Syracuse University officials say the university’s influence on Capitol Hill and in the New York State Assembly is integral to the university’s success.

The decisions made both in the U.S. and state capitols can directly impact SU students, faculty and staff. To remain relevant and ensure that its interests are being represented when decisions are made, SU strategically lobbies and maintains contact with national and state politicians, said former U.S. Rep. Jim Walsh (R-NY), who was a congressman for 20 years and represented SU along with other parts of central New York.

As an organization that employs in-house lobbyists, SU is responsible for filing a lobbying report every quarter. The report details the type of contact the university has had with the elected officials and the total amount of money the university spent on lobbying activities that quarter, said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president of public affairs at SU.

The university released its third quarter report for 2015 on Tuesday, in which it reported spending $60,000 on lobbying efforts. Over the past five years, SU has spent on average $65,000 per quarter on lobbying efforts, according to lobbying disclosure forms on the U.S. House of Representatives website.

A majority of the money SU spends on lobbying goes toward the salaries of full-time government relations’ staffers at the university, Quinn said. He added that SU uses its staff to maintain a constant presence in Washington, D.C. and Albany and will lobby for anything from veterans resources to financial aid, the latter of which has been a focus in SU’s recent lobbying efforts.

The university is currently focused on sustaining programs like the state’s Tuition Assistance Program and the country’s Pell Grant and Perkins Loan Programs, Quinn said.

“We work every day to ensure that the financial aid and support our students get from federal and state entities is sustained,” Quinn said. “We are always looking to gain more support for our students and families when it comes to the cost of college.”

SU remains in constant contact with elected officials and hires consultants outside the university to help with things like federal relations, Quinn said.

Walsh, the former House representative, said building a relationship with SU’s political representatives is the most important thing the university can do. He said universities need to establish an open channel of communication and prioritize their relationships with elected officials.

As a congressman, Walsh said he would often receive phone calls from the chancellor or the Office of Government and Community Relations updating him on the issues most important to the university.

One such issue was veteran affairs. Walsh said he remembers SU officials coming to him asking for the initial funds for a veterans’ outreach program, and now the university is a national leader in providing support for veterans.

“Those official funds really launched them to become nationally recognized,” Walsh said. “So this shows that you need to spend time with your representatives and show them a long-term view of where the university’s priorities are, and then start small and build from there.”

In order to determine SU’s priorities, there is constant discussion between SU’s students, faculty, deans and leadership, Quinn said. The university tries to invite elected officials to as many campus events as possible so they can see firsthand the work SU’s students and faculty do every day, he added.

This personalized touch is important, especially since representatives in Congress are introduced to thousands of bills each year and only about 4 percent of the bills traditionally pass, said Mike Fulton, a member of the Association of Government Relations Professionals.

Communication is essential because it is possible for bills to interfere or conflict with a university’s mission, and there are a lot of unintended consequences that can occur if universities are not voicing their concerns with elected officials from the beginning, Fulton said.

“There is a saying that is if you are not at the table, you are probably on the menu,” Fulton said.

To avoid being the dinner special, SU officials actively engage with people at all levels of government — federal, state and local — and the university is a member of organizations such as the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Commission of Independent Colleges and Universities, said Eric Persons, the associate vice president of the Office of Government and Community Relations, in an email.

These organizations often lobby for national and state issues important to all higher education institutions, allowing SU to focus its efforts on issues more specific to SU, Persons said.

The SU-specific issues that the Office of Government and Community Relations advocates for vary, as seen in the university’s first and second quarter lobby reports for 2015.

SU contacted U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) twice about education matters: once to discuss higher education issues with New York state Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and then later to discuss the reauthorization of the Federal Perkins Loan Program.

Between Jan. 1 and June 30, SU also discussed veterans-related initiatives with the congressman and senators, encouraged the Committee on Energy and Commerce to support the 21st Century Cures Act and spoke with Katko about an amendment regarding public broadcast facilities, according to the reports.

Although SU collaborates with its representatives and creates relationships based on trust, former U.S. Rep. Walsh is quick to point out the importance of being flexible as well.

“Things change in politics,” Walsh said. “Things change in Washington. Sometimes the Republicans are in charge; sometimes the Democrats are in charge. And you have to adjust to that.”

Published on October 20, 2015 at 10:51 pm

Contact Kate: kacapoda@syr.edu