More SUNY schools set to share presidents

ALBANY -- Consolidation efforts at the State University of New York system have taken another turn with the announcement that more upstate schools will share presidents.

Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said she intends to have one college president oversee both SUNY Delhi and SUNY Cobleskill, and one president running Morrisville State College and SUNY Institute of Technology. Earlier, Zimpher moved to have SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton share a president.

There are no plans to have any of the SUNY campuses on Long Island share a president, said SUNY Provost David Lavallee. "At this point, we're not considering that type of arrangement at other campuses," Lavallee said Thursday.

The changes are part of SUNY's recently announced plan to reduce administrative costs by combining functions at various regional colleges.

The program joins Farmingdale State College with SUNY Old Westbury and SUNY Maritime in the Bronx, for instance.

"They are looking at possibly combining some administrative functions," possibly information technology and human resources," Lavallee said.

Stony Brook University is paired with SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn; they are working to share costs of health services and procurement, Lavallee said.

The provost said the plan is not about cutting overall expenditures, but to redirect money from administration to the classroom.

Zimpher said she will recommend the president-sharing arrangements to the SUNY Board of Trustees at an upcoming meeting.

"Shared leadership between these campuses will best serve current and future students by enabling campuses to enroll more students, hire more full-time faculty, and increase course offerings," Zimpher said.