The proposal would maintain tuition at its current level and includes an $8 million increase for the Tuition Assistance Program.

The governor has proposed a total operating budget for SUNY of $1,584.5 million, an increase of $74 million over the 1997-98 appropriation of $1,510.5 million. The spending increase covers salary adjustments and a portion of inflationary costs, but falls $11.4 million short of the SUNY trustees' budget request.

State support for operations for the state-operated and statutory colleges would rise by $87 million, or 12 percent, above this year's level.

The amount of state allocation coming from university income sources-mostly tuition-would decline by $13.4 million to $768.1 million, 48.5 percent of the budget compared to 51.7 percent of the budget in the current fiscal year.

That reduction is due to a declining aggregate in system-wide enrollment in the past several years, explained Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner.

President William R. Greiner called the plan "a very benign budget.

"It's a standstill budget from our point of view," Greiner said. But "at least it gives us some breathing space to absorb the reductions that have occurred over the last 10 years."

The coming year will prove to be "very challenging, in terms of how we balance our needs for additional investments and a whole variety of things," he said.

"The good news (with the executive budget) is that we will not be forced to deal with more reductions; the bad news is that we're still absorbing the effects of earlier reductions."

The news about the operating budget comes on the heels of the announcement of a five-year, $2 billion capital budget proposal for SUNY that would fund construction of a new mathematics building on the North Campus.

"To see in the executive budget support for the university on the operating and capital side to the extent we've seen is a very positive step," said Wagner.

Greiner also praised Pataki's capital budget, noting that if the governor continues along that line in terms of capital investment, and if the campuses are given more operating flexibility, UB "will probably do very, very well."

The Pataki operating budget provides $615 million for TAP, an increase of $8.1 million over this year's figure, which SUNY officials say fully funds all students who are currently eligible. It also includes $7 million for the Scholarships for Academic Excellence program to expand scholarship opportunities for New York residents attending public or private institutions in the state. The plan would increase the top award for the merit-based scholarship to $1,500 per year from $1,000, and double-from 3,000 to 6,000-the number of $500 awards available to students demonstrating high scholastic achievement.

Terry Gates, associate professor of music and chair of the Faculty Senate Budget Priorities Committee, criticized the Pataki proposal, saying it "doesn't come close" to repairing the damage caused by years of budget cuts.

"We need restoration of operating funds," Gates said. "I'm hopeful the legislature will add to this. I hope they don't see the increase (over this year's budget) as a substitute for (additional) operating funds."

Wagner noted that although the executive budget does not address all the needs of SUNY, "the starting place is so different from where we've started from in the past."

In the past, "a great deal of legislative attention has gone toward restoring proposed reductions," he said. Since the governor's budget rolls forward the current year's spending plan, additions by the Legislature should be "dollars for improvement and investment, not dollars to make up a deficit," he said.

Wagner said that "high on the list" of SUNY legislative initiatives will be to obtain additional support for the community colleges, since none was included in the executive budget. Pataki proposes to continue the current level of $1,900 per funded community-college student for base operating aid, while SUNY had requested a level of $2,050 per funded student.