committee. If it's doing this, then the UB administration may be violating IRS guidelines and misusing public funds. That's a foolish and dangerous way to run a university."
Even if UB does cut ties with the BNP, it seems that it would only be a nominal gesture. The UB Council, the "primary oversight and advisory body to the University at Buffalo and its president and senior officers," would still have many additional connections to the BNP.
UB Council Chairman Jeremy Jacobs' Delaware North Companies is another "President's Circle" investor in the BNP; he is also vice-chair of BNP affiliate organization Buffalo Niagara Enterprise (for which UB also enjoys "investor" status). UB Council member Jonathan Dandes (president of Rich Baseball Operations) is chair of the BNP. UB Council Vice Chairman Mark Czarnecki (president of M&T Bank) and UB Council member Robert Brady (chairman and CEO of Moog, Inc.) serve on the BNP's board of directors.
Furthermore, UB Council members Pamela Heilman, Gerald Lippes, and June Hoeflich have leadership positions in organizations that are major investors in the BNP.
At Monday's meeting, UUP members also decided whether to include in the referendum an investigation of the recently reported $2,560 donation from UB to County Executive Chris Collins' re-election campaign. UUP decided to keep the issues separate, but it may pursue such an investigation in the near future, according to UUP members.
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