15th Annual Business Climate Survey Reveals Growth Trend, Moderate Optimism
By Eileen Smith
Despite a prosperous 2000, the uncertain national economy has created caution among Capital Region business leaders responding to the 15th annual Business Climate Survey.

Results of the survey, conducted by Marvin and Company P.C., a regional certified public accounting firm, in conjunction with the University at Albany School of Business and 14 area chambers of commerce, were announced Feb. 21 at a news conference at the Center for Environ-mental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM). More than 1,100 regional businesses, mostly small business members of the participating chambers of commerce, took part in the survey.

Although the overall results of the survey are not as bullish as the last two years’, there are still some good signs for the long-term Capital Region economy. For example, 39 percent of the respondents predict the regional economy will continue to prosper, according to Kevin McCoy, managing director of Marvin and Company, P.C.

Among the specific findings of the survey:

Business Growth Continues. The survey found that nearly 68 percent of the 1,100 firms responding to the survey experienced an average increase in business of nearly 27 percent in 2000. In 1999, 68 percent of businesses improved by 26 percent. About the same number of companies remained stable (approximately 25 percent), while companies indicating a decline in business increased by about two percent.

Cautious confidence is reflected in projected business for 2001. Sixty-two percent of the respondents anticipate an increase in business during the year, down from 68 percent in 2000. However, this is a significant gain from five years ago, when respondents’ predictions were modest.

Economic outlook mixed. In characterizing the economy in local counties, there was a decline in perception of prosperity. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed believed their county was prospering in 1999, while 35 percent felt that way about 2000. Also, a greater percentage (11.8 percent) this year characterized the local economy as recessionary as compared to 3.3 percent last year. Looking ahead, 25 percent thought the local economy would be prospering in 2001, down from 30 percent last year. Interest in the global economy and its impact on the region remains low. At the same time, how the U.S. economy will progress continues to be the fourth most important concern when evaluating major issues for the next year.

Job market bodes well for employees, challenge for employers. A bright projection for employees presents issues for business leaders. Thirty-seven percent of the businesses surveyed anticipate the need to add employees in 2001, about the same level as last year. However, finding qualified employees to fill local positions and workforce training continue to be the top challenges for Capital Region firms for the third year. Losing employees to jobs out of the area also is a concern.

Healthcare costs and taxes continue as top concerns. For Capital Region businesses, rising healthcare costs continue to be a major issue as they have been for the past six years. Taxes, too, are among the significant concerns. Business leaders also are taking an interest in local issues such as public education, urban revitalization and access to venture capital or loans.

Technology has taken hold. According to the survey results, as local firms grow increasingly confident about the Internet and e-commerce, they are exploring a variety of tools. More than half of those surveyed use the Internet for marketing purposes. Thirty percent are selling over the Internet and 15 percent have begun to capitalize on e-procurement services. Seventeen percent of employers used the Internet for recruitment in 2000.

More than 42 percent of the businesses participating in the survey have been established for 20 or more years. Forty percent are mature companies, in business from five to 10 years, and almost 17 percent are start-ups.

“We are pleased to present the 15th annual Business Climate Survey results and to be joined for the first time by the University at Albany School of Business,” McCoy said. “Marvin and the area chambers benefited by having access to the University’s analytical tools, talented students and faculty.”

“The current effort is a wonderful example of how the University can work with the private sector to gain unique educational opportunities for our students, enhance analytical tools for business and academia, and provide valuable and accurate information for the Capital Region,” said Richard A. Highfield, dean of the School of Business.

Three UAlbany MBA candidates - John Tengco, Victor Murdock, and Jared Moran, under the direction of marketing professor William D. Danko -- compiled and tabulated the results of this year’s survey.

“These students learned firsthand how to convert raw data from questionnaires to a statistical package for the social sciences, the main analytical tool used to create the final report,” said Danko. “While laborious, the process is critical to ensuring the integrity of the data set and the validity of the results.”

The survey was distributed in January to members of the Adirondack Regional, Albany-Colonie Regional, Bethlehem, Columbia County, Guilderland, Latham Area, Lake George, Mechanicville Area, Montgomery County, Rensselaer County, Saratoga County, Southern Saratoga County, Schenectady County and Schoharie County chambers.

UAlbany Sociologist Part of Major U.S./Europe Study on Teen Drug Use
By Vinny Reda
A multi-national study of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use released Feb. 20 finds important differences between high school students in 30 European countries and in the United States. The findings suggest that cigarette smoking and alcohol use are less prevalent among 10th grade students in the United States than in almost all European countries. The lifetime use of marijuana and other illicit drugs in the United States is higher than in any European country.

Thor Bjarnason, assistant professor of sociology and co-author of the study, told The New York Times, “We tend to think within national boundaries. If you’re having a war on drugs, one measure is within a comparative perspective. If drug use is increasing at a slower rate in your country, that could be a victory.” Bjarnason is also a research fellow at the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The Study. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) is a set of school surveys, coordinated by sociologist Bjorn Hibell at the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and other Drugs. This second ESPAD study was conducted in 1999 among approximately 95,000 students in 10th grade in the 30 participating countries. The survey in each country is representative of the national 10th grade student population, with the exception of the survey in Russia being representative of the capital of Moscow.

Comparison with the United States. The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study has been conducted at the University of Michigan for the past 26 years under the sponsorship of the National Institute of Drug Abuse. In 1999, this nationally representative study elicited information on tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among 14,000 10th grade students in the United States. The European ESPAD study was specifically developed to be comparable to the MTF study in the United States. The principal investigator of the American study, social psychologist Lloyd Johnston, states, “Having survey data which can be meaningfully compared across countries is very rare in the substance abuse field. ESPAD is by far the largest such undertaking to date, and I believe it will prove very valuable both to policy makers and scientists in a great many countries.”

Key findings:
Cigarette smoking in past 30 days. The MTF study finds that 26 percent of 10th grade students in the United States had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days. The ESPAD survey finds that an average of 37 percent of 10th grade students in the 30 participating European countries had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days (39 percent in Northern Europe, 33 percent in Southern Europe and 38 percent in Eastern Europe). This proportion varies among European countries from 16 percent in Cyprus to 67 percent in Greenland. Cyprus and Romania were the only European countries that had a lower 30-day rate of cigarette smoking than did the United States.

Alcohol use in past 30 days. The MTF study finds that 40 percent of 10th grade students in the United States had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. The ESPAD survey finds that an average of 61 percent of 10th grade students in the 30 participating European countries had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days (62 percent in Northern Europe, 63 percent in Southern Europe and 58 percent in Eastern Europe). This proportion varies among European countries, from 36 percent in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to 85 percent in Denmark. FYROM was the only European country that had a lower rate than the United States.

Lifetime use of marijuana/cannabis. The MTF study finds that, in 1999, 41 percent of 10th grade students in the United States had used marijuana or cannabis in their lifetimes. The ESPAD survey finds that an average of 17 percent of 10th grade students in the 30 participating European countries had used marijuana or cannabis in the past 30 days (19 percent in Northern Europe, 14 percent in Southern Europe and 16 percent in Eastern Europe) This proportion varies among European countries from one percent in Romania to 35 percent in the Czech Republic, France and the United Kingdom. All the participating European countries had a lower rate of lifetime cannabis use than did the U.S.

Use of any illicit drug other than marijuana. The MTF study finds that 23 percent of 10th grade students in the United States had used some illicit drug other than marijuana in their lifetimes. The ESPAD survey finds that an average of six percent of 10th grade students in the 30 participating European countries had used some illicit drug other than marijuana in their lifetimes (six percent in Northern Europe, five percent in Southern Europe, and seven percent in Eastern Europe). This proportion varies among European countries from two percent in Cyprus and Finland to 12 percent in the United Kingdom. All the participating European countries had a lower rate of lifetime use of illicit drugs other than marijuana than did the United States.

Lifetime use of specific illicit drugs other than marijuana. The MTF study finds that 16 percent of 10th grade students in the United States have used amphetamines, 10 percent have used LSD or other hallucinogens, eight percent have used cocaine, six percent have used ecstasy, and four percent have used crack. The ESPAD survey finds the corresponding average figures for 10th grade students in the participating countries to be two percent for amphetamines, two percent for LSD or other hallucinogens, one percent for cocaine, one percent for ecstasy and one percent for crack. The highest European rates of amphetamine use were found to be eight percent in the United Kingdom and seven percent in both Estonia and Poland. The highest European rates of hallucinogen use were found to be five percent in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Czech Republic, and four percent in Moscow. The highest European rates of cocaine use were found to be three percent in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The highest European rates of ecstasy use were found to be six percent in Latvia and five percent in Ireland. The rate of crack use was found to be two percent or less in all the European countries. The proportion of students reporting having ever injected any drug was quite low in all countries. The only countries with a rate of drug injection over one percent were Russia (two percent) and the United States (three percent).

McElroy Leading UAlbany’s Division I Athletics Program Through NCAA Certification Process
By Carol Olechowski
In 1993, Lee A. McElroy, Jr. - then at California State University, Sacramento - was one of 10 college and university athletics directors nationwide commissioned to draw up the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) certification process. Today, as the University at Albany’s director of athletics, he is leading UAlbany’s 19-sport Division I program toward certification.

According to McElroy, a UCLA graduate with 30 years’ experience in athletic and educational administration, the NCAA devised the certification process to emphasize “accountability and integrity” in college sports, “not only on the campus but in society at large.” That call came in response to a 1991 Gallup poll indicating that “the American public viewed college athletics not as a key component of higher education, but as a separate entity.

“People felt that college and university athletics programs were driven by money and negative behavior off the field, and that many of the student athletes failed to achieve academically. There was not a tool for us to counteract that negative image. Now, with certification, we have a tool that is a broad-based self-assessment by all campus constituencies, but is also conducted by our peers. It is a unique program that includes academic accreditation,” noted McElroy, who came to UAlbany last July from American University in Washington, D.C. From 1994 through 2000, 318 Division I universities were certified. In 1998, an amendment to the process granted certification to each institution for ten years, rather than five, and called for a midpoint review during the fifth year.

UAlbany, said McElroy, is “at the beginning stage of Phase I of the certification process - completing the self-study.” The self-study evaluates the categories of Academic Integrity; Fiscal Integrity; Rules Compliance; and Equity, an appraisal of student athlete welfare and sportsmanship. Each of those areas is represented by a subcommittee, added McElroy, a Rules Compliance Subcommittee member. He also serves on the University steering committee, which coordinates subcommittee activity. Frank Thompson, dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, chairs the steering committee, whose 21 members include alumni, faculty, staff, and representatives of the Capital Region community.

For the Phase II peer review process, representatives of other institutions will visit UAlbany “to speak with people and ensure that the things in the self-study are reflected on campus.” After NCAA review of that report, “the University will either be certified, certified with conditions, or not certified,” McElroy explained.

He noted: “We call this the ‘ABC Method.’ ‘A’ is for accuracy; the self-study needs to be accurate. We want to paint things as they are. We don’t expect everything to be fully positive; there will be some things we need to improve upon.

“ ‘B’ is broad-based involvement. That’s why we have a steering committee that will disseminate this information to the entire community, on campus and off.

“ ‘C’ is conformity to the operating principles. We must conform to each of the four areas set forth in the self-study. I am sure that we will, and when those results are confirmed, we will be certified.”

President Hitchcock Elected to National University Board
By Vinny Reda
University at Albany President Karen R. Hitchcock has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the nation’s oldest higher education association.

Founded in 1887, NASULGC is a voluntary association of public universities, land-grant institutions, and many of the nation’s public university systems, dedicated to supporting excellence in teaching, research and public service. As of October 2000, the association’s membership stood at 212 institutions.

This year, NASULGC is calling on Congress and the Administration to develop a new plan for expanding educational delivery in the 21st century. Titled the “Millennium Partnership” initiative, it would draw on resources from federal and state governments and the private sector to ensure that higher education institutions have the infrastructure to integrate technology into the traditional curriculum.

The University at Albany is known for its partnerships in research, educational programs, and economic outreach. UAlbany plays an important role in building a better quality of life for the community while strengthening the economy through its partnerships with private enterprise.

Hitchcock, president of UAlbany since August of 1995, served that year as chair of NASULGC’s Council on Academic Affairs. Her other professional affiliations have included two terms on the National Board of Medical Examiners and one term as an appointed member of the National Advisory Research Resources Council. She is also an elected commissioner on the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

While a vice chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois-Chicago from 1987-1991, she was appointed to the Illinois Governor’s Science Advisory Committee and subsequently elected to its Executive Committee. She also was appointed to Mayor Daley’s Economic Development Commission of the City of Chicago, and was an active board member of the Chicago Technology Park, and the Technology Advancement Center of the University Hospital Consortium. She served on the Executive Committee of the Board of the National Association of Biomedical Research from 1989-1992.

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