A boon to private, public colleges: Both types of institutions would be able to apply for grants awarded through proposed $4 billion fund
BYLINE: Marc Parry, Albany Times Union, N.Y.
Jan. 25--ALBANY -- The $4 billion endowment Gov. Eliot Spitzer wants to establish for higher education would benefit private as well as public colleges, a budget division spokesman confirmed Thursday.
That's because both public and private institutions could apply for the competitive grants that would be awarded through a proposed Empire State Innovation Fund for academic research.
The fund would be paid for by the proposed $4 billion endowment, said Budget Division spokesman Jeffrey Gordon. Spitzer hopes to establish the pot of money by partnering with a private investor in the state lottery.
The research fund concept came out of a report released last month by a task force Spitzer established to elevate higher education in New York. The commission recommended dedicating $3 billion over 10 years to the effort.
Spitzer hasn't said how much should be spent but did say preference should be given to proposals with economic development potential.
Higher education policy has expanded beyond financial aid and access issues in recent years to encompass the role universities can play in economic development.
"The innovation fund really goes at that second purpose, which is to use the technology and the intellectual capital that's coming out of the colleges and universities ... to lead to incubators, and then to lead to manufacturing jobs," said Abe Lackman, head of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.
Lackman also wants to see the proposed endowment support financial aid -- for both the public and private sectors. His organization will likely advocate for a loan forgiveness program and an enhanced Tuition Assistance Program.
Some argue private universities are better positioned to win grants in an open research competition, though Lackman said that suggesting they'd win most grants is "speculative."
In an interview Thursday, Fred Floss, head of United University Professions, SUNY's faculty union, argued that at least 75 percent of the fund should go to SUNY campuses.
The money would be needed to support research by the new professors Spitzer has said he wants to recruit for the state's public colleges, said Floss.
"This kind of money could really push SUNY to the forefront of research universities," Floss said.
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