Archives
Changes in budget process have curbed impact of static state budget, Capaldi says.
By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor
Changes in UB's budgeting process over the past few years have, for now, effectively bullet-proofed the university against a static state budget, Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi told members of the Faculty Senate Tuesday at the group's first meeting of the academic year.
Because the level of future state funding remains uncertain, Capaldi is pushing hard to make sure UB continues to generate its own revenue as a cushion against the tide of higher education cuts creeping across the nation as states grapple with the continuing impact of a sluggish economy.
"We've seen quite a bit of increase in revenue, but no increase in the state budget. A bad economy has had a negative effect on funding in higher education," Capaldi said, noting that due to those revenue increases, UB was able to cover $9.7 million in salary increases that are part of collective bargaining contracts without an increase in state funds.
"Despite that, we didn't have that bad a year," she said.
Through continued reorganization at the administrative level, Capaldi said, the university last year alone realized $1.6 million in savings. Meeting enrollment goals also has netted a $10.5 million increase in tuition revenue over the past two years, she explained.
The university retains 100 percent of its tuition funds, with half going to the decanal units that generate the tuition and half going to UB's centrally allocated budget. Capaldi said the budget process also increased indirect cost recovery by $1.3 million, with 12 percent going back to decanal units. But that's not to say things are flush. "We're pretty close to the bone here at UB," Capaldi stated.
Plans are in the works to tap the empty classroom space available during the summer by scheduling additional programming, which would be a further source of revenue for the university. Capaldi said she's been involved in planning sessions with deans to generate ideas and programs to capitalize on the space that often sits idle during the summer months.
In other business Tuesday, Vice Provost Robert J. Genco, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Oral Biology in the School of Dental Medicine and director of the Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR), reviewed the office's mission and structure, and its progress over the past six months.
Genco reported that during the second quarter of 2002, STOR received 19 new technology disclosures, with 11 disclosures in the process of being patented or copyrighted. Of those 11 disclosures, five are targeted for licensing to existing companies for development and three will be developed through start-up companies.
"It's important not to let technology fall through the cracks," he said, noting that pursuing licensing or start-up companies for technology development had stalled in the past because of the tremendous amount of effort, interaction and collaboration required between the inventor and a private investor. He said one of the primary goals of STOR is to make that process as stress-free as possible.
Genco described other challenges faced by STOR, including fostering an entrepreneurial culture among faculty and students, and the difficulty of obtaining venture capital funds for start-up companies, especially in Western New York. "It's difficult to overcome the built-in bias against Buffalo," he said.
However, he pointed out, UB is second in the region only to Praxair in the number of patents awarded.
STOR is in the process of developing a venture-capital fund and a New York State technology fund, a philanthropic fund that, according to Genco, should be in place soon.
Streamlining the process of technology transfer will be further enhanced with a jargon-free manual of procedures outlining the tech-transfer process, which will be available on STOR's Web site at www.stor.buffalo.edu within the next couple of weeks, he said.