POTSDAM – For the first time in memory, the governing councils of SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam met together Monday.

The councils confirmed their intention to seek cost savings through shared services where they can, and reaffirmed SUNY Potsdam’s stand on the need for a separate financial officer at each campus.

“To the best of my knowledge, today marked the first time the two College Councils have officially met together,” said SUNY Canton College Council Chairman Ronald M. O’Neill following the meeting yesterday.

“This extraordinary joint session was very important from the perspective of both campuses and their respective leadership,” SUNY Potsdam College Council Chairman Roger B. Linden said. “It is thanks to the vision of Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher that we have been able to find many areas for further collaboration between the campuses and all of SUNY, by embracing ‘Systemness,’ so that we can capitalize on the unique strengths of both Potsdam and Canton for the good of both the North Country and New York State.”

Both college councils unanimously passed a resolution asking that each campus be allowed to hire its own vice president for business affairs or vice president of administrative services due the unique nature of each campus. They also resolved to keep looking other ways to combine administrative functions.

“The two positions are vastly different at each college,” O’Neill said. “It would not be effective to combine the position without hiring additional staffing, such as assistants, beneath one single shared vice presidential position, negating any cost savings on the administrative side of our operations.”

“The joint search committee reflected at great length on the enormity of combining these two very different positions on each campus into one, and just how difficult a job that would be. They found that they could not see how the job could be performed by a single human being,” Linden said.

On March 7 the SUNY Potsdam College Council informed SUNY authorities in Albany that they did not feel they comply with the wish to hire a single financial officer for both SUNY Potsdam and neighboring SUNY Canton.

SUNY Potsdam’s council informed SUNY Central Administration that they did not believe there was a single person among the candidates who could do both jobs at once, and would begin looking for person to handle Potsdam alone.

A lack of money for many state operations has had SUNY looking for ways for campuses to economize, and sharing administrators is one way they think might result in some savings.

The two colleges point out they offer cross-registration, and common courses for both student populations. Both colleges extend these services and transportation to and from each campus, and partner with St. Lawrence and Clarkson universities to further educational opportunities for students in St. Lawrence County, a news release from SNY Potsdam notes.

During the joint search, members gained new insight and a new appreciation of the neighboring colleges’ administrative responsibilities, the college’s statement said, and therefore stand better poised to make recommendations into other cost-saving strategies.

“We want to continue this type of collaborative effort,” O’Neill added. “We are planning to meet together a minimum of once a year to continue our positive dialogue. By working together, we are making steps in the right direction and look forward to making recommendations for further shared services among the two colleges, and perhaps other colleges as well.”

“Today, I had the honor of chairing this historic joint meeting, as it was held on the SUNY Potsdam campus. I told Ron I would like the opportunity to watch him chair such a meeting on his campus, so we can continue to share ideas and work together, always keeping in mind that all that we do is for the advancement of our students,” Linden said.