On Thursday, March 7, President Barbara Bowen testified before the NY City Council Higher Education Committee about funding for CUNY and the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2020. In her testimony, President Bowen called on the Council and the Mayor to invest an additional $112.8 million in CUNY community colleges and senior colleges. The funding is needed for three critical areas:

• $70 million to cover mandatory cost increases ($35.1 million), including building rentals, fringe benefits and the negotiated agreement to provide more opportunities for faculty to work with students outside the classroom ($35 million).
• $32.8 million to cover two decades of inflation in the City’s standard senior college contribution.
• $10 million to help eliminate the TAP Gap for Associate’s degree students attending CUNY comprehensive colleges.

In her testimony, Bowen also asked for the Council’s support for the union’s campaign for a contract supportive of quality education that has fair raises for all CUNY faculty and staff and $7,000 per course for CUNY adjuncts.

CUNY testifies first in this archived video of the hearing. President Bowen’s testimony begins at the 1:48:00 time stamp. Click here for a summary of the hearing from Gotham Gazette.