The governor recently vetoed a bill that would have permitted senior-citizen housing at SUNY Purchase, and now the college’s president is urging the governor to reconsider.

Purchase wants to lease some unused property to an operator of retirement communities.

Seventy-five percent of the money reaped from leasing the property would have gone toward scholarships for needy students and the rest would have funded additional full-time faculty members.

According to an article by my colleagues Cara Matthews and Joseph Spector up in Albany, Paterson said in his veto that learning communities could be valuable, but they should be developed at SUNY based on a common plan, not “piecemeal.”

Purchase President Thomas J. Schwarz is urging the governor to reconsider the “great merits” of legislation, saying it would benefit students and the community.

“The project has enormous benefits for all concerned and we earnestly would like to see it move forward,” Schwarz said. “We intend to resubmit the bill to the legislature at the earliest opportunity and to urge Governor Paterson to reverse his decision and to approve this legislation that will be part of his important legacy for New York State.”

Read on for more information.

PURCHASE COLLEGE ASKS GOVERNOR TO RECONSIDER

SENIOR HOUSING VETO

Thomas J. Schwarz, President of Purchase College, expressed his profound disappointment upon learning of the veto by Governor David A. Paterson of legislation passed by both the New York State Assembly and Senate for the lease of land on the Purchase College campus for development of a senior learning community central to the college’s educational and cultural mission. President Schwarz urges Governor Paterson to reconsider the great merits of this legislation benefiting students and the community.

“We are grateful to the countless New York State residents who see the value of this senior housing on the Purchase Campus and have worked tirelessly advocating for the passage of this important legislation,” said President Schwarz. “People are committed, and they have devoted years to a project they consider significant to the community and most importantly public higher education, and they will continue to work for its realization.”

The multi-year effort garnered an enormous amount of support from the community including leaders in Westchester County and the Town of Harrison who recognized the value of the significance of this project beyond the campus.

Even in his veto message, the Governor called “the intent of the bill laudable and consistent with a national trend of developing such communities in association with institutions of higher learning.”

The learning community at Purchase College would provide seniors with

a residential environment filled with intellectual stimulation. A large number of seniors already audit courses and participate in continuing education programs. They are active participants in programs at the Neuberger Museum of Art and The Performing Arts Center. A senior learning community on the campus would provide even more incentives for them to remain active and involved as patrons and audience members for student and professional performances and at exhibitions. There would be opportunities for them to volunteer at the Children’s Center the Neuberger Museum of Art, and The Performing Arts Center.

They could also be involved as mentors and tutors and enrich the classroom experience for students with their perspectives of another era. Programs for the study and research of gerontology will benefit faculty and students through this interaction.

The benefits are enormous, and the proceeds from the long-term lease would provide much needed scholarships facilitating access for serious and talented students, many of whom are financially disadvantaged, as well as support for faculty whose primary responsibility is teaching.

“The project has enormous benefits for all concerned and we earnestly would like to see it move forward. We intend to resubmit the bill to the legislature at the earliest opportunity and to urge Governor Paterson to

reverse his decision and to approve this legislation that will be part of his important legacy for New York State,” said President Schwarz.