3/31 email
To All,
Please see this email from Jason Bishop. I asked his permission to share his email with all of you. How many more from our community are asking similar questions?
Scroll down past the first paragraph, and read his questions and concerns.
Wishing everyone all the best!
ges
From: Jason Bishop <jasonbishop002@gmail.com> Date: March 30, 2020 at 3:22:47 PM EDT To: George Sanchez <gesanchez99@gmail.com>, andrea.vasquez@pscmail.org Subject: RE: Faculty Broadcast
Dear George,
Thanks so much for all that you've been doing, and for soliciting concerns from your fellow faculty. The work of the union and its CSI Chapter have been a huge source of sanity and stability during this crisis, and you all should know how much many of us appreciate your leadership right now. Faculty at CSI are really fortunate.
Here's one thing people are going to want some clarity about from administrative leadership at CUNY, and CSI... and soon. What happens if things are not back to normal in fall? This scenario is far too likely for us to not even have a sketch of a financial plan.
In particular, if we're still at reduced capacities/online instruction in fall, enrollment is sure to take a hit. Even with programs like TAP and Excelsior, many would-be freshman will likely not see this as a great time to start college, and under such conditions, at least some already-hard-to-keep-enrolled current students are sure to sit the semester or year out. If that happens, tuition revenue will be decimated–-and thanks to the mismanagement that you know all too well about, the College of Staten Island is already in dire financial straits like never, ever before.
If things are not back to "normal" in September, and there's a good chance they won't be, higher education across the country is going to change for the worse. If tuition revenue gets cut in half at institutions across the country, here's what probably happens:
Rich institutions with endowments, both private and public: they'll mostly be fine
Small private institutions with no endowments: they'll be crushed, some likely even closing
Small, underfunded public institutions with no endowments like CSI: ??????
What happens to places like CSI and other outer-borough CUNY campuses is going to depend a lot on the State, but that's a very scary proposition. Hopefully initiatives like the tax-the-ulta-rich one that our union is promoting will be successful. But that's our plan–what's our administration's plan, should we receive insufficient federal and state support?
Our administrative leadership needs to let us know exactly how they intend to get us through a 2020-2021 academic year in a worse-case financial scenario. If the plans are bad or non-existent, we all need to know that as soon as possible, not in July or August or later.
With each short-term financial crisis in recent US history, public education–-and faculty's role in governing public education–-has seen long-term damage. We need to be vigilant that this crisis does have a similar outcome.
In solidarity,
Jason Bishop Assistant Professor College of Staten Island
To the CSI Community,
I hope this finds everyone safe and healthy!
First, I want to extend my full admiration and respect for all the work full-time and part-time faculty have been doing for transitioning to distance learning! This was/is no easy task and the call to do so happened so suddenly, but due to everyone’s support and understanding of our students’ needs, it is astonishing and commendable how seamless you have made this transition. Thank you all so much for your dedication!
Secondly, I want to reach out and ask if you can please email any questions or concerns you have moving forward with anything having to with your positions. Workplace safety, health considerations, tenure and promotion, online or distance learning and workload? The chapter had a labor-management meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, that was postponed for obvious reasons. But as we await a new date, we are hoping to schedule this meeting sooner than later, and please forward me any questions or concerns you may have. The chapter is acutely concerned with numerous labor and workplace safety issues and we look forward to meeting with President Fritz soon.
The chapter was on the front line advocating for people to work remotely and to close the library from the beginning of this pandemic. We will continue to support, advocate and protect all our members and students as we move forward through this crisis. As stated before, we are ALL in this together!
george emilio sanchez chapter chair