King addresses SUNY Faculty Senate
At UB meeting, new chancellor sets goal of $1 billion for sponsored research

BY MARA McGINNIS
Reporter Assistant Editor

In an address to the SUNY-wide Faculty Senate in Buffalo last Friday, Chancellor Robert King told senators that his major objectives as the new chief administrative officer of the university system include a sponsored-research goal of $1 billion, an enhanced public image through better marketing and advertising strategies, and an aggressive effort by the campuses to attain alumni involvement and support.

Appointed only six weeks ago, King set a Faculty Senate record by devoting the most time ever-more than an hour and a half-to a single senate meeting by a chancellor, according to senate President Joseph Flynn.

King, whom Flynn referred to in his introduction as "uniquely prepared" for his position as chancellor, is Gov. George Pataki's most recent budget director and also has served as county executive and as a criminal prosecutor in Monroe County.

The new chancellor told the state university governing body that it has become remarkably clear to the people of America today that the "thing most vital to the future of this state and the future of this country is brainpower.

"Despite our political differences, I think we all share a common recognition that we are on the edge of this remarkable time to come in the history of mankind with the advances in medicine, computing, physics, chemistry, biology," said King, noting President Clinton's recommendation in last week's "State of the Union" address to increase research funding to such organizations as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

"The public is coming back to the realization that they need the university more than any other time in the past...The premium on knowledge and the acquisition of knowledge has never been higher."

He noted that employers today are looking for well-rounded, broadly educated college graduates, particularly people "who know how to learn."

"The challenge for us, it seems to me, is to recognize those realities out in the world and use the time that we have with our students to give them the skills, the knowledge, the preparation, and not just the love of learning, but the knowledge of how to learn, regardless of what they learn. We've got to keep the university vital and forward-thinking and commit to a common set of goals and objectives.

"My job is to manage this big system," said King who added that he doesn't "lead by dictation."

He explained that he wants to decide "where we want to go and how we want to get there together" and explained that-with the help of the campuses-he will be conducting his own mission review for the entire system.

"I think our challenge is to be working toward a goal that says the young people we educate can fully participate in this new, knowledge-demanding world. If we do it right and we tell our story, I think the future for this university is as bright as it has ever been."

King said it also is his responsibility "to be an advocate for the university."

He added that what has surprised him most since his appointment has been "learning about the array and the diversity and the dimension of great things going on here at all of (SUNY's) campuses that unfortunately very few people know or understand.

"I am a fairly observant and well-informed person...But however much I thought I knew about the state university, I was absolutely wrong. And what I'm learning about the state university and how great it truly is-due principally to the work (of the faculty)-is a story that is too well-concealed from the public."

Part of his responsibility, he told the senate, is going to be to "tell that story because it is compelling."

"We need to tell that story better and more often...Press releases are not enough." He said he plans to use his knowledge of advertising to coordinate marketing strategies across the system at each of the campuses.

"You and your colleagues are going to be the 'stars' of that advertising," King told the senators, adding that they should "get ready to go on television."

On budget matters, he noted that the state university did "great" in the budget proposal for next year.

He also said that certain new incentives in the 2000-2001 budget proposal, although not directly related to SUNY, would impact the university system by bringing in new students. One is a program that would help recruit and educate new teachers for secondary education and the other is a plan to reimburse people who want to pursue careers in the hard sciences the equivalent of SUNY tuition for every year they work in New York State, for up to four years.

Regarding the financial stability of the university hospitals, he said he is "not committed to do anything in particular other than fix the problem," but added that he intends to reach out for help to other teaching hospitals in the state.

King commended Pataki's $2 billion capital plan, saying it was recognition by the governor that the SUNY campuses had gone for too long without the necessary repair, maintenance and upgrade that were desperately needed.

"There's a lot of (state) resources (for SUNY), but they are not enough. But the fact that they are not enough and will never be enough should not be the end of the discussion or the start of the complaining that we like to do because we didn't get as much as we want. There are a whole host of other sources of financial support out there that we have to go get.

"The provost already has undertaken a pretty ambitious effort to increase the amount of sponsored-research dollars coming to our universities...I'm going to up the ante," said King, who pushed the sponsored-research goal of $800 million set by SUNY Provost Peter Salins to $1 billion.

King said the university needs much more alumni support, but attributed the lack of support-compared to midwestern and southern universities-to SUNY being "a fairly young institution-in its adolescence."

He noted that Binghamton University boasts the second-best record of alumni support in SUNY behind UB, but that only 14 percent of Binghamton alumni contribute. "We can do better," he said. "We need to get ourselves in a posture that when (students) graduate (from SUNY), they have a positive connection."

King added that he has "a commitment to himself to get to every campus at least once a year" and that he hopes to meet not only with the president, but also with faculty, students and alumni at each institution.