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Home » Issues » Form » Department Chairs Oppose Layoffs and Course Reductions

Department Chairs Oppose Layoffs and Course Reductions

As the chairperson of an academic department at The City University of New York, I stand in strong and public opposition to layoffs of adjunct faculty and reductions of course offerings for students. 

I was elected to this position by my colleagues to provide academic leadership and serve the students we teach.  I was not elected to impose preemptive budget cuts that will mean faculty colleagues lose jobs and health insurance during a pandemic, students lose access to college courses during an economic catastrophe.  Cuts that will cause hundreds, if not thousands, of adjuncts across the CUNY system to lose employment in the midst of a public health crisis are morally repugnant.

Like all New Yorkers, CUNY department chairs have had our lives upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen the inequities of our society laid bare, as the rates of illness and death have risen disproportionately in the low-income communities of color and immigrant communities served by our university. We have witnessed unbearable loss of life in our city, including among our colleagues and our families.

The fiscal challenges we face are real, but calling for mass layoffs of adjunct faculty and reductions in course offerings is the cruelest way to address them.  It shows a failure of imagination, as well as of moral courage.  In this crisis, the CUNY administration should defend the city’s public university, not capitulate to budget cuts before they are even announced by State and City governments or accept cuts when announcements are made.  The CUNY Board of Trustees should stand with us and our union in advocating for new investment in CUNY as a lifeline of economic recovery.

Announcing massive, preemptive cuts to our already underfunded university before every dollar of federal stimulus, every college reserve fund, every potential increase in enrollment and every cost-savings from the campus shutdowns has been publicly accounted for sends the message that CUNY can withstand such cuts.  It cannot.  I oppose being directed to execute them. 

New York will be forever changed by COVID-19.  But the city will not be able to overcome the deepening recession with a hollowed-out public university.  The job of University management is to protect and enhance CUNY, not manage its destruction. I am proud to continue to fulfill the responsibilities for which I was elected as department chair, but I want no part in helping to destroy the University.

List in progress.

Full Name Department College
Shelly Eversley Black and Latino Studies Baruch College
Jessica Lang English Baruch College
Anne Swartz Fine and Performing Arts Baruch College
Thomas Heinrich History Baruch College
Marios Koufaris Information Systems and Statistics Baruch College
Joshua Mills Journalism and the Writing Professions Baruch College
Warren Gordon Mathematics Baruch College
Ali Nematollahy Modern Languages & Comp Literature Baruch College
John Wahlert Natural Sciences Baruch College
Hagop Sarkissian Philosophy Baruch College
David Jones Political Science Baruch College
Jennifer Mangels Psychology Baruch College
Gregory Snyder Sociology Baruch College
Patricia Mathews* Ethnic Studies BMCC
Fred Peskoff Mathematics BMCC
Yolanda Medina Teacher Education BMCC
Ruth Bass Art & Music Bronx CC
Chris Robinson Biological Sciences Bronx CC
Neal Phillip Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Sciences Bronx CC
Jalil Moghaddasi Engineering, Physics, and Technology Bronx CC
Kathleen Urda English Bronx CC
Shazia Khan Health, Physical Education and Recreation Bronx CC
Tamar Rothenberg History Bronx CC
Michael Miller Library Bronx CC
Anthony Weaver Mathematics and Computer Science Bronx CC
Gilbert Marzan Social Sciences Bronx CC
Alexander Lamazares World Languages and Cultures Bronx CC
Prudence Cumberbatch Africana Studies Brooklyn College
Joseph Entin* American Studies Brooklyn College
Jillian Cavanaugh Anthropology and Archaeology Brooklyn College
Mona Hadler Art Brooklyn College
Peter Lipke Biology Brooklyn College
James Lynch Business Management Brooklyn College
Maria Contel Chemistry Brooklyn College
Yoon Joo Lee Childhood, Bilingual and Special Education Brooklyn College
Danielle Kellogg Classics Brooklyn College
Susan Longtin Communication Arts, Sciences & Disorders Brooklyn College
Marianne Gythfeldt Conservatory of Music Brooklyn College
Jacqueline Shannon Early Childhood and Art Education Brooklyn College
Jennifer Cherrier Earth and Environmental Sciences Brooklyn College
Yehuda Klein Economics Brooklyn College
Ellen Tremper English Brooklyn College
Annette Danto Film Brooklyn College
Sunil Mohanty Finance Brooklyn College
Kathleen Axen Health and Nutrition Sciences Brooklyn College
Gunja SenGupta History Brooklyn College
David Grubbs* Performance and Interactive Media Arts Brooklyn College
Robert Lurz Philosophy Brooklyn College
Mim Nakarmi Physics Brooklyn College
Immanuel Ness Political Science Brooklyn College
Alan Aja Puerto Rican & Latino Studies Brooklyn College
Florence Rubinson School Psych Counseling & Leadership Brooklyn College
Eleanor Miele Secondary Education Brooklyn College
Naomi Braine Sociology Brooklyn College
Katherine Fry Television Radio and Emerging Media Brooklyn College
Kip Marsh Theater Brooklyn College
Rebecca Boger* Urban Sustainability Brooklyn College
Mobina Hashmi* Women’s and Gender Studies Brooklyn College
June Williamson Architecture CCNY
Molly Aitken Art CCNY
Jonathan Levitt Biology CCNY
Mitchell Schaffler Biomedical Engineering CCNY
Angel Estevez Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures CCNY
Akira Kawaguchi Computer Science CCNY
Matthew Nagler Economics and Business CCNY
Elizabeth Mazzola English CCNY
Anne Kornhauser History CCNY
Carlos Aguasaco Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences CCNY
Jerry Carlson Media & Communication Arts CCNY
Shaugn O’Donnell Music CCNY
Ben Vilhauer Philosophy CCNY
Robert Melara Psychology CCNY
Maritsa Poros Sociology CCNY
Chang-Hui Shen Biology College of Staten Island
Margaret Berci Curriculim and Instruction College of Staten Island
Ruth Silverberg Educational Studies College of Staten Island
Lee Papa English College of Staten Island
John Wing History College of Staten Island
Cynthia Chris Media Culture College of Staten Island
Natalie Fischetti Nursing College of Staten Island
Kevin Judge Peforming and Creative Arts College of Staten Island
Mark White Philosophy College of Staten Island
Zaghloul Ahmed Physical Therapy College of Staten Island
Michael Paris Political Science & Global Affairs College of Staten Island
Katie Cumiskey Psychology College of Staten Island
Christine Flynn-Saulnier Social Work College of Staten Island
Ananya Mukherjea Sociology & Anthropology College of Staten Island
Lucas Marchante-Aragon World Languages and Literatures College of Staten Island
Jennifer Roberts Classics CUNY Graduate School
Giancarlo Lombardi Comparative Literature CUNY Graduate School
Monica Varsanyi Earth and Environmental Sciences CUNY Graduate School
Kandice Chuh English CUNY Graduate School
Maxime Blanchard French CUNY Graduate School
Stephanie Luce Labor Studies CUNY Graduate School
Carlos Riobo Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures CUNY Graduate School
Norman Carey Music CUNY Graduate School
Mira Goral Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences CUNY Graduate School
Steve London Urban Studies CUNY Graduate School
Charlie Drago Allied Health Science Hostos CC
Hector Lopez Business Hostos CC
Andrea Fabrizio English Hostos CC
Alisa Roost Humanities Hostos CC
Madeline Ford Library Hostos CC
Nieves Angulo Mathematics Hostos CC
Francisco Fernandez Natural Sciences Hostos CC
Howard Jordan Social Science Hostos CC
Anthony Browne Africana and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies Hunter College
Howard Singerman Art and Art History Hunter College
Vivian Louie* Asian American Studies Program Hunter College
Robert Koehl Classical and Oriental Studies Hunter College
William Sakas Computer Science Hunter College
Terrie Epstein Curriculum and Teaching Hunter College
Partha Deb Economics Hunter College
Sarah Chinn English Hunter College
Kelly Anderson Film and Media Studies Hunter College
Marianna Pavlovskaya Geography and Environmental Science Hunter College
Lisa Marie Anderson German Hunter College
Mary Roldán History Hunter College
Suzanne Farrin Music Hunter College
Omar Dahbour Philosophy Hunter College
Carolyn Somerville Political Science Hunter College
Christopher Braun Psychology Hunter College
Erica Chito Childs Sociology Hunter College
Jennifer Samson Special Education Hunter College
Michelle MacRoy-Higgins Speech, Language Pathology and Audiology Hunter College
Joseph Viteritti Urban Policy & Planning Hunter College
Catherine Raissiguier Women and Gender Studies Hunter College
Jessica Gordon-Nembhard Africana Studies John Jay College
Alisse Waterston Anthropology John Jay College
Benjamin Bierman Art and Music John Jay College
Seth Baumrin Communication and Theatre Arts John Jay College
Katherine Stavrianopoulos Counseling and Human Services John Jay College
Jay Hamilton Economics John Jay College
Jay Gates English John Jay College
Allison Kavey History John Jay College
Katie Gentile Interdisciplinary Studies John Jay College
José Luis Morín Latin American and Latinx Studies John Jay College
Peter Moskos Law, Poli Sci & Criminal Justice Admin John Jay College
Douglas Salane Mathematics & Computer Science John Jay College
Andrew Sidman Political Science John Jay College
Shu-Yuan Cheng Sciences John Jay College
Charles Nemeth Security, Fire and Emergency Management John Jay College
Robert Garot Sociology John Jay College
Stuart Parker Behavioral Science Kingsborough CC
Mary Dawson Biological Sciences Kingsborough CC
Jeffrey Lax Business Kingsborough CC
Gordon Alley-Young Communications and Performing Arts Kingsborough CC
Peter Fiume* Education Studies Kingsborough CC
Eileen Ferretti English Kingsborough CC
Michael Napolitano Business & Technology LaGuardia CC
Arthur Lau Education and Language Acquisition LaGuardia CC
Linda Chandler English LaGuardia CC
Abderrazak Belkharraz Idrissi Math, Engineering and Computer Science LaGuardia CC
Maria Entezari Natural Sciences LaGuardia CC
Bojana Blagojevic Social Science LaGuardia CC
Bertrade Ngo-Ngijol Banoum Africana Studies Lehman College
Ryan Raaum Anthropology Lehman College
Melissa Brown Art Lehman College
Janet DeSimone Counseling, Leadership, Literacy & Special Ed Lehman College
Nancy Dubetz Early Childhood and Childhood Education Lehman College
Paula Losocco English Lehman College
Marie Marianetti History Lehman College
Tom O’Hanlon Journalism and Media Studies Lehman College
Daniel Fernández Languages & Literatures Lehman College
Elhum Haghighat Political Science Lehman College
Rick DesRochers* Theatre Lehman College
David Ahn Computer Information Systems Medgar Evers College
Donna Wright Development and Special Education Medgar Evers College
Rupam Saran Education Medgar Evers College
Keming Liu English Medgar Evers College
Judith schwartz Library & Information Services Medgar Evers College
Clinton Crawford Mass Comm Medgar Evers College
Armando Howard Physics and Computer Science Medgar Evers College
Edward Hernandez Social Work Medgar Evers College
Maria Luisa Ruiz World Languages & Cultures Medgar Evers College
Sanjive Vaidya Architecture NYC Tech
Sunghoon Jang Computer Engineering Technology NYC Tech
Robert Lestón English NYC Tech
John McCullough Entertainment Technology NYC Tech
Justine Pawlukewicz Human Services NYC Tech
Ann Delilkan Humanities NYC Tech
Peter Parides Social Science NYC Tech
Ekaterina (Kate) Pechenkina Anthropology Queens College
Yunzhong Shu Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages Queens College
Chris Winks Comparative Literature Queens College
Meghan Healey Drama, Theater, Dance Queens College
Bobby Kabuto Elem & Early Childhood Education Dept. Queens College
Gloria Fisk* Co-director of First Year Writing Queens College
Karen Weingarten English Queens College
Gerasimus Katsan European Languages and Literatures Queens College
Kristin Celello History Queens College
Sarah Covington* Irish Studies Queens College
Michael Newman Linguistics and Communication Disorders Queens College
Alan Sultan Mathematics Queens College
Mara Einstein Media Studies Queens College
Stephen Grover Philosophy Queens College
Steven Schwarz Physics Queens College
Tarry Hum Urban Studies Queens College
Kathleen Wentrack Art & Design Queensborough CC
Sasan Karimi Chemistry Queensborough CC
Hamid Namdar Engineering Technology Queensborough CC
Jennifer Maloy English Queensborough CC
Andrea Salis Health, Physical Education and Dance Queensborough CC
David Lieberman Physics Queensborough CC
Kathariya Mokrue Behavioral Sciences York College
Ivica Arsov Biology York College
Jonathan Hall English York College
Linda Rose Barley Health & Human Performance York College
George White, Jr. History, Philosophy & Anthropology York College
Lidia Gonzalez Mathematics and Computer Science York College
Margaret Rose Vendryes Performing and Fine Arts York College
Fabiola Salek World Languages, Literatures & Humanities York College
     
*Program Directors, Chief Librarians, Executive Officers who do scheduling and hiring), but appointed rather than elected like Department Chairs.


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