Dear Students:

Yesterday afternoon, I hosted a local radio show where I had the pleasure of talking with three of our outstanding faculty members, the president of Onondaga Community College, SUNY Chancellor John King, and one of ESF’s amazing students. The guests highlighted some of the incredible research being done by faculty and students at ESF, the strong demand for many of our academic programs and the outcomes that result in most of our students graduating with their first job offers already in hand. 

We have a lot for which to be grateful. ESF provides a world class education at a fraction of the price of most colleges in the country. In exchange for keeping our $7070 annual tuition affordable, NYS taxpayers have provided millions of dollars annually to ESF to support our students. ESF ranks as one of the highest state funded SUNY campuses on a per-capita student basis and contrary to recent reports, SUNY is providing more and more financial support every year—-a 33% increase in state funding over the last 3 years with millions more pledged in the coming years. 

These are turbulent times in higher education and ESF is not immune. It is important, as we adapt to these turbulent times, that we all work from the same set of facts. I want to state directly and unequivocally that SUNY is not cutting ESF's budget. 

Our shared challenge and our shared focus, like so many other institutions of higher learning, is to balance ESF's revenue with expenses. Again, no institution is immune from the demographic shifts impacting enrollment across higher ed. No institution is immune from the costs of giving well-deserved salary increases to their tireless faculty and staff. No institution is immune from the very real impacts of inflation, and no institution is immune from the unavoidable costs of maintaining a college campus's critical infrastructure. 

Just as many families are working to balance their household budgets, ESF is working to balance its budget. Our concern is for the students we have today and the students we will have for the next hundred years. 

I appreciate and welcome your thoughtful feedback and input. My request is that we work from a common set of facts as we strive to meet our shared responsibility to align ESF's spending with its revenue. 

Sincerely,

Joanie Mahoney

President