A summary of some new news related to CUNY's and CSI's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See https://csi-covid19.github.io for the archive.
To add/suggest news, please email John Verzani
At a 5/27 Town Hall over 250 members of the community showed up. None were happy coming in and none had any reason to be happy on leaving.
The words "retrenchment" and "furlough" were used as an alternate possibility to dramatic cuts to the temporary personnel budget (Adjuncts, CAs, graduate assistants, NTAs...).
In comments about the 5/27 P&B meeting, it was heard that 128 CAs were on the bubble; that the president wants credit for saving money on positions he chose not to have but is "chartered" to have (whatevere that means); and that some feel the "consultation" process is not real.
It was heard that despite calling 40+ people together for the reopening committee on 5/26; at least two committees were being formed in parallel for research and many more may be needed.
May 28th would have been our day for graduation and the announcement of Dolphin Awards. Sadly these seem to have been an unitended victim of the pandemic.
5/27 email calling for special meeting Several members of the college community ask for a special meeting to, the purpose of the meeting is to debate and vote on a resolution.
Clarifies the PSC position on a grade strike (defeated twice by vote) and mentions upcoming meeting with President Fritz.
5/26 CUNY Distinguished faculty Ben Lerner on the cuts (thanks to Alyson B. for pointing this out)
It doesn't take a Guggenheim Fellow or MacArthur fellow to know this, but it helps get the impact across
...Remaining classes will then swell, which is bad for in-person education, but worse if classes remain online, as anybody who has tried to teach on Zoom can attest.
Cuts to the adjunct budget have no other translation.
Despite funding from the CARES Act, which allocated $237 million to CUNY to split equally for direct student aid and institutional needs stemming from the pandemic, some faculty and CUNY colleges are preparing for the worst. Brooklyn College, College of Staten Island, John Jay College, and Queens College have all announced plans to make significant cuts to their adjunct faculty and part-time staff.
“There is no justification for the terminations of employment and, in many cases, of health insurance that CUNY colleges have announced,” said President of the Professional Staff Congress Barbara Bowen.“Taking such actions at any time would be alarming; doing so in the midst of a pandemic after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid is inexcusable. CUNY must do better.”
5/26 NYPost OPED: Top-earning public officials should cut their pay amid NY's fiscal crisis
And CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez’s salary is $623,500; joining the cap (200K maximum salary) could pay for a dozen adjunct profs.