ALBANY — State University leaders are unwilling to accept budget constraints demanded by the administration of Gov. David Paterson and are in discussions with the governor’s Budget Division to try to resolve the disagreement.

Carl Hayden, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, told the board’s executive committee Tuesday that the Budget Division is “viewing us as an agency even though we are not an agency,” noting that SUNY has separate governance and fiduciary responsibilities, including to the students and their parents who pay tuition.

At issue is the state budget, enacted in April, which provides agencies with 3.35 percent less in operating funds than had been proposed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The Budget Division is claiming that SUNY’s share of this spending restraint amounts to $148.2 million. SUNY has accepted $38.8 million of that amount that comes directly from operating aid but says the state should not be demanding that SUNY restrain spending it derives from sources such as student tuition and fees, and revenue from the three hospitals operated by the SUNY system. For the University at Albany, that means a 0.85 percent funding reduction from what Spitzer had proposed.

Hayden’s position echoes that taken earlier by the SUNY faculty union, United University Professions.

Hayden indicated there is room for compromise and that SUNY could accept another $11 million-plus in spending cuts from the Spitzer proposal, bringing the total amount to over $50 million. He suggested new estimates of hospital revenues could help narrow the gap further between what the Budget Division is seeking and what SUNY is willing to give, but that there needs to be some give from the Budget Division, too.

Hayden also said there is some “inequity” because the City University of New York is being asked for far less spending restraint than SUNY.

Other trustees supported Hayden’s position, with some saying the hospitals cannot afford any spending reductions and that the state needs to recognize SUNY’s role in stimulating economic growth.

Budget Division spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said later that “the Division of Budget is continuing to have productive discussions with SUNY concerning the university’s budget. The governor clearly understands the important educational and economic development role SUNY plays in New York, and we look forward to reviewing their proposal.”

But Gordon also said the governor’s position is that SUNY is a state agency and that the 3.35 percent spending restraint in the budget does apply to it.

Hayden said discussions are ongoing with the Budget Division and he is hopeful of a resolution. SUNY does plan to comply with the governor’s direction to submit by Friday a plan for spending restraint. What happens next, he said in response to a question from Trustee Carl McCall, will depend on how the Budget Division responds.

In other business, the trustees appointed Alan Davis president of SUNY’s Empire State College, which is headquartered in Saratoga Springs. Davis, who was vice president of education at Vancouver Community College in Vancouver, B.C., will start Aug. 1 at SUNY. He will be paid $210,000 per year with a $4,000-per-month housing allowance.

The trustees approved funding for two capital projects at Schenectady County Community College, for rehabilitation of Elston Hall (total cost $2.72 million) and upgrades to the fire alarm system (total cost $398,000).

Hayden gave trustees an update on the search for a new permanent SUNY chancellor, whom he hopes to have appointed this summer. Six candidates are at the top of the list, he said, but “I’m not at all satisfied that that list is sufficiently diverse.”

James Van Voorst was appointed interim vice chancellor for finance and administration at an annual salary of $235,000.

Jonas Chartock was appointed executive director of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, at $185,000 per year. He previously served as founding president and chief executive officer of the Charter School Policy Institute in Austin, Texas, a position he has held since 2005.