The tight budget facing many State University of New York schools has put a cramp on department spending. But while academic departments at Buffalo State College are cutting corners where they can, some department chairs, like Ron Smith, think administrative salary increases do not reflect the hard times .

Some departments have been able to deal with a smaller budget. Randal Snyder, the chair and associate professor of the biology department, said that although his department has felt the strain of a tight budget, he's managed well.

“Our department has been fortunate; we've been able to hire two faculty members,” he said. “We've been able to weather the storm pretty well, but I know in other departments that situation might be different.”

Currently, the biology department has 12 full-time professors, but Snyder said his department could benefit from additional full-time professors.

“The budget situation being what it is over the past few years, it's been hard to replace full-time faculty,” Snyder said.

Not being able to hire full-time faculty is a complaint that Ron Smith, chair and professor for the communication department, shares with Snyder. Smith said although the communication department was able to hire some faculty before the budget crunch, it still has had to cut back.

And because Smith sees other departments on campus struggling with tight budgets, he said the administrational raises seem a little out of place .

“From a public relations standpoint, it's difficult to see that kind of significant salary increase as tuition is going up and other resources are being limited,” he said.

Smith said that although he understands BSC should have competitive salaries for its administrators, the raises do not indicate the same tight budget the academic departments are facing.

“It's very difficult for the average person to give credibility to SUNY as an institution when it seems to be tightening in some places but has plenty of money for others,” he said.

Smith doesn't think this is a problem BSC is facing alone.

“As a society, we're seeing a big discrepancy between what the average worker bee receives and what a executive makes,” he said. “And that gap is getting larger.”

Email: carlenepeterson5@yahoo.com