Times Union

February 15, 2006
by Kenneth Aaron

Pulitzer Prize winner to speak at Skidmore

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Clarence Page will speak tonight at Skidmore College. The Chicago Tribune columnist is delivering the keynote address for the school's Black History Month celebration.

Page, whose columns are syndicated in more than 200 newspapers, also appears on several television shows, including "The News Hour" with Jim Lehrer.

The talk is free of charge and open to the public. It will start at 7 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.

Drug conviction won't stop aid

Here's some good financial aid news if you've got a drug conviction on your record:

New York state doesn't discriminate against that group when it doles out tuition assistance.

That puts the state in a minority, according to a report released Tuesday by the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform.

The group's study found that 24 states turn down aid to every student with a drug record, and another 11 turn down some of those students.

Many states reject aid applications from students because they follow a federal financial aid form; federal laws bar aid to students convicted of federal drug offenses.

NBA's Foyle to be at UAlbany summit

If it's time for the NBA All-Star game, it must be time for Adonal Foyle to show up at the University at Albany.

The Golden State Warriors center will be on campus for the three-day summit of his student-driven campaign finance reform group, Democracy Matters.

Colgate University alum Foyle started the group in 2001. Its members, who belong to chapters on more than 70 campuses, push for publicly funded campaigns.

About 120 students attended last year's event at UAlbany. Foyle and Joan Mandle, a Colgate sociology professor who is the group's executive director, will address students Friday night.

So far this season, Foyle is posting 4.1 points and 5.8 rebounds a game.

Siena, UAlbany balance books

This is a math problem that CPAs-to-be should be able to figure out:

The state is about to require accountants to get five years of training.

Siena College offers four years.

How many years short will Siena accounting majors be?

One year -- which the students will soon be able to take at the University at Albany.

The two schools recently announced an agreement under which Siena students can finish their accounting education at UAlbany and get their state licenses, earning master's degrees at the same time.

The pact, called "The Siena-UAlbany Connection," came about because the state increased the requirements for accounting licensure from 120 credit hours to 150.

The law doesn't take effect until 2009, so freshmen beginning college this fall will be the first ones affected.

Another agreement allows other Siena business students to continue at UAlbany's MBA program.

Bankruptcy filing by the numbers

Early details are in about University Heights Association's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing -- and, not surprisingly, the group owes a lot more money than it owns.

(That's assuming, of course, that a judge decides the money Marty Silverman handed the group was a loan, and not a gift.)

The four-campus consortium, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday, owes almost $34 million, but claims assets of just $16 million, according to court documents.

The biggest chunk of debt, $22 million, belongs to the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation. (It's listed as an "alleged loan.")

Other big-ticket debts include a $2.2 million loan given by Albany Law School to the group and $1.5 million by the Albany College of Pharmacy. Its other two members, Albany Medical Center and the Sage Colleges, also are owed money, but far less.

Kenneth Aaron can be reached at 454-5515 or by e-mail at aaronk@timesunion.com.

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