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This Week in the PSC

This Week in the PSC (03.06.17): PSC Members Testify About Why CUNY Faculty Need More Time with Students and for Scholarship

Apr 13, 2017

Last Friday, President Bowen and 20 PSC members testified before the City Council in support of CUNY’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request for $35 million to fund the Faculty Partnership for Student Success Initiative. The Initiative would allow a restructuring of the full-time faculty workload to enable more time with individual students and more time for research. The faculty spoke from personal experience about how the attention they pay to students and their scholarship leads to greater student success and a richer educational experience. In her testimony, Associate Professor Nichole McDaniel, chairperson of the biological sciences department at Bronx Community College, said:

“There are few things more profoundly frustrating than having a desire to help without the ability to do so. Despite seeing hundreds of students, I can’t help but see how many more there are that fall through the cracks. Our students need and deserve to have the sort of undergraduate experience that I did—for which I am extremely grateful. Our students, and the people of New York City need your help to fill in those cracks.”

Video of the hearing is available here. CUNY testified first about the University’s overall budget request. President Bowen’s testimony begins at the 1:42:00 time stamp. Testimony from other faculty and students begins at 1:54:00. Written testimony from CUNY faculty is posted here on the PSC’s City Budget campaign page.

La facultad de CUNY está lista…sólo necesitamos los recursos

Member-written opinion pieces from CUNY faculty and staff are a critical part of the PSC’s budget campaign every year. They expand our capacity to reach the public and influence lawmakers. More than that, they tell the stories of struggle and success that make CUNY a worthwhile public investment. Lizette Colón, chair of the PSC chapter at Hostos Community College, argued for more State investment in this Spanish-language piece in El Diario by telling the story of special student and the committed adjunct professor who is making all the difference for him. If you have a story to tell, contact PSC Communications Coordinator Fran Clark at [email protected].

March with the PSC on International Women’s Day—Wed., Mar. 8

As part of the union’s resistance to President Trump’s agenda and the inequality, hate and misogyny that fuels it, the PSC will rally and march in support of the “Women’s Strike” this Wednesday, March 8, International Women’s Day. PSC members will join a rally scheduled for 4 PM in Washington Square Park. To find us, look for the white and red “PSC Says” signs. After the rally, we will march with the crowd to Zuccotti Park, making stops at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory site, the Immigration Detention Center at Varick Street, the Stonewall Inn, the African Burial Ground National Monument and other sites of resistance and commemoration. Email PSC Organizing Director Deirdre Brill ([email protected]) to let us know you’ll be there.

Use #womenstrikeus and #8M to Show Solidarity on Social Media

Woman around the world who cannot miss work on March 8 because of economic insecurity, fear of losing their jobs or other reasons will show support for the Women’s Strike by posting photos and messages on social media with the hashtags #womenstrikeus and #8M. CUNY faculty and staff, both women and men, who by state law are subject to steep individual fines for participation in any form of work stoppage, can show solidarity at the rally/march and on social media.

Junior Faculty Professional Development Day—Save the Date, Fri., Mar 31

The challenges newly hired faculty face can be daunting, but they don’t have to face them alone. There is still space available at the PSC’s Junior Faculty Development Day Friday, March 31 from 12-5 PM in the PSC Union Hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor). It’s an afternoon of workshops and presentations from department chairs, tenured faculty and union officers organized to help faculty navigate the tenure process and utilize the resources available at CUNY to support their scholarship. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. To RSVP or to ask questions, contact Deirdre Brill, PSC Organizing Director, via email: [email protected] or phone: 212-354-1252. Experienced faculty are asked to please forward this message to your newly hired colleagues.

Labor Goes to the Movies Presents: The Lady from Shanghai–Fri., Mar. 10

PSC’s film series will explore the theme “The Politics of Genre” with a screening of The Lady from Shanghai (Welles, 1946) on Fri., Mar. 10 in the PSC Union Hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor). In the film, Rita Hayworth is married to a brilliant but disabled lawyer (Everett Sloan) who masochistically pushes his wife into the arms of the hired seaman (Orson Welles) amidst an intrigue of murder, sex, jealousy, and money that ends appropriately in a spectacular hall of mirrors. Learn more. Doors open at 6 PM. Refreshments provided. There is a $2 suggested donation.


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