“I
haven’t seen her since March,” said a person who works in the
same suite of offices. “She’s one of those phantom people,”
said someone else who works nearby.
That’s
how Ninfa Segarra was described by two employees at the Baruch
College administrative building where Segarra purportedly carries
out her duties as a Vice President of the Research Foundation of
CUNY (RF CUNY).
Controversial
Appointment
Even
before April 2000, when Segarra assumed her RF CUNY position, her
appointment had been a source of confusion and controversy. And to
this day, faculty members feel that they have not received
sufficient answers about her $115,000 salary, or what Segarra does
to earn it.
A loyal
supporter of Mayor Giuliani, Segarra was the first person Giuliani
appointed to his Cabinet after winning the 1993 election. In 1994
he named her as one of his two appointments to the Board of
Education, where she became known for her sharp attacks on the
mayor’s critics.
On
February 15, 2000, the Mayor’s office announced that Segarra
would be leaving her Deputy Mayor job for a post at CUNY. “City
Hall’s loss is undoubtedly CUNY’s gain,” the Mayor said at
the time. The next day a CUNY press release stated that Segarra
would start in April as “Vice President for Inter-Campus
Collaboration of the CUNY Research Foundation”—a position that
had not previously existed. The release said that Segarra would
work on partnership programs between colleges, the College Now
program and outreach to city public schools.
MIA?
Since
then, it is unclear how many hours Segarra has devoted to her job
at CUNY or exactly what she has accomplished. By all accounts, she
is rarely seen at her CUNY office, located at Baruch. This
reporter visited Segarra’s office six times, during business
hours, and never found either Segarra or her CUNY assistant,
Ricardo Velez.
Manfred
Philipp, a chemistry professor at Lehman College, called
Segarra’s office at Baruch last April to discuss a project idea,
involving a federal program that pays for public school teachers
to work in scientific research labs during the summer. Philipp
says he left several messages in April and got no answer; the
central operator at Baruch told him that Segarra “is not there
very often.” In May he received a message from a Board of
Education staffer, asking for more information. Philipp called
back with details—and then “that was it,” he said. “No
more response. She never responded.” Philipp is chair of the
Research Foundation’s Faculty Advisory Council, and a member of
its Board of Directors.
Philipp
noted that his experience mirrored that of a colleague, who
contacted Segarra’s office several times over a two-month period
about a project that appeared to fall under her purview. Although
this was over six months ago, Philipp’s colleague still has not
received an answer.
Segarra,
through an assistant at her Board of Ed office, refused repeated
requests for an interview. The assistant, Anne Rotz, and Velez of
Segarra’s CUNY office both declined to estimate how many hours
per week she spends on her CUNY responsibilities, or provide any
examples of her accomplishments. When asked for that information a
third time, Rotz said, “You’ll have to ask Goldstein.”
"Busy
with Many Projects" -- But No Examples
Faculty
members did just that earlier this year. At a February 6 meeting
with Chancellor Matthew Goldstein in early 2001, “we asked the
chancellor specifically what she was doing,” said Lenore Beaky
of LaGuardia Community College and a member of the executive
committee of the University Faculty Senate. “He said she was
busy with many projects, and that’s all he said. He did not cite
any specific examples.”
Contacted
by Clarion in June, CUNY Director of Public Information Rita Rodin
would say only that Segarra “makes recommendations to the
Chancellor on various projects, including her input as a member of
the CUNY Assistance Team working with Hostos Community College,
and her efforts to expand the College Now Program.” She could
not provide any details on what Segarra has done for CUNY during
her 14-month tenure.
Judy
Watson, Goldstein’s executive assistant and a member of the
Hostos team, said that Segarra had been quite helpful in putting
together a survey for Hostos on business training needs in the
Bronx, and has also been involved with high school collaboration
and student retention issues. “On Hostos, she has
contributed,” Watson said. She could not say, however, how much
time Segarra spends on Hostos-related matters. The Hostos team has
met three or four times since it completed its report last
November, with members working independently.
Concerns
about Segarra’s position extend back before her appointment.
Rumors had circulated that she was interested in the presidency of
LaGuardia Community College, and her RF appointment was widely
viewed as Goldstein’s compromise with City Hall.
Appointment
Made Without a Search Process, Interview or Vote of Approval by RF
Board
John
Davis, professor of biology at Bronx Community College, was then
chair of the RF’s Faculty Advisory Council. Davis was concerned
by Segarra’s appointment because it was made without a search
process, interview, or vote of approval by the RF board, in
violation of the Foundation’s by-laws. In a letter to the
chancellor, Davis asked for an explanation of these violations.
Goldstein replied that Segarra was not in fact a vice president of
the RF, but would instead function as a program director for a
grant. According to Davis, Goldstein suggested that the title was
arbitrary.
But the
title “is very misleading and makes people wonder where the
money [for the position] is coming from,” said Davis.
The
faculty has not yet received a clear answer to that question. At
the UFS meeting of February 29, 2000, after Segarra’s
appointment was announced, Goldstein was asked about the source of
Segarra’s grant. He answered that “the money is being fueled
by City government.” Beyond that, he declined to be specific.
“You asked a question that I shouldn’t respond to publicly,”
Goldstein said. “It is as if you asked me about a colleague at
your campus, what she is being paid, and how it is being
funded.”
In June of
this year, the Chancellor’s spokespeople were unable to say who
was providing the funds for Segarra’s salary and expenses. Vice
Chancellor Jay Hershenson could not name the funding agency, but
said, “She is not a University employee. She is not paid through
tax-levied funds.”
"Inexplicable
and Ill-defined"
Nina
Peyser, the executive director of the Research Foundation,
declined to comment, referring all queries to Hershenson. Bernard
Sohmer, chair of the UFS, said that “the folks at RF report back
that [Segarra] has nothing to do with RF except having her checks
cut there.” He referred to Segarra’s position as
“inexplicable and ill-defined.”
“As far
as I can see,” Sohmer added, “this has no legitimacy
whatsoever. It’s like squeezing jello.”
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