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Tripathi praises signing of NYSUNY 2020

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: Aug. 11, 2011

President Satish K. Tripathi applauded Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signing on Tuesday of legislation to implement the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program and institute a rational tuition plan for SUNY, citing the bill’s potential to transform public higher education in the state and enable UB and other SUNY institutions to increase their impact on the state’s economy.

“We applaud the governor for signing this historic legislation, which will have a transformative impact on the University at Buffalo, on public higher education in New York State and on our region’s economy and quality of life,” Tripathi said.

“This legislation gives the University at Buffalo the tools to move forward in implementing the next phase of our long-range vision of excellence so that UB can have an even greater impact and more expansive reach in the communities we serve.”

Cuomo said the provisions of the bill, which was passed by the state Legislature in June, will position the SUNY system “to become the engine of economic growth across the state.”

“The $140 million in new capital funding (provided through the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program) will build these schools into America’s leading institutions of research and innovation, while also creating jobs for New Yorkers and improving our state’s economic competitiveness,” he said. “Under the new tuition plan, students and parents will be able to reasonably plan for college expenses instead of being subject to the dramatic tuition increases and uncertainty of the past.”

UB will use funding provided by the bill to offer students the very best academic programs, hire new faculty in a variety of academic disciplines across the university and spur regional economic development through groundbreaking faculty research and education of a talented workforce.

The bill authorizes all SUNY campuses to implement a rational tuition plan that gives the campuses the ability to raise tuition up to $300 annually for five years.
In addition, as a component of the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program, UB and the three other university centers in Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook may implement a rational “plus” tuition plan by including an additional 3 percent increase—based upon a $75 fee and an up to 10 percent tuition increase for out-of-state students—annually for five years, conditioned on the approval of their applications for challenge grant funding by Cuomo and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.

To receive funding through the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program, the four campuses have submitted detailed, long-term economic and academic plans.
UB’s plan would use the university’s share of the first-round funding—$35 million—as a down payment to build a new facility for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in downtown Buffalo.