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The Context of Governance: People & Politics

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Few states can match the complexity of the environment of higher education in New York. Geographically, demographically, economically, and politically, the state is divided between New York City in the south and the rest of the state, upstate New York. The two public multicampus systems that govern all public higher education in New York are likewise divided: the City University of New York (CUNY) has 19 campuses in New York City, while the State University of New York (SUNY) has 64 campuses scattered throughout upstate New York. Every state has regional differences that influence the governance of higher education. Only in New York, however, are these regional differences-and disputes-reflected in the formal structure and governance of the state's higher education system. A strong private sector with 138 two- and four-year colleges and universities constitutes an influential third element in the state system.

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Demography

Differences between New York City and the rest of the state are important in understanding the environment in New York. As Table 2 shows, New York City is home to over 40 percent of the state's population and a majority of the state's ethnic minorities. Of the 25,000 new high school graduates expected between 1994-95 and 2003-04, almost 50 percent will be from the New York City and mid-Hudson regions.

Table 2 Distribution of State Population Between New York City and the Rest of State
	New York City	Rest of State
Total Population	7,332,564	10,667,891
White	3,166,125	9,297,064
Black	1,847,049	722,077
Indian	17,871	32,669
Asian	489,851	176,992
Hispanic	1,783,611	430,515
Other	21,157	8,574
Source: Compiled by the New York State Department of Economic Development from the 1990 U.S. Census.

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Politics in New York State

The Governor

In November 1994, Republican George E. Pataki defeated Mario M. Cuomo, the three-term Democratic incumbent, for the governorship. Governor Pataki was elected on a platform that promised to cut taxes and shrink the government. As Governor, he is in the most influential position concerning the state's higher education system. He has line-item veto authority, he oversees negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, and he appoints, with Senate approval, all appointed SUNY Trustees. He appoints 10 of the 15 appointed members of the CUNY Trustees, and members to the local nine-member, largely advisory, college councils.

The pivotal role that a Governor can play in New York higher education is evidenced by the number of times that informed observers tag events with a Governor's name: Governor Dewey with the establishment of SUNY; Governor Rockefeller with SUNY's expansion and with institutional support of independent campuses; Governor Cuomo with declines in that support and with neglecting his role in the planning process; and at present, Governor Pataki with budget cutbacks.

Governor Pataki's priorities for higher education are, according to a state official, "to improve educational outcomes within the two public systems while simultaneously looking at economies of scale in those systems." He added that these should not be seen as mutually exclusive approaches, noting CUNY's efforts to move remedial education from the four-year to the two-year campuses as an example of their compatibility. At the same time, most respondents agreed that higher education is not a high priority for the Governor, and that employment is not his dominant issue. A senior SUNY central administration officer said that the Governor, in probing for the fundamental role of government, is asking the same questions of higher education as he is of all state services. So far, this officer said, the Governor "has not really articulated what" this probing means for the colleges and universities.

Some observers see the Governor as very supportive of private higher education and believe that the impact of the 1995-96 budget cuts was more damaging to the public sector than to the private sector. When elected, the Governor set up a ten-person "transition team" to advise him on higher education policy. This group was characterized by one observer as "dominated by the privates." A former member of the transition team said that getting more state support for the private sector was a major concern of the group, noting also that little thought was given to major questions of projected growth, location of campuses, and strategies for economic development. The head of an independent campus agreed, stating that "no one is really looking out for the whole picture."

The general belief among those in state government is that CUNY has done more to address issues of productivity and efficiency than SUNY. This more favorable impression of CUNY is attributed by a CUNY administrator to "bad feelings" or "bad experiences" that the Governor and senators may have had with SUNY, but not with CUNY. A legislator suggested that CUNY has fared better because its chancellor is more astute than SUNY's in political matters. He added that "the Governor knows that CUNY's urban constituency will put up a tougher fight than heavily suburban and rural SUNY."

The Legislature

New York has a full-time Legislature, one that has had a dramatic growth in staff since the early 1970s. A senior legislative staff member described the Legislature as "custodians" of higher education with a "fairly significant role" in setting the missions for the public campuses.

• The Senate in 1995-96 had a Republican majority of 37 to 24; of the 37 Republicans, 21 were elected from upstate districts and 16 from New York City (including 9 from Long Island). Of the 24 Democrats, 4 were elected from upstate districts, and 20 from New York City (with none from Long Island). Republicans have held a majority in the Senate for the past five years. Senators serve four-year terms. Gubernatorial nominees to the SUNY and CUNY governing boards are considered by both the Senate Higher Education and Finance Committees before approval by the full Senate.
  
• The Assembly in 1995-96 had a Democratic majority of 95 to 54; of the 54 Republicans, 37 were elected from upstate districts and 17 from New York City (including fourteen from Long Island). Of the 94 Democrats, 31 were elected from upstate districts, and 64 from New York City (including seven from Long Island). The Republicans gained six seats in the 1994 election. Members of the Assembly serve two-year terms.
  

Under a Republican Governor, the Senate with its Republican majority appears to have more influence than the Assembly in higher education matters. Staff members of the Senate Higher Education Committee attend governing board meetings, and work to assert legislative priorities with Trustees and institutional officers. For example, a cooperative-extension engineering program involving four SUNY campuses is said to have resulted from informal conversations between the committee chair and the dean of engineering at a SUNY campus.

A Senate staff member said that the Legislature has generally called for greater funding for higher education than the Governor has provided, even when the Governor was a Democrat with a Republican majority in the Senate. This observer noted that actions taken by the Senate and the Assembly show that legislators believed that the Governor's 1995-96 budget cuts were too severe. He added, however, that the differences between the two houses "in terms of what higher education is all about are even more significant" than their differences with the Governor.

The State Agencies

The president of a SUNY campus pointed out that "the bureaucracy of SUNY and the bureaucracy of the State of New York are very different. SUNY leaves a great deal of independence to the campuses. However, the state bureaucracy is very oppressive." Similarly, a former chancellor of SUNY has deplored the "excessive regulatory climate of New York state government, . . . as enforced by enormous professional bureaucracies of the departments and offices of budget, audit and control, general services, employee relations, civil service, Attorney General, education, and the like."

Although some regulatory measures have been softened-e.g., elimination of budgetary "line controls" on campus expenditures and limited campus authority to spend tuition revenue-the former chancellor of SUNY noted other major constraints of serious concern to SUNY's campus presidents:

• "the fact that most (not all) employees are employees of the State of New York, subject to civil service and other state regulations, and employed under bargaining agreements negotiated not by the SUNY Trustees, but by the Governor's Office of Employee Relations;
  
• "the fact that tuition is effectively controlled by the Governor and Legislature; not only in the gross revenue target, but in statutory restrictions upon tuition differentials and statutory determination of when the Trustees are allowed . . . to set the tuition schedule;
  
• "the fact that the Office of the State Controller and the Attorney General have expenditure and contract authority, except where SUNY has managed to get exemptions;
  
• "the fact that the Division of the Budget has the ability at any time to alter downward, at least for the state-operated campuses, the budget that was signed into law by the Governor and the Legislature;
  
• "the fact that the New York State Board of Regents has ultimate academic program approval authority."
  

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