The 50th Anniversary State University Five-Year Capital Investment Program, which was formally announced by the governor on Tuesday, also includes $1.1 million for design work for renovating the coal-fired heating plant on the South Campus and $3.6 million to renovate and equip campus buildings with high-technology laboratory sites to be funded in the first year, 1998-99.

The 1998-99 plan also includes $7.3 million to be shared among 13 campuses, including UB, to fund replacement of PCB transformers.

In addition, as part of the five-year program, Pataki proposes that UB receive an undetermined amount of money, to be included in the 1999-2000 state fiscal plan, for the Comprehensive Health Science Education Center on the South Campus.

The governor's five-year, $3 billion investment program is "big news for State University and City University," commented Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner at a divisional Service Excellence Assembly Tuesday morning, shortly after some details of the governor's plan were made public.

"This is a positive move by the executive."

The multi-year, capital-budget funding will allow UB and other SUNY and CUNY schools to implement long-term planning and speedier completion of capital projects, Wagner said.

The plan includes $200 million system-wide for technology projects to encourage innovative methods of instruction and learning. Wagner noted that initiatives in technology have been a financial struggle for the university, but with the increased funding provided by the governor's capital plan, "we might be able to make some real progress on that front."

UB's share, which could be as much as $3.6 million, is "a big allocation in support of technology that we've not had in the past," Wagner said.

The plan also includes a campus-matching program that would provide incentive funding for UB and other SUNY campuses to raise non-state funds for campus-enhancement projects. According to the governor's plan, the state will pledge $20 million as its share of a $40 million program. Guidelines for those projects will be established by SUNY system administration, the governor's office and the legislature.

Although details of the campus-matching program were not immediately known, Wagner said the state was expected to match, dollar-for-dollar, funds raised from private sources.

Quality-of-life projects also will benefit from the governor's plan. The governor's program will pump $50 million into SUNY for campus-improvement projects such as day-care centers and other projects that will improve the overall appearance of campuses or enhance their responsiveness to student needs.

"This enormous support for advances in technology and building rehabilitation will provide our campuses with the necessary tools to help us continue to attract high-quality faculty and students, and offer them the best possible atmosphere and environment within which New Yorkers can learn and grow," said SUNY Chancellor John W. Ryan.

The proposal, he added, "will do more to ensure a better higher education for our children than any other single proposal I can imagine."

Thomas F. Egan, chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees, also praised the plan, noting that "By making available modern classrooms, residence halls and laboratories with state-of-the-art technology, the State University will be able to provide increasing numbers of New Yorkers with a college education of thoughtful content and superb quality" and "boost our momentum as we move into the top ranks of American higher education."