It’s confounding to see Mayor Adams, a two-time CUNY graduate who calls himself “the CUNY Mayor”, take a hatchet to the CUNY budget again with this 5% mid-year cut. I guess no one should be surprised because since he took office, Mayor Adams has undermined CUNY at every opportunity, eliminating nearly 300 faculty lines due to attrition for our nationally renowned University system since his first budget, leaving the community community colleges short of faculty and staff, and students without the support they need to succeed.
The 70,000 New Yorkers who attend seven CUNY community colleges deserve a top notch education, not repeated cuts to faculty and support services. Today’s announcement is baffling because CUNY enrollment is up after a pandemic related decline. That means more students but fewer professors, advisors and counselors. The enrollment increase is thanks in part to City Council Speaker Adams’ spearheading the “CUNY Reconnect” program that brought 14,000 students back to CUNY last academic year.
It seems like almost everyone knows that CUNY has a high return on its investment, except for Mayor Adams. CUNY graduates earn higher average wages than those without a degree, and they stay in New York to fulfill their careers. We urge the mayor to finally recognize CUNY as an institution that benefits all New Yorkers. “The CUNY Mayor” should be funding the university he claims to support.
Published: November 16, 2023
