(SYRACUSE, NEW YORK) - United University Professions (UUP), the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, is expressing major concerns over a State University of New York (SUNY) austerity plan for the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse - a plan that if fully implemented would result in course reductions, funding cuts and a potential 20% reduction in Faculty and Staff.

Despite strong enrollment and a dedicated Staff and student body that has made SUNY ESF one of America’s top Environmental Schools, SUNY’s so-called “Stability Plan” for the college would also cut spending over the next four years - even though enrollment is projected to steadily grow during that time, UUP said.

A voluntary Early Retirement Program is already in place and the college has farmed out its police and dispatch services, payroll and purchasing to Upstate Medical University, SUNY Brockport and SUNY Oswego, respectively.

SUNY ESF’s Graduate Program is also in jeopardy, the Union added.

SUNY’s plan was put in place to address a $6 million structural deficit, which UUP President Fred Kowal attributed to a $10 million cut in New York State aid to SUNY ESF in 2012 that was never restored.

Restoring the funding that was cut more than a decade ago would wipe out SUNY ESF’s deficit and provide dollars to increase course offerings to meet increased student demand.

Kowal said: “Now, at a time when President Trump is attacking science, cutting and freezing Federal research funding, dislodging long-standing environmental protections and literally extorting colleges and universities, it is inconceivable that the SUNY Chancellor would choose this moment to undermine one of the country’s most prestigious environmental schools. The Chancellor’s misguided attempt to dismantle SUNY ESF is helping to complete Trump’s agenda. We will not stand for this. We will fight, the same way we fought to save SUNY Downstate University Hospital in Brooklyn.”

UUP ESF Chapter President Matthew Smith said: "This structural disinvestment must end. For over a century, SUNY ESF has played a leading role in sustaining the woods, waters and wildlife of New York State and beyond. The science and expertise produced by ESF is needed more than ever before to repair the damage to science and education from short-sighted Federal funding cuts. Now is the time to invest in ESF, we cannot afford to play catch-up with our future.”

Smith said SUNY’s plan tasks SUNY ESF with reducing staffing by 18.9%, while increasing enrollment by 14%, and ending the Graduate Program as it currently exists, all while reducing our overall budget beyond these cuts.

SUNY ESF has never fiscally rebounded from the State’s decision to slice $10 million from its budget and a decade of flat State funding exacerbated the college’s deficit, despite steps taken by Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature to significantly increase aid to SUNY State-operated campuses over the last three years.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Press Release | UUP calls for state commitment, investment in SUNY ESF