HOME
| POLITICAL-LEGISLATIVE |
TEACH-CUNY | LOBBY-YOUR-LEGISLATOR
CUNY’s Governance System
CUNY’s
17-member Board of Trustees is responsible for setting policy for the
University. The Board appoints the chancellor of the University and the
individual college presidents.
There
are 16 voting members. New York’s Governor appoints 10 members of the Board,
including the chairman and the vice-chairman of the Board. The Mayor of New York
appoints five Board members. The Governor and the Mayor must appoint one
resident from each borough. The chair of the University Faculty Senate is a
non-voting member of the board and chair of the University Student Senate is a
voting member of the board.
In
its bylaws, the Board acknowledges the principal of shared governance, which
gives faculty a role in determining the academic and administrative direction of
their institution. In practice, many faculty feel that the Board has ignored
this principal—which is widely endorsed by the nation’s leading public and
private universities—in the face of political pressure to end open admissions,
eliminate remediation at the senior colleges, and raise academic standards.
However,
the trustees do not have unilateral control over the University.
The
New York State Regents oversees and approves Board decisions by requiring that
the University submit a Master Plan for the University every four years. The
Master Plan defines the University’s priorities for the next four years,
including new academic directions, new programs and new facilities.
The
Regents held a hearing on the most recent CUNY Master Plan last fall. PSC
leaders and officers of the American Federation of Teachers, the American
Association of University Professors and the United University Professions of
SUNY urged the Regents to reject the plan.
Said
PSC President Barbara Bowen: “The Master Plan uses the language of reform to
cover an attack on the right of people in this city to higher education and on
the principle that faculty and staff are best qualified to set academic
policy.”
The
Plan does little to improve the academic experience of the majority of CUNY
students. The only proposal for replenishing full-time faculty is for “cluster
hiring” in flagship programs, which are largely selected because of their
potential for making a profit. There is no plan for across-the-board renewal of
faculty or of hiring throughout the liberal arts—the foundation of an academic
experience.
The
Regents approved the four-year plan, but ordered the University to establish a
“constant reporting mechanism” so that the Regents could monitor the impact
of the Plan on the University and its students. The state board also said that
the University must replenish its full-time faculty and guarantee student
access.
The
Board of Trustees’ ability to replenish faculty ranks is in large part
determined by state lawmakers. The State of New York is the largest single
source of funds for CUNY’s operating budget. Roughly 53 percent of the
University’s 2000-2001 operating budget came from the state. Balance comes
from student tuition and the City of New York.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani exercises tremendous influence over the CUNY Board of Trustees through his appointees, through his close ties to Board Chairman Herman Badillo, who wants to succeed Giuliani as mayor, and through Board Vice-Chairman Benno Schmidt, Jr., who is chairman of Edison Schools. (Edison was chosen by New York City Board of Education to privatize five public schools. The controversial proposal has been under fire from community activists and parents.)
HOME
| POLITICAL-LEGISLATIVE |
TEACH-CUNY | LOBBY-YOUR-LEGISLATOR