Spring 2022
Committee on Review
Professor Priya Parmar of the Standing Committee reported that the Standing Committee on Review has examined the minutes of the Faculty Council submitted to them and approved these minutes.
Remarks From Professor Carolina Bank Munoz, PSC–CUNY Chapter Chair
Good afternoon, everyone. It’s good to see so many of you here today. First, I’d like to start by thanking all the faculty, CLT’s and HEO’s who came to march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday March 6th. It was such a joy to be with our BC contingent of over 100.
The march was important because we have less than a month to convince the Governor and the legislature to invest in CUNY. For the first time in decades, we have the opportunity to win big in Albany. While it is hopeful that Governor Hochul’s budget is better than we’ve seen in the recent past, it is not enough. Brooklyn College and CUNY continues to face serious infrastructure challenges, we continue to lose faculty of color at an alarming rate, and staff are often working out of title or taking over the work responsibilities of colleagues who have left the institution. Furthermore, our wages have neither kept up with inflation, nor are they comparable to those of faculty at similar state institutions. We have been in crisis mode for far too long and it’s time for the State to invest in CUNY. It is our job as members of the campus community and our union to speak up and call out these unacceptable working conditions. The Governor and Legislature need to hear from us and our students about what is happening on the ground at CUNY. You can see a detailed budget breakdown at https://www.psc-cuny.org/issues/where-do-things-stand-new-deal-cuny.
Here is what you can do in the next month!
- If you haven’t already, sign the CUNY Rising Letter to Legislators supporting a New Deal for CUNY. Talk to your classes, colleagues, neighbors, and Friends about the letter and ask them to sign. https://cunyrisingalliance.org/nd4c-letter.
- To learn more about ND4C you can see the concept paper here. https://cunyrisingalliance.org/nd4c-concept-paper
- Albany is once again open! Come lobby with the PSC either in person or virtually. To become active in the legislative committee please email Tiffany Brown (tbrown@pscmail.org) to become a district captain for lobbying fill out this form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V9knVDMoeyN34Wp9TPtjBBj_OClwIlZag6EIvYA0TiU/viewform?edit_requested=true
- Join our Campus Action Team. This group is working on the current budget cycle and then transitioning to working on the next contract which expires in Feb 2023. www.psc-cuny.org/CAT
- Come to our event later this month on CUNY as a public good. What does it mean to think about CUNY as a public good? How do we think about the mixed legacy of the 1930s New Deal as we embark on a new effort to forge a New Deal for CUNY? Stay tuned for event details.
On a less positive note, I wanted to register deep concern over the Chancellor’s message sent at 8:40pm on Friday, dropping the mask mandate. The message showed a profound lack of respect for students, faculty, and staff. There was no negotiation over this change in working conditions, leaving many in our campus community vulnerable. This is another example of CUNY not proactively thinking about how these policies have differential impacts on our community. Faculty and staff should reach out to me with concerns about this.
Finally, the PSC Central has a new Anti-Racism Committee which has recognized the activism of the Brooklyn College Anti-Racist Coalition as being the most progressive among the CUNY campuses. It’s demand for structural change and governance by advocating anti-racist pedagogy throughout the college, cluster hiring to diversify an overwhelmingly white and aging faculty body, and the advocacy for outside consultants to facilitate these changes gives Brooklyn College the opportunity to pursue anti-racist change that can be a model throughout CUNY. To get involved in these continued efforts you can reach out to myself or Lawrence Johnson at Prof.Johnson1979@gmail.com, one of the co-chairs of the union’s anti-racism committee.
Beyond issuing statements on violence against Asian and Asian American women I hope the administration is taking concrete steps and putting resources into ensuring the safety of Asian American students, faculty, and staff.
I’m looking forward to working with all of you on improving our collective working conditions and students’ learning conditions. Thank you.
President Anderson’s Address
The President gave a State of the College Address, which included college news, a description of faculty and alumni excellence and strategic planning for the College.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
