The SUNY Board of Trustees today backed away from absolutely requiring SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton to share a president, but continued to promote sharing of services among campuses statewide.

The board unanimously passed a resolution that essentially directs the presidents of both SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton to work together to increase the percentage of funds devoted to instruction and academic services.

The move is the latest step in what has become a controversial plan to force SUNY Canton Joseph L. Kennedy to resign and have the president of SUNY Potsdam oversee both institutions as a way to reduce non-instructional spending.

Now, the Board has decided not to make a decision on whether a single president should serve both campuses. Instead, it will reserve that decision based upon a joint report from Kennedy and John Schwaller, president of SUNY Potsdam, which is due on March 30, 2012.

Currently, the average percentage of spending at SUNY’s smallest state-operated campuses – among them Canton, Delhi, Cobleskill, SUNY IT and Morrisville – for academic instruction is 39 percent. The average among all state-operated campuses is 52 percent, trustees noted.

The board is promoting Campus Alliance Networks, which call for collaboration on administrative functions – including top leadership, information technology and human resources, for example – while increasing efficiency and enhancing educational opportunities.

The aim is to make the business and academic resources of other campuses in the region available to students, faculty, and staff at each site, trustees say.

“ I have been working with SUNY on almost a daily basis and have urged them to allow both presidents to remain and work on the issue of shared services,” said Assemblywoman Addie Russell, whose district includes both institutions. “I am very pleased that my input has been taken seriously and that the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees have acted in this manner.”

She continued, “I believe that both campuses will benefit from a full analysis by the presidents and that the goal of shifting funds from administration to instruction and academic services will be met.”

The report from presidents Kennedy and Schwaller is to include recommendations for additional opportunities for increasing the percentages of their operating budgets devoted to instruction and academic services if there were a shared presidency between their campuses, whether there would be substantial obstacles or costs to such a shared presidency, and whether they recommend such a shared presidency, the continuation of separate presidencies (and administrations), or some other organizational structure or approach to best achieve the above goals.

The Board of Trustees plans to consider the report and its recommendations at its regular May meeting, as well as consider input from the Chancellor and other sources, including comparison to progress being made at “the other administrative alliance institutions.”

The resolution adopted today by the SUNY Board of Trustees strongly supports the efforts around Campus Alliance Networks.

The Board specifically acknowledged that one option for shared services may include sharing presidencies between two state-operated campuses as a “reasonable and valid option to explore in sharing services and in pursuit of devoting more resources to the academic mission of the campuses.”

"We need to act upon our recognition that our limited resources need to be devoted whenever possible to instruction," said Chairman Carl T. Hayden. “Through this resolution, we are reaffirming our commitment to SUNY’s mission. The Board has given clear direction to the Chancellor and all of SUNY’s presidents that we must do our part to ensure that these resources are directed to educational instruction.”

The Board reaffirmed its role as the ultimate authority for appointment of campus presidents, and emphasized the important role of college councils in commenting upon and recommending presidential candidates for the Board’s final consideration. Additionally, the Board endorsed the continued consideration of sharing presidencies between Cobleskill and Delhi, and between Morrisville and SUNY IT, and encouraged all affected constituencies to express their considered views on the matter to the Chancellor and the Board by the November board meetings.

“We are very sensitive to the fact that SUNY campuses are deeply embedded within communities across New York, but it is critical that we increase efficiency in order to maintain access to the most affordable public higher education in the northeast,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “We have made a public commitment to maintain that presence while improving upon the education we are providing our current and future students.”

It is intended that cost savings generated by administrative reorganization will be redirected toward academic instruction and other student-support services.

The SUNY Board of Trustees, in a resolution adopted at its June 15 meeting, directed the chancellor and empowered presidents to promote campus-to-campus collaboration and implement strategies to improve efficiency, generate cost savings, build capacity, and expand student services through the use of shared administrative functions, procurement opportunities, and realignment of academic program offerings where possible