The campaign for the creation of a $4-billion endowment for New York’s public-university systems is building steam. Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, touted the plan today during a conference call with presidents and trustees from the State University of New York and City University of New York systems.
Governor Spitzer has discussed using the state’s lottery to help pay for the endowment, which he has said would result in an initial annual yield of $220-million. The university systems could hire 2,250 faculty members with that money, system leaders have said. The systems have often struggled with unstable finances and small reserves, particularly given their huge enrollments. For example, SUNY has an endowment of $1.1-billion and a total enrollment of 427,398.
“Let’s see if we can make this happen,” Governor Spitzer said on the call, adding that he needed help from university leaders to sell the plan.
The new endowment would be a boost for SUNY’s next chancellor. The university has begun the search to replace Vice Adm. John R. Ryan, who resigned last year. —Paul Fain
