Skip Navigation
Search

NYS Budget Update

May 5, 2023

Dear Stony Brook Community,

This week, the Senate and Assembly approved the 2023-24 New York State budget. We worked closely with the leaders in Albany, which resulted in the best state budget for Stony Brook University in decades. Our leaders including Governor Kathy Hochul, Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins recognized the singular importance and unique needs of a flagship university. Consequently, Stony Brook University is well positioned to execute on its education, research, and healthcare missions.

While there remains a substantial amount of detail we need to digest in the multi-bill budget, I wanted to share a high-level overview of key areas of interest:

Tuition and Operating Aid—tuition is frozen for in-state undergraduates in the 2023-24 state budget; however, Stony Brook will receive an increase in state operating aid expected to equal what the Governor’s initial proposed tuition increase would have provided. In addition to this funding for the next academic year, there is a stated multi-year commitment to increase operating aid for an additional two years. There is also authorization to increase out-of-state tuition.

Capital—Stony Brook’s overall capital and critical maintenance budget was increased by approximately $5 million. For the first time, the state budget recognizes the costs to maintain research labs. Stony Brook and University at Buffalo will each receive $100 million in new capital funding for their research facilities. Additionally, SUNY’s capital allocation may now be spent on information technology systems, which will be helpful in replacing our outdated systems.

Endowment—a new endowment matching program that will help Stony Brook expand its philanthropic endeavors is included in the 2023-24 state budget. The program provides authorization for the four university centers (Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook) to receive up to $200 million in a 1:2 state match to support their endowment funds. Each university center will be eligible for a minimum of $25 million. A total of $500 million is allocated for the initiative, and universities may obtain more than the $200 million if all funds are not claimed at the end of three years.

Impact on the healthcare enterprise and health education—continuation of this year’s debt service relief will allow SUNY’s safety net hospitals to invest these resources directly into patient care. Additionally, SBUH will continue to receive $50 million in capital funds and will receive $1 million for our NCI designation effort in the Cancer Center.

When Governor Hochul named Stony Brook a flagship in 2022, she promised to support necessary funding to propel our university to higher levels of excellence. The newly released budget shows a commitment to making good on that promise. In addition to the support of our elected officials in Albany, Stony Brook is also fortunate to have a strong advocate in Chancellor King who was with us every step of the way on this budget journey, along with our dedicated Stony Brook Government Relations team that worked tirelessly to secure these funds.

I am encouraged by the commitment from New York State to support its flagship institutions. As Stony Brook begins its annual budget review process, we now have a better sense of the resources at our disposal. Yet, while the new budget provisions are positive and offer several steps in the right direction, they do not solve all of our financial challenges. We must continue to make strategic and sometimes difficult choices in our investments.

Sincerely,

mcinnis signature

Maurie McInnis
President

 

BACK TO MESSAGES ARCHIVE