The Academic Standards Committee of the Board of Trustees met on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and discussed such topics as general education reform, admission standards reform and the State Education Department’s proposed “Higher Education Report Card” on public and private colleges. The committee is moving toward finalizing SUNY-wide academic standards.

SUNY College at Brockport President John Van de Wetering announced his retirement, effective July 1, 1997. “I’m extremely proud of our institution and the growth it has seen in recent years,” said Van de Wetering, “especially with the development of new academic programs that are meeting the needs of the changing marketplace.” But he also told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle that state cuts in Brockport’s budget “have prevented expansion of remedial education and counseling for students and the development of new programs.”

Sixteen SUNY campuses were among 1,200 colleges profiled in the new Time/Princeton Review college guide, which came out Sept. 1. The guide, The Best College for You, does not give rankings.

In a letter to the Times Union in Albany, United University Professions (UUP) President, William Scheuerman took issue with a recommendation from the executive compensation committee to the Board of Trustees that would give one-time bonuses to management/confidential employees of the University to “help those managers keep pace” with unionized workers.

Scheuerman said, “These bonuses are a calculated slap in the face to the faculty and professionals who continue to work hard even without a contract and no immediate prospects of a pay raise.”

The Suffolk County legislature was unable to override County Executive Robert Gaffney’s $2.8 million in line-item vetoes and, as a result, Suffolk County Community College, according to Newsday, “faces the possibility of administrative layoffs,” although none will occur immediately due to notice provisions in contracts.

This year’s winner of the SUNY-wide Scharps Memorial Competition, an essay contest for juniors planning to attend law school, is Mark. A Haddad, an honors student at the University at Buffalo currently doing an internship at the U.S. Supreme Court.