By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

The University at Buffalo is seeking approval from the state Legislature to raise tuition $200 per semester to fund a portion of the institution's $375 million plan to move its medical school from South campus to downtown Buffalo.

The request is part of a proposal outlined Tuesday by UB officials and supporters who attended a public meeting with state lawmakers, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in hopes of being awarded up to $35 million as part of a new state-supported grant program for public universities.

The UB proposal calls for implementing the next phase of the stalled UB 2020 plan by moving the medical campus to downtown Buffalo. The relocation, parts of which have already been completed, would create 3,000-plus new jobs in the region by 2018, officials said.

A rational tuition plan, they said, would generate more dollars to support the relocation and expansion. A financial aid program financed by tuition revenues would support tuition discounts for students and families making less than $75,000 a year.

"This proposal will enable UB to pursue its plan for academic excellence and contribute more significantly to Buffalo's emerging biomedical economy," UB President Satish Tripathi said. "Our tuition proposal will give UB the means to pursue academic excellence while protecting students' access to high-quality education, especially for the state's neediest students."

The suggested tuition policy would cap increases based on annual incomes. Specifically:

• Tuition would not increase for families earning no more than $40,000 per year.

• Tuition would rise $30 per semester for families making between $40,000 and $60,000 per year.

• Tuition would rise $70 per semester for families making between $60,000 and $70,000 per year.

• Tuition would rise $100 per semester for families making between $70,000 and $75,000.

The NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program, announced last month, calls for awarding up to $140 million to SUNY research universities in Buffalo, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook in an effort to boost job growth in New York state through investments in public higher education. UB is the first of the four institutions to submit an application for $35 million of the $140 million in available funding.

Both Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos were impressed by UB's presentation. Cuomo said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the proposal will be approved before the current legislative season ends.

"We understand the situation in Buffalo, we understand the situation in Western New York and we understand how long you've been struggling on the economic side and how difficult it has been," Cuomo told Tripathi and other Buffalo representatives. "(UB 2020) is ... the most excitement I've seen generated, the most hope, the most unanimity and that in itself is something. This has brought a sense of belief and energy and purpose to Buffalo that I haven't seen in a long, long time."

The state Assembly, however, continues to question some aspects of the UB 2020 plan, namely the university's desire to raise tuition. Following UB's presentation, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told Tripathi and others that state lawmakers must ensure that all students are able to access the state's public university system.

"Public higher education must remain truly public," Silver said. "That's our imperative."

Tuition at UB is currently $4,970 per year for in-state students. That does not include another $12,000 or so for room and board, transportation, books and other fees.

The proposal outlined Tuesday is the latest initiative to move forward with the oft-heralded UB 2020 plan. The original vision for the project called for $5 billion in investments to grow all three campuses and add thousands of new students, faculty and staff, all for the purpose of creating a world-class research institution. Tripathi, who succeeded former UB President John Simpson in April, said at the time that he would review the priorities of UB 2020, given the state's previous reluctance to approve a rational tuition policy and the overall decrease in state funding.

This latest phase, UB officials said, would be financed by: $35 million from the governor's challenge grant, $100 million from UB capital and other sources, $100 million from medical school program fees, $50 million to be raised in private gifts to the UB medical school, $50 million from private partnerships and $40 million in research grants.

Along with Tripathi, medical school Dean Michael Cain, Kaleida Health president and CEO James Kaskie and UB Council chairman Jeremy Jacobs appealed to lawmakers. Buffalo City Mayor Byron Brown and Robert Brady, CEO of Moog Inc., were also present.