President Christian, Vice President Halstead update campus community about budget

Members of the SUNY New Paltz faculty and staff met in an open forum on Feb. 14 to discuss the current state of the College’s core operating budget in light of spring enrollment figures and the recent release of New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

The forum, hosted by President Donald P. Christian and Vice President for Administration & Finance Michele Halstead, served to update the campus community on new developments that have led the Division of Administration & Finance to forecast a $4 million deficit for the College for budget year 2016-17, an increase since news of the deficit was first shared with faculty and staff in the fall.

Christian and Halstead addressed the more than 100 faculty and staff in attendance about the factors that have contributed to the deficit, which include stagnant tuition, declines in state support and diminishing enrollment revenue from graduate and international student cohorts. They then opened the floor to questions and discussion from attendees.

For those unable to be at the forum, the slideshow prepared by Vice President Halstead can be viewed by logging in to my.newpaltz.edu, clicking on the “Budget Information Center” link in the Resources menu, and downloading the file named “2-14-2017 Budget Forum Presentation Slides.” An audio recording of the forum can be accessed as well.

The Division of Administration & Finance has created a suggestion tool for faculty and staff to submit cost-savings and revenue-generating ideas for consideration. The suggestion form is available on the same “Budget Information Center” page on my.newpaltz.edu.

Submissions to the budget suggestion form will be anonymous, though campus community members who wish to make themselves available for follow-up contact are invited to include their names in their submissions.

The Budget Suggestion Form will be open through March 10.