Reporter Volume 25, No.29 June 13, 1994

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor
After a delay of 69 days, the long wait is over and university
officials are calling UB's $22.1 million share of the $63.37 billion
1994-95 state budget "positive."
	Approved June 8 in the wee hours of the morning, it was the
longest a state budget had ever been delayed. But the news, when it
finally came, was good. Funding for the Tuition Assistance Program
(TAP), which Gov. Cuomo's budget proposal had threatened to slash, was
restored and operating funds were added to the budget for SUNY's
Graduate Education and Research Initiative.
	"UB is delighted that this budget has passed, and that it
offers both stability and some modest enrichment for SUNY. Resources
continue to be constrainedQUB and SUNY are far from having turned the
cornerQbut the '94-95 budget is a positive step. It doesn't represent
further reductions, it does support some critical areas, and it will
help keep us moving in the right direction," said UB President William
R. Greiner.
	"We are very grateful to Governor Cuomo and the legislature
for all their effort on the budget. We know that long hours of hard
work, careful thought and tough negotiation went into it. We
appreciate their commitment to making sound decisions for SUNY, UB and
all our fellow New Yorkers."
	Among the highlights of the budget:
	 $2 million for the Strategic Partnership for Industrial
Resources (SPIR), a new cooperative effort involving the engineering
faculties at four campuses that was initiated by George C. Lee, dean
of UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The goal of SPIR,
also involving the engineering programs at the university centers at
Binghamton and Stony Brook and the SUNY College at New Paltz, is an
economic development initiative aimed at bolstering the state economy
by promoting the transfer of knowledge from the university to industry
and by providing consultation and resources in industrial
restructuring.
		$2.025 million in continued state funding for the
National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER),
headquartered at UB.
	$5 million for educational technology initiatives at UB and
other SUNY campuses.
		$3.8 million in planning money for the Natural
Sciences and Mathematics Complex, Phase II.
		$30.3 million statewide in funding for the Tuition
Assistance Program (TAP).
		$10 million for SUNY's Graduate Education and Research
Initiative (GRI), of which UB receives approximately 30 percent. The
budget also includes $1 million for operating expenses, funds that
initially were not included in Gov. Cuomo's executive budget.
		$80,000 for UB's Rural Health Program.
		$12 million for undergraduate academic equipment to be
shared throughout the SUNY system. According to Voldemar Innus, senior
associate vice president for university services, these are funds that
schools and faculties will be able to use to replace or expand
equipment such as computer equipment, instructional support materials,
etc.
		$3 million for SUNY positions to facilitate graduation
rates. According to Innus, the funds will be used to add positions to
increase course access so students will be able to graduate on time.
Recent lean budget years resulted in reduced faculty positions, with
the consequence that not all students were able to take all their
academic requirements needed to graduate in four years. This funding
will help to address that problem.
	While the budget goes into effect July 1, "what is not in
place yet is the distribution of all that money to the individual
campuses," says Innus. Those figures are expected to come later this
summer, he added.