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.…
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…
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.
State of the City | Protesters deliver Mayor Adams an airing of explicit grievances in the Bronx
“He’s [Mayor Adams] has taken a page right out of Trump’s playbook with fake news. He cares more about his people in blue than he does about us,” Valerie Reyes-Jimenez of Housing Works said, admonishing the mayor for vetoing the How Many Stops Act that would require the NYPD to…
Over 20 Professors Let Go Of Two Weeks Before the Spring Semester
Queens College notified department chairs and deans last Wednesday that over 20 professors will not be reappointed — a mere two weeks before the Spring 2024 semester is set to begin. While that notification in the form of an email went out on the 10th, the professors that were let…
