According to President John B. Simpson, the low cost of tuition at UB could be putting the university at a disadvantage when it comes to keeping up with the competition.
At Tuesday's Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) meeting, held at the Center for Tomorrow, Simpson acknowledged that UB does not compare favorably with similar-sized public research universities around the country. He attributed this shortcoming to inadequate state funding and excessive red tape.
"Our school has a paucity of resources," he said. "In comparison to Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and others, we spend about $25,000 per student. Other schools average $45,000. The student-faculty ratio at our school is 11 to one. At other schools, it is 6.5 to one. In other areas, the disparity is also just as obscene."
Simpson urged for an overhaul of state policies toward higher educational funding.
"We need to have rational tuition that is tied to at least two indices of inflation. Our polls indicate that students prefer the gradual increase to the roulette style tuition policy we have now," he said. "The state also needs to allow us to issue bonds and take on debt to finance our efforts."
According to Simpson, chronic shortfalls in state funding have harmed research universities like UB more than the lower echelon schools.
"While comprehensive institutions like Buffalo State and community colleges match their counterparts countrywide, research universities like us are the most disadvantaged in funding," he said. "This is why our graduate stipends are $7,000 less than the national average. This is why we are not competitive."
It will be the task of members of the UB Believers program to contact their New York State representatives by mail, e-mail and phone to ask for more state aid for the University. Simpson believes that the initiative will spread the message that a thriving UB can improve the local economy and create much-needed jobs.
"We have to focus on economic impact-nothing sustains a community's economy better than a research university," he said. "We already have over 2,600 people enrolled. The lawmakers will not listen to me, but they will listen to people who vote for them."
As part of a UB 2020 progress report, Simpson described the recent expansion of faculty and explained that 24 of the new positions contributed directly to the strategic goal of developing UB's reputation as a research university.
"In the last three years, we have hired over 270 new faculty and staff. We had a net increase of 94 professorships," Simpson said. "I think UB is doing pretty well."
He also touted the renovations on the campus promenade and the purchase of the M. Wile building in downtown Buffalo as other positive additions to UB's strategic plan.
"In addition to several other locations, the M. Wile site will enable us to establish our presence in downtown Buffalo," he said.
However, Simpson recognized that he did not have a plan to resolve the problem concerning the building's historical landmark status, which may hamper efforts to clean up its EPA contamination.
"With enough money, there are ways to fix it, but I don't have any specific plans yet," he said.
UB Provost Satish K. Tripathi also addressed plans to construct new dormitories which could alleviate the student housing crunch. He envisions an environment that integrates living and learning, and connects the University to the outside world.
"Right now, we are separated from the world by parking lots like a moat. Students can spend four years here without leaving campus," he said. "Any construction project will focus on bringing the world into the campus."
According to Tripathi, UB will build one 600-bed dorm at an undetermined location and a second dorm near the academic spine.
"The dorms are both being designed right now. We support the integrated approach rather than construction by happenstance," he said. "So, we will take the housing shortage in the short run knowing that in the long run we will have something well-designed and well-planned."
Tripathi also discussed plans to establish the School of Bioengineering. He lamented that many well-qualified students-females in particular-have chosen other institutions over UB due to its lack of a bioengineering program.
"The School of Medicine and the School of Engineering will work together to create a School of Bioengineering. It will be housed jointly within the two schools. We will use the faculty from the two parent schools to teach," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
