Looking to make the state's network of colleges and universities "world-class," Gov. Spitzer has launched a Commission on Higher Education.

"The state's network of outstanding public and private colleges and universities is essential to producing the highly skilled work force that will be a major driver of New York's upstate economy," said Spitzer, calling excellence in higher education "a key to our state's future."

This new panel, he said, will help identify "innovative, cutting-edge ideas and necessary improvements that will help improve the quality of education we deliver and make New York's higher educational system a world-class institution."

Former Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings will head the commission. William Scheuerman, president of United University Professions, is one of 30 appointees. "Among the most critical concerns is the need to formulate a predictable, reliable funding stream for public higher education," said Scheuerman, who leads NYSUT's affiliate representing academic and professional faculty at the State University of New York. "Addressing that issue will preserve the quality of our public colleges and universities as they struggle to cope with growing enrollment and the need to hire more full-time faculty."

The key to quality higher education, he said, is lower student/faculty ratios.

While pleased to see union representation, Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College President Ellen Schuler Mauk said, "There doesn't seem to be a lot of underpinning in the commission for community colleges. So there needs to be a lot of communication between the community colleges and the representatives on the commission. They need to understand about transferability and other issues. We would have liked to see a community college faculty member familiar with these issues on the commission."

Other union members on the commission include Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association; Myron Mitchell, a UUPer at SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse; and Robert Paaswell, a faculty member at CUNY's City College and a member of the Professional Staff Congress.

"As someone deeply committed to the future of higher education in this state, I welcome the work of talented, experienced people looking hard at how New York 's public college and university systems can be made even stronger," said PSC President Barbara Bowen. "We don't have to wait until the commission completes its work to begin to make that happen," she said. "The critical first step is to restore to CUNY and SUNY the level of public funding they require in order to offer our students the best possible education."

Spitzer, she noted, offered hope to the higher education community by announcing that he wants New York's higher ed system to be not just good, but great.

Spitzer is seeking a preliminary report from the commission by Dec. 1. A final report is due next June.

Under the executive order, the commission will recommend ways to:

• improve access to the state's public higher ed system;

• expand degree programs to reflect state and regional economic development objectives;

• prepare community college graduates for a smooth transition to four-year institutions or "high-value" jobs; and

• enhance the capacity of the state's university research centers to "regain New York's pre-eminent status in academic research" while providing additional opportunities for "high-value" employment.

— Liza Frenette