Testimony from the CUNY Board of Trustees Hearing – May 12, 2025

John J. Dennehy, Professor, Queens College and The Graduate Center: “Unlike the Ivy League schools, CUNY does not have the resources to support faculty research in the absence of federal funding. We must change the narrative, and the public must learn about the catastrophic consequences of cutting funding for public universities! The consequences of the administration’s cuts to science funding are already devastating our community. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, have suddenly lost their financial support, vital summer programs have been canceled, and ongoing research projects are grinding to a halt.”  (Read John J. Dennehy’s full testimony.)

Lynne Turner, Graduate Assistant, The Graduate Center: “CUNY runs on the labor of nearly fourteen thousand part-timers including eleven thousand teaching adjuncts. Our adjunct faculty teach the majority of undergraduate classes, we share our expertise and mentor students, we conduct research, we coordinate essential programs, many of us for multiple decades. Yet, the vast majority of our adjunct faculty continue to labor under the conditions of extreme contingency which CUNY has appallingly come to rely on as its business model… The time is now to stop stalling and stonewalling and honor the multi-year appointments agreement that we bargained.”  (Read Lynne Turner’s full testimony and watch her video testimony here.)

Joseph Entin, Professor, Brooklyn College: Does violation of an events policy by peaceful protesters not impeding access or interrupting educational activity warrant riot police and arrests on campus? … There was no safety threat on campus until the police arrived.  The police, and ultimately the university, and not the students, were the source of violence. The university must be a place where non-violent dissent is protected, even nurtured. As custodians of CUNY, I urge you to ensure there are no disciplinary charges brought against any of the student protesters faculty or staff.  (Watch Joseph Entin’s video testimony here.)

Claire Wladis, Professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College: “The negative impacts of these federal grant terminations cannot be overemphasized.  There are immediate negative impacts to students, staff and researchers employed on these grants who abruptly lose health insurance and income that they depend on to pay living expenses, including educational expenses for their children and unreimbursed medical costs. Most of the terminations at the NSF have been to educational research, which is critical to improving student outcomes and providing a quality education to all students, regardless of background or resources, which is the fundamental core of CUNY’s mission.”  (Read Claire Wladis’ full testimony.)

Photo: BMCC website

Paul Brown, Adjunct Lecturer, BMCC: “As an adjunct lecturer, I spend each semester not knowing if I will be able to pay my rent the next semester. The woeful lack of job security makes it extremely difficult to plan for the near future, let alone my long-term future. The pay per course is thousands less than adjuncts earn across the river at Rutgers, making it extremely difficult to save anything.”  (Read Paul Brown’s full testimony.)

Nicole Lopez-Jantzen, Associate Professor, BMCC: “I am deeply disturbed by the callous attitude displayed by the CUNY administration towards students as well as faculty & staff, which goes directly against CUNY’s purported mission to ‘Lift all New Yorkers”… CUNY students and workers have the constitutional right to protest, and the CUNY administration should support these protests as opportunities to learn and confront difficult topics instead of opportunities to be brutalized and have their speech suppressed.” (Read Nicole Lopez-Jantzen’s full testimony.)

Kevin Adams, HEO, Medgar Evers College: “The library, which should be a sanctuary for learning and intellectual growth, has become a source of illness and fear. Students are forced to study in disgusting conditions, staff members are risking their health to serve our community, and valuable resources are being damaged. The consequences of this neglect are far-reaching. The mold overgrowth not only poses serious health risks but also undermines the integrity of the library’s collections and archives as well as erodes the trust between the administration and the college community.”  (Read Kevin Adams’ full testimony.)

Jenna Tipaldo, Adjunct Lecturer, PhD Student, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health: “My fellow students are in peril – lost research funding means that some of them may be unable to complete their studies, for various reasons, and some are considering leaving academia or even the country for more stable opportunities. I see faculty members across my various institutions uncertain of whether they will be able to continue their important work studying topics such as health, migration, and mortality due to environmental hazards, including disproportionate impacts on frontline and environmental justice communities.”  (Read Jenna Tipaldo’s full testimony and watch her video testimony here.)

The Executive Council of the Hostos PSC-CUNY chapter: “CUNY is among the most diverse institutions of higher education in the world, and, as a result, different viewpoints and potentially uncomfortable ideas are central to both its fabric and its mission to providing an excellent education to all students, regardless of their social, racial, ethnic, religious, or political background.

At a time when universities and our rights to free speech, protest, and assembly are under serious attack, we urge you to reaffirm in the strongest terms the importance of free expression at CUNY and to safeguard this right to all members of the CUNY community.”  (Read the full testimony of the Hostos PSC chapter.)