State funding for Binghamton University is at an all-time low. James Van Voorst, vice president for administration of BU, said that state taxpayer support of the University is currently 21 percent of BU's operating budget. Tuition, research grants and private donations make up much of the rest of BU's operating budget. Harpur College, BU's predecessor, was absorbed into the SUNY system in 1965. Since then, BU's designation as a state school is based on its inclusion in the SUNY system, which is administered in Albany, and is not determined by the percentage of University funds that come from the state. New York State is not required by law to support Binghamton University or other SUNY schools by any minimal level of funding. "State funding, in theory, could go down to zero percent and we'd still be a state school," Van Voorst said. "The state has no law that requires a certain level of funding."
