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I would really like to know how Sheldon Silver was elected to office.  This guy has got to go, one way or another.

I would really like to know how Sheldon Silver was elected to office.  This guy has got to go, one way or another.

Highly unlikely.  There was an attempted coup to over throw him as speaker a few years ago.  He was able to withstand the attempt to oust him and he ended up stronger than before the attempted coup.  He is Speaker of the Assembly because he worked his way up through the leadership of the Assembly and took care of the members of his caucus.  After the last attempt to oust him failed no one will try to do it again.  He is also from a district on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and it is one of the safest seats in the entire Assembly.

He may not be that great for SUNY right now, but for me professionally he fights back some proposed draconian changes that the insurance industry and business community want to stick it to the people thee injure.

I would really like to know how Sheldon Silver was elected to office.  This guy has got to go, one way or another.

Highly unlikely.  There was an attempted coup to over throw him as speaker a few years ago.  He was able to withstand the attempt to oust him and he ended up stronger than before the attempted coup.  He is Speaker of the Assembly because he worked his way up through the leadership of the Assembly and took care of the members of his caucus.  After the last attempt to oust him failed no one will try to do it again.  He is also from a district on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and it is one of the safest seats in the entire Assembly.

He may not be that great for SUNY right now, but for me professionally he fights back some proposed draconian changes that the insurance industry and business community want to stick it to the people thee injure.

Forgive me for being skeptical of the "knight in shining armor"  I dont see how anybody on this big of a power trip can be considered an effective representative for anybody.

Just an odd note. I was trying to find out the annual revenue and opex for Binghamton U for something I was doing at work. I oculdn't do it. From what I can tell they have no financial statement on their website. For the heck of it I tried to see if UB had one. I didn't see that either.

Says a lot about lack of transparency.

Is this what you were looking for?  It took some digging to find that, so I agree there is lack of transparency.

I appreciate the effort, but that is from 2004-2005. I really needed Binghamton, I was just trying to see if UB even had one.

This is what a real annnual report and more importantly financial statement looks like.

http://www.finops.umich.edu/reports/2009/pdfs/FinRepoFY09lores.pdf

Its done in alignment with GAAP, and has a statement from an independent auditor etc. etc. etc.

Just an odd note. I was trying to find out the annual revenue and opex for Binghamton U for something I was doing at work. I oculdn't do it. From what I can tell they have no financial statement on their website. For the heck of it I tried to see if UB had one. I didn't see that either.

Says a lot about lack of transparency.

Is this what you were looking for?  It took some digging to find that, so I agree there is lack of transparency.

I appreciate the effort, but that is from 2004-2005. I really needed Binghamton, I was just trying to see if UB even had one.

This is what a real annnual report and more importantly financial statement looks like.

http://www.finops.umich.edu/reports/2009/pdfs/FinRepoFY09lores.pdf

Its done in alignment with GAAP, and has a statement from an independent auditor etc. etc. etc.

Here's one for SUNY.

http://www.suny.edu/templates/suny/sharedfiles/2009AnnualFinancialReport.pdf

Maybe individual institutions aren't required to have their own reports.

Here's one for SUNY.

http://www.suny.edu/templates/suny/sharedfiles/2009AnnualFinancialReport.pdf

Maybe individual institutions aren't required to have their own reports.

Yeah I sort of assumed there was one for SUNY. The University of California campuses mostly don't do a great job at reporting either. Still not a lot of transparency at the institution level.

Many new Reform articles and editorials collected by SUNY Central this week:

http://www.suny.edu/sunynews/InTheNews.cfm?navLevel=2

And a new info on Stachowski..a very positive quote:

Talks in recent days have again focused on letting the state university plan proceed on a trial basis at the University at Buffalo and possibly an additional campus or two....But Stachowski said Tuesday that he had heard of no progress on the state university issue and that he has no plans to vote for the last budget bill until the SUNY matter is settled. “We’ve got to have something,” he said. “Why would we drag it out this long and not do something for SUNY?"

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article82950.ece

Many new Reform articles and editorials collected by SUNY Central this week:

http://www.suny.edu/sunynews/InTheNews.cfm?navLevel=2

And a new info on Stachowski..a very positive quote:

Talks in recent days have again focused on letting the state university plan proceed on a trial basis at the University at Buffalo and possibly an additional campus or two....But Stachowski said Tuesday that he had heard of no progress on the state university issue and that he has no plans to vote for the last budget bill until the SUNY matter is settled. “We’ve got to have something,” he said. “Why would we drag it out this long and not do something for SUNY?"

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article82950.ece

There was also this in the New York Times today from a former SUNY Provost and now a professor at Stony Brook.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/opinion/28salins.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

As well as this letter to the editor from Chancellor Zimpher in response to an editorial in the Times against the plan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/opinion/lweb26suny.html?scp=4&sq=zimpher&st=cse

I'll say this, Silver either has huge gonads or he's completely delusional:

In the Assembly, Speaker Sheldon Silver dismissed a question about the dysfunction of Albany."The governor made a proclamation, and we responded to his proclamation [Most legislators appearing for a special session]. That's pretty functional," he said.

More on SUNY reform from the mouth of Big Balls:

The Democratic leader expressed the same concerns about one stumbling block -- a new plan, including annual tuition hikes, for SUNY -- as he has for months. "These are not unreasonable positions," he said of Assembly concerns that tuition hikes will hit low-income students. Silver said the sides have talked about "some ideas" for SUNY. However, he declined to elaborate.

...and BIGGER BALLS!

In the Senate, Sen. William Stachowski, a Lake View Democrat who has been holding back his vote on the budget until the SUNY issues is resolved, said he is not the only Democratic senator who wants something in return for the final budget bill. "I'm waiting to see when they come out of negotiations and show me something that has something moving forward for SUNY in general and [the University at Buffalo] in particular," he said.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article84347.ece

Additional coverage...

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/30081/paterson-zimpher-legislators-meet-on-tuition-plan/

Additional coverage...

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/30081/paterson-zimpher-legislators-meet-on-tuition-plan/

Yes, more juicy stuff. My question is, didn't the pro-reform constituents and SUNY power brokers already go through this back when they held that pep rally? Some opponents just want something in return for themselves, not just for the 'poor and minority' students. And this whole 'worrying for minority students' thing is a crock. The legislator that walked out feeling Zimpher disrespected legislators is a known firebrand who feels rash reactions (such as labeling fellow legislators racists) are proper, no matter what. If minority legislators Sen Thompson and Assemblyman Wright think SUNY reform is overdue and issues of access are solvable, then obstructionists have hidden agendas (not ceding legislative power, beholden to the UUP, etc)

Updated post from the T-U blog of a rumored legislative 'framework':

And the trouble is that the Senate’s Buffalo contingent is holding back their support for a revenue plan without a program in which SUNY campuses can charge some sort of variable tuition — an idea that is strongly resisted in the Assembly and by some in the Senate...As to word that Senate Democratic leader John Sampson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had reached a “conceptual framework”  for SUNY, [Patterson's Spokesman Morgan] Hook said the governor would need to see more details.

Tentative deal reached among legislators, but it's....meh:

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/article85272.ece

Though, seems no one knows if it is truly tentative. At least Silver 'says' he is for protecting TAP and tuition revenues for the schools. And I loved this bit from the end of the story..exactly what I feared...some NYC legislators are not in touch with higher education at public research institutions in the 21st Century:

But Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, a Bronx Democrat, supports the SUNY tuition and public/private partnership plan, with some conditions. He said some opponents are basing their objections on old arguments.

"Members," he said, "are still fighting the fight from 1970 for free tuition and those sorts of things."

So there going to get their way on a limited basis as far as the tuition is involved, however the local partnerships are a no go?  What the hell is wrong with these people.

I could be wrong, but wouldnt that be the more handier of the two?

So there going to get their way on a limited basis as far as the tuition is involved, however the local partnerships are a no go?  What the hell is wrong with these people.

I could be wrong, but wouldnt that be the more handier of the two?

Gov Patterson agrees with you. The Senate sent him a 2-page outline of their SUNY proposal, and his spokesman termed it "unacceptable":

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/30146/paterson-there-is-no-deal/

[his]

Sen. Stachowski and Patterson seem uninterested in anything less than what UB is looking to gain. I'm normally against power-trips, but not ones that favor UB:

On an Ithaca radio station today, Paterson again pushed his state university plan, which would take the Legislature out of the role of having to approve tuition hikes and let campuses keep the proceeds of the higher tuition levels. Lawmakers last week tentatively agreed to a scaled-down SUNY plan, but Paterson is holding out for his program, one supported by the University at Buffalo, which is counting on the measure for its ambitious expansion in downtown Buffalo.

Paterson said the Legislature "has tried to micromanage" the state university system, which he said lags other public colleges in the nation.

"Whenever the Legislature has control over something, trying to get the Legislature to relinquish control, even if it would improve the quality of education, is a very hard thing to do," Paterson told WHCU.

For his part, Stachowski today said he was still awaiting information on what, if any, progress was being made on the SUNY front. But he, again, indicated he would not vote for the final budget component -- a $1.5 billion revenue-raising measure -- unless there is some deal on SUNY.

Earlier in the day, there had been speculation that Stachowski would vote for the revenue bill even if it means the Senate, unable to strike a deal with the Assembly and Paterson, could only pass a one-house version of the measure -- a face-saving attempt that would not resolve the matter.

Stachowski rejected that. "I'm not interested in a one-house bill," Stachowski said. "Why go through this exercise for a one-house bill?"

The lawmaker said the Legislature has "all week" after it returns today to resolve the outstanding issues.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article88761.ece