LaGuardia College Senate Declares Moratorium on Pathways
The College Senate at LaGuardia Community College rejected Pathways by an overwhelming majority at their Wed., Feb. 27 meeting. By a vote of 23 to 7 in favor, the college governance body passed a resolution declaring a moratorium on Pathways implementation. Student members of the College Senate spoke articulately in favor of the resolution and faculty who had opposed previous moratorium resolutions changed their minds and voted for the moratorium. The LaGuardia College Senate is now refusing to consider any Pathways-compliant courses that are brought before them. CUNY administration wants Pathways to be securely in place by Fall 2013. That time frame is looking more and more difficult to achieve (read more).
Get involved in PSC’s Budget Campaign
Member of the PSC are in Albany today and tomorrow (March 4-5) pressing lawmakers to support the union’s state budget platform. They’re using a new booklet, Invest in Opportunity 2013, to inform legislators about working and learning conditions at CUNY and demanding the resources needed to protect quality and access at our university. You can join the call for more state funding for CUNY by:
- Sending an e-fax to your legislators via NYSUT’s Member Action Center (MAC). The MAC letter that you send after clicking this link hits points from budget platforms advocated by the PSC and our sister union, United University Professions (UUP).
- Signing up via this web form to lobby with the PSC. You can join colleagues from across the state at NYSUT’s Higher Ed advocacy day on Mar. 11 – 12. You can lobby alongside CUNY students at PSC’s Student/Faculty/Staff Higher Ed Action Day on Mar. 12. Or you can sign up for local meetings being scheduled in legislators’ New York City offices in April and June.
Transportation, food and hotel costs for the Mar. 11-12 Albany trips are covered by NYSUT with funds from PSC members’ voluntary contributions to COPE, the unions political action fund. Members can also ride back and forth to Albany in one day with students on the buses for the Mar. 12 Student/Faculty/Staff Higher Ed Action Day.
Junior Faculty Development Day—Fri., Mar. 15
The challenges junior faculty face can be daunting and alienating. But they don’t have to be confronted alone. PSC’s Junior Faculty Development Day is an opportunity for junior and senior faculty to come together and share ideas and experiences to help all faculty thrive at CUNY. Workshops featuring department chairs and recently tenured faculty from a variety of disciplines will offer guidance on navigating the tenure process and using the resources available at CUNY to support scholarship. Members of the PSC leadership and contract administration staff will also be on hand to answer questions. The event will run from 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM on Fri., Mar 15 in the PSC Union Hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor). Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Contact Deirdre Brill, PSC organizing director, for more information.
PSC’s International Committee Presents: They Say Cut Back, We Say Fight Back!
The PSC International Committee will host a forum called They Say Cut Back, We Say Fight Back: Resisting the Closing of Opportunity in Higher Education this Wed., Mar. 6 at 2:00 PM in the BMCC Student Cafeteria. The event will examine local and international resistance to the corporatization of public universities, including student/faculty push back against rising tuition, student loan debt, exploitation of adjunct faculty and the tracking of students along class and race lines. Guest speakers from the “Edu-Factory Collective,” Occupy Wall Street’s Strike Debt campaign, the PSC and Students United for a Free CUNY will be there. Learn more about the speakers here and download a flyer here.
PSC’s Women’s Committee Presents: The Founding Women of CUNY
The PSC Women’s Committee will host a luncheon called The Founding Women of CUNY this Fri., Mar. 8, International Women’s Day. At the event, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History Blanche Wiesen Cook, will describe the key roles that Mina Reese, Ruth Weintraub and Belle Zeller played in the 1961 consolidation of NYC’s seven municipal colleges into the City University of New York. Seating is limited. RSVP by Mar. 6 to Marcia Newfield at [email protected]. Click here to download a flyer.
Adjunct Health Insurance Extended Through April 30
The current adjunct health insurance through the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund has been extended through April 30. Read the message here.
