SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor wants to cut her salary by 10 percent and impose the lowest percentage tuition increase in 43 years as part of the university’s budget for 2009-2010.

Under the proposed $978 million spending plan, the university is seeking a 4.5 percent increase for tuition and room and board.

The total cost for a year at Syracuse would reach $47,993, said university spokesman Kevin Morrow.

The proposed budget is up 2.8 percent from the current $951 million. Cantor presented the budget to staff and faculty Wednesday and will go to the board of trustees for review in the coming week.

The university faces a combination of rising costs and falling revenues in the coming academic year, said Louis Marcoccia, Syracuse’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Legal, insurance, energy and financial aid costs are expected to rise, while revenue sources, such as interest from the university’s endowment, are expected to be down.

Student financial aid appeals are up, and the university wants to increase financial aid for students by 11.6 percent next year, from $147 million to $164 million.

While Syracuse needs more money for financial aid, its endowment has dropped from about $946 million in June to about $672 million in February. That means endowment revenue projected at about $34 million for the next fiscal year, about $7 million less than the current year.

The proposed tuition increase will boost revenue less than it has in past years. Last year, the tuition increase generated about $18.1 million more. This year, the net gain will be about $3.4 million, according to the university.

More students will be getting more financial aid, which will also cut into tuition revenue. The university expects to enroll 12,372 undergraduates, including 3,200 freshmen in the 2009-2010 academic year.

To prepare for the expected revenue shortfalls, Cantor announced in January that the university was eliminating 71 vacant positions and laying off 48 staff and administrative employees. That, coupled with other cost cutting measures such as freezing top administrators’ salaries, is expected to save about $8 million in the current budget and about $12.1 million in the 2009-2010 budget.

Internal Revenue Service records show Cantor was paid $550,000 in 2008.

The proposed budget does not call for more layoffs, but it does propose a salary freeze for all employees making $50,000 or more. The freeze is expected to save about $5.3 million.

Syracuse employs about 6,500 staff and faculty.