Consolidated Financial Report - SUNY Canton

Message from the PresidentMessage from President Carli SchiffnerCarli C. Shiffner, Ph.D.Interim PresidentGreetings!I hope that you find the information in thisannual financial report to be informativeabout how SUNY Canton is funded and howthe respective funds are allocated. This isthe first time the College has created such areport, and I look forward to your feedback!We want to continue to improve upon ourcommunication about the budget.From 2008-2011, SUNY Canton, as well asother SUNY institutions saw dramatic cutsin State support and increases in tuition andfees, as New York State weathered the worsteconomic crisis since the Great Depression.However, Governor Cuomo’s 2012 ExecutiveBudget, for the first time in three years,did not cut State support to SUNY. Instead,the Governor maintained State funding overlast year and included a rational tuition planthat would gradually step up tuition over thenext several years while holding State supportsteady. This was obviously welcome news toSUNY colleges and universities across theState.While the impact of those cuts in State supportwere dramatic, SUNY Canton was able tooffset those cuts through dramatic increasesin its enrollment, the growth of its four-yeardegree programs, and the increasing academicperformance of incoming students. All of thiscollective hard work allowed us to hire morefaculty for the 2012-13 academic year than wehave in the last several years. SUNY Cantonhas been able to fill critical voids in our engineeringtechnology programs and vacanciesin the humanities. As you have heard me statepreviously, I am committed to SUNY Cantonrelying less on part-time adjuncts and moreon full-time, tenured-track faculty to sustainand even bolster our academic programs. Inaddition, SUNY Canton needs to support itstremendous growth by filling critical voidsin professional and clerical staffing, as manypositions have remained unfilled until we weresure that the financial situation would, in fact,improve.As many of you also may be aware, last year,SUNY Canton was selected by SUNY SystemAdministration to participate in a sharedservices initiative with SUNY Potsdam. Inaddition, the SUNY Board of Trustees setbenchmarks for SUNY Canton to reduce administrativecosts and increase focus on academics.Even though SUNY Canton alreadyfar surpasses the benchmark of having morethan 52% of its operating budget committedto academic services, we continue to strive foran additional 10% reduction in administrativeservies by 2015. This year, SUNY Cantonand SUNY Potsdam hired a joint ChiefFinancial Officer and a shared Military andVeteran Student Services Coordinator. Futureshared administrative positions will continueto help us bring down administrative costswhile maintaining support for academics andstudent support.In conclusion, I want to thank everyone onceagain for their patience and continued commitmentto SUNY Canton during this time oftransition. While change can be difficult, itcan also open up vast possibilities for futuregrowth and development as well as reinforcingour core goals and academic mission. Yourhard work over the years has made SUNYCanton successful in many ways, and we aimto continue our success in enrollment, newinitiatives, and completion.Fondly,A-1 State University of New York at Canton