PASSED AT HUNTER COLLEGE SENATE
THE HUNTER COLLEGE SENATE
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING QUEENSBOROUGH FACULTY STANCE ON PATHWAYS
WHEREAS, the response to Queensborough Community College Vice President Karen B. Steele’s announcement of sweeping reprisals against the QCC English Department following its rejection of proposed curriculum changes for Pathways has been intense and national; and
WHEREAS, condemnation has been multidisciplinary coming from the PSC, CUNY’s English Discipline Council, from English, Math, Social Science department faculty, and from the AAUP; and
WHEREAS, faculty at Queensborough Community College have now heard that their reappointment is potentially connected to their vote on curriculum; and these explicit threats at QCC echo more subtle threats that have been made at other campuses, as administrators communicate to department chairs and faculty members about the consequences of their votes on Pathways curriculum; and
WHEREAS, the faculty of Hunter College stands with the Queensborough Community College English Department which recently voted to uphold academic standards;
WHEREAS, the atmosphere of intimidation that now surrounds faculty votes on Pathways curriculum is antithetical to a university; and
BE IT RESOLVED, for this to change, the CUNY administration should issue an unambiguous message that it respects the faculty’s right to vote on matters of curriculum—free from intimidation—according to their judgment of the best interests of their students and the standards of their profession; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Hunter College Senate, shall exercise our governance authority, guided by pedagogical judgment, regarding any proposed curricular changes at our college; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hunter College Senate reaffirms its commitment to faculty governance and the control of curriculum by the relevant departments, defending the genuine interests of students as well as faculty and staff against administrative intrusions that are antithetical to the norms and purposes of university life.
Submitted by
Tami Gold
