President Ettling Supports Findings from Commission on Education's Preliminary Report

December 17, 2007

PLATTSBURGH, NY (December 17, 2007) - SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling today said he is pleased with the findings and recommendations contained in the Preliminary Report issued by the New York State Commission on Higher Education. The commission presented its report to Governor Eliot Spitzer this afternoon, during a press conference in Albany.

Ettling said, "If the recommendations are enacted, SUNY will be poised to become the preeminent higher education system in the nation." He said he especially liked the commission's recommendations to:

* Create a low-cost student loan program for residents attending college in New York state;
* Establish the New York State Compact for Public Higher Education to clearly delineate shared responsibility for public higher education resources;
* Rebuild CUNY and SUNY faculty ranks by strategically hiring an additional 2,000 full-time faculty over the next five years; and,
* Address the backlog of critical maintenance at SUNY and CUNY with a sustained program of capital reinvestment.

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Virtual Town Meetings - Tuesday, Dec. 18 - 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The New York State Commission on Higher Education Chairman Hunter Rawlings and Executive Director John Reid will hold a web-based briefing on the contents of the Preliminary Report on Tuesday, Dec. 18. There will be two sessions: 11a.m. and 1 p.m. Each briefing will last no longer than one hour, including a presentation and a period of questions and answers.

To participate in the briefings on Tuesday, go to: http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/asxfiles-live/il83winlive3211.asx Please note that this link will not be active until 15 minutes prior to the start of each session. Members of the public who plan to participate are asked to register by sending their contact information to [email protected] .

Those who register will be added to a listserv to receive electronic updates on the work of the commission. Members of the public are also invited to pose questions to be answered during the sessions by e-mailing [email protected] .

* Viewing this meeting requires a Windows Media Player. To download Windows Media Player, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology