Moore discussed the university's plans for the Downtown Education Center at the Oct. 26 meeting of the UB Council.

A working group that includes the university, the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Public Schools and others this fall submitted a proposal for the $32 million project that would increase UB's presence downtown by combining service, research and instruction into an interactive and logistic model.

The project took root last December during a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., "as a result of the secretary of HUD looking at (the nation's) responsibility for public housing and saying we need to do more than look at bricks and mortar," Moore said.

"We have to do more to improve the community in which we reside, and Cisneros said we need colleges to get involved."

Taking up the challenge, university officials including Moore and UB President William R. Greiner met with local HUD representatives and put together a working group to look at what resources were available and what could be done locally. Agencies involved in the Downtown Educational Center working group include UB, HUD, the City of Buffalo, Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, Empire State Economic Development Corporation, Buffalo Public Schools, Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Greater Buffalo Partnership, Buffalo Place Inc., Stieglitz & Stieglitz Tries P.C. and Cannon Architecture.

What they came up with, Moore said, is a proposal for an interactive model that would offer instruction at the pre-k through post-baccalaureate levels as well as workforce preparation training and corporate training; services that include employment and job placement, counseling and referrals, oral health care and legal support; and applied research in areas that include urban housing and development, transitions from welfare to work, community needs and issues and industrial occupational health.

The proposed site for the new center is the block bordered by Broadway, Washington, Mohawk and Ellicott streets, adjacent to UB's Educational Opportunity Center at 465 Washington. In addition to construction of the new facility, the plan would include extensive renovation of the EOC and a walkway connecting the new facility to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.

The Downtown Educational Center has received overwhelmingly positive support at all levels of government, Moore told the council. She noted that all of Western New York's representatives have written letters of support for the project, and Rep. Jack Quinn is drafting legislation to be presented to Congress seeking $2 million to $3 million from the federal government.

"The fact that we got to see the (housing) secretary two weeks after submitting this proposal is amazing," Moore said.

UB Council Chair Philip B. Wels also had high praise for the project. "This is one of the very few projects I've ever come across that has had wholesale backing," he said.

Greiner added a voice of caution to the discussion. "There are many, many steps between conception and fact," he said. "Chances of this coming to fruition are far less than 100 percent."

He emphasized that external funding must be found for the project to occur. "We won't expose the assets and income of the university in this venture - it's too risky," Greiner said.

He added that if the project is successful, it will be a tremendous asset to the area. "The City of Buffalo and Western New York, if we can pull it off, will greatly benefit."

In his report to the Council, Greiner noted that SUNY is in for some interesting - and changing - times. He gave two examples-the executive budget and the Chancellor's budget.

"The governor is doing something quite innovative and creative, putting together the executive budget to present in December," Greiner said. Approval of the SUNY Chancellor's budget, an ordinarily routine action, was turned down by the SUNY Board of Trustees last month.

"In a very short timetable a new, active, very aggressive group has come in and said it was their job to turn over every rock, open every can," in an effort to improve the SUNY system, Greiner said.

Greiner and Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner "have worked more closely and with more intensity with the SUNY Board of Trustees than we ever have in state university history," Greiner said. "(Wagner) is in Albany 2-3 days a week working on committees that are doing a total review of the way the university is organized and structured. They are turning over every administrative process" to see if there are better ways to run the State University system.

"The Central Office is under so bright a spotlight that I feel sorry for them," Greiner said. "Every aspect of the State University is under intense scrutiny."

Greiner reiterated the need for tuition revenue to be made available to the campus generating it, and "the new trustees are very interested in this," he said.

"I do not envy the trustees their job," Greiner said, adding that the current trustees "face problems greater than any trustees have faced, and they will have to be accountable for them."

These are times "fraught with tension, but some good things are going to come out of it," he said.

Greiner also commented on the Students for Life exhibit that recently engendered demonstrations and public debate. He noted that "it is the kind of demonstration that you would expect would elicit a response....That is what universities are about, an open forum for discussion."

Greiner added, "We got a lot of coverage on it but on the whole, the university came out of it head held high....This university will always support First Amendment rights."

In other business, Student Representative Michael Pierce posed a list of questions regarding UB's budget and possible departmental cuts that could result. A tense exchange ensued and Greiner requested that such questions be submitted to him in advance. "I'm not objecting to the questions, I'm objecting to the process," Greiner said. The meeting was ended abruptly because of a medical emergency.