UB Professor of Higher Education and former SUNY Chancellor D. Bruce Johnstone told FSEC members, during their Feb. 14 meeting, that he and other leaders of SUNY and Cal State, meeting in Los Angeles and New York City, have nearly completed work on a statement on principles of productivity.

The statement will call for enhanced shared governance between administration and faculty, greater academic freedom and a continued emphasis on seniority and tenure, but within universally recognized fiscal constraints that public institutions are likely to face for some time to come, according to Johnstone. If adopted largely as it now reads in draft form, Johnstone explained, "this will be a document that will surprise a lot of people, outside people who feel faculty aren't held accountable or subjected to merit review as other professions."

Interest in developing this statement grew out of "watching decision makers in both states gather around tables and say, 'The faculty are the problem' and realizing there were no faculty at those tables," said Johnstone, who was recruited for the project by Vincent Aceto, president of SUNY's statewide University Faculty Senate.

Once a final draft is agreed upon, Johnstone expects the statement to be "circulated widely" among faculty in each state for input. He stressed that this was an area where faculties, and unions would have to work closely together to succeed.

FSEC members heard an update from Jean Dickson, president of UB's chapter of the United University Professions, on the union's lobbying activities in Albany. Dickson distributed a list of the union's legislative priorities and spoke about positions the union had taken that differed from SUNY's, including opposition to hospital spinoffs and differential tuition.

Provost Thomas Headrick applauded the union's efforts generally, but took exception to their position on differential tuition. "I think this notion of competition between colleges and university centers is quite overstated," said Headrick. "We would be a better and stronger university if we had differential tuition." Under the proposed differential tuition legislation, campuses would still have to "make their case" to the Board of Trustees before they could charge any incremental difference in tuition rates, Headrick noted.

Johnstone advised FSEC members that the time for "intellectual discussion" of SUNY's budget has passed. "Simply put, the legislature needs to hear a whole lot of angry words" from SUNY supporters, he said. "There is absolutely nothing important about SUNY to Gov. Pataki," said Johnstone, "I don't think he dislikes SUNY, but he loves tax cuts." The legislature, which is normally supportive of SUNY, is now in a quandary. The deep cuts proposed to SUNY give legislators an "out," according to Johnstone. "They may not like it, but if they let this just happen, look at the budgetary problems it will solve for them in other areas," he said. According to Dickson, union representatives are hearing from state legislators that there will be restoration; "It's just a matter of how much."