Mayor de Blasio’s Executive Budget for CUNY
Mayor de Blasio’s Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 includes plan to invest $20 million in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs at the CUNY community colleges. In a statement released to the press, PSC President Barbara Bowen called the proposed STEM investment “a powerful first step in ending the era of public disinvestment in CUNY.” “Investments in CUNY pay off quickly,” she said. “Especially if they’re investments in the full-time faculty and student support staff, who teach classes, mentor students and help students to graduate on time and imagine new possibilities for their lives.” Read the full statement and find links to the PSC’s budget testimony and advocacy materials on PSC’s City Budget Campaign page.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will hear testimony about the budget from the CUNY administration at a public hearing this Friday morning from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Council Chambers in City Hall. Live streaming video of the hearing will be available here on the City Council website.
North American Adjunct and Contingent Activists to Gather at CUNY
Early Registration Ends May 20
Activists from the U.S., Mexico and Canada will gather at John Jay College August 4-6 for the eleventh biennial conference of the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor (COCAL XI). Register here. COCAL is a chance to connect and strategize with comrades in the fight for adjuncts, contingent faculty and other precarious academic workers. “Shaping an Equitable and Democratic Future for Higher Education: The Way Forward” is the conference’s theme. Winning job security, livable wages, academic freedom, and better working conditions for precarious academic laborers is its goal. The early registration rate is $225; attendees registering after May 20 pay $250. The fee includes several meals and a boat trip around Manhattan. Help to build the movement for higher education at the grassroots. Register at cocalinternational.org. Download a flier to share with colleagues. For more information, call Arsenia Reilly at 212-354-1252.
Photos of CUNY at the Council
CUNY at the Council, the annual City budget advocacy day cosponsored by the PSC, NYPIRG and CUNY USS, took place last week. Throughout the day, almost 100 CUNY faculty, students and staff met with more than 30 council members and their staff to urge support of a joint platform of investment in CUNY and financial aid. Visit the PSC’s City Budget Campaign page for photos and updates on City Budget.
