Students at Syracuse University and other institutions of higher education in New York state could benefit from the changes to the state government in Albany.

‘Higher education will be the key economic driver,’ said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his first State of the State address earlier this month.

Cuomo, a Democrat, was inaugurated on Jan. 1, replacing former Gov. David Paterson. Cuomo was previously New York’s attorney general and is the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. Another change in Albany is the legislature’s new composition since Republicans now control the Senate. An important question is how well Cuomo will be able to work with the GOP and what direction their cooperation will go in.

In Cuomo’s first address to the state, he announced that Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy would organize regional councils across the state that would be responsible for forging partnerships between universities and private businesses. Cuomo specifically named the public State University of New York system as playing a major role in this project, which is intended to create jobs and reinvigorate the state’s economy.

It is unclear if private colleges will participate as well, but Walter Broadnax, a professor of public administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a member of Cuomo’s transition team, said he thinks the governor is open to something that could reverse the budget deficits.

‘We face a very large financial challenge in New York state,’ Broadnax said. ‘If he can lead us to where we’re able to meet that challenge in a reasonable way, that’s going to benefit everybody, including private institutions.’

Jeff Stonecash, a political science professor at Maxwell is not as optimistic. Since Cuomo opposes a tax increase, he must make some cuts on school aid and aid to cities like Syracuse, Stonecash said.

‘The real issue is how badly will they be hurt,’ Stonecash said.

At the same time, Stonecash said, the administration has marked off million-dollar grants for SU’s off-campus initiatives, such as the Connective Corridor, which he thinks could be problematic. The Connective Corridor is a free Centro bus that connects SU with downtown Syracuse.

‘He will face a difficult public relations situation if there are grants that go forth for private universities while he’s cutting school aid, city aid, maybe cutting the amount of aid kids have to go to college and raising public tuition,’ Stonecash said, referring to grants known as Bundy aid, or direct funding.

Cuomo has been outspoken on education and an advocate for college students.

In his final hours as attorney general, Cuomo announced he would take the $13 million in settlements from his investigation of fraud within the student loan industry to help students, The New York Times reported on Dec. 31. Cuomo said a 24-hour call center and website would be set up to help simplify and clarify how students should pay for their college education.

Funding students rather than universities themselves is more of a priority for some legislators. College students from New York lost financial aid from the Tuition Assistance Program after Gov. Paterson slashed 10 percent from it in the budget last year.

‘It makes the difference between some students attending colleges and graduating in four years and not attending in four years or not attending college at all,’ said New York state Sen. Toby Stavisky, who is the ranking Democrat and former chair of the Higher Education Committee.

Private colleges don’t receive much Bundy aid anyway, Stavisky said.

Cuomo is expected to present his budget proposal by Feb. 1. So far, his rhetoric seems to be ‘positive and friendly toward higher education,’ said Kristi Andersen, a political science professor.

‘He’s positioning higher education as something you don’t want to cut funding from,’ Andersen said, ‘because this is how we keep people in New York.’

rdshabad@syr.edu

Published on January 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm