It was bad enough hearing about how SUNY Albany plans to nuke (or, in their kinder, gentler parlance) “deactivate” degree programs in French, Russion, Italian, classics, and theater. The rationale offered–and the scapegoat named–was the state’s budget cuts. President George Philip blamed those pesky New York legislators for the $2.2 million shortfall, posing as a pained and regretful messenger powerless to affect outcomes.

That stank, and countless folks have pointed that out. They asked reasonable questions, such as: Surely there are other ways to keep vital liberal arts programs alive? And: Surely the funds can be found–by cutting less vital things, or by simply doing more with less across the board?

The answer appeared to be a regretful shake of the messenger’s head.

Now, though, the math is becoming more clear. And a decision that already stank to high heaven stinks even higher. It turns out that the problem is not really one of an impossible budget shortfall — but of priorities. Here’s SUNY Albany French professor Brett Bowles writing in the Times Union:

… itemized budget figures provided by the university’s Office of Finance and Business show that there are several nonacademic areas that could absorb the $2.2 million.

The most obvious of these is athletics, which for 2010-11 is receiving $4.27 million in state allocations (a 26 percent increase since 2005-06), plus another estimated $9 million in non-state revenue — $6 million to $7 million of which comes from a mandatory “intercollegiate athletics fee” paid each semester by UAlbany students. The fee ranges $122.75 to $245.50, based on the student’s credit load (http://tinyurl.com/2bu462e).

President Philip has stated that athletics are crucial to the quality of student life and to external fundraising, particularly alumni donations. While this is certainly true, to some extent, the fundamental fiscal question remains: Will athletics attract more donations and other external revenue in 2010-11 than the $13 million they absorb?

Of course not. UAlbany’s sports teams compete in conferences that receive almost no national exposure and do not have access to the lucrative television broadcast contracts, merchandising or revenue sharing agreements enjoyed by large, nationally known programs.

Bowles goes on to observe what should be obvious, but clearly isn’t to those calling the shots, that “At a time of severe budget crisis when a business model is being invoked to justify the elimination of academic programs, non-academic units such as athletics should be held to the same standard of cost effectiveness.” He goes on to note that schools more serious about their academic missions–among them UC Berkeley and Hofstra–are taking meaningful steps toward ensuring that athletics doesn’t swallow more than its share of an increasingly small budgetary pie.

Bowles reports that when confronted with faculty and student opposition to the “deactivations,” Philip countered by telling them to come up with a different budgetary solution. “Having now offered him one,” Bowles concludes, “I ask that he put it to a vote of all UAlbany faculty, staff and students.”

There’s already been quite a bit of bad leadership here. Philip can now make things worse by digging in his heels, or he can start doing some constructive damage control by revisiting his decision. What kind of president is he? And how long-lived will his time at Albany be? I think both those questions will be decided shortly.