President George W. Bush’s 2003 fiscal year budget proposal may affect Cornell University funding reported Henrik N. Dullea ’61, vice president for University relations, in a meeting yesterday with the Committee on Land Grant and Statutory College Affairs.
If passed, the proposal would benefit various campus research and development programs sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), Dullea reported to a combination of University trustees, representatives, faculty, staff, and guests who all met to deliver and hear reports on a wide range of recent University developments. This increase in proposed DOD and NIH funding is due in part to a military response to the recent threat of bio-terrorism occurring in the country.
“There’s an increase in the Defense Department budget and a portion of that is related to terror,” said Dullea.
While certain areas of campus programming could benefit from President Bush’s proposal, others would not see the yearly increase in funding to which they have become accustomed.
“There were reductions in some agency budgets,” said Dullea referring to the proposal’s percentage decrease in the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. Expressing concern at this aspect of the proposal he added, “NSF is the largest source of funding for the Ithaca campus.”
Dullea stated that Cornell representatives plan to lobby for increased government funding that would benefit all federally funded programs on campus.
“At the federal level, we will continue to press for the agencies with which we have relationships,” Dullea said.
Other reports delivered during the meeting include the campus’s capital facilities update delivered by Gregg Travis, director of statutory facilities, which outlined the progression of various campus construction projects already underway and future construction plans. Among the projects in progress is the Martha Van Rensselaer addition which, after three years of construction, should be completed this spring. Projects currently in design include the replacement of the North
Martha Van Rensselaer building which was recently vacated due to structural problems.
“We are in the process of working with the state of New York to replace the building,” said Travis. “The state has granted funds to provide the architect and start the design but we don’t have the constructional funds [yet], [however], the governor’s office and the legislature have given Cornell verbal indications that the funding will be available next year for construction.”
Other projects in design include a renovation of Bailey Hall. Susan Henry, R.P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences (CALS) delivered a report on recent progress made in search for a new Cooperative Extension Director.
“We have prepared a preliminary position description which has been shared with the leadership of [CALS and the College of Human Ecology], and with the advisory council of CALS,” she said. “We are taking suggestions for revisions, [and are currently] appointing members for the search committee.”
Other reports delivered at the meeting included a report on SUNY relationships, tuition planning and the recent Cornell Albany reception.
Archived article by Ellen Miller