September 22, 1994: Vol26n3: Enrollment, budget, Public Safety on University Council agenda

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor
The University Council started off the 1994-95 academic year taking a
look at enrollment statistics, the budget, and UB's policy on arming
Public Safety officers, as well as welcoming two new members to its
ranks.
	Jonathan Dandes of Rich Products and a vice president of the
UB Alumni Association, and student representative Chris Castallo were
introduced to the Council at its Sept. 8 meeting.
	UB expects to meet its overall enrollment targets this year,
according to Robert L. Palmer, vice president for student affairs, and
have "a very strong freshman class coming in."
	The academic profile of incoming students shows a mean grade
point average of 90 and a mean SAT score of 1095, a 30-point increase
over last year, Palmer said. And although UB has seen "some modest
slippage in (the number of) first-time freshmen and some slippage in
transfer students," when the final numbers are in the university
expects to see a marked increase in student retention.
	Palmer also reported on the "extensive discussions" that have
taken place on campus regarding extending the number of hours Public
Safety officers will be armed.
	"Between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. officers are armed
only on special occasions and are required to otherwise carry the
weapon in a locked box" in their patrol cars, Palmer said. The new
policy would enable officers to be armed 24 hours a day, except under
special circumstances."What we're moving toward is something that is
the norm at most college campuses," noted Greiner. Officers at the
three other SUNY University Centers and Buffalo State College are
armed around the clock, as are officers at virtually "every other
public university" in the country with a few exceptions, he added.
	The 1994-95 New York State budget showed "no budget reduction
to SUNY for the first time in eight years," said Robert J. Wagner,
senior vice president for university services. Among the highlights of
the budget were: opening/operating funds for the new Natural Sciences
and Mathematics Complex; $700,000 to address library needs; GRI
capital and operating funds; funding for the new Educational
Technology Initiative, and $500,000 in support for the Law School
Initiative, which will be used for needs such as facilities
renovation, computers, and expansion of the faculty and curriculum.
	UB still faces a number of financial challenges, Wagner noted,
including a significant number of onetime funding sources and the
state's "difficult fiscal future." UB must continue its efforts to
diversify its resource base, especially its non-state resources.
	In his report to the Council, Greiner discussed his plan to
form a Board of Visitors, which would serve as both an advisory and
outreach board important to UB's political and philanthropic efforts.
	He also discussed military recruitment on campus. He noted
that he has instructed Wagner and Palmer that "we will assiduously
enforce" the State Supreme Court's order, but that the order, "if
interpreted too widely, would step on the rights of students."