CUNY chancellor, under fire over budget cuts, defends reductions as key to cutting deficit
Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez on Thursday defended multiple rounds of painful spending cuts and a hiring freeze across the City University of New York as measures that have slashed the cash-strapped university system's structural deficit by "almost half." By the end of this year, CUNY expects to shrink its deficit…
More needs to be done for CUNY, SUNY schools
What CUNY and SUNY need is adequate funding to provide an excellent education to these students. Governor Hochul increased funding for our senior colleges in her first two years, but not nearly enough to offset years of state disinvestment. Her budget plan for next year doesn’t do much to help.…
Bargaining Update 10 | Resisting Mid-year Cuts
At the first bargaining session in three months, with close to 60 members observing, the PSC bargaining team was finally able to regain momentum that was lost due to CUNY’s delays. The team put forward nine demands dealing mainly with matters of workload, equity, and professional respect. Management reported on…
Queens College Professors Stage Protest in Response to Layoffs
The first day of the spring semester at Queens College saw a crowd of at least 100 picketing outside of Kiely Hall in response to last minute layoffs of over 20 faculty. The Jan. 25 rally was organized by the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union after administrative leadership at the…
Queens College part-time professor among 24 laid off in recent CUNY staff reductions, not surprised by decision
A former part-time professor at Queens College in Flushing who was laid off earlier this month along with 23 other faculty members, said the bad news came as no surprise. Malcolm MacDougal III, 34, who had taught sculpture as a part-time professor at Queens College since 2016, was among the…
Assemblymember discusses new bill to end property tax breaks for NYU, Columbia
Some state lawmakers are hoping to get a bill passed that would put an end to property tax breaks for New York University and Columbia University. The measure aims to have those institutions pay full property taxes. The money would then be used to help fund the CUNY school system.…
Protesters lambast Adams in the Bronx during annual State of the City Address
Mayor Eric Adams faced a coalition of boisterous demonstrators as his motorcade pulled up in the Bronx for his State of the City Address on Jan. 24. Their language in greeting the mayor was anything but laudatory. Several hundred fuming New Yorkers assembled along 149th Street, all with their own…
2024 Begins With Wave of Job Cuts
For a number of institutions, the year began with bad news: announcements of program and job cuts, the result of ongoing financial pressures and enrollment challenges. It is a common refrain among institutions of higher education; you can read our previous coverage of campus cutbacks here, here and here. The…
A strong contract and budget need you
Dear Colleagues, I hope this message finds you refreshed and looking forward to the Spring semester! Meeting and working with new students, launching programs and classes, getting a fresh start - this is what keeps our work vital. Your continued dedication to our students means that, despite deepening austerity at…
New York City Is ‘Back From the Brink,’ Mayor Says in Upbeat Speech
“The state of CUNY is not strong right now,” James Davis said, noting that city colleges have cut courses and enacted a hiring freeze.
