(FREDONIA, NEW YORK) - United University Professions (UUP), the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, has come out strongly against a plan to discontinue 13 Degree Programs and Associated Faculty and Staff at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia to reduce a projected $17 million deficit - caused in large part by a severe lack of State funding to SUNY campuses during the former Cuomo Administration.

UUP President Fred Kowal said UUP - which represents more than 38,000 Members at 29 State-operated Campuses and SUNY’s three Teaching Hospitals, will do all it can to fight the planned cuts and save jobs at the Western New York campus.

“UUP will stand against any and all attempts by SUNY and administration to cut programs at SUNY Fredonia and any other SUNY Campus,” said Kowal, who traveled to SUNY Fredonia at the end of October to meet with UUP Members there. “We will fight every step of the way because we must.  The heart and soul of SUNY - our Members, our students and our communities, hangs in the balance.  “(This) announcement is no more than a continuation of the systematic dismantling of SUNY that started under former Governor Cuomo.  Further, it is a direct attack on the Union Workers who do the work of educating students at SUNY Fredonia and SUNY campuses across the State.”

The program cuts represent 15% of all majors offered at the college.

During their announcement, administrators were unclear about exactly how large the deficit is at SUNY Fredonia.  They cited a $10 million deficit and also cited a $17 million deficit.  Also, they were unable to say how much money the campus would save by discontinuing the 13 programs.

Kowal criticized SUNY’s so-called restructuring plan for SUNY Fredonia, calling it a “manufactured crisis” intended to further reduce enrollment.

“This is about shrinking smaller campuses that don’t make money,” Kowal said. “And it flies in the face of SUNY’s own mission, to provide the highest quality educational experience with the broadest possible access through a geographically distributed system of diverse campuses.”

SUNY had more than enough money to erase the deficit at Fredonia and multi-million-dollar shortfalls at 18 other campuses, UUP says.

Through its strong advocacy, UUP was instrumental in securing $163 million in new direct State funding to SUNY in the 2023-2024 budget, a record investment in SUNY by Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature.  But the SUNY Board of Trustees chose to distribute the lion’s share of that funding to SUNY’s University Centers, UUP said.

SUNY Fredonia received $2.8 million.

SUNY Potsdam, which plans to cut 10 Degree Programs and Staff to reduce a $9 million deficit, got $2.5 million, according to a SUNY Board of Trustees resolution.

“The money is there to close deficits at (18) campuses, but SUNY chose to distribute it another way,” Kowal said. “Instead of working to grow enrollments at these campuses, SUNY is using enrollment decreases as a reason to enact these cuts - which will further lower enrollments and could possibly lead to campuses being closed.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Press Release | UUP vows to fight program cuts at SUNY Fredonia (uupinfo.org)

Photo Courtesy Of UUP’s Facebook Page.