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CITY UNIVERSITY

SPOTLIGHT on

ALUMNI Legislators any CUNY alumni serve in the state legislature. Here are some stories about them and about the University's commitment to training leaders.

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“Two-fer” Legislators Take a Second Helping of CUNY Learning

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Senator Seymour Lachman has a long relationship with two CUNY colleges. Many of his colleagues in Albany have studied or taught at more than one institution. See page 4.

Senator Lavalle: Students Need Help; Financial Aid is a Big Component

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Senator Kenneth LaValle, chair of the Senate's higher education committee, discusses the needs of public colleges and how the Legislature can and must help. See page 10.

Assemblyman Canestrari: Enhance Quality of Faculty and Programs

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Assemblyman Ronald Canestrari, chairman of the Assembly's Committee on Higher Education, says state support should be enhanced to improve services on campus. See page 12.

Brooklyn College Sends Many Alumni to Serve in Albany

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What is it about Brooklyn? Why have so many Brooklyn College graduates gone on to serve with distinction in the state Legislature? For some answers, see page 8.

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Sp L E G eci I S L al A T Ed I V E itio n • Spring 2004

New Program Offers Politics 101 tephanie Rosario is intrigued by what makes politics tick. There is, she says, the fascination of give and take, the back and forth of things, the "manner in which individuals reach out to their representatives and subsequently these representatives can discuss and lobby for their concerns on everything from health and safety to justice and equality." The Brooklyn College student, who is majoring in political science and minoring in sociology, is learning about the underpinnings of politics first-hand by working in the office of Assemblymember Felix Ortiz of Brooklyn, thanks to the Black, Puerto Rican & Hispanic Legislative Caucus/CUNY Scholars Program, which awards high-achieving students internships with members of the New York State Legislature. Rosario, who wants to become a public-interest attorney or a law clerk for a federal judge, says that the CUNY internship is vital to her career plans. "My aim is to improve the lives of workingclass citizens," she says. This year, a dozen students, including Rosario, are serving communities throughout New York City as interns in district offices of state legislators through the new program, created by Assemblymen Adriano Espaillat and Darryl Towns. The internship allows undergraduate students to earn 12 to 15 college credits and receive a $5,000 stipend. "Through the leadership and initiative of Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (alumnus, Queens College) and Caucus Vice Chair Darryl Towns (alumnus, Medgar Evers College), the first-time program is providing high academic achievers at CUNY with the opportunity to learn first hand about the district office operations of state legislators. The participating student scholars will help research issues, work with constituents, and assist in the delivery of services," said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. Legislators who are participating in the Black, Puerto Rican & Hispanic Legislative

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Three CUNY students who'll be working as interns in legislators' district offices are, from left, Andre Harding (Queens College), Stephanie Rosario (Brooklyn College) and Kathlene Burke (Baruch College).

Caucus/CUNY Scholars Program are: Senate Minority Leader David A. Paterson, Senator Kevin S. Parker, Senator Malcolm Smith; Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly-man and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Herman D. Farrell Jr., Assembly members Michael Benjamin, Espaillat, Towns, Jose Rivera, Adam Clayton Powell IV and Assemblywoman Michele R. Titus. Like Rosario, Roxanna Thomas, a political science and history major at York College, aspires to high goals: She wants to earn a doctorate in international relations and feels that her CUNY internship with Senator Paterson will serve as a minicourse in the politics in everyday life. “My long-term personal career goals are quite simple: I want to save the world,” she says. "Now, here is the hard part: I want to have a family at the same time." While Andre Harding, a history major at Queens College, says that saving the world may not be within his power, he does hope that his internship in the office of Assemblyman Farrell helps him make a career choice that will benefit the world, even if in a small way. "Faculty members have told me they see me as a politician,

but as yet I do not know whether I want to enter politics, but I would like to find out," he says. "I'm doing the internship so I can work close to politics." For Kathlene Burke, the CUNY internship with Assemblyman Towns represents yet another step in her involvement in politics. Burke, a Baruch College student who is majoring in finance and who plans a career in public-interest law, has taken an active role in campus matters, participating in a 2003 protest against planned tuition hikes. “A concerned group of students and I went to Albany to participate in a rally,” she says. “In addition, we encouraged others to get involved by calling their representatives and mailing letters, explaining our opposition to the tuition hikes.” The internship, she says, will give her valuable insight into serving the needs of the community. “I will be able to experience first-hand the ways in which policymakers aim to serve their constituents," she says. “The internship will also educate me on many of the problems faced by members of the minority community. Most of my adult life has been spent in these communities, which has impassioned me toward a career defending civil rights."

Extending the Tenure Clock actual practice) to complete sufficient ection 6212 of the New York State research and writing leading to publication Education Law governs tenure at worthy of tenure. Also, a seven-year span CUNY. The section requires that appears to be the norm on tenure become effective on campuses around the nation. the first day of September Therefore, I hope that CUNY following reappointment for will extend its tenure period, the sixth full year. As such, so that we do not lose candithe decision to grant or deny dates who are good instructors tenure must be made during and who perform needed servthe fifth year to be in compliice to the department, college ance with the terms of the and university, and who, with statute. Since the deadline for sufficient time, would prove notification of reappointment to be successful scholars in with tenure is December 1st Chancellor Goldstein their respective fields." of the fifth year, the period of The University has proassessment prior to consideraposed a modification to current statutory tion for tenure is in fact even shorter. language that would lengthen the tenure Over the past several years, CUNY facclock to seven years in response to faculty ulty have expressed many concerns about concerns. the short tenure clock. The following comWe have scheduled a town meeting to ment from a CUNY department chair is a clarify and help shape implementation of case in point: the proposed new tenure clock, consistent "I have many times encountered the sitwith proposed legislative reform. We weluation in which the candidate simply come the ideas and comments of all fullneeds more time than five years (four, in

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time faculty at the meeting or by e-mail to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Louise Mirrer, at [email protected]. In anticipation of some questions that may arise, we have prepared the following questions and answer.

Q. Why does CUNY want to change the tenure clock? A. The issue is fundamentally about fairness—fairness to the candidate and fairness to his or her evaluators. The fiveyear tenure clock actually provides a faculty member with only three-and-onehalf to four years to develop a body of work to be evaluated. In the sciences, this is a short period of time to establish a lab and show promising results. In the humanities, it is a short period of time to publish a book or articles in refereed journals. These problems are underscored by external Continued on back page

An Historic Training Ground for Leaders ne of the best measures of a university’s worth is the success of its students after graduation. By that yardstick, The City University has set the standard as a democracy of excellence and opportunity. CUNY’s graduates have made enormous contributions to every field of endeavor, including medicine and the sciences, engineering, the arts, architecture, business, law, teaching and public service. For example, eleven Nobel Laureates are CUNY graduates, and the University is also a leading source of top business executives. CUNY is also the national leader in producing minority Ph.D.’s, doctors, engineers and scientists. It is not surprising, therefore, that CUNY has been the training ground for so many outstanding leaders of New York City, New York State and the nation. From Secretary of State Colin L. Powell (CCNY, 1958) to Senator Robert F. Wagner (CCNY, 1898), and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter (CCNY, 1902) to former New York Mayors Abraham Beame (CCNY, 1928), Edward I. Koch (CCNY) and the current State Comptroller Alan Hevesi (Queens College, 1962), CUNY’s graduates have played prominent roles in the legislative, executive and judicial branches. For example, the University has produced many distinguished members of the New York State Legislature, including three Assembly Speakers: Stanley Fink, Saul Weprin and Mel Miller. They played

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leading roles in advancing progressive agendas in New York State and lent strong support for public higher education and The City University. Shirley Chisholm (Brooklyn College, 1946), the first African-American woman elected to Congress, served in the State Assembly from 1964-68. She fought to pass legislation that helped create CUNY’s SEEK Program (Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge), which has made it possible for many disadvantaged youths to attend college. In 1972 she became the first African-American to run for President of the United States. Baruch College has the distinction of graduating the youngest African-American currently in the State Assembly: Carl E. Heastie, who is now working toward his MBA at Baruch. In addition, former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer is currently enrolled in Baruch’s School of Public Affairs’ MPA Program and, like City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, is on his way to becoming a CUNY alumnus. Of course, one cannot discuss Baruch College without noting that Bernard Baruch (CCNY, 1889), after whom the College was named, served as an advisor to several Presidents of the United States. Other CUNY graduates who have made their marks at the state and city levels include Alton Waldon, Jr. (John Jay College, 1968), who was an Assemblyman from 1983-86 and a Senator from 1991-

99, when Governor Pataki nominated him to the State Court of Claims. Waldon also served in Congress. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn, 1970) spent a total of nine years earning his degree in political science (while working full time), and served as student government president in the School of General Studies during seven of those years. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1978 and to his borough’s presidency in 2001. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. completed his graduate degree at Hunter College. Larry Seabrook is a “three-fer” – Kingsborough Community College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Law School – and is currently a member of the New York City Council. He served in both the State Assembly and Senate, and was chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Legislative Caucus. The current head of the caucus is Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat (Queens College), and the vice chair is Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns (Medgar Evers College). Seabrook has also been an adjunct professor at John Jay. Councilman Charles Barron, who chairs the Higher Education Committee, graduated from two CUNY colleges – New York City Community College (now New York City College of Technology) and Hunter College.

Colin Powell Miguel Martinez (John Jay, 1995) is in his second term on the City Council, where he serves on the Committee on Higher Education. He was student council president as an undergraduate at John Jay. Eliot Engel, congressman from New York’s 17th District, covering parts of the Bronx, Westchester and Rockland Counties, hold two degrees from Lehman College: His bachelors in history and his masters in guidance and counseling. Congressmen Gary Ackerman and Joseph Crowley graduated from Queens College in 1965 and 1985, respectively. Representative Ackerman served in the State Senate from 1979-83, while Congressman Crowley was an Assemblyman from 1986-98. In addition, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is a 1972 alumna of Queens College. Former Deputy Mayor Rudy

FROM THE

CHANCELLOR’S DESK

Education Yields Social and Economic Riches f late I have had many opportunities to talk about CUNY’s successes in improving its standards, enrollment, and retention. Our academic programs are expanding, we are hiring more faculty, and we have a highly successful Honors College now in its third year. But I think it is important to place CUNY in a broader context—one that illustrates just how important CUNY is city- and state-wide. Recently I testified before the New York State Assembly Way and Means and Senate Finance Committees on the upcoming capital budget. It was a challenge to describe the full force of this university’s educational, cultural and economic contributions. Still, a few statistics can convey some sense of CUNY’s impact. In its roles as educator and employer, CUNY touches the lives of a great many New Yorkers. Last year CUNY enrolled about 450,000 students in its degree, and adult and continuing education programs. In Fall 2003, 45 percent of all of the college students in the City of New York were attending CUNY. That alone is a testament to our vital role in helping students climb the educational and economic ladder to success. The students we serve could not get a quality education, at the hours that suit them, in the boroughs where they live, at a competitive price,

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

from any other educational entity. Since the mid-1960s, CUNY has produced over 800,000 graduates. CUNY awards almost 9,000 associate degrees, about 14,600 bachelors degrees, and about 6,400 masters degrees each year. A conservative estimate suggests that at least one-third of college-educated New Yorkers are CUNY graduates. We know that the vast majority of our alumni remain in the City of New York after graduation, contributing to the local economy and to their communities. Since 1995, more than 16,400 of our alumni earned undergraduate degrees in computer-related fields and more than 8,800 students graduated from nursing programs (undergraduate and graduate). These two fields alone represent essential areas of commerce and social service in New York. Students entering the labor force with CUNY degree in hand earn much more than high school graduates and are much more likely to remain employed. Median salaries for employees who have completed an associate’s degree are $7,787 higher than those of high school graduates. For bachelor’s degree recipients the differential is $16,322. Each graduating class (including all undergraduate and graduate degree recipients) earns $618.5 million more in its first year after graduation than it would have earned with just a high school diploma. This increment in earnings is due both to the higher salaries and to the lower unemployment rates associated

with educational attainment. Once again, 31,000 people, who pay taxes and use local this increased income contributes to the goods and services. Of that number, nearly tax base of New York State. 63 percent are instructional staff. At a time The University also serves about 40,500 when nationally there is a 5 percent decline high school students through the College in the number of tenured professors, Now Program and another 8,000 in CUNYCUNY is deeply committed to increasing affiliated high schools. About 62 percent of the number of full-time professors in the CUNY first-time freshmen come from classroom. Faculty tend to remain at the New York City public high schools. The college at which they teach for many years, long-term positive impact of early exposure and all that time they are taxpayers and to college on high consumers, in addition to school students’ the cultural contribution The vast majority of future attendance is they make to our neighborwell documented. The hood communities. our alumni remain increased likelihood of All of these statistics fall college attendance for short of describing the perin the City of those high school stusonal and powerful effect dents involved in CUNY has on individual New York after College Now and lives. One of the most other early intervenengaging demonstrations of graduation, tion programs predicts that impact can be found greater advancement on CUNY TV’s program contributing to the and income for them. “Study With the Best,” As a major which frequently features local economy and employer and pursegments highlighting the to their communities. development and outcome veyor, CUNY generates a large amount of one-on-one relationships of economic activity and mentoring between through its purchase of goods and services, professors and students (Sundays at 8 a.m. construction activity and salaries paid. For and 8 p.m. on Channel 75). It’s those kinds example, every $100 million used in the of relationships that are formed every day construction of projects for the City at CUNY, and they make up the backbone University employs over one thousand of our special brand of education. construction-related personnel and purI know that the Legislature strongly supchases building materials from state and ports the very best education possible, as local vendors. In fiscal year 2002 these do I. With your continued and enhanced direct expenditures totaled $2.2 billion, support, CUNY will have the resources to which created another $1.7 billion in addimake an enormous difference in the lives tional indirect earnings. of New Yorkers locally, statewide, and globFinally, the University currently employs ally for many years to come.

SPOTLIGHT on

ALUMNI Legislators A S S E M B LY M A N

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT n 1996, Adriano Espaillat, a graduate of Queens College, became the first DominicanAmerican elected to a State House in the United States. He represents the 72nd Assembly District, which encompasses Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill in Upper Manhattan. He credits Queens College with playing a major role in his subsequent success. “Queens College simplified the process and helped me a great deal in obtaining higher education,” he said. “As a SEEK student I received the help and resources that made it possible for me to graduate.” A graduate of Bishop Dubois High School, he earned his B.S. degree in political science from Queens College in 1978, and later completed postgraduate courses in public administration at New York University and the Rutgers University Leadership for Urban Executives Institute. Support for CUNY and higher education are paramount in Espaillat’s legislative agenda. A strong advocate of opportunity programs such as HEOP, EOP and SEEK, as chair of the Commission on Science and Technology he also championed restoration of funds for the STEP and C-STEP programs which provide tuition assistance and academic support for students. Queens College and CUNY play a vital role for low-income groups, minorities and immigrants, according to Espaillat, who noted that the Borough of Queens has one of the state’s most diverse immigrant populations. “CUNY’s affordability makes it possible for these groups to obtain higher education,” he added.

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Herman Badillo

Marty Markowitz

Washington is a graduate of the CUNY Baccalaureate Program, while Hiram Monserrate (Queensboro CC, 1995) was a police officer before being elected to the New York City Council. The contributions of CUNY’s graduates at the city, state and national levels date back many decades. For example, George B. DeLuca (CCNY, 1909) was New York State’s Lieutenant Governor, while Herman Badillo (CCNY, 1951), was the first Congressman of Puerto Rican background. He also served as Bronx Borough President, New York City Deputy Mayor and chairman of CUNY’s Board of Trustees. Milton Helpern (CCNY, 1922) was New York City Medical Examiner for several decades and became a legendary figure in forensic medicine. Theodore Karagheuzoff (CCNY, 1955) was New York City’s Traffic Commissioner, while Mario Procaccino (CCNY, 1935) served as New York City’s Comptroller. Many CUNY alumni have made their marks on the State judiciary, including Stanley H. Fuld (CCNY, 1923), a member of the Court of Appeals, the State’s highest tribunal, for 27 years. Theodore R. Kupferman (CCNY, 1940) was a leading New York State appellate judge who also served in Congress and was a New York City Councilman. Several hundred CUNY alumni have sat on the benches of New York State’s Supreme and City Courts, a number too numerous to list in this article. Many others have played prominent roles in the federal government. They include Stanley Surrey (CCNY, 1929), Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Philip Elman (CCNY, 1936), who served on the Federal Trade Commission; Daniel S. Goldin (CCNY, 1962), who headed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Herman J. Cohen (CCNY, 1953), who was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and United States ambassador to Senegal. A Tradition of Public Service The success of the University’s alumni

Shirley Chisolm

in every area of government is a direct outgrowth of the vision of CUNY’s founders. When he established The Free Academy–forerunner to The City University–in 1847, Townsend Harris articulated a democratic vision of academic excellence, expanded opportunity and public service that was revolutionary for its time. The 1840’s were a period of great social ferment in America. The spread of the Industrial Revolution, new inventions, scientific advances, and the arrival of large numbers of immigrants were changing the face of New York City and the nation. A leading merchant and president of the Board of Education, Harris was appalled that the city, with a population of over 500,000, had only two private colleges with fewer than 300 students. For all practical purposes higher education was available only to the children of the wealthy. Aware that New York’s growth and progress would depend on an educated citizenry, Townsend Harris called for the founding of a new institution to educate the children of the working class, immigrants and the poor. He stated his vision this way: “Open the doors to all. Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct, and intellect.” The idea of extending higher education

Benno C. Schmidt Jr. Chairman Valerie L. Beal Randy M. Mastro John S. Bonnici Hugo M. Morales John J. Calandra Kathleen M. Pesile Wellington Z. Chen Carol Robles-Román Kenneth Cook Nilda Soto Ruiz Rita DiMartino Marc V. Shaw Joseph J. Lhota Jeffrey Wiesenfeld Agnes M. Abraham Chairperson, Student Senate

Susan O’Malley Chairperson, Faculty Senate

to the masses was very controversial and faced strong resistance. But Harris succeeded in gaining the approval of a forward-looking New York State Legislature, which agreed to allow the City’s voters to make the decision in a referendum. To their eternal credit, New Yorkers voted by an overwhelming 6 to 1 margin to approve The Free Academy. In 1913 President John H. Finley introduced the Ephebic Oath as part of CCNY’s Commencement exercises. Modeled on the oath of devotion taken by the young people of ancient Athens, generations of graduates have pledged to transmit their city “greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.” While the oath speaks of the city, it is interpreted to include New York State, the nation and the world. And while it began at CCNY its spirit has come to infuse the entire City University. Today’s students and recent graduates are adding to CUNY’s proud tradition. They are winning prestigious scholarships and fellowships, gaining admission to leading graduate and professional schools, and making their marks in public service and a host of other fields. These students are writing new chapters in The City University’s inspiring story of access, academic excellence and service to others that began with Townsend Harris’s vision over a century and a half ago.

The University has produced many distinguished members of the New York State Legislature. They played leading roles in advancing progressive agendas in New York State.

Board of Trustees The City University of New York

Stanley Fink

Chancellor Matthew Goldstein Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Secretary of the Board of Trustees Jay Hershenson University Director of Media Relations Michael Arena Editor: Gary Schmidgall Writers: Drew Fetherston, Rita Rodin Photographer: André Beckles Graphic Design: Gotham Design, NYC Articles in this and previous issues are available at cuny.edu/news. Letters or suggestions for future stories may be sent to the Editor by email to [email protected]. Changes of address should be made through your campus personnel office.

Prepared by The City University of New York Office of University Relations 535 East 80th Street New York, NY 10021 (212) 794-5317 Published by The Legislative Gazette PO Box 7329 Albany, NY 12225 518-473-9739 www.legislativegazette.com

A S S E M B LY W O M A N

DEBORAH J. GLICK ssemblywoman Deborah J. Glick’s years at Queens College gave her the opportunity “to explore a broad liberal arts education at a quality institution that was affordable.” Two of her three sisters also attended Queens. A lifelong resident of New York City who has lived in Greenwich Village for thirty years, she owned and managed a small printing business in TriBeCa before joining the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she worked until 1990. The first openly gay member of the State Legislature, Glick worked for passage of the sexual orientation non-discrimination bill, which was signed into law in December 2002, and for passage of a state-wide domestic partnership legislation. Glick also played a key role in advancing the Women’s Health and Wellness law, enacted in 2003. Glick said Queens College made her life choices possible. Consequently, she is “thoroughly committed to seeing successive waves of new students able to have the same opportunity.”

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

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Legislature’s “Two-fers” Drink President Gregory H. Williams

and

The City College salute

New York State Legislators and CCNY Alumni Joel M. Miller Steven Sanders

all them “two-fers” — legislators who, having sipped from the well of knowledge at one campus of the City University, returned to take the waters of wisdom at another. Assemblyman Dov Hikind is one: He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Queens College, then went on achieve a master’s degree in urban administration from Brooklyn College. Hikind’s father had a fruit and vegetable store where he worked long hours and sixday weeks. The family struggled to make ends meet, and the low cost at Queens and Brooklyn Colleges made it possible for him to obtain a higher education. The first member of his family to attend college, he credits CUNY with offering him “the opportunity to get a high-quality education in an atmosphere that was conducive to learning.” State Sen. Ada L. Smith is another two-fer. She tried the world of work for six years before entering college. “I saw myself doing lots of work and not getting promoted,” she recalls. Smith began taking evening courses at CUNY’s New York City Technical College and, like many CUNY students, continued working full-time. “I took a full course load at night and finished up in 1971, after two and a half years.” After receiving an associate degree in marketing, she quit her job to continue her studies in that field full-time at Baruch College, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1973. “My college studies taught me how to put together a marketing plan and how to take stock of a situation realistically in order to put that plan into effect,” she says. Keeping tuition affordable, she adds, “is an investment. Every CUNY student who goes on to become a taxpaying citizen creates a more solid tax base within this state.”

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Baruch also drew Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow back to CUNY, after he had earned an associate’s degree in business administration at Queensborough Community College. “Baruch gave me a good business sense and taught me how to read, understand and prepare budgets and business plans, all of which is essential in my work in the Legislature.” Pretlow, like many other CUNY students, turned to Queensborough because of its low cost. He had begun his studies at a private college, but it proved to be too expensive. “I am one of the biggest touters of community colleges,” Pretlow says, also noting that “I would never have gone to Baruch if it weren’t for Queensborough Community College.” For Assemblyman Jeffrey Klein, CUNY provided bookends to the Master of Public Administration degree he earned at Columbia University. His bachelor’s degree, in history, came from Queens College; he went on to get his law degree from the CUNY School of Law. “Our public higher education system is the only route to improved opportunities for people in our state who are not wealthy,” Klein says. “I paid a small tuition – my [CUNY] college education wasn’t free – but that made a huge difference for me. That’s true for many people.” Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. also started in a CUNY community college and moved on to one of the senior colleges. In enrolling at LaGuardia Community College, he was following the advice and example of his father, State Sen. Ruben Diaz Jr., a Lehman College alumnus who recommended CUNY to his son. The younger Diaz, whose assembly district in the South Bronx coincides in part with his father’s senate district, now

Immigrants Carmen E. Arroyo was born in the beautiful mountainous town of Corozal, Puerto Rico… o begins the official biographical sketch of the first Puerto Rican/Hispanic woman elected to the New York State Assembly.

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Flags at LaGuardia CC reflect student diversity.

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

Arroyo is also one of a distinguished group of CUNY alumni in the Legislature who are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Educated in Puerto Rico as a secretary-bookkeeper, Arroyo came to New York alone in 1964, worked in a factory and brought all of her children over. “I sought out opportunities to better myself,” she recalls. “I studied English at a public school adult education center. I always urge people to learn as much as possible.” In time, she began attending Hostos Community College – while working full-time and raising her children. She received her associate’s degree in 1978. “By the time I graduated from Hostos, I was fully bilingual,” Arroyo says. Assemblyman Dov Hikind, the son of survivors of Nazi concentration camps, has the distinction of being a dual graduate of The City University, with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queens College and a master’s in urban administration from Brooklyn College. Hikind’s family struggled to make ends meet and the low cost at Queens and Brooklyn Colleges made it possible for

Deep from CUNY’S Well of Knowledge

SPOTLIGHT on

ALUMNI Legislators

attends his father’s alma College, Columbia was easy.” mater himself, and intends Toby Stavisky had to carry a heavy to graduate next year. credit load to finish her studies at Queens “When it comes to the before the birth of her son, Evan, in 1968. CUNY budget, nobody in Evan Stavisky has carried on the family’s Albany knows more than CUNY tradition; he was student body me because I’m living it. I president at Queens College. have the faces, the stories, Not everyone returned to a CUNY right here in class with school as a student: State Sen. Seymour P. me,” he says of his experiLachman, a Brooklyn College graduate, ences in Lehman. “Ninetyreturned to Baruch as a professor, and to eight percent of my comthe university as a whole as its dean for munity can’t afford to go community development. to college elsewhere.” And although State Sen. Kevin S. Parker CUNY is a family affair has only studied at one CUNY institution for State Sen. Marty – the Graduate Center, where he is pursuSenator Seymour Lachman, shown with constituents, has a long Golden, too: He and two ing a doctorate in political science – few relationship with The City University and two of its colleges. His of his brothers all attendcan match the breadth of his contact with wife teaches at a third, Kingsborough Community College. ed John Jay College. the university as a whole. Golden started his He was, in a sense, born into the CUNY Hunter and Queens Colleges, but her CUNY career at the College of Staten family: His mother, Georgie E. Parker, was family’s contacts extend to City College, Island, where his discovered a talent and assistant registrar at Brooklyn College for Kingsborough and Queensborough liking for writing. “The essay-writing 36 years before her retirement. Parker Community Colleges through her huscourse opened doors for me and it’s himself has taught African-American studband, Leonard helped me become a better speechwriter,” ies and political Stavisky, who he says. science at served in the Like many CUNY students, Golden, Baruch, State Assembly the son of Irish immigrants, was the first in Brooklyn, John and Senate from his family to attend college. Cost was defiJay and Medgar 1966 until his nitely a factor in his choice of schools. “I Evers Colleges death in 1999. chose CUNY because, at the time, it was and City Leonard less expensive, it was a good system and it College’s Center Stavisky, a City had high standards.” He continued his for Worker College graduate studies at John Jay after joining the New Education. who taught in York City police force. And, fittingly, the two commu“The CUNY system is one of the finest in his CUNY link nity colleges, also the country,” he says. “It’s important to fund carries over into earned advanced CUNY because it’s the future of the country. his work in the degrees from The students, these are the young men and Legislature: His Senator Marty Golden attended the College of Columbia women who will lead this country.” district includes Staten Island and John Jay College. University. “He With some members of the Legislature, Brooklyn Collge. always used to the association with CUNY extends far “In fact,” he say that City College gave him the founthrough generations and family. State Sen. notes, “Brooklyn College is the largest dation,” his widow recalls. “After City Toby Stavisky did graduate work at institution in my district.”

A S S E M B LY W O M A N

CARMEN ARROYO

t’s hard to imagine any top-level executive juggling the kind of schedule Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo handled back when she supported — and raised — her seven children on public assistance, attended CUNY’s Hostos Community College and worked full-time. But she did it. Arroyo, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to any state assembly in the nation, and the only Puerto Rican/Hispanic woman in New York State’s Assembly, represents the 84th district in the South Bronx. “I tell everyone in my community to get an education to make their lives better,” she said. “ I know a lot of people who started out in poverty and who are now doctors, nurses, teachers or hold other kinds of good jobs.” One of the most important things about Hostos, she said, is that it’s “near where the people who need it live. People who work long hours while raising families would find it very difficult to also go to school if it weren’t nearby. That is true of most CUNY colleges. CUNY gives poor people an opportunity to get an education.” She earned her associate degree in 1978, and her bachelor’s degree in 1980, at age 44, from the College of New Rochelle. Hers is a three-generation Hostos family. “My daughter, Omi, graduated from Hostos and went to Lehman College. My grandson, Richard Izquierdo, is a Hostos student now.”

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A S S E M B LY M A N

DANIEL J. O’DONNELL

Find Open Door Leads to Albany out these opportunity programs he would him to obtain a higher education. The first not have been able to graduate and member of his family to attend college, he become a member of the Legislature. “I credits CUNY with offering him “the am grateful that I now opportunity to get a high quality educahave the privilege to tion in an atmosphere advocate for these prothat was conducive grams in the New York to learning.” State Legislature,” he In 1996, added. Assemblyman State Sen. Marty Adriano Espaillat, a Golden is the son of graduate of Queens Irish immigrants College, became the who settled in Bay first DominicanRidge, part of the American elected to a 22nd district that State House in the he now represents. United States. He credHe and his seven its Queens College with siblings were too playing a major role in poor to think his subsequent success. about getting col“Queens College lege degrees. simplified the process “We had to and helped me a great work to stay in deal in obtaining higher the city,” he says education,” says Espaillat, ry er of his family, who entered CUNY P k an N. Nic Assemblym adding that his through the Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) program, which offers financial and academic assistance and career counseling. “As a SEEK student I received the help and resources that made it possible for me to graduate.” He is “absolutely convinced” that with-

was the first generation to go to college. “I chose CUNY because, at the time, it was less expensive, it was a good system and it had high standards.” He attended the College of Staten Island and John Jay College. “The CUNY system started me off in the right direction,” Golden says. “The

ver since I can remember, I was drawn to public service,” says Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, who represents the 69th Assembly District on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. So CUNY Law School was perfect for O’Donnell, who earned his bachelor’s degree in public affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 1982. “I worked all through college and law school, doing a variety of things,” he says. Of his studies at CUNY Law School, O’Donnell recalled that, “They often used role playing and videotaped us as we presented arguments in class and did our work. It’s amazing how much you learn when you actually see your own actions – the good things and the flaws.” After he graduated in 1987, O’Donnell worked for Legal Aid until 1994. He opened his own public interest law firm on the Upper West Side. His district office regularly holds walkin tenant-housing legal clinics for constituents. Over a dozen area lawyers lend their time to on a pro bono basis to offer legal advice. O’Donnell serves on several Assembly committees – Codes; Environmental Conservation; Judiciary; Local Governments; Tourism, Arts and Sports Development.

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CUNY system is one of the finest in the country. It is important to fund CUNY because it’s the future of the country.” Assemblyman Jose R. Peralta’s parents came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in pursuit of the American dream and a better life for their children. They worked hard to sustain their family on entry-level wages: his father as a bank teller and his mother a seamstress in a sweatshop. They also struggled to ensure that their children received a quality education. Were it not for Queens’ low tuition he might not have been able to afford college. “Queens allowed me to get a high quality education for a bargain price and I will fight hard to ensure that those who come after me will have the same opportunity.” Assemblyman Michael Benjamin’s parents came to the Morrisania section of the Bronx from the US Virgin Islands in 1957. One reason he chose Hunter’s master of science program in urban affairs was that his mother earned three degrees from CUNY schools. She is an alumna of Bronx Community College, Lehman College and The City College of New York. “I found it to be a good learning environment,” he says, adding that he has experienced CUNY from the other side of the desk, too: He has been a lecturer on race and ethnicity at John Jay College. “I encourage all of my constituents to attend continued on page 6

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

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Senior and or State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. and his son, Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., CUNY is as much a family tradition as politics. The Senator graduated from Herbert H. Lehman College in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in education. The Assemblyman graduated from LaGuardia Community College in 1997 and is taking classes at his father’s alma mater. The father and son are Democrats whose South Bronx districts overlap. The experiences of the two chronicle the evolution of CUNY. Diaz Sr. had come to New York from Puerto Rico, and became the first person in his family’s history to earn a college degree. “We were all high school dropouts in my family, and I joined the Army,” he says. “Later, I got my GED, and when I was at Lehman, which at that time was tuition-free, I saw heaven’s doors open. Lehman’s reputation was tremendous. To be a student at Lehman in the Seventies was like being a student at Harvard or Yale.” Those were tumultuous years, not only for CUNY but also for colleges across the country: Protesting against the Vietnam War was almost a required course on all U.S. campuses. Diaz, a conservative Democrat amidst leftist activists, found himself thrust into the middle of all the friction when students chained themselves inside Shuster Hall to protest the policies of the college administration. “Those days were crazy,” Diaz says, adding that he never got involved in the demonstrations. “I used to take them food while they were chained up.” It was during

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New York City College of Technology The largest public college of technology in New York State with 22,000 students: 11,300 degree students and 11,500 enrolled in continuing education. The most diverse comprehensive baccalaureate college in the North. A leader in urban technological education, pioneer in integrating technology into teaching/ learning experience, and the designated college of technology of the City University of New York (CUNY).

We salute! The Honorable Diane Gordon Class of 1985 New York City College of Technology, of The City University of New York. Baccalaureate, associate and certificate programs that New York needs. At the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the heart of New York City. High-tech careers for tomorrow.

3 0 0 J AY S T R E E T • B R O O K LY N , N Y 1 1 2 0 1 • 7 1 8 . 2 6 0 . 5 7 6 0 • W W W. C I T Y T E C H . C U N Y. E D U Email: [email protected]

Jennifer J. Raab, President and

the Students, Faculty and Staff of

HUNTER COLLEGE The City University of New York

Proudly Salute Hunter’s Alumni in the New York State Legislature Assemblyman Michael A. Benjamin-79th A.D. Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman-82nd A.D. Senator Toby A. Stavisky-16th S.D.

Best Wishes and Continued Success! Hunter College of The City University of New York 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021 (212) 772-4400 www.hunter.cuny.edu

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

IMMIGRANTS continued from page 5

college, and at CUNY, it’s still a lot cheaper than at any other school in the area,” he says. “I call upon my CUNY education every day. It helps me better understand urban planning in my assembly district.” The list of distinguished immigrants who have passed through CUNY on their way to the Legislature includes Assemblyman N. Nick Perry, who was born in Jamaica, where he completed his secondary education before migrating to the United States in the summer of 1971. Perry is a graduate of Brooklyn College, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science, and later studied for an M.A. in Public Policy and Administration. While at Brooklyn College, Assemblyman Perry cofounded the United Students League, and was the graduate student delegate to the University Student Senate. State Sen. Senator Martin Malave Dilan grew up in the community of Bushwick, where his parents, Esther and Gilberto, had settled after migrating from Puerto Rico in 1947. In1965, he first involved himself in electoral politics when he worked as a volunteer in a mayoral campaign before graduating from high school. He went on to Brooklyn College where he participated in the Special Baccalaureate Degree Program. Assemblywoman Arroyo speaks of her own experience when she says that “The Puerto Rican community had no voice early on. Now we have many outstanding public servants. That is the same route earlier groups took.” But her sentiments apply equally well to those immigrants and children of immigrants whom CUNY has helped prepare for public service.

Junior, Politics is Family Affair for the Diaz' this time, under Lehman President all monolithic.” recent tuition hikes didn’t spawn any Leonard Lief, that Lehman set up its first But aside from all of this, it is the quality major campus demonstrations or bring Puerto Rican Studies of education and the dedication of the promany students to lobby in Department. fessors that impress the Assemblyman the Albany. Diaz points out that most. “Two political science professors in “I also wish there were as his Lehman experience particular – Ira Bloom and Tomohisa Hattori many programs to help pay not only secured him a – have an uncanny ability to know every for tuition,” he adds. “While I degree in psychology single detail of their subject matter. I am, for can afford the tuition on my but also honed his lack of a better term, turned on by them. I salary, many of the folks sitdiplomatic skills, and he wish I could take them home with me.” ting next to me in classes went into politics immeAt home, his own sons, 11-year-old can’t. We need more activity diately after graduation. Ruben Diaz III and 8-year-old Ryan Isaiah as in the days of my father. “I kept thinking, ‘I’ve Diaz, are getting a good look at CUNY When it comes to the CUNY got to get involved, and through their father’s eyes, not to mention budget, nobody in Albany I’ve got to get involved through his homework. “They’re learning knows more than me because now.’” that Daddy has a lot of things on his plate I’m living it. I have the faces, When it came time on weekends,” he says. “We’re at the same the stories, right there in class Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. for his son to attend table doing homework. I recently finished with me. Ninety-eight percent college, the Senator a paper on World War of my could think of no better place to advise II and used them as community can’t him to enroll than CUNY. my audience when I afford to go to college Ruben Diaz Jr. started taking classes at read it.” elsewhere.” LaGuardia Community College in 1991 All in all, he At LaGuardia, he and plans to graduate from Lehman in wouldn’t mind the met students from all spring 2005. “I started my family early, so boys carrying on the walks of life and I’ve only been taking a course here and Diaz tradition at immersed himself in there,” he says. “I have 100 credits and CUNY. many cultures. “It is need 20 more.” As the Senator probably the most He chose CUNY because his father’s says: “I would recomdiverse college in the college stories got him all fired up, he says, mend to anyone – old country,” he says. and he knew the diversity of the students, and young – to go to “There is a hall of particularly those at LaGuardia, would CUNY, especially flags from 150 differhelp him better understand and serve his Lehman College, my ent countries. Once constituents. alma mater.” you have all these The biggest difference in their experiAs the Assemblypeople studying Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. ences, the Assemblyman says, is the fact man says: “CUNY is together, all in one that he has to pay tuition and it’s a lot the vehicle to allow building, you get a more calm on campus. “I wish there was as this city, in the words of former New York better understanding of people. I’ve even much activity in the student body as there City Mayor David Dinkins, to be ‘the gorgotten a greater understanding of other was in my 1970s,” he says, noting that geous mosaic it is.’” Latino cultures and realize that we are not

Carrying On the Stavisky Tradition her graduate assistant, Stavisky interrupted t has been four decades since State her education in 1964 to marry university Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky attended professor Leonard Price Stavisky, a City evening graduate classes at CUNY’s College grad who also taught at Hunter College, but she will never forget Kingsborough and Queensborough the impact Dr. Dorothy Ganfield Fowler Community Colleges and at CCNY. He had on her life. went on to serve in the New York State “She was the chair of the history departAssembly and the New York State Senate ment,” Stavisky says, “And it was unusual to from 1966 until his death in 1999. have a woman on the faculty, much less in “My husband was the real CUNY star,” such a position of power. I was working on Stavisky says, a master’s degree in adding that he American history, and always wanted she was teaching 20th her to earn a docCentury American histotorate, too. “If it ry. Her specialty was the weren’t for the Progressive Era. I can free tuition at still remember her face. CUNY, he could She wore her hair in a not have gone to bun. She was interesting, college.” she made me think, and She rememshe helped me improve bers going to pick my research and writing him up the skills, which is handy Kingsborough because I write my own campus. “In those newsletters. She also days, the 1960s, taught me how to propthey had Quonset erly allocate my time, huts instead of and I had never been classrooms,” she able to do that before.” says. Budgeting her time After earning a was important for bachelor’s degree Stavisky, a graduate of Senator Toby Stavisky, right, with her son in history at City Syracuse University who Evan Stavisky, at Leonard Stavisky Place College, Leonard had worked in an insurin Queens Stavisky earned a ance office and was master’s and docteaching full-time at a torate in history from Columbia boys’ high school in Manhattan when she University. “He always used to say that decided to go to Hunter. City College gave him the foundation and Although Fowler asked her to become

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after City College, Columbia was easy,” the senator says. As for her own education, Stavisky also took graduate courses at Queens College until the birth of her son, Evan, in 1968. “I had a lot of political obligations because my husband was in Albany, and I was going to school and teaching,” she says. “To finish graduate school, in the last semester I was there, I took nine credits instead of six, which was unheard of. Then I found out I was pregnant. We weren’t supposed to take more than six, but I figured that nobody would notice, and nobody did.” Evan Stavisky continued the family’s CUNY tradition at Queens College, where he was president of the student body. Assistant Minority Whip Stavisky, who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Higher Education and is chief of the minority task force No Child Left Behind – from Pre-K to Ph.D, says that affordable education for all is a priority for her. “I would like to see CUNY doing better in terms of the higher education budget,” Stavisky says. “I’m vehemently against tuition increases for CUNY. It is the obligation of the government to fund colleges. When City College opened in 1847, its purpose was to educate those who could not otherwise afford college. Now, students are bearing more and more of the costs.” After all these years, Stavisky remains proud of the fact that she was able to juggle her personal and professional life and still earn an A average at Hunter and Queens Colleges. “CUNY provides a firstrate education,” she says.

SPOTLIGHT on

ALUMNI Legislators A S S E M B LY M A N

JEFFREY DINOWITZ n 1971, when Assemblyman. Jeffrey Dinowitz enrolled at CUNY’s Herbert H. Lehman College to work on a bachelor’s degree in history, there was no talk about tuition hikes. There was, in fact, no tuition at any CUNY school. “When I applied to colleges, I only applied to CUNY schools because they were free,” said Dinowitz, who represents the 81st District in the Bronx. “We didn’t have any money, and I’m not sure I would have even gone to college if I had had to pay tuition.” Because those tuition-free days had such an impact on his future, Dinowitz has remained a champion and guardian of CUNY in a mission to “keep it strong and to make it affordable for everyone.” “Having gone to Lehman made it easier to get my law degree from Brooklyn Law School,” he said. “I did very well there and because there was no tuition at CUNY, I didn’t have any debt. If I had had debt, it would have been a terrible hardship.” Dinowitz said he will never forget his CUNY experience. “CUNY is about opportunity, and it gave me opportunity and it continues to give opportunities to those who otherwise would not have access to a good college education.”

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A S S E M B LY M A N

SCOTT STRINGER L

ong before he enrolled in John Jay College, Assemblyman Scott Stringer was immersed in politics — being a tenant advocate and working in the office of thenAssemblyman Jerrold Nadler. As a member of the Assembly, he has championed public education. “I had been impressed with the social consciousness of CUNY,” the Upper West Side Democrat said. “The professors were mindful of the public education mission to do well and to fight for the kids.” Stringer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in government studies from John Jay in 1986, got to understand first-hand CUNY’s commitment to its students. The assemblyman says that CUNY works so well because of its diversity. “CUNY represents the best of New York City and hopefully can continue this long tradition,” he says. Through the years, the assemblyman has remained committed to the CUNY mission: “I have fought hard to keep CUNY funding whole and tuition affordable so generations to come may have the same experience at college I was lucky enough to have and one day achieve their goals, as I have mine,” he says. Stringer was elected to the Assembly in 1992 after a decade of political and community involvement in his Manhattan neighborhood and has been re-elected by overwhelming majorities in every race.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

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Brooklyn College Salutes Our Alumni! Senator Martin Dilan, ’84 Senator Seymour P. Lachman, ’55; M.S., ’58 Senator John Sampson, ’87 Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, ’75 Assemblyman William Colton, ’71 Assemblyman Dov Hikind, ’81 Assemblywoman Rhoda S. Jacobs, ’62 Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette, ’51 Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman, ’62 Assemblyman N. Nicholas Perry, ’78 Assemblyman Frank R. Seddio, ’85

QUEENS COLLEGE proudly salutes its graduates who now represent the people of New York State:

SENATE Toby A. Stavisky

ASSEMBLY Adriano Espaillat Deborah J. Glick Dov Hikind Jeffrey Klein Netttie Mayersohn José R. Peralta Audrey Pheffer William Scarborough

S N GE E E E U LL O O C CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

James L. Muyskens, President

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

Brooklyn College: hat is it about Brooklyn College and state politics? Do the math: The college’s enrollment of 14,000 represents about 3 percent of the CUNY total. Yet Brooklyn College has a dozen alumni currently serving in the Legislature – 28 percent of CUNY’s total of 43. As a group, they mirror the richness of CUNY’s student body, with immigrants (Assemblyman N. Nicholas Perry), firstgeneration Americans (State Sen. Martin Malave Dilan and Assemblyman Dov Hikind), women (Assemblywomen Adele Cohen, Rhoda S. Jacobs and Joan L. Millman), lifelong Brooklyn residents (State Sens. Carl Kruger and John Sampson and Assemblyman William Colton), one who left the borough to represent part of Queens (Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette), a former New York City policeman (Assemblyman Frank R. Seddio) and even a former City University professor, State Sen. Seymour Lachman. Though true Brooklynites are supposed to have an answer for everything, most of the dozen were stumped for a moment by the simple question: Why is this so? It’s a great school, all agreed. “I had many great professors who helped me become a well-rounded person,” recalls State Sen. John L. Sampson. “Prof. David Abbott always had a sense of humor but made sure we understood political science and appreciated its value. Prof. Donald R. Reich, also in political science, held classes that made you feel like you were in law school.” Yet while Sampson knew from age 15 that he wanted to be a lawyer, he didn’t think about running for office for years after he graduated cum laude in 1987 and went on to law school. Back in Brooklyn, working for the Legal Aid Society, he became involved with the Rosetta Gaston Democratic Club in East New York and afterwards joined the law firm of the club’s attorney. In 1996, with encouragement from his father and his district leader, he ran for office and won. Sampson is fierce in his determination to provide others with the opportunities he had in college. “Institutions such as Brooklyn College are the bedrock and

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foundation of our community,” he says. “They allow us access to opportunity.” Several legislators suggested that Brooklynites tend to stay in their home borough for college and after ASSEMBLYWOMAN college, and that this helped account JOAN L. for the large numMILLMAN ber of Brooklyn College alumni in state government. “I’m a big Brooklyn booster,” said Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman. “I think a lot of people who went to Brooklyn College ASSEMBLYMAN stayed in Brooklyn. That includes peoN. NICK ple like PERRY Assemblywoman Adele Cohen — who went to Brooklyn College, who is from Brooklyn and who still lives there.” Millman, like many of her fellow students and legislators, chose Brooklyn College because she didn’t need to look farther to find an excellent school. “I’d like to tell you I did an extensive search and found out that Brooklyn College had world-class teachers — which it did — and that I found out it had a world-class academic program — which it did. But I didn’t. The fact is I lived within walking distance.” Millman was the first female of her family to attend college, and cost was a real factor in her choice of Brooklyn College. “I’m one of those people whose parents made a sacrifice just to send me to college,” she says. “I didn’t have to bring income into the house – that was the sacrifice; their commitment was that they’d pay for it. I worked part-time and in the summers, of course.” Brooklyn College definitely helped pre-

Brooklyn Scores Far from Flatbush B rooklyn College’s impact on politics hasn’t been limited to New York State. Barbara Boxer, (Class of 1962) studied economics and worked as a Wall Street stockbroker after graduation. Later she and her husband moved to California where she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, after ten years in the U.S. House of Representatives and earlier service on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. In 1976, voters in Portland, Oregon elected Vera (Weintraub) Katz (Class of 1955) to the state legislature. Known as “Portland’s Bella Abzug" for her reformist views, she became house speaker in 1985 – only the fifth woman in U.S. history to lead a state assembly. Katz, who has served a Portland’s mayor since 1992, announced this year she wouldn’t seek a fourth term. Back here in the East, Brooklyn native

Bernie Saunders spent a year at Brooklyn College, where he learned about socialism in the college’s Eugene V. Debs Club. After serving as mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981 to 1990, he became the third Socialist ever to serve in the U.S. Congress, where he has been reelected six times as the Vermont’s sole congressman. In December 1943, a young soldier wrote to his parents in Kansas about his engineering studies at Brooklyn College. “I spent more time in school this week here than I did in a month at K.U.," he wrote. “They throw assignments at us so fast that we have to take our books to bed with us to keep up. I’ve already had seven tests and will probably have more this week…" The writer? Robert Dole, Kansas congressman from 1960-68, senator from 1968-96, candidate for U.S. Vice President in 1976 and President in 1996. He spent several months at Brooklyn College as part of his officer’s training.

From Electives to Election

SPOTLIGHT on

ALUMNI Legislators A S S E M B LY M A N

JOSE R. PERALTA A

ASSEMBLYMAN FRANK R. SEDDIO

ASSEMBLYMAN IVAN C. LAFAYETTE

ASSEMBLYWOMAN ADELE COHEN

SENATOR

SENATOR

SENATOR

CARL KRUGER

JOHN L. SAMPSON

MARTIN MALAVE DILAN

ASSEMBLYMAN

ASSEMBLYMAN

SENATOR

DOV HIKIND

WILLIAM COLTON

SEYMOUR P. LACHMAN

pare Millman for her service in state government. “I took liberal arts,” she recalled. “What was so great was that this exposed me to a little bit about a lot of things. I had some chemistry, some earth science, a lot of things. I became a lifelong learner – an enormous asset in this job.” She added that as state budget cuts have added to students’ college costs, attending City University has become more difficult, particularly because many students today must care for families. State Sen. Seymour P. Lachman has a long and deep relationship with both the City University of New York and the college and the borough of Brooklyn. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brooklyn College. He taught in Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School, served as CUNY’s dean for community development, and was a professor at Baruch College. While teaching at the City University, he was tapped by the Brooklyn borough president to serve on the New York City Board of Education. He and his wife, Dr. Susan Lachman (who teaches sociology at Kingsborough Community College) live in Brooklyn “Like all young Brooklynites, when it came time for me to choose a college, I wanted to attend a good school with a superb educational reputation,” Lachman said. “In my mind, Brooklyn College stood out because it stressed academic excellence.” Was cost a factor in his choice? ”I was offered a scholarship to Barnard,” Lachman recalled. “However, my parents and I could not even afford the living accommodations. Fortunately for me, CUNY offered the young men and women of my era a free education. Absolutely free. So for all of us struggling, college-bound students, the choice was relatively simple.” Asked why he thought Brooklyn College had so large a contingent in the Legislature, Lachman noted that “For starters, Brooklyn has the largest population of any county in New York State, [so] Brooklyn College has a built-in pool of applicants…. As one of the oldest schools in the CUNY system, Brooklyn College has steadfastly represented its primary goal of academic excellence, and the State Legislature is living proof of this achievement.”

Lachman retains fond memories of his college days. “Meeting and learning from some of the best professors in the nation was—hands down—the greatest experience I had as a college student,” he said. “None of my later successes would have been possible without this early, life-enhancing experience at Brooklyn College.” Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs has more than an alumna’s interest in Brooklyn College’s well-being: It’s the largest institution in her Assembly district. “A public university system is incredibly important,” she said. “Just knowing that it’s there opens portals to a lot of people who might otherwise have thought that they couldn’t go to college.” Asked about its importance to the community and state, Jacobs responded with a question of her own: “What do we have to create economic development? We have our brain power. In New York, that’s our strength, and we have to develop it.” As to CUNY’s social benefit, Jacobs said that “It’s someplace that allows people from different cultures to come together and recognize that we’re all in this together.” All the Brooklyn College alumni were firm in their belief that the education that helped them achieve their goals must be maintained for current and future generations. “A college education today is a necessity for advancement in society,” Lachman noted. “Education is and must always be one of life’s priorities.” Therefore, said Lachman, “The Legislature must recognize the importance of public higher education and not cut its budget. Increasing the City University’s vital needs should be of paramount importance.” Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who received his master’s degree from Brooklyn College after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Queens College, agreed. “My education gave me the skills and tools required for a successful career in politics,” he said. He is therefore commited to “making sure that CUNY receives the funding it needs so that today’s students can have the same chance to receive a high-quality, affordable education.” Brooklyn College alumni loyalty extends to the entire CUNY system. “During my 27 years in the Assembly,

ASSEMBLYWOMAN

RHODA JACOBS

there have been a lot of critical times when CUNY was threatened,” said Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette, who chose Brooklyn College so that he could continue working in his father’s East Flatbush auto business. “For me – and for a lot of people who have been associated with a CUNY school – a top priority is to maintain the excellence of all of the campuses in the CUNY system, to make sure everybody gets a shot at higher education.” Assemblyman Frank R. Seddio said, “Affordable college tuition is the key to allowing so many young people to achieve the American dream. I am convinced that we must do everything possible to create an environment where the inability to pay for college is not the obstacle which prevents a student from attending.” Assemblyman William Colton echoed the sentiments of his colleagues. “Moneys invested in higher education are the strongest investment the state can make in economic development,” he said. “Persons with college degrees earn substantially more money and therefore pay much more in taxes and have greater purchasing power. And a skilled workforce draws business to the state.” But it was left to Assemblyman Nick Perry, an immigrant who heard about Brooklyn College and its quality long before he left his native Jamaica, to offer perhaps the best reason for its dominance in state government. “Brooklyn College is like a little city in itself, and student government politics there are no less intense and aggressive and real than politics in the outside world,” he said. “I honed my skills and learned about American electoral politics there. Everything I had to do after graduation, I did in student politics: Petitions, challenges – people were sometimes knocked off the ballot. We had something similar to a Board of Elections, election commissioners, voters’ lists.” He paused, then said with a chuckle, “Things sometimes got so intense there that they might well have been advised to set up a campaign finance board. So you can understand that when you get exposed to such things at Brooklyn College, you come out with a real sense about whether you like politics or not.”

ssemblyman Jose R. Peralta, a first-generation Dominican-American, credits his Queens College education with preparing him for success. “Queens College is a microcosm of the real world and it was a great training ground for my future career in politics,” he said. “Queens opened its arms and let me achieve what I aspired to without setting any limitations.” First elected to the New York State Legislature at the age of 30, Peralta’s community involvement began at Queens College, where he was an active participant in student government. He became the first Latino elected student body vice president, and later the first Latino student body president. He also represented over 200,000 students in the CUNY system as a member of the University’s Student Senate, where he was vice chair of legislative affairs and fiscal affairs. Were it not for Queens’ low tuition he might not have been able to afford college. “Queens allowed me to get a high quality education for a bargain price and I will fight hard to ensure that those who come after me will have the same opportunity. “Queens and CUNY are the welcoming icons of higher education. What the Statue of Liberty is to America, CUNY is to lowincome, minority and immigrant students.”

A S S E M B LY M A N

WILLIAM SCARBOROUGH ssemblyman William Scarborough knows his diverse 29th District in Southeast Queens County: He has spent most of his life as a resident there. A Queens College graduate, Scarborough, a Democrat, is grateful for the high quality, low cost education he obtained at there — an education he would not have been able to afford otherwise. “My education expanded my horizons and opened the door to opportunity,” he said. “Queens played a key role in making possible my subsequent career. The faculty was excellent and the courses and curriculum were challenging, They caused me to stretch myself intellectually and led me to believe that I could be successful.” He considers CUNY’s role in educating low-income students, minorities and immigrants to be vitally important. “Young people often don’t appreciate the opportunities that exist in the larger world,” he said “CUNY is the great equalizer where they learn they can be more than they ever imagined, and receive the skills necessary to succeed.” He is a strong supporter of CUNY and SUNY. “Support for low-cost, high quality public higher education is vital and must be one of the Legislature’s highest priorities,” he said. “It is certainly one of mine.”

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CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 9

CUNY

Q&A

Interview with Senator Kenneth P. LaValle S enator Kenneth LaValle has been chairman of the New York State Higher Education Committee since 1979 and has served in the New York State Senate for over 27 years, representing Port Jefferson in Suffolk County. Senator LaValle is known especially for his work with truth and testing and his support for the disabled, and his initiatives on behalf of higher education opportunities. On December 18, 2003, Senator LaValle spoke with Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and Honors College students on the CUNY-TV show CUNY Honors.

Q: How did politics and New York State governance come into your life? Senator Kenneth LaValle: I was born in Brooklyn. I lived in an Italian neighborhood with relatives nearby, and my mother was probably one of the strongest influences. We always talked politics at a very, very early age. I had a teacher in the seventh grade that just set on fire for me this whole thing about government and what government was all about. I believe that I’ve been involved in political campaigns all the way from seventh or eighth grade into my adult life. Believe it or not, my parents wanted me to go to medical school so I entered college as a premed student. And then I got into teaching. I met a boyhood friend of my dad’s, Leon Giuffrida, who was Chairman of the Education Committee in the Senate for many years, and became his education adviser. I then became the Executive Director of the Senate Education Committee, having left a job as a principal. … But there was really a burning desire to serve people, serve my community, and try to make changes that would better both the communities and the people that live in those communities. Q: You are a professor of intergovernmental relations at Stony Brook. What drew you to do that?

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A: One of the things that’s important to me is to be relevant. And every day when I wake up I say how can I be relevant? Well, by teaching and being around young people. Q: Teaching must help inform the good work that you do every day as Chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee. Talk about that. A: We have a diverse group of thirteen people from all over the state: the senators come from New York City, from upstate, and from the Island, so it’s a good representation of the state. Most everyone outside of the city has a state university college, community college, or private university in his or her district. So they know firsthand what it is that the needs are because it’s part of their district responsibilities. First, we deal with issues of institutional aid. How can we provide money for the systems? For City University, for the State University, for the independent colleges, how doe we provide what is needed? The second component is the issue of how the students pay for their higher education, and that’s through tuition. Many students need help and support…. So student financial aid is a big, big component. Q: Any sense of future challenges for financing public higher education in the State of New York? A: In order to comment on that you have to put it in the context of the highticket items in the budget. Elementary and secondary education are real hotbutton issues. In a $90 billion budget, elementary and secondary education accounts for approximately $15 billion. Higher education, believe it or not, is also there. Sometimes we feel we don’t have enough money to do what we need to do in higher education, but that has been identified throughout the years as an important priority.

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Q: I remember reading in the CUNY newsletter that there is still an issue of tuition remittance for doctoral students. What are we doing to attract them to stay within the CUNY system? A: When we have budgetary problems, we do all that we can to maintain our programs at the undergraduate level. I know when we’ve talked about waivers or tuition assistance or other kinds of financial support for graduate programs, we have, without any doubt, fallen short. We need, in times of plenty, to address those problems for graduates. Because we want to make sure that we’re getting people to go through, get their Ph.D.s, and become leaders in the academic setting, in teaching, in research and so forth. So I know we need to do more and there’s no doubt we’ve fallen short.

One Year that Shaped My Life t seemed like a simple college assignment: Write a paper that discusses your place in life. It wasn’t until Darryl C. Towns, a freshman honors student at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College in the 1979-80 academic year, began putting down his thoughts that he realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong. “I realized that I couldn’t do it, because I didn’t know my place in life,” he says. “I came from a family where getting a degree was considered something you were expected to do. Everyone in my family had at least a master’s degree. I was at Medgar Evers because it was convenient to where I was working as a bank teller, but I needed to know why I was going to school. I was a very skilled writer, so I wrote a piece of fluff to fulfill the assignment.” But his teacher, Dr. Mary Umolu, wouldn’t accept that, and the fact that she made him consider his role in life changed the course of his life. “She talked to me about it, and she made me rewrite the paper a couple of times, but she kept saying, ‘It still doesn’t tell me anything.’ And I

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Although he never did get to realized that I needed to Belize and Guyana during his 5 find out what I wanted 1/2-year tour of duty, he did my place in life to be visit Asia, Germany, Korea, before I could continue Egypt and the Philippines, working on a degree. among other places. He attained That episode was the the rank of staff sergeant in the impetus for my changing Air Force before returning to my life.” school. Since his first classes In 1990, Towns graduated at Medgar Evers, Towns, a with honors with a bachelor’s Democrat who now is degree in economics from North the assemblyman for Carolina A&T State University, Brooklyn’s 54th district which was his parents’ alma in East New York, and Assemblyman Darryl C. mater. (His family was very who is the son of U.S. Towns familiar with the CUNY system: Rep. Edolphus Towns, His mother has a master’s degree in educahad been rethinking his life. “I was going tion from Brooklyn College, and his father to school with people from countries like taught at Medgar Evers but not at the time Belize and Guyana that I had never heard Towns attended.) of,” he says. “And I wanted to broaden my In 1993, he was elected to the thinking and mindset about the world. I Assembly to represent the district where wanted a more global mindset. I started he had been raised. talking to my professors and classmates “I attended classes at CUNY for only about what I should do. This experience one year, but they shaped my life,” he says. with Dr. Umolu at CUNY led me to join “It was an extremely good situation for the military, and the military gave me the me. It was eye-opening.” wherewithal to see the world.”

Any College (As Long As It’s CCNY) ong before Assemblyman Joel M. Miller began his career as a dentist in Poughkeepsie, in the Dutchess County area (102nd AD) he has represented since 1995, he lived in a low-cost housing project near Boston and Gun Hill Roads in the Bronx. Miller recalled that his father, a New York City firefighter, told him, “You can go to any college you want as long as it’s City College.” Needless to say, City College it was. As a former ranking minority member of the Higher Education Committee, Miller is well aware that many New Yorkers face variants of that same “choice” he did for the same reason—modest family income. He started out at City as an engineering student but switched along the way to pre-dentistry. That meant he was required to take an extensive core of liberal arts courses, including public speaking, political science, history and English. Miller feels that these courses “gave me a well-rounded outlook. They gave me a set of ideas and of ideals and they taught me to examine issues critically.” He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated from CCNY with honors. “In today’s complex world, a person can’t advance without a college degree,” Miller observed. “With the cost of private colleges being what it is, it’s more important than ever before that we support our public colleges. “I believe the state has violated its responsibility to fund both CUNY and SUNY by having the colleges within these systems rely more and more on tuition. Keeping our public colleges affordable makes the difference for many students between going to college and not going. That affects their entire future which in turn affects our communities.” Responsibility and service to community have been key focuses of Miller’s life. He became active in politics when massive downsizing at IBM had a devastating effect on his own community in the early 1990s. “At that time, during the Cuomo years, I believe that the tax policies in effect were driving many businesses and jobs out of

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the state. I felt I had to get involved.” He began to actively work for State Senator Stephen M. Saland and later decided to run for the Assembly. Miller is particularly proud of the comeback he sees in the economy of the area he represents. Miller served on active duty in the United States Air Force after his graduation from Columbia University’s School of Dental and Oral Surgery. He remained in the Air Force Reserve as a captain for

another eight years. Miller is a major in the New York State Guard, serving as senior dentist at Camp Smith. His interest in education and in health has at times overlapped, when, for instance, he has actively supported legislation to remedy the nursing shortage through education programs. “Education is the solution to many problems. We have to support it in order to build our future,” he said.

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he background I received at Baruch College helped me in all aspects of my life,” said Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, who represents the 87th Assembly District, encompassing Mount Vernon and parts of Yonkers. “Baruch gave me a good business sense and taught me how to read, understand and prepare budgets and business plans, all of which is essential in my work in the Legislature,” he said, adding, “I would never have gone to Baruch if it weren’t for Queensborough Community College,” where he earned an associate degree in business administration. “I am one of the biggest touters of community colleges. They are very important institutions and deserve our full support,” he said. Advocating support for CUNY and for SUNY is an essential part of his mission as a legislator, Pretlow said. “Decent funding is a must. Students can’t handle the tuition hikes. Strong support for TAP is a must. CUNY has been effective in offering a quality education to students who want to better their lives, achieve their professional goals and contribute to our society. I don’t see how we can afford not to.”

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NETTIE MAYERSOHN ettie Mayersohn was elected to the New York State Assembly from the 27th District in Queens in 1982, after serving as a community activist for over 30 years. She is a 1979 graduate of Queens College. “Queens gave me the opportunity to complete my education. I graduated from high school during the Depression and, at that time, college was not an option.” The first member of her family to attend college, she noted that Queens’ affordability made it possible for her to put two sons through college while she was pursuing her degree. Forced to combine her studies with a full-time job while also raising her family, it took her ten years to graduate. “But they were a wonderful ten years and that was the advantage of being a ‘late returnee’ to academia. I was determined to get as much out of them as possible.” CUNY and Queens College are high priorities for Mayersohn because she believes in the University’s mission. “As long as Queens College continues to maintain its high standards, it will continue to represent hope and opportunity for disadvantaged students from all walks of life,” she said. That is why she has “consistently supported requests for reasonable increases in funding and for maintaining a cap on tuition,” she added. Mayersohn has served as the New York State Delegate to the International Women’s Conference. Among her awards and honors are the Builders of Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the Legislator of the Year Award from the New York State Chapter of the National Organization for Women.

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Assemblyman Joel Miller believes that “education is the solution to many problems.”

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Q&A

Unlock the Power

Interview with Assemblyman Ronald Canestrari

ssemblyman Ronald Canestrari is Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Higher Education. He is the Deputy Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly, representing the 106th Assembly District, which consists of parts of Albany, Rensselaer, and Saratoga Counties, and serves on several other Assembly committees. Canestrari’s distinguished career includes 13 years as Mayor of his hometown, Cohoes, New York. On September 11, 2003, Assemblyman Canestrari spoke with Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and Honors College students on the CUNY-TV show CUNY Honors.

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Q: What is it about public service that drew you to do this work? Assemblyman Canestrari: I can recall even in grammar school, being interested in government, in politics, and it took a turn when I went to high school. And one teacher in particular stood out in terms of energizing us on political issues of the day. So early on I felt I wanted to change the world and make things better. It’s something I always wanted to do. Q: CUNY and SUNY at this point don’t have a capital budget. What is your sense of why that still has not been resolved?

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A: The outlines of the capital program were very good, but there was no detail. And we, as legislators, insist upon having the information in front of us. We have a constitutional duty as well. And do not want to write a blank check for the executive, for the Governor, for projects that we have no involvement in…. Not that we want to micromanage, but certainly, there must be lined-out projects, with some money held in abeyance for emergencies and other purposes. So the fight and the dispute is over information, and our involvement, as legislators, to know what the detail is in the plan. Q: Are there thoughts at the Assembly level about a different way of approaching future challenges with respect to tuition? A: Yes, there are, and of course, they’re all over the ballpark as to what to do. And our position has been to fight tuition increases, but also not deny the campuses the operating money that they need. But let me just state first that as Chancellor, you’ve done an excellent job with that tuition issue in how you’ve managed to absorb some of that and to enable the students to pay a lot less than at SUNY. We wish SUNY had followed your lead. But you have done an exceptional job in that regard, and that’s been noticed, certainly, in the capital, in Albany, and that’s to your credit. … A very bad trend in the last ten years or so is having the campuses rely on the tuition money more and more as a greater percent of operating money, and allotting less operating dollars in the state budget. We should get to the point where tuition plays a role in the operating revenues for campuses, but the state dollars should be going up incrementally as opposed to placing so much of the burden on the funds raised by tuition. It’s important to maintain quality and enhance quality in terms of teaching faculty and an entire range of academic programs. We want quality. That’s essential for the future generations of New Yorkers that we are educating. Q: What do you see as challenges ahead for the next fiscal year? A: We know we face some serious fiscal problems with the deficit looming at six to seven billion dollars. The difficulty, once again, is that last year we raised some taxes income taxes, some sales taxes, some other fees, and tuition as well. We also spent down some reserves that we had to bridge the $11 to 12 billion gap last year. So we do not have those reserves. We certainly can’t do some of the things that we did last year to bridge the gap financially. Q: Two years after the devastating attacks on New York and in Washington, are we moving in the right way in rebuilding downtown New York? A: Yes. And I think we have to be. It’s too important, not only for this wonderful city, but also really, to our country. And we cannot lose this opportunity to rebuild something that’s magnificent, that symbolizes the freedom of this nation, the diversity of its people, and the beacon that serves as hope for people around the world. It was a devastating attack, but we must do it right. I think there can be more involvement, as a matter of fact, by the legislature. I think we could be doing even more. But we must have more direct help from the federal government. This is not a city/state issue, as you well know. It affects all of us as a nation, and our standing around the world. So it must be done right.

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College: A Start in the Right Direction CUNY because, at the time, it was less expensive, it was a good system and it had high standards.” He may have liked math, story. but at Staten Island, it was writing that Golden, a Republican, was the son of grabbed his attention. “I was not a great Irish immigrants who settled in Bay Ridge, writer,” he admits, “but the essay-writing which is part of the 22nd district that he course opened doors for me, and it’s now represents. He and his seven siblings helped me become a better speechwriter.” were too poor to think about getting colGolden went straight from Staten Island lege degrees. So when he graduated from into the police force, where his street high school in the 1970s, he considered smarts helped him “fight the good fight.” himself lucky to get in a couple of semesIt was at this time that he had a second ters at CUNY’s College of Staten Island. opportunity to go to college: He enrolled “We had to work to stay in the city,” he in the New York School of Printing and says of his family, adding that his was the took summer courses at John Jay College first generation to go to college. “I chose of Criminal Justice, where he earned a dozen credits. His brothers Patrick, a sergeant on the city police force, and Vinnie, also attended John Jay. His college education, he says, stood him in good stead. He earned 49 medals in “the greatest job I’ve ever had,” before an injury suffered in a drug raid forced him to retire in 1983 after a decade on the police force. It was only then that he completed his college education by earning Senator Marty Golden grew up poor, but CUNY offered him a quality education at a cost he could afford. an associate’s degree in

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criminal justice from St. John’s University. “I got my degree late in life,” he says, adding that that helped him with his change in careers – he and his family bought Bay Ridge Manor, a popular catering hall in Brooklyn, when he left the police department. In 1997, he was elected to the New York City Council, where as a member of the Higher Education Committee he championed funding for CUNY. He also secured funding for computers in every classroom in his council district. As a council member, Golden established a model program, in conjunction with the Kings County district attorney’s office, through which people sentenced to community service maintained parks in the district. He also worked to find solutions to school crowding and backed the idea of giving the mayor control of the school system. CUNY has been such a positive force in Golden’s life that he’s hoping his own children will follow in his footsteps when it comes time for them to choose a college. “The CUNY system started me off in the right direction,” Golden says, adding that at times his political work takes him to John Jay for receptions and meetings with the president. “The CUNY system is one of the finest in the country. It is important to fund CUNY because it’s the future of the country. The students, these are the young men and women who will lead this country.”

Senator Looks to CUNY for Expertise UNY has been part of State Sen. Kevin S. Parker’s life ever since he can remember. His mother, Georgie E. Parker, was assistant registrar at Brooklyn College for 36 years before her retirement. The college is in his neighborhood, Flatbush, part of the area he now represents, the 21st Senatorial district. “In fact, Brooklyn College is the largest institution in my district,” he points out. Parker, a member of the Higher Education Committee, believes that bringing more resources to the higher education budget is central to his mission as a legislator. “I often turn to CUNY faculty members as a resource for information on many issues,” he notes. “They are an incredible source of expertise. I asked my staff to take a course Brooklyn College offered on immigration law for that reason.” The faculty is what drew him to CUNY’s Graduate Center when he decided to pursue a Ph.D. in political science. Parker completed most of his doctoral coursework before taking a leave when he was elected in 2002, and intends to resume his studies soon. “The Graduate Center’s political science faculty includes nationally known urban policy experts,” he explains. Parker himself has been a CUNY faculty member in several settings. While he was special assistant to former New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, Parker taught African American Studies at Brooklyn College, City College’s Center for Worker Education, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Baruch College and Medgar Evers College at various times. He has served as advisor to student groups at Brooklyn College and taught a graduate course on “Blacks in the Labor Movement” at Brooklyn’s Center for Worker

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He earned his bachelor’s degree in pubEducation. He has also taught at SUNYlic service at Pennsylvania State University Old Westbury and at Long Island and a master’s degree in urban policy at University. the New School of Social Research in “I was only 26 when I started teaching,” New York City. Parker decided to earn his he recalls. “I was the youngest professor Ph.D. because he felt it would “give me and in many cases the first black professor the skills to think more broadly about the the students had seen. I think it was issues I would face in a career in public important for the students to realize that service. I decided to run for the State if I could do it they could.” He hopes to Senate to put into practice many things I return to college teaching. learned in the graduate program.” Parker lets his constituents know that Parker has served his earliest schooling on the staffs of fortook place at PS 193, mer Manhattan JHS 240 and Midwood Borough President HS in his district. Ruth Messinger, “There are many immiAssemblyman Nick grants living in the Perry, former New nearby neighborhoods. York City Council It’s good for people to Member Una know I’ve grown up Clarke, the New there and that it’s posYork State Urban sible to build lifelong Development roots in the area.” Corporation and in He also mentions his government affairs schooling because he for UBS Paine believes education is Webber. the key to individuals’ He is proud of improving their lives. his ties to the labor Several CUNY students movement, noting have served as interns that his father was in Parker’s office. a union organizer “Economic developSenator Kevin S. Parker and that he and his ment and immigration parents have been union members. issues are major interests of mine,” he says, All of which brings him back to the “And economic development and educatopic of economic development, one of his tion go together. Education is the key to passions. “I’m working with Brooklyn establishing our state as a world-class College to establish a business developeconomy. It is unfortunate that tuition was ment center there to serve students and raised last year but we did raise TAP funds. local businesses.” We have to think about creating jobs in For Parker, “It all comes back to providgrowing areas like biotechnology and ing opportunities for education. That’s our allowing our students to acquire the skills responsibility and our future.” for those jobs.”

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ADA L. SMITH S

tate Sen. Ada L. Smith’s first lessons in the workings of government came when she was a member of CUNY’s University Student Senate as a Baruch College student. “Baruch’s population is so diverse that representing it taught me how to work with people who come from many ethnic backgrounds and who have differing perspectives,” she said. Smith earned an associate degree in marketing at CUNY’s New York City Technical College, then studied marketing and business at Baruch. Born in Virginia and raised in the Williamsburg-Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, Smith now represents the 10th District (Southeast Queens). She was first elected in 1987 and is now serving her eighth term. Smith worked full-time while attending New York City Technical College as an evening student. After earning her associate degree, she quit her job to study fulltime at Baruch, and received her bachelor’s degree in 1973. “You have a totally different value system when you come back to school after spending some years in the world of work,” Smith said. “You understand the value of an education.” Smith tells legislative colleagues who favor increasing CUNY tuition that keeping public higher education affordable “is not giving anything away to these students, it’s an investment. Every CUNY student who goes on to become a taxpaying citizen creates a more solid tax base within this state.” In addition to battling for higher education, Smith has sought more equitable funding for New York City’s public schools. She has worked to ensure quality patient care and has been a strong advocate for senior citizens.

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AUDREY I. PHEFFER

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ueens College means a great deal to me,” said Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer. “It gave me the opportunity, through the ACE program, to complete my college education with the flexibility I needed as a single parent of two children and a full-time employee.” She graduate cum laude from Queens College in 1982. The first member of her family to attend college, she wouldn’t have been able to afford college were it not for Queens’ low cost, “which was essential to my ability to attend school and still meet my other responsibilities,” she noted. “I utilize the knowledge and resources I obtained at Queens College on a daily basis.” Pheffer has lived in Queens for more than 45 years, has represented the 23rd Assembly District for over 16 years and has been overwhelmingly re-elected each term. A strong supporter of public higher education and The City University, she said they are essential to giving today’s students, particularly members of lowincome groups, minorities and immigrants, the opportunity to attend college.

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CARL E. HEASTIE nce he decided he wanted to earn an M.B.A., Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx set about doing what any smart businessperson would do – a bit of comparison shopping. “I checked a web site which evaluated university schools of business and saw that Baruch College had a very good rating. I looked into NYU and found that it cost three times more and wasn’t offering anything better. Not being a rich man, I found Baruch’s credentials together with the price made it the right choice.” “When the tuition hike came up for our consideration, it affected me personally and I knew how it affected other students. That was true of several of my colleagues in the legislature as well. I believe that Assemblyman Diaz is a student at Lehman College, for instance.” Heastie, who was elected in 2000, had worked for the New York City Deputy Comptroller as a budget analyst, in which post he prepared reports on city spending. His initial training in budget analysis came from another public institution of higher education, SUNY-Stony Brook, where he majored in applied mathematics and statistics. “I find that my studies at Baruch, in combination with my work experience, have prepared me for really reading and understanding a budget,” he said. How does Heastie manage to combine his busy schedule as a legislator with his graduate work? “Baruch is a business school for working people. I find that in general the faculty is flexible,” he said.

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STEPHEN KAUFMAN hen Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman tosses off a reference to Chaucer or Tennyson in one of his speeches, it’s an homage to Prof. Nicholas Lyons, who taught English at Hunter College. Although he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Kaufman recalls his English classes with great affection. In those days – he graduated in 1965 – Hunter College was small. “There were only five buildings, it was a country-style campus and everyone knew each other,” Kaufman said. Classes had an average of only 20 students, so “there was much interaction between students and professors,” Kaufman said. “It was a nurturing environment. Professor Lyons loved the subject of English, he loved the students and he was an excellent teacher.” It was this first taste of academic life that spurred Kaufman to go on to earn two other degrees: a juris doctor from American University Washington College of Law, where he was assistant editor of the Law Review and editor-in-chief of the law school newspaper; and a master of law degree from New York University. A practicing attorney, he has law offices in the Bronx. Kaufman has been supportive of his

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alma mater, even sponsoring legislation to keep the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in Manhattan at The Graduate Center of CUNY. He chose to attend Hunter College because his brother went there and because it was in the Bronx, where he has lived his entire life. “It was a magnificent school,” he said. “And I got an excellent education.”

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DOV HIKIND A

ssemblyman Dov Hikind earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Queens College and his master’s in Urban Administration from Brooklyn College. He recently marked his 22nd year in the New York State Legislature as the representative for the 48th Assembly District, an area that encompasses Borough Park, Dyker Heights, Kensington and sections of Flatbush. The first member of his family to attend college, he credits CUNY with offering him “the opportunity to get a high quality education in an atmosphere that was conducive to learning.” In 1996, Hikind founded the United New York Democratic Club, a political action group dedicated to bipartisan support of candidates in major city and state races who are committed to quality of life concerns and promoting greater unity and understanding within New York’s diverse communities. Hikind believes “education is the foundation of life and the lifeline of society. I had great teachers and a wonderful experience at The City University,” he said, “and my education gave me the skills and the tools required for a successful career in public service.” That is why he is committed to “making sure that CUNY receives the funding it needs so that today’s students can have the same chance to receive a high quality, affordable education that I did at Queens and Brooklyn Colleges.”

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JEFFREY KLEIN A

ssemblyman Jeffrey Klein of the 80th Assembly District in the Bronx graduated from both Queens College in 1983 and from CUNY Law School in 1994. In between his two stints as a CUNY student, Klein earned master of public administration degree in 1985 at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “I always had a strong interest in public service and CUNY Law School is the only school completely dedicated to that goal,” he said. Klein said that in today’s world a college education is a must for many occupations, equivalent in terms of its entry level value to what a high school diploma once meant. “Our public higher education system is the only route to improved opportunities for people in our state who are not wealthy,” he said. “I would like to see the tuition hikes which were imposed on

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CUNY and SUNY students cut and the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) well supported. I paid a small tuition – my college education wasn’t free – but that made a huge difference for me. That’s true for many people.”

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RUTH HASSELL-THOMPSON tate Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, an alumna of Bronx Community College, was elected in 2000 to represent the 36th Senatorial District, comprising parts of Westchester and the Bronx. She was active in both business and community service before being elected to the Mount Vernon City Council in 1993, where she served as council president and acting mayor. She was also chair of the city’s Capital Projects Board, vice chair of its Urban Renewal and Real Estate Boards, and a member of the Board of Estimate. A retired nurse-counselor who specialized in helping women with substanceabuse issues, she was also president and CEO of Whart Development Company, a real-estate development company and a consultant to small and developing businesses before entering politics. In 1980, Hassell-Thompson became executive director of the Westchester Minority Contractors Association, and served in that capacity until June 1987. She became well-versed in economic development issues that impact women and people of color, and became a strong advocate of their cause, persuading members of both the public and private sectors to increase economic participation with minority and women-owned businesses. Before leading the WMCA, she worked for the Westchester Community Opportunity Program for 10 years in a number of management positions, from director of a day-care center to executive assistant to the executive director.

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STEVEN SANDERS ooking back, Assemblyman Steven Sanders commented, “In a way, City College led to my entire career.” In 1973, when he was a senior majoring in government, the college placed him in an internship in thenAssemblyman Andrew Stein’s office. As things turned out, Sanders became Stein’s successor in representing Manhattan’s 74th Assembly district. At CCNY, which is also his father Murray’s alma mater (class of 1938), Sanders fondly recalled “the excellent professors in the social sciences.” He said that great faculty members and hands-on work experience in one’s field of interest is what public higher education should be all about. “I think we have a moral imperative to make certain that higher education is a possibility for everyone who has the desire to acquire it,” he said. “I think that when you have a public education you tend to be exposed to more things, You learn to work with and to relate to all kinds of people from many backgrounds and many walks of life. You deal with the real world every day. It can prepare you socially far

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better than a rarified atmosphere can -and that can be an educational advantage in many ways.” Sanders is proud of major increases in state school funding during his years as chairman of the Education Committee, especially the revision of state education aid formulas to make them more equitable for districts with higher needs. “I think our public higher education systems are one of our most vital resources.” he said.

A S S E M B LY M A N MICHAEL A. BENJAMIN lthough Assemblyman Michael A. Benjamin attended Hunter College nearly two decades ago, the lessons he learned there have stayed with him every day of his career. It was three instructors in the graduate program in urban affairs in the 1987-89 academic years – Stanley Moses, Peter Salins, who is now provost of the SUNY system, and Hans Speigel, the chairman of Hunter’s urban affairs planning department – who really made him think, not only about the assignment at hand but also about his role in effecting political change. “Moses had a real affinity and love for public policy and government’s providing services when the private sector could or would not,” Benjamin said. “Speigel, who was very liberal, had a wonderful way of engaging students in thinking about the issues. And Salins, with whom I still keep in touch, was perhaps the most conservative member of the faculty. He was opposed to rent control. At that time, I disagreed with him, but now I realize that it has been a factor in distorting the rentalhousing market in New York.” In addition to the excellent and engaging faculty members, Benjamin said that it was the diversity of the student population at Hunter that he found most helpful. “We had the chance to learn from the combined experiences and cultures of all these different ethnic perspectives,” said Benjamin, who represents the 79th Assembly District in the Bronx, where he has always lived. “Because of that, I learned that there is not just one way of looking at an issue or policy. This has been a great help in politics, because I represent a district that is predominantly black and Hispanic, but there also are other groups, and I’m always trying to bring diverse groups together.” The list of issues that Benjamin, the first African-American to head the Bronx Board of Elections, is involved with is, indeed, varied. In addition to working with community groups to improve education, he has focused on political redistricting, restoring banking services, fighting environmental racism and making neighborhoods safer. Benjamin, who has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Syracuse University, said that one of the reasons he chose to enroll in Hunter’s master of science program in urban affairs, aside from the fact that the program is “well respected,” was because his mother earned three degrees from CUNY schools. She is an alumna of Bronx Community College, Lehman College and The City College of New York. “I found it to be a good learning environment,” he said, adding that he has experienced CUNY from the other side of the desk, too: He has been a lecturer on

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race and ethnicity at John Jay College. Benjamin credits current Chancellor Matthew Goldstein with increasing enrollment while raising academic standards. “I encourage all of my constituents to attend college, and at CUNY, it’s still a lot cheaper than at any other school in the area,” he said. “I call upon my CUNY education every day. It helps me better understand urban planning in my assembly district.”

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here is no such thing as failure. That is the life lesson that Assemblywoman Diane Gordon carried away with her when she earned her business administration degree from CUNY’s New York City College of Technology in 1985. “At CUNY, there was no such word as ‘failure,’” she says. “It was not an option, and there were no excuses for failure because the teachers were always there to help. They were there to walk you through everything from coursework to financial aid.” Gordon, the Democrat who represents Brooklyn’s 40th Assembly District, enrolled in the college because of its advanced business courses. “At that time, the college was offering word processing classes, which were new,” she says. “It had all the courses I was looking for.” She also was attracted to the enrichment classes, specifically the drama course in black theatre. “This also was a new idea at the time,” she says. “We studied AfricanAmerican poems to enhance our reading and writing skills. The class was well attended, and we didn’t even get credit for it.” She credits the teachers with making her business courses not only easy to understand but also relevant to her life. “In our writing and reading class, the professor was really dynamic. She used newspapers to make her point, and she kept everything very simple. I was able to pass my classes because of the extra time the teachers were willing to spend with me. For them, it wasn’t all about earning a lot of money, it was about making sure that we were learning. They were willing to work with the students, they were willing to go the extra mile.” Then there were some other courses, particularly English, that Gordon wasn’t prepared to like. “I thought it was going to be boring,” she says, “but the teacher challenged my interest. I was pleased with all the courses. Some were very difficult, and CUNY teachers really did outstanding work on all of them.” The fact that CUNY had affordable tuition when she attended also was a great help, she says, adding that that was a major factor in her decision to enroll at New York City College of Technology. Gordon credits CUNY with expanding her horizons – she also is certified by the American Business Institute in Business Mathematics — by getting her interested in a variety of subjects that have marked her political career. She is on several standing committees in the Assembly, including ones on alcoholism and drug abuse; social services; and corporations, authorities and commissions. “I would like everyone to pick one CUNY college to attend,” Gordon says. “It is the way to go. It gives you that extra step, that extra plus to success.”

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004

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Extending the Tenure Clock continued from front evaluators who frequently convey surprise at the brevity of the CUNY tenure clock, commenting on how difficult it is to properly evaluate scholarly potential at a three-and-one-half to five-year juncture. Q. The University has indicated that modifying the tenure clock from five to seven years will bring CUNY into conformity with other colleges and universities across the nation. Please explain. A. The tenure clock at CUNY is short in comparison with other colleges and universities. Across institutions of higher education, the tenure clock averages seven years. For example, at SUNY the standard period is seven years. At the University of Michigan and Columbia, it is eight years. At Yale it is ten years. The AAUP Guidelines consider a seven-year tenure clock acceptable. Q. Does the new tenure clock have any consequences for the concept of tenure or academic freedom at CUNY? A. Categorically “No.” The University is firmly committed to both tenure and academic freedom for its faculty. The University simply wishes to create a more reasonable time frame within which candidates for tenure will be evaluated. Q. Isn’t the University concerned that the proposal may cause the State Legislature to rethink tenure more generally? A. No. There is no evidence whatsoever of sentiment in Albany favoring a rethinking of tenure. Further, we have taken extreme care in our proposal to

make the least possible change in the statute regarding tenure; in fact, we propose changing only one word.

while having sufficient time to participate fully in college life. This additional time not only benefits new faculty but also results in a tenure clock that is more consistent with other higher education institutions. Increasing the time to tenure will enhance our ability to recruit, as well as retain, a diverse faculty on our campuses.

Moreover, it should be noted that SUNY’s system of tenure has never Q.. The core mission of The City been embodied in a statute, only in University of SUNY’s own New York is to internal rules, and educate the there has never citizens of TOWN MEETING ON been any moveNew York EXTENDING THE ment to rethink City. How tenure at SUNY. TENURE CLOCK does this Q. Will increasing the change in the CUNY Full-time Faculty Invited time to tenure tenure law Hosted by Chancellor Matthew Goldstein affect the reprebenefit our Tuesday, March 16, 2004, 5-7 pm sentation of students and Baruch Vertical Campus, minorities and enhance their 55 Lexington Ave. (corner of E. 24th St.) women on our educational 14th Floor, Room 14-220 campuses? experience? PROCEDURES FOR TOWN MEETING A. The City A. The City • Full-time faculty who wish to speak University of New University of should email Ms. Barbara Cura, York values excelNew York is Office of the Chancellor, at lence. Over the committed to [email protected] by the close past year, CUNY its core mission of business on Friday, March 12, 2004. has made a comof providing an • The maximum time permitted for each mitment to excellent eduspeaker will be three minutes. Written recruit and hire cation to its statements are welcome and appreciated. increasing numstudents. We • Faculty who cannot participate in the bers of full-time are working Town Meeting are encouraged to email faculty who diligently to ideas and comments to Executive demonstrate direct our Vice Chancellor Louise Mirrer at excellence in resources to [email protected] teaching and support that • The Town Meeting will be videotaped scholarship. mission. Most and audio recorded so that there will be notable among Further, we have a public record of the proceedings. our efforts is renewed our the restoration efforts to ensure a of full-time facbroadly diverse ulty. As we increase the ranks of the pool of candidates from which to full-time faculty, lengthening the time select new hires. Increasing the time to to tenure will provide these new hires a tenure will provide sufficient time for sufficient opportunity to participate in new faculty of all backgrounds to the life of the college, engage more demonstrate solid performance and fully with students, and have sufficient build a sufficient record of scholarship,

time to focus on their research and scholarship, thus enhancing the learning environment and creating an atmosphere of excellence for all students. Q. What if a faculty member joins the University after teaching elsewhere or quickly develops a substantial record of scholarship? Will he/she have to wait seven years to obtain tenure? A. No. The option of seeking early tenure will continue to be available and will be encouraged in appropriate cases. The University plans to communicate this to all of the college presidents and to submit an amendment to the Board’s Bylaws to make clearer that early tenure consideration is particularly appropriate where faculty have prior teaching experience and/or have developed a substantial record of scholarship in less than seven years. Q. How will the change in the tenure clock affect the timing of promotion to associate professor (and the attendant salary increase)? A. It has always been the case that faculty may be promoted to associate professor prior to tenure. Indeed, sometimes untenured faculty are recruited to CUNY as associate professors at the outset. That will continue. In addition, the University will propose an amendment to the Board’s Bylaws making promotion to associate professor automatic upon the granting of tenure. Q. Would the proposed modification of the tenure clock apply to any current faculty? A. At the direction of the Chancellor and as a result of faculty comments, the modification has been made prospective only. The seven-year tenure clock will apply to faculty hired on or after September 1, 2004 and to faculty hired before that date only if they voluntarily opt for the longer probationary period in writing by the end of their third year of employment.

Community College Enrollment at Record High tudent enrollment at The City University of New York's six community colleges reached 72,473 for the Spring semester, the highest level in history, boosted by a jump of more than 10,000 degree-seeking students—or 16.5 percent—in the last three years. Borough of Manhattan, Bronx, Hostos, Kingsborough, LaGuardia, and Queensborough Community Colleges also serve an additional 100,000 continuing education students. The two-year colleges sponsor programs for over 20,000 high school students through “College Now,” the University's highly successful enrichment program offering college coursework to public high school students. Six high schools are now on the community college campuses. The University is making an unprecedented investment through a $25 million

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Community College Investment Program. Through this initiative, the community colleges are hiring 450 new staff, including 300 full-time faculty members this year, as well as substantially enhancing libraries and other academic and student support services. “CUNY's six community colleges are contributing mightily to New York City’s renaissance, providing training and re-training opportunities for the City's workforce and a strong foundation for transfer students to continue their education at the baccalaureate level,” stated Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. He further stated, “Our record student enrollment—the highest in CUNY's history—is a testament to the dedication and ambition of our student body and the devotion and expertise of the University's faculty and staff. CUNY students will repay many times over the investments made in their education

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through the taxes they will pay for decades to come and their numerous contributions to our City and State.” Borough of Manhattan Community College is located in the heart of New York City, and it reflects the best of downtown Manhattan: the culture of Tribeca, the vibrancy of Wall Street, and the promise of the Statue of Liberty. Bronx Community College, situated on a 53-acre campus that is home to the prestigious Hall of Fame for Great Americans, offers Associate's degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, the health sciences, business, and public service occupations. Hostos Community College, nationally known for its bilingual approach to education, offers a rich variety of career and liberal arts programs, ranging from accounting, business, and data processing to nursing, public administration and public inter-

CUNY MATTERS Office of University Relations The City University of New York 535 East 80th St. New York, NY 10021

est paralegal studies. Kingsborough Community College enrolls more than 15,000 students, about half of whom are working toward associate degrees that will enable them to transfer to baccalaureate institutions. The other half are in career-oriented programs such as business administration, fashion merchandising, mental health, journalism and print media, among others. LaGuardia Community College joins Barnard College and UCLA as the only three colleges nationwide to receive the prestigious 2004 Theodore M. Hesburgh Award Certificate of Excellence, which recognizes innovative faculty training programs that enhance classroom instruction and student learning. Queensborough Community College offers outstanding programs in a broad range of liberal arts and sciences, pre-professional, career, and technical subjects.

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