SpecialLEGISLATIVE Edition

cuny.edu/news • C ITY U NIVERSITY OF N EW Y ORK FOUNDED 1847 • Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on ALUMNI Legislators New Program Offers Politics 101 any CUNY tephanie Rosario is intrigued by alumni serve in what makes politics tick. There is, the state legisla- Sshe says, the fascination of give and M take, the back and forth of things, the ture. Here are some stories "manner in which individuals reach out to about them and about the their representatives and subsequently University's commitment these representatives can discuss and lobby for their concerns on everything from to training leaders. health and safety to justice and equality." The Brooklyn College student, who is “Two-fer” Legislators majoring in political science and minoring in sociology, is learning about the under- Take a Second Helping pinnings of politics first-hand by working 1of CUNY Learning in the office of Assemblymember Felix Senator Seymour Ortiz of Brooklyn, thanks to the Black, Puerto Rican & Hispanic Legislative Lachman has a Three CUNY students who'll be working as interns in legislators' district offices are, from left, Caucus/CUNY Scholars Program, which long relationship Andre Harding (Queens College), Stephanie Rosario (Brooklyn College) and Kathlene Burke awards high-achieving students internships (Baruch College). with two CUNY with members of the New York State colleges. Many of Legislature. Rosario, who wants to become his colleagues in a public-interest attorney or a law clerk for Caucus/CUNY Scholars Program are: but as yet I do not know whether I want to Albany have stud- a federal judge, says that the CUNY Senate Minority Leader David A. Paterson, enter politics, but I would like to find out," ied or taught at internship is vital to her career plans. "My Senator Kevin S. Parker, Senator Malcolm he says. "I'm doing the internship so I can more than one institution. See page 4. aim is to improve the lives of working- Smith; Senator Velmanette Montgomery, work close to politics." class citizens," she says. Assembly-man and Ways and Means For Kathlene Burke, the CUNY intern- This year, a dozen students, including Senator Lavalle: Students Committee Chairman Herman D. Farrell ship with Assemblyman Towns represents Rosario, are serving communities through- Jr., Assembly members Michael Benjamin, yet another step in her involvement in pol- Need Help; Financial out New York City as interns in district Espaillat, Towns, Jose Rivera, Adam itics. Burke, a Baruch College student who Aid is a Big Component offices of state legislators through the new Clayton Powell IV and Assemblywoman is majoring in finance and who plans a 2 program, created by Assemblymen Senator Kenneth Michele R. Titus. career in public-interest law, has taken an Adriano Espaillat and Darryl Towns. The LaValle, chair of Like Rosario, Roxanna Thomas, a politi- active role in campus matters, participating internship allows undergraduate students cal science and history major at York in a 2003 protest against planned tuition the Senate's higher to earn 12 to 15 college credits and College, aspires to high goals: She wants to hikes. “A concerned group of students and I education commit- receive a $5,000 stipend. earn a doctorate in international relations went to Albany to participate in a rally,” tee, discusses the "Through the leadership and initiative and feels that her CUNY internship with she says. “In addition, we encouraged oth- needs of public of Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat Senator Paterson will serve as a mini- ers to get involved by calling their repre- colleges and how (alumnus, Queens College) and Caucus course in the politics in everyday life. “My sentatives and mailing letters, explaining Vice Chair Darryl Towns (alumnus, the Legislature can long-term personal career goals are quite our opposition to the tuition hikes.” Medgar Evers College), the first-time pro- and must help. See page 10. simple: I want to save the world,” she says. The internship, she says, will give her gram is providing high academic achievers "Now, here is the hard part: I want to have valuable insight into serving the needs of at CUNY with the opportunity to learn a family at the same time." the community. “I will be able to experi- Assemblyman Canestrari: first hand about the district office opera- While Andre Harding, a history major ence first-hand the ways in which policy- Enhance Quality of tions of state legislators. The participating at Queens College, says that saving the makers aim to serve their constituents," Faculty and Programs student scholars will help research issues, world may not be within his power, he she says. “The internship will also educate 3 work with constituents, and assist in the does hope that his internship in the office me on many of the problems faced by Assemblyman delivery of services," said Chancellor of Assemblyman Farrell helps him make a members of the minority community. Ronald Canestrari, Matthew Goldstein. career choice that will benefit the world, Most of my adult life has been spent in chairman of the Legislators who are participating in the even if in a small way. "Faculty members these communities, which has impassioned Assembly's Black, Puerto Rican & Hispanic Legislative have told me they see me as a politician, me toward a career defending civil rights." Committee on Higher Education, says state support should be enhanced Extending the Tenure Clock to improve services on campus. See page 12. ection 6212 of the New York State actual practice) to complete sufficient time faculty at the meeting or by e-mail to Education Law governs tenure at research and writing leading to publication the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Brooklyn College Sends SCUNY. The section requires that worthy of tenure. Also, a seven-year span Affairs, Louise Mirrer, at tenure become effective on appears to be the norm on Many Alumni to Serve [email protected]. the first day of September campuses around the nation. In anticipation of some questions that 4in Albany following reappointment for Therefore, I hope that CUNY may arise, we have prepared the following What is it about Brooklyn? Why the sixth full year. As such, will extend its tenure period, questions and answer. have so many Brooklyn College the decision to grant or deny so that we do not lose candi- tenure must be made during dates who are good instructors Q. Why does CUNY want to change the graduates gone on to serve with the fifth year to be in compli- and who perform needed serv- tenure clock? distinction in the state Legislature? ance with the terms of the ice to the department, college The issue is fundamentally about fair- For some answers, see page 8. A. statute. Since the deadline for and university, and who, with ness—fairness to the candidate and fair- notification of reappointment sufficient time, would prove ness to his or her evaluators. The five- with tenure is December 1st to be successful scholars in year tenure clock actually provides a fac- of the fifth year, the period of Chancellor Goldstein their respective fields." ulty member with only three-and-one- assessment prior to considera- The University has pro- half to four years to develop a body of tion for tenure is in fact even shorter. posed a modification to current statutory work to be evaluated. Over the past several years, CUNY fac- language that would lengthen the tenure In the sciences, this is a short period of ulty have expressed many concerns about clock to seven years in response to faculty time to establish a lab and show promis- the short tenure clock. The following com- concerns. ing results. In the humanities, it is a ment from a CUNY department chair is a We have scheduled a town meeting to short period of time to publish a book case in point: clarify and help shape implementation of or articles in refereed journals. These "I have many times encountered the sit- the proposed new tenure clock, consistent problems are underscored by external uation in which the candidate simply with proposed legislative reform. We wel- needs more time than five years (four, in come the ideas and comments of all full- Continued on back page An Historic Training Ground for Leaders

ne of the best measures of a uni- leading roles in advancing progressive 99, when Governor Pataki nominated him versity’s worth is the success of agendas in New York State and lent strong to the State Court of Claims. Waldon also Oits students after graduation. By support for public higher education and served in Congress. that yardstick, The City University has set The City University. Brooklyn Borough President Marty the standard as a democracy of excellence Shirley Chisholm (Brooklyn College, Markowitz (Brooklyn, 1970) spent a total and opportunity. CUNY’s graduates have 1946), the first African-American woman of nine years earning his degree in political made enormous contributions to every elected to Congress, served in the State science (while working full time), and field of endeavor, including medicine and Assembly from 1964-68. She fought to served as student government president in the sciences, engineering, the arts, architec- pass legislation that helped create CUNY’s the School of General Studies during ture, business, law, teaching and public SEEK Program (Search for Education, seven of those years. He was elected to the service. For example, eleven Nobel Elevation and Knowledge), which has New York State Senate in 1978 and to his Laureates are CUNY graduates, and the made it possible for many disadvantaged borough’s presidency in 2001. Bronx Borough President Adolfo University is also a leading source of top youths to attend college. In 1972 she Colin Powell business executives. CUNY is also the became the first African-American to run Carrion Jr. completed his graduate degree national leader in producing minority for President of the United States. at Hunter College. Ph.D.’s, doctors, engineers and scientists. Baruch College has the distinction of Larry Seabrook is a “three-fer” – Kings- Miguel Martinez (John Jay, 1995) is in It is not surprising, therefore, that CUNY graduating the youngest African-American borough Community College, John Jay his second term on the City Council, has been the training ground for so many currently in the State Assembly: Carl E. College of Criminal Justice and the where he serves on the Committee on outstanding leaders of New York City, New Heastie, who is now working toward his CUNY Law School – and is currently a Higher Education. He was student council York State and the nation. From Secretary MBA at Baruch. In addition, former Bronx member of the New York City Council. president as an undergraduate at John Jay. of State Colin L. Powell (CCNY, 1958) to Borough President Fernando Ferrer is cur- He served in both the State Assembly and Eliot Engel, congressman from New Senator Robert F. Wagner (CCNY, 1898), rently enrolled in Baruch’s School of Senate, and was chairman of the New York York’s 17th District, covering parts of the and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Public Affairs’ MPA Program and, like City State Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Bronx, Westchester and Rockland Frankfurter (CCNY, 1902) to former New Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, is on Legislative Caucus. The current head of Counties, hold two degrees from Lehman York Mayors Abraham Beame (CCNY, his way to becoming a CUNY alumnus. the caucus is Assemblyman Adriano College: His bachelors in history and his 1928), Edward I. Koch (CCNY) and the Of course, one cannot discuss Baruch Espaillat (Queens College), and the vice masters in guidance and counseling. current State Comptroller Alan Hevesi College without noting that Bernard chair is Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns Congressmen Gary Ackerman and (Queens College, 1962), CUNY’s graduates Baruch (CCNY, 1889), after whom the (Medgar Evers College). Seabrook has also Joseph Crowley graduated from Queens have played prominent roles in the legisla- College was named, served as an advisor to been an adjunct professor at John Jay. College in 1965 and 1985, respectively. tive, executive and judicial branches. several Presidents of the United States. Councilman Charles Barron, who chairs Representative Ackerman served in the For example, the University has pro- Other CUNY graduates who have the Higher Education Committee, gradu- State Senate from 1979-83, while duced many distinguished members of the made their marks at the state and city lev- ated from two CUNY colleges – New York Congressman Crowley was an New York State Legislature, including els include Alton Waldon, Jr. (John Jay City Community College (now New York Assemblyman from 1986-98. In addition, three Assembly Speakers: Stanley Fink, College, 1968), who was an Assemblyman City College of Technology) and Hunter Queens Borough President Helen Marshall Saul Weprin and Mel Miller. They played from 1983-86 and a Senator from 1991- College. 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 opportuni- from any other educational entity. with educational attainment. Once again, 31,000 people, who pay taxes and use local ties to talk about CUNY’s success- Since the mid-1960s, CUNY has pro- this increased income contributes to the goods and services. Of that number, nearly Oes in improving its standards, duced over 800,000 graduates. CUNY tax base of New York State. 63 percent are instructional staff. At a time enrollment, and retention. Our academic awards almost 9,000 associate degrees, The University also serves about 40,500 when nationally there is a 5 percent decline programs are expanding, we are hiring about 14,600 bachelors degrees, and high school students through the College in the number of tenured professors, more faculty, and we have a highly success- about 6,400 masters degrees each year. A Now Program and another 8,000 in CUNY- CUNY is deeply committed to increasing ful Honors College now in its third year. conservative estimate suggests that at least affiliated high schools. About 62 percent of the number of full-time professors in the But I think it is one-third of college-educated CUNY first-time freshmen come from classroom. Faculty tend to remain at the important to place New Yorkers are CUNY grad- New York City public high schools. The college at which they teach for many years, CUNY in a broader uates. We know that the vast long-term positive impact of early exposure and all that time they are taxpayers and context—one that majority of our alumni remain to college on high consumers, in addition to illustrates just how in the City of New York after school students’ the cultural contribution important CUNY is graduation, contributing to the future attendance is The vast majority of they make to our neighbor- city- and state-wide. local economy and to their well documented. The hood communities. Recently I testified communities. increased likelihood of our alumni remain All of these statistics fall before the New York Since 1995, more than college attendance for short of describing the per- State Assembly Way 16,400 of our alumni earned those high school stu- in the City of sonal and powerful effect and Means and Senate undergraduate degrees in com- dents involved in New York after CUNY has on individual Finance Committees puter-related fields and more College Now and lives. One of the most on the upcoming capi- than 8,800 students graduated other early interven- graduation, engaging demonstrations of tal budget. It was a from nursing programs (under- tion programs predicts that impact can be found challenge to describe graduate and graduate). These greater advancement contributing to the on CUNY TV’s program the full force of this university’s educa- two fields alone represent essential areas of and income for them. “Study With the Best,” tional, cultural and economic contribu- commerce and social service in New York. As a major local economy and which frequently features tions. Still, a few statistics can convey Students entering the labor force with employer and pur- segments highlighting the some sense of CUNY’s impact. CUNY degree in hand earn much more veyor, CUNY gener- to their communities. development and outcome In its roles as educator and employer, than high school graduates and are much ates a large amount of one-on-one relationships CUNY touches the lives of a great many more likely to remain employed. Median of economic activity and mentoring between New Yorkers. Last year CUNY enrolled salaries for employees who have complet- through its purchase of goods and services, professors and students (Sundays at 8 a.m. about 450,000 students in its degree, and ed an associate’s degree are $7,787 higher construction activity and salaries paid. For and 8 p.m. on Channel 75). It’s those kinds adult and continuing education programs. than those of high school graduates. For example, every $100 million used in the of relationships that are formed every day In Fall 2003, 45 percent of all of the col- bachelor’s degree recipients the differen- construction of projects for the City at CUNY, and they make up the backbone lege students in the City of New York tial is $16,322. Each graduating class University employs over one thousand of our special brand of education. were attending CUNY. That alone is a tes- (including all undergraduate and graduate construction-related personnel and pur- I know that the Legislature strongly sup- tament to our vital role in helping stu- degree recipients) earns $618.5 million chases building materials from state and ports the very best education possible, as dents climb the educational and economic more in its first year after graduation than local vendors. In fiscal year 2002 these do I. With your continued and enhanced ladder to success. The students we serve it would have earned with just a high direct expenditures totaled $2.2 billion, support, CUNY will have the resources to could not get a quality education, at the school diploma. This increment in earnings which created another $1.7 billion in addi- make an enormous difference in the lives hours that suit them, in the boroughs is due both to the higher salaries and to tional indirect earnings. of New Yorkers locally, statewide, and glob- where they live, at a competitive price, the lower unemployment rates associated Finally, the University currently employs ally for many years to come.

2 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on ALUMNI Legislators ASSEMBLYMAN ADRIANO ESPAILLAT n 1996, Adriano IEspaillat,a graduate of Queens College, became the first Dominican- American 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 Herman Badillo Marty Markowitz Shirley Chisolm Stanley Fink Manhattan. He credits Queens College with playing a major role in his subse- Washington is a graduate of the CUNY in every area of government is a direct to the masses was very controversial and quent success. Baccalaureate Program, while Hiram outgrowth of the vision of CUNY’s faced strong resistance. But Harris suc- “Queens College simplified the process Monserrate (Queensboro CC, 1995) was a founders. When he established The Free ceeded in gaining the approval of a for- and helped me a great deal in obtaining police officer before being elected to the Academy–forerunner to The City ward-looking New York State Legislature, higher education,” he said. “As a SEEK stu- New York City Council. University–in 1847, Townsend Harris which agreed to allow the City’s voters to dent I received the help and resources that The contributions of CUNY’s graduates articulated a democratic vision of academ- make the decision in a referendum. To made it possible for me to graduate.” at the city, state and national levels date ic excellence, their eternal cred- A graduate of Bishop Dubois High back many decades. For example, George B. expanded oppor- it, New Yorkers School, he earned his B.S. degree in politi- DeLuca (CCNY, 1909) was New York tunity and public voted by an over- cal science from Queens College in 1978, State’s Lieutenant Governor, while Herman service that was whelming 6 to 1 and later completed postgraduate courses Badillo (CCNY, 1951), was the first revolutionary for The University margin to in public administration at New York Congressman of Puerto Rican background. its time. approve The Free University and the Rutgers University He also served as Bronx Borough President, The 1840’s has produced many Academy. Leadership for Urban Executives Institute. New York City Deputy Mayor and chair- were a period of In 1913 Support for CUNY and higher educa- man of CUNY’s Board of Trustees. great social fer- distinguished members President John H. tion are paramount in Espaillat’s legislative Milton Helpern (CCNY, 1922) was ment in America. Finley introduced agenda. A strong advocate of opportunity New York City Medical Examiner for sev- The spread of the of the New York the Ephebic Oath programs such as HEOP, EOP and SEEK, eral decades and became a legendary fig- Industrial Revolu- as part of as chair of the Commission on Science and ure in forensic medicine. Theodore tion, new inven- State Legislature. CCNY’s Technology he also championed restoration Karagheuzoff (CCNY, 1955) was New tions, scientific Commencement of funds for the STEP and C-STEP pro- York City’s Traffic Commissioner, while advances, and the They played exercises. grams which provide tuition assistance and Mario Procaccino (CCNY, 1935) served as arrival of large Modeled on the academic support for students. New York City’s Comptroller. numbers of immi- leading roles in oath of devotion Queens College and CUNY play a vital Many CUNY alumni have made their grants were chang- taken by the role for low-income groups, minorities and marks on the State judiciary, including ing the face of advancing young people of immigrants, according to Espaillat, who Stanley H. Fuld (CCNY, 1923), a member New York City ancient Athens, noted that the Borough of Queens has of the Court of Appeals, the State’s highest and the nation. A progressive agendas in generations of one of the state’s most diverse immigrant tribunal, for 27 years. Theodore R. leading merchant graduates have populations. Kupferman (CCNY, 1940) was a leading and president of New York State. pledged to trans- “CUNY’s affordability makes it possible New York State appellate judge who also the Board of mit their city for these groups to obtain higher educa- served in Congress and was a New York Education, Harris “greater, better tion,” he added. City Councilman. Several hundred CUNY was appalled that and more beauti- alumni have sat on the benches of New the city, with a population of over ful than it was transmitted to us.” While ASSEMBLYWOMAN York State’s Supreme and City Courts, a 500,000, had only two private colleges the oath speaks of the city, it is interpreted number too numerous to list in this article. with fewer than 300 students. For all prac- to include New York State, the nation and DEBORAH J. GLICK Many others have played prominent tical purposes higher education was avail- the world. And while it began at CCNY roles in the federal government. They able only to the children of the wealthy. its spirit has come to infuse the entire City ssemblywoman Deborah J. Glick’s include Stanley Surrey (CCNY, 1929), Aware that New York’s growth and University. Ayears at Queens College gave her the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Philip progress would depend on an educated Today’s students and recent graduates opportunity “to explore a broad liberal arts Elman (CCNY, 1936), who served on the citizenry, Townsend Harris called for the are adding to CUNY’s proud tradition. education at a Federal Trade Commission; Daniel S. founding of a new institution to educate They are winning prestigious scholarships quality institution Goldin (CCNY, 1962), who headed the the children of the working class, immi- and fellowships, gaining admission to lead- that was afford- National Aeronautics and Space grants and the poor. He stated his vision ing graduate and professional schools, and able.” Administration; and Herman J. Cohen this way: making their marks in public service and a Two of her (CCNY, 1953), who was Assistant “Open the doors to all. Let the host of other fields. These students are three sisters also Secretary of State for African Affairs and children of the rich and the poor take writing new chapters in The City attended Queens. United States ambassador to Senegal. their seats together and know of no dis- University’s inspiring story of access, aca- A lifelong resi- tinction save that of industry, good demic excellence and service to others dent of New York A Tradition of Public Service conduct, and intellect.” that began with Townsend Harris’s vision City who has lived in Greenwich Village The success of the University’s alumni The idea of extending higher education over a century and a half ago. 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 Prepared by Board of Trustees worked until 1990. The City University of New York The City University Chancellor The first openly gay member of the Benno C. Schmidt Jr. Matthew Goldstein of New York State Legislature, Glick worked for passage Chairman Vice Chancellor for University Office of University Relations of the sexual orientation non-discrimination bill, which was signed into law in Valerie L. Beal Randy M. Mastro Relations and Secretary of the 535 East 80th Street Board of Trustees Jay Hershenson December 2002, and for passage of a John S. Bonnici Hugo M. Morales New York, NY 10021 state-wide domestic partnership legisla- University Director of (212) 794-5317 John J. Calandra Kathleen M. Pesile Media Relations Michael Arena tion. Glick also played a key role in Wellington Z. Chen Carol Robles-Román Editor: Gary Schmidgall Published by advancing the Women’s Health and Kenneth Cook Nilda Soto Ruiz Writers: Drew Fetherston, Rita Rodin The Legislative Gazette Wellness law, enacted in 2003. Rita DiMartino Marc V. Shaw Photographer: André Beckles PO Box 7329 Glick said Queens College made her Joseph J. Lhota Jeffrey Wiesenfeld Graphic Design: Gotham Design, NYC life choices possible. Consequently, she is Albany, NY 12225 “thoroughly committed to seeing succes- Agnes M. Abraham Susan O’Malley Articles in this and previous issues are available at cuny.edu/news. Letters or suggestions for future 518-473-9739 sive waves of new students able to have Chairperson, Chairperson, stories may be sent to the Editor by email to Student Senate Faculty Senate [email protected]. Changes of address www.legislativegazette.com the same opportunity.” should be made through your campus personnel office.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 3 Legislature’s “Two-fers” Drink

all them “two-fers” — legislators Baruch also drew Assemblyman J. Gary President Gregory H. Williams who, having sipped from the well Pretlow back to CUNY, after he had Cof knowledge at one campus of earned an associate’s degree in business the City University, returned to take the administration at Queensborough waters of wisdom at another. Community College. “Baruch gave me a Assemblyman Dov Hikind is one: He good business sense and taught me how to earned his bachelor’s degree in political read, understand and prepare budgets and science from Queens College, then went business plans, all of which is essential in on achieve a master’s degree in urban my work in the Legislature.” administration from Brooklyn College. Pretlow, like many other CUNY stu- and Hikind’s father had a fruit and vegetable dents, turned to Queensborough because store where he worked long hours and six- of its low cost. He had begun his studies at The City College day weeks. The family struggled to make a private college, but it proved to be too ends meet, and the low cost at Queens and expensive. Brooklyn Colleges made it possible for him “I am one of the biggest touters of com- to obtain a higher education. munity colleges,” Pretlow says, also noting salute The first member of his family to that “I would never have gone to Baruch if attend college, he credits CUNY with it weren’t for Queensborough Community offering him “the opportunity to get a College.” high-quality education in an atmosphere For Assemblyman Jeffrey Klein, CUNY New York State Legislators that was conducive to learning.” provided bookends to the Master of Public State Sen. Ada L. Smith is another Administration degree he earned at and CCNY Alumni two-fer. She tried the world of work for Columbia University. His bachelor’s six years before entering college. “I saw degree, in history, came from Queens myself doing lots of work and not getting College; he went on to get his law degree Joel M. Miller promoted,” she recalls. from the CUNY School of Law. Smith began taking evening courses at “Our public higher education system is Steven Sanders CUNY’s New York City Technical College the only route to improved opportunities and, like many CUNY students, continued for people in our state who are not working full-time. “I took a full course wealthy,” Klein says. “I paid a small tuition load at night and finished up in 1971, – my [CUNY] college education wasn’t after two and a half years.” free – but that made a huge difference for After receiving an associate degree in me. That’s true for many people.” marketing, she quit her job to continue her Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. also start- studies in that field full-time at Baruch ed in a CUNY community college and College, earning her bachelor’s degree in moved on to one of the senior colleges. In 1973. “My college studies taught me how enrolling at LaGuardia Community to put together a marketing plan and how College, he was following the advice and to take stock of a situation realistically in example of his father, State Sen. Ruben order to put that plan into effect,” she says. Diaz Jr., a Lehman College alumnus who Keeping tuition affordable, she adds, “is recommended CUNY to his son. an investment. Every CUNY student who The younger Diaz, whose assembly dis- goes on to become a taxpaying citizen cre- trict in the South Bronx coincides in part ates a more solid tax base within this state.” 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 SRican/Hispanic woman elected to the New York State Assembly. 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 fac- tory 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 work- ing 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 adminis- tration from Brooklyn College. Hikind’s family struggled to make ends Flags at LaGuardia meet and the low cost at Queens and CC reflect student diversity. Brooklyn Colleges made it possible for

4 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on Deep from CUNY’S Well of Knowledge ALUMNI Legislators attends his father’s alma College, Columbia was easy.” ASSEMBLYWOMAN mater himself, and intends Toby Stavisky had to carry a heavy to graduate next year. credit load to finish her studies at Queens CARMEN ARROYO “When it comes to the before the birth of her son, Evan, in 1968. t’s hard to imagine any CUNY budget, nobody in Evan Stavisky has carried on the family’s top-level executive jug- Albany knows more than CUNY tradition; he was student body I gling the kind of schedule me because I’m living it. I president at Queens College. Assemblywoman Carmen have the faces, the stories, Not everyone returned to a CUNY Arroyo handled back right here in class with school as a student: State Sen. Seymour P. when she supported — me,” he says of his experi- Lachman, a Brooklyn College graduate, and raised — her seven ences in Lehman. “Ninety- returned to Baruch as a professor, and to children on public assis- eight percent of my com- the university as a whole as its dean for tance, attended CUNY’s Hostos munity can’t afford to go community development. Community College and worked full-time. to college elsewhere.” And although State Sen. Kevin S. Parker But she did it. CUNY is a family affair has only studied at one CUNY institution Arroyo, the first Puerto Rican woman for State Sen. Marty – the Graduate Center, where he is pursu- elected to any state assembly in the Golden, too: He and two Senator Seymour Lachman, shown with constituents, has a long ing a doctorate in political science – few relationship with The City University and two of its colleges. His nation, and the only Puerto of his brothers all attend- can match the breadth of his contact with wife teaches at a third, Kingsborough Community College. Rican/Hispanic woman in New York ed John Jay College. the university as a whole. State’s Assembly, represents the 84th dis- Golden started his He was, in a sense, born into the CUNY trict in the South Bronx. CUNY career at the College of Staten Hunter and Queens Colleges, but her family: His mother, Georgie E. Parker, was “I tell everyone in my community to Island, where his discovered a talent and family’s contacts extend to City College, assistant registrar at Brooklyn College for get an education to make their lives bet- liking for writing. “The essay-writing Kingsborough and Queensborough 36 years before her retirement. Parker ter,” she said. “ I know a lot of people who course opened doors for me and it’s Community Colleges through her hus- himself has taught African-American stud- started out in poverty and who are now helped me become a better speechwriter,” band, Leonard ies and political doctors, nurses, teachers or hold other he says. Stavisky, who science at kinds of good jobs.” Like many CUNY students, Golden, served in the Baruch, One of the most important things the son of Irish immigrants, was the first in State Assembly Brooklyn, John about Hostos, she said, is that it’s “near his family to attend college. Cost was defi- and Senate from Jay and Medgar where the people who need it live. People nitely a factor in his choice of schools. “I 1966 until his Evers Colleges who work long hours while raising families chose CUNY because, at the time, it was death in 1999. and City would find it very difficult to also go to less expensive, it was a good system and it Leonard College’s Center school if it weren’t nearby. That is true of had high standards.” He continued his Stavisky, a City for Worker most CUNY colleges. CUNY gives poor studies at John Jay after joining the New College graduate Education. people an opportunity to get an educa- York City police force. who taught in And, fittingly, tion.” “The CUNY system is one of the finest in the two commu- his CUNY link She earned her associate degree in the country,” he says. “It’s important to fund nity colleges, also carries over into 1978, and her bachelor’s degree in 1980, CUNY because it’s the future of the country. earned advanced his work in the at age 44, from the College of New The students, these are the young men and degrees from Legislature: His Rochelle. Hers is a three-generation women who will lead this country.” Columbia Senator Marty Golden attended the College of district includes Hostos family. “My daughter, Omi, gradu- With some members of the Legislature, University. “He Staten Island and John Jay College. Brooklyn Collge. ated from Hostos and went to Lehman the association with CUNY extends far always used to “In fact,” he College. My grandson, Richard Izquierdo, through generations and family. State Sen. say that City College gave him the foun- notes, “Brooklyn College is the largest is a Hostos student now.” Toby Stavisky did graduate work at dation,” his widow recalls. “After City institution in my district.” ASSEMBLYMAN DANIEL J. O’DONNELL Find Open Door Leads to Albany ver since I can Eremember, I was him to obtain a higher education. The first out these opportunity programs he would CUNY system is one of the finest in the drawn to public serv- member of his family to attend college, he not have been able to graduate and country. It is important to fund CUNY ice,” says credits CUNY with offering him “the become a member of the Legislature. “I because it’s the future of the country.” Assemblyman Daniel opportunity to get a high quality educa- am grateful that I now Assemblyman Jose R. Peralta’s parents J. O’Donnell, who tion in an atmosphere have the privilege to came to the U.S. from the Dominican represents the 69th that was conducive advocate for these pro- Republic in pursuit of the American dream Assembly District on to learning.” grams in the New York and a better life for their children. They Manhattan’s Upper In 1996, State Legislature,” he worked hard to sustain their family on West Side. Assemblyman added. entry-level wages: his father as a bank teller So CUNY Law School was perfect for Adriano Espaillat, a State Sen. Marty and his mother a seamstress in a sweat- O’Donnell, who earned his bachelor’s degree graduate of Queens Golden is the son of shop. They also struggled to ensure that in public affairs at George Washington College, became the Irish immigrants their children received a quality education. University in Washington, D.C. in 1982. “I first Dominican- who settled in Bay Were it not for Queens’ low tuition he worked all through college and law school, American elected to a Ridge, part of the might not have been able to afford college. doing a variety of things,” he says. State House in the 22nd district that “Queens allowed me to get a high quality Of his studies at CUNY Law School, United States. He cred- he now represents. education for a bargain price and I will O’Donnell recalled that, “They often used its Queens College with He and his seven fight hard to ensure that those who come role playing and videotaped us as we pre- playing a major role in siblings were too after me will have the same opportunity.” sented arguments in class and did our his subsequent success. poor to think Assemblyman Michael Benjamin’s par- work. It’s amazing how much you learn “Queens College about getting col- ents came to the Morrisania section of the when you actually see your own actions – simplified the process lege degrees. Bronx from the US Virgin Islands in 1957. the good things and the flaws.” and helped me a great “We had to One reason he chose Hunter’s master of After he graduated in 1987, O’Donnell deal in obtaining higher work to stay in science program in urban affairs was that worked for Legal Aid until 1994. He education,” says Espaillat, the city,” he says his mother earned three degrees from opened his own public interest law firm who entered CUNY of his family, CUNY schools. She is an alumna of Bronx on the Upper West Side. through the Search for Assemblyman N. Nick Perry adding that his Community College, Lehman College and His district office regularly holds walk- Education, Elevation and was the first generation to go to The City College of New York. in tenant-housing legal clinics for con- Knowledge (SEEK) pro- college. “I chose CUNY because, at the “I found it to be a good learning envi- stituents. Over a dozen area lawyers lend gram, which offers financial and academic time, it was less expensive, it was a good ronment,” he says, adding that he has their time to on a pro bono basis to offer assistance and career counseling. “As a system and it had high standards.” He experienced CUNY from the other side of legal advice. O’Donnell serves on several SEEK student I received the help and attended the College of Staten Island and the desk, too: He has been a lecturer on Assembly committees – Codes; resources that made it possible for me to John Jay College. race and ethnicity at John Jay College. “I Environmental Conservation; Judiciary; graduate.” “The CUNY system started me off in encourage all of my constituents to attend Local Governments; Tourism, Arts and He is “absolutely convinced” that with- the right direction,” Golden says. “The continued on page 6 Sports Development.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 5 Senior and or State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. and his son, Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., FCUNY 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 edu- cation. 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 his- tory 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 heav- en’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 New York City College of Technology U.S. campuses. The largest public college of technology in New York State with Diaz, a conservative Democrat amidst 22,000 students: 11,300 degree students and 11,500 enrolled in leftist activists, found himself thrust into continuing education. the middle of all the friction when stu- dents chained themselves inside Shuster The most diverse comprehensive baccalaureate college in the North. Hall to protest the policies of the college A leader in urban technological education, pioneer in integrating administration. technology into teaching/ learning experience, and the designated “Those days were crazy,” Diaz says, college of technology of the City University of New York (CUNY). adding that he never got involved in the demonstrations. “I used to take them food We salute! while they were chained up.” It was during The Honorable Diane Gordon Class of 1985 IMMIGRANTS continued from page 5 college, and at CUNY, it’s still a lot cheap- er than at any other school in the area,” he 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 says. “I call upon my CUNY education Bridge. In the heart of New York City. High-tech careers for tomorrow. every day. It helps me better understand urban planning in my assembly district.” 300 JAY STREET • BROOKLYN, NY 11201 • 718.260.5760 • WWW.CITYTECH.CUNY.EDU The list of distinguished immigrants who have passed through CUNY on their Email: [email protected] 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 Jennifer J. Raab, President Public Policy and Administration. While at Brooklyn College, Assemblyman Perry co- and founded the United Students League, and the Students, Faculty and Staff was the graduate student delegate to the University Student Senate. of State Sen. Senator Martin Malave Dilan UNTER OLLEGE grew up in the community of Bushwick, H C where his parents, Esther and Gilberto, The City University of New York had settled after migrating from Puerto Rico in 1947. In1965, he first involved himself in electoral politics when he Proudly Salute worked as a volunteer in a mayoral cam- paign before graduating from high school. Hunter’s Alumni in the New York State Legislature He went on to Brooklyn College where he participated in the Special Baccalaureate Assemblyman Michael A. Benjamin-79th A.D. Degree Program. Assemblywoman Arroyo speaks of her Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman-82nd A.D. own experience when she says that “The Senator Toby A. Stavisky-16th S.D. Puerto Rican community had no voice early on. Now we have many outstanding public servants. That is the same route ear- Best Wishes and Continued Success! lier groups took.” But her sentiments apply equally well to those immigrants and chil- dren of immigrants whom CUNY has Hunter College of The City University of New York 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021 (212) 772-4400 www.hunter.cuny.edu helped prepare for public service.

6 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on Junior, Politics is Family Affair for the Diaz' ALUMNI Legislators this time, under Lehman President recent tuition hikes didn’t spawn any all monolithic.” ASSEMBLYMAN Leonard Lief, that Lehman set up its first major campus demonstrations or bring But aside from all of this, it is the quality Puerto Rican Studies many students to lobby in of education and the dedication of the pro- JEFFREY DINOWITZ Department. Albany. fessors that impress the Assemblyman the n 1971, when Diaz points out that “I also wish there were as most. “Two political science professors in Assemblyman. Jeffrey his Lehman experience many programs to help pay particular – Ira Bloom and Tomohisa Hattori I Dinowitz enrolled at not only secured him a for tuition,” he adds. “While I – have an uncanny ability to know every CUNY’s Herbert H. degree in psychology can afford the tuition on my single detail of their subject matter. I am, for Lehman College to but also honed his salary, many of the folks sit- lack of a better term, turned on by them. I work on a bachelor’s diplomatic skills, and he ting next to me in classes wish I could take them home with me.” degree in history, there went into politics imme- can’t. We need more activity At home, his own sons, 11-year-old was no talk about diately after graduation. as in the days of my father. Ruben Diaz III and 8-year-old Ryan Isaiah tuition hikes. “I kept thinking, ‘I’ve When it comes to the CUNY Diaz, are getting a good look at CUNY There was, in fact, no tuition at any got to get involved, and budget, nobody in Albany through their father’s eyes, not to mention CUNY school. “When I applied to col- I’ve got to get involved knows more than me because through his homework. “They’re learning leges, I only applied to CUNY schools now.’” I’m living it. I have the faces, that Daddy has a lot of things on his plate because they were free,” said Dinowitz, When it came time the stories, right there in class on weekends,” he says. “We’re at the same Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. who represents the 81st District in the for his son to attend with me. Ninety-eight percent table doing homework. I recently finished Bronx. “We didn’t have any money, and college, the Senator of my a paper on World War I’m not sure I would have even gone to could think of no better place to advise community can’t II and used them as college if I had had to pay tuition.” him to enroll than CUNY. afford to go to college my audience when I Because those tuition-free days had Ruben Diaz Jr. started taking classes at elsewhere.” read it.” such an impact on his future, Dinowitz LaGuardia Community College in 1991 At LaGuardia, he All in all, he has remained a champion and guardian of and plans to graduate from Lehman in met students from all wouldn’t mind the CUNY in a mission to “keep it strong and spring 2005. “I started my family early, so walks of life and boys carrying on the to make it affordable for everyone.” I’ve only been taking a course here and immersed himself in Diaz tradition at “Having gone to Lehman made it easier there,” he says. “I have 100 credits and many cultures. “It is CUNY. to get my law degree from Brooklyn Law need 20 more.” probably the most As the Senator School,” he said. “I did very well there and He chose CUNY because his father’s diverse college in the says: “I would recom- because there was no tuition at CUNY, I college stories got him all fired up, he says, country,” he says. mend to anyone – old didn’t have any debt. If I had had debt, it and he knew the diversity of the students, “There is a hall of and young – to go to would have been a terrible hardship.” particularly those at LaGuardia, would flags from 150 differ- CUNY, especially Dinowitz said he will never forget his help him better understand and serve his ent countries. Once Lehman College, my CUNY experience. “CUNY is about constituents. you have all these alma mater.” opportunity, and it gave me opportunity The biggest difference in their experi- people studying As the Assembly- Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. and it continues to give opportunities to ences, the Assemblyman says, is the fact together, all in one man says: “CUNY is those who otherwise would not have that he has to pay tuition and it’s a lot building, you get a the vehicle to allow access to a good college education.” more calm on campus. “I wish there was as better understanding of people. I’ve even this city, in the words of former New York much activity in the student body as there gotten a greater understanding of other City Mayor David Dinkins, to be ‘the gor- was in my 1970s,” he says, noting that Latino cultures and realize that we are not geous mosaic it is.’” ASSEMBLYMAN SCOTT STRINGER Carrying On the Stavisky Tradition ong before he L enrolled in John Jay College, Assembly- t has been four decades since State her graduate assistant, Stavisky interrupted after City College, Columbia was easy,” man Scott Stringer was Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky attended her education in 1964 to marry university the senator says. immersed in politics — evening graduate classes at CUNY’s professor Leonard Price Stavisky, a City As for her own education, Stavisky also I being a tenant advo- Hunter College, but she will never forget College grad who also taught at took graduate courses at Queens College cate and working in the impact Dr. Dorothy Ganfield Fowler Kingsborough and Queensborough until the birth of her son, Evan, in 1968. “I the office of then- had on her life. Community Colleges and at CCNY. He had a lot of political obligations because Assemblyman Jerrold “She was the chair of the history depart- went on to serve in the New York State my husband was in Albany, and I was Nadler. ment,” Stavisky says, “And it was unusual to Assembly and the New York State Senate going to school and teaching,” she says. “To As a member of the Assembly, he has have a woman on the faculty, much less in from 1966 until his death in 1999. finish graduate school, in the last semester championed public education. “I had been such a position of power. I was working on “My husband was the real CUNY star,” I was there, I took nine credits instead of impressed with the social consciousness of a master’s degree in Stavisky says, six, which was unheard of. Then I found CUNY,” the Upper West Side Democrat American history, and adding that he out I was pregnant. We weren’t supposed said. “The professors were mindful of the she was teaching 20th always wanted to take more than six, but I figured that public education mission to do well and to Century American histo- her to earn a doc- nobody would notice, and nobody did.” fight for the kids.” ry. Her specialty was the torate, too. “If it Evan Stavisky continued the family’s Stringer, who earned a bachelor’s degree Progressive Era. I can weren’t for the CUNY tradition at Queens College, where in government studies from John Jay in still remember her face. free tuition at he was president of the student body. 1986, got to understand first-hand CUNY’s She wore her hair in a CUNY, he could Assistant Minority Whip Stavisky, who commitment to its students. The assembly- bun. She was interesting, not have gone to is the ranking minority member of the man says that CUNY works so well she made me think, and college.” Senate Committee on Higher Education because of its diversity. “CUNY represents she helped me improve She remem- and is chief of the minority task force No the best of New York City and hopefully my research and writing bers going to pick Child Left Behind – from Pre-K to Ph.D, can continue this long tradition,” he says. skills, which is handy him up the says that affordable education for all is a Through the years, the assemblyman because I write my own Kingsborough priority for her. has remained committed to the CUNY newsletters. She also campus. “In those “I would like to see CUNY doing better mission: “I have fought hard to keep taught me how to prop- days, the 1960s, in terms of the higher education budget,” CUNY funding whole and tuition afford- erly allocate my time, they had Quonset Stavisky says. “I’m vehemently against able so generations to come may have the and I had never been huts instead of tuition increases for CUNY. It is the obliga- same experience at college I was lucky able to do that before.” classrooms,” she tion of the government to fund colleges. enough to have and one day achieve their Budgeting her time says. When City College opened in 1847, its goals, as I have mine,” he says. was important for After earning a purpose was to educate those who could Stringer was elected to the Assembly in Stavisky, a graduate of bachelor’s degree not otherwise afford college. Now, students Senator Toby Stavisky, right, with her son 1992 after a decade of political and com- Syracuse University who in history at City are bearing more and more of the costs.” Evan Stavisky, at Leonard Stavisky Place munity involvement in his Manhattan had worked in an insur- College, Leonard After all these years, Stavisky remains in Queens neighborhood and has been re-elected by ance office and was Stavisky earned a proud of the fact that she was able to jug- overwhelming majorities in every race. teaching full-time at a master’s and doc- gle her personal and professional life and boys’ high school in Manhattan when she torate in history from Columbia still earn an A average at Hunter and decided to go to Hunter. University. “He always used to say that Queens Colleges. “CUNY provides a first- Although Fowler asked her to become City College gave him the foundation and rate education,” she says.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 7 Brooklyn College Salutes Our Alumni! Brooklyn College:

hat is it about Brooklyn foundation of our Senator Martin Dilan, ’84 College and state politics? Do community,” he W the math: The college’s enroll- says. “They allow ment of 14,000 represents about 3 percent us access to oppor- Senator Seymour P. Lachman, ’55; M.S., ’58 of the CUNY total. Yet Brooklyn College tunity.” has a dozen alumni currently serving in Several legisla- the Legislature – 28 percent of CUNY’s tors suggested that Senator John Sampson, ’87 total of 43. Brooklynites tend As a group, they mirror the richness of to stay in their CUNY’s student body, with immigrants home borough for Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, ’75 (Assemblyman N. Nicholas Perry), first- college and after generation Americans (State Sen. Martin college, and that ASSEMBLYWOMAN Malave Dilan and Assemblyman Dov this helped account JOAN L. Assemblyman William Colton, ’71 Hikind), women (Assemblywomen Adele for the large num- MILLMAN Cohen, Rhoda S. Jacobs and Joan L. ber of Brooklyn Millman), lifelong Brooklyn residents College alumni in Assemblyman Dov Hikind, ’81 (State Sens. Carl Kruger and John state government. Sampson and Assemblyman William “I’m a big Colton), one who left the borough to rep- Brooklyn booster,” Assemblywoman Rhoda S. Jacobs, ’62 resent part of Queens (Assemblyman Ivan said C. Lafayette), a former New York City Assemblywoman policeman (Assemblyman Frank R. Joan L. Millman. “I Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette, ’51 Seddio) and even a former City University think a lot of peo- professor, State Sen. Seymour Lachman. ple who went to Though true Brooklynites are supposed Brooklyn College Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman, ’62 to have an answer for everything, most of stayed in Brooklyn. ASSEMBLYMAN the dozen were stumped for a moment by That includes peo- N. NICK the simple question: Why is this so? ple like PERRY Assemblyman N. Nicholas Perry, ’78 It’s a great school, all agreed. Assemblywoman “I had many great professors who Adele Cohen — who went to Brooklyn helped me become a well-rounded per- College, who is from Brooklyn and who Assemblyman Frank R. Seddio, ’85 son,” recalls State Sen. John L. Sampson. still lives there.” “Prof. David Abbott always had a sense of Millman, like many of her fellow stu- humor but made sure we understood dents and legislators, chose Brooklyn political science and appreciated its value. College because she didn’t need to look Prof. Donald R. Reich, also in political sci- farther to find an excellent school. ence, held classes that made you feel like “I’d like to tell you I did an extensive you were in law school.” search and found out that Brooklyn Yet while Sampson knew from age 15 College had world-class teachers — which that he wanted to be a lawyer, he didn’t it did — and that I found out it had a think about running for office for years world-class academic program — which it QUEENS COLLEGE after he graduated cum laude in 1987 and did. But I didn’t. The fact is I lived within went on to law school. walking distance.” proudly salutes Back in Brooklyn, working for the Legal Millman was the first female of her fam- its graduates who now represent Aid Society, he became involved with the ily to attend college, and cost was a real Rosetta Gaston Democratic Club in East factor in her choice of Brooklyn College. the people of New York State: New York and afterwards joined the law “I’m one of those people whose parents firm of the club’s attorney. In 1996, with made a sacrifice just to send me to col- SENATE encouragement from his father and his dis- lege,” she says. “I didn’t have to bring trict leader, he ran for office and won. income into the house – that was the sac- Toby A. Stavisky Sampson is fierce in his determination rifice; their commitment was that they’d to provide others with the opportunities pay for it. I worked part-time and in the he had in college. “Institutions such as summers, of course.” ASSEMBLY Brooklyn College are the bedrock and Brooklyn College definitely helped pre- Adriano Espaillat Deborah J. Glick Dov Hikind Brooklyn Scores Far from Flatbush

Jeffrey Klein rooklyn College’s impact on politics Bernie Saunders spent a year at Brooklyn Netttie Mayersohn Bhasn’t been limited to New York College, where he learned about socialism State. in the college’s Eugene V. Debs Club. José R. Peralta Barbara Boxer, (Class of 1962) stud- After serving as mayor of Burlington, Audrey Pheffer ied economics and worked as a Wall Vermont from 1981 to 1990, he became Street stockbroker after graduation. the third Socialist ever to serve in the U.S. William Scarborough Later she and her husband moved to Congress, where he has been reelected six California where she was elected to the times as the Vermont’s sole congressman. U.S. Senate in 1992, after ten years in In December 1943, a young soldier the U.S. House of Representatives and wrote to his parents in Kansas about his earlier service on the Marin County engineering studies at Brooklyn College. “I Board of Supervisors. spent more time in school this week here In 1976, voters in Portland, Oregon than I did in a month at K.U.," he wrote. elected Vera (Weintraub) Katz (Class of “They throw assignments at us so fast that OUEENS 1955) to the state legislature. Known as we have to take our books to bed with us COLLEGE “Portland’s Bella Abzug" for her to keep up. I’ve already had seven tests reformist views, she became house and will probably have more this week…" CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK speaker in 1985 – only the fifth woman The writer? Robert Dole, Kansas con- in U.S. history to lead a state assembly. gressman from 1960-68, senator from Katz, who has served a Portland’s mayor 1968-96, candidate for U.S. Vice President James L. Muyskens, President since 1992, announced this year she in 1976 and President in 1996. He spent wouldn’t seek a fourth term. several months at Brooklyn College as part Back here in the East, Brooklyn native of his officer’s training.

8 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on From Electives to Election ALUMNI Legislators ASSEMBLYMAN JOSE R. PERALTA ssemblyman AJose R. Peralta, a first-generation Dominican-American, credits his Queens College education with preparing him for success. “Queens College ASSEMBLYMAN ASSEMBLYWOMAN SENATOR SENATOR SENATOR is a microcosm of the FRANK R. ADELE COHEN CARL KRUGER JOHN L. MARTIN MALAVE real world and it was a great training SEDDIO SAMPSON DILAN 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 com- munity involvement began at Queens College, where he was an active partici- pant in student government. He became the first Latino elected student body vice president, and later the first Latino student body president. ASSEMBLYMAN ASSEMBLYMAN ASSEMBLYMAN SENATOR ASSEMBLYWOMAN He also represented over 200,000 stu- IVA N C. DOV HIKIND WILLIAM COLTON SEYMOUR P. RHODA JACOBS dents in the CUNY system as a member LAFAYETTE LACHMAN of the University’s Student Senate, where he was vice chair of legislative affairs and pare Millman for her service in state gov- Lachman retains fond memories of his there have been a lot of critical times fiscal affairs. Were it not for Queens’ low ernment. “I took liberal arts,” she recalled. college days. “Meeting and learning from when CUNY was threatened,” said tuition he might not have been able to “What was so great was that this exposed some of the best professors in the nation Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette, who afford college. “Queens allowed me to get me to a little bit about a lot of things. I had was—hands down—the greatest experience chose Brooklyn College so that he could a high quality education for a bargain some chemistry, some earth science, a lot I had as a college student,” he said. “None continue working in his father’s East price and I will fight hard to ensure that of things. I became a lifelong learner – an of my later successes would have been pos- Flatbush auto business. “For me – and for a those who come after me will have the enormous asset in this job.” sible without this early, life-enhancing lot of people who have been associated same opportunity. She added that as state budget cuts experience at Brooklyn College.” with a CUNY school – a top priority is to “Queens and CUNY are the welcoming have added to students’ college costs, Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs has maintain the excellence of all of the cam- icons of higher education. What the Statue attending City University has become more than an alumna’s interest in puses in the CUNY system, to make sure of Liberty is to America, CUNY is to low- more difficult, particularly because many Brooklyn College’s well-being: It’s the everybody gets a shot at higher education.” income, minority and immigrant students.” students today must care for families. largest institution in her Assembly district. Assemblyman Frank R. Seddio said, State Sen. Seymour P. Lachman has a “A public university system is incredibly “Affordable college tuition is the key to long and deep relationship with both the important,” she said. “Just knowing that it’s allowing so many young people to achieve ASSEMBLYMAN City University of New York and the col- there opens portals to a lot of people who the American dream. I am convinced that lege and the borough of Brooklyn. He might otherwise have thought that they we must do everything possible to create WILLIAM SCARBOROUGH received his bachelor’s and master’s couldn’t go to college.” an environment where the inability to pay degrees from Brooklyn College. Asked about its importance to the com- for college is not the obstacle which pre- ssemblyman He taught in Brooklyn’s Lafayette High munity and state, Jacobs responded with a vents a student from attending.” AWilliam Scar- School, served as CUNY’s dean for com- question of her own: “What do we have to Assemblyman William Colton echoed the borough knows his munity development, and was a professor create economic development? We have sentiments of his colleagues. “Moneys invest- diverse 29th District at Baruch College. While teaching at the our brain power. In New York, that’s our ed in higher education are the strongest in Southeast Queens City University, he was tapped by the strength, and we have to develop it.” investment the state can make in economic County: He has spent Brooklyn borough president to serve on As to CUNY’s social benefit, Jacobs said development,” he said. “Persons with college most of his life as a the New York City Board of Education. that “It’s someplace that allows people from degrees earn substantially more money and resident there. He and his wife, Dr. Susan Lachman (who different cultures to come together and rec- therefore pay much more in taxes and have A Queens College teaches sociology at Kingsborough ognize that we’re all in this together.” greater purchasing power. And a skilled graduate, Scarborough, a Democrat, is Community College) live in Brooklyn All the Brooklyn College alumni were workforce draws business to the state.” grateful for the high quality, low cost edu- “Like all young Brooklynites, when it firm in their belief that the education that But it was left to Assemblyman Nick cation he obtained at there — an educa- came time for me to choose a college, I helped them achieve their goals must be Perry, an immigrant who heard about tion he would not have been able to afford wanted to attend a good school with a maintained for current and future genera- Brooklyn College and its quality long otherwise. superb educational reputation,” Lachman tions. “A college education today is a before he left his native Jamaica, to offer “My education expanded my horizons said. “In my mind, Brooklyn College stood necessity for advancement in society,” perhaps the best reason for its dominance and opened the door to opportunity,” he out because it stressed academic excellence.” Lachman noted. “Education is and must in state government. said. “Queens played a key role in making Was cost a factor in his choice? ”I was always be one of life’s priorities.” “Brooklyn College is like a little city in possible my subsequent career. The faculty offered a scholarship to Barnard,” Therefore, said Lachman, “The Legis- itself, and student government politics was excellent and the courses and curricu- Lachman recalled. “However, my parents lature must recognize the importance of there are no less intense and aggressive lum were challenging, They caused me to and I could not even afford the living public higher education and not cut its and real than politics in the outside stretch myself intellectually and led me to accommodations. Fortunately for me, budget. Increasing the City University’s vital world,” he said. “I honed my skills and believe that I could be successful.” CUNY offered the young men and women needs should be of paramount importance.” learned about American electoral politics He considers CUNY’s role in educating of my era a free education. Absolutely free. Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who there. Everything I had to do after gradua- low-income students, minorities and immi- So for all of us struggling, college-bound received his master’s degree from tion, I did in student politics: Petitions, grants to be vitally important. “Young peo- students, the choice was relatively simple.” Brooklyn College after receiving his bache- challenges – people were sometimes ple often don’t appreciate the opportuni- Asked why he thought Brooklyn College lor’s degree from Queens College, agreed. knocked off the ballot. We had something ties that exist in the larger world,” he said had so large a contingent in the Legislature, “My education gave me the skills and tools similar to a Board of Elections, election “CUNY is the great equalizer where they Lachman noted that “For starters, Brooklyn required for a successful career in politics,” commissioners, voters’ lists.” learn they can be more than they ever has the largest population of any county in he said. He is therefore commited to He paused, then said with a chuckle, imagined, and receive the skills necessary New York State, [so] Brooklyn College has “making sure that CUNY receives the “Things sometimes got so intense there to succeed.” a built-in pool of applicants…. As one of funding it needs so that today’s students that they might well have been advised to He is a strong supporter of CUNY and the oldest schools in the CUNY system, can have the same chance to receive a set up a campaign finance board. So you SUNY. Brooklyn College has steadfastly represent- high-quality, affordable education.” can understand that when you get exposed “Support for low-cost, high quality pub- ed its primary goal of academic excellence, Brooklyn College alumni loyalty to such things at Brooklyn College, you lic higher education is vital and must be and the State Legislature is living proof of extends to the entire CUNY system. come out with a real sense about whether one of the Legislature’s highest priorities,” this achievement.” “During my 27 years in the Assembly, you like politics or not.” he said. “It is certainly one of mine.”

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 9 CUNY Q&A Interview with Senator Kenneth P. LaValle

enator Kenneth LaValle has been chairman of the New York State Higher SEducation 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 neighbor- hood 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 bet- ter 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? 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 BRONX COMMUNITY COLLEGE around young people. The Gateway to Success 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 sena- tors 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 inde- pendent 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 high- ticket items in the budget. Elementary and secondary education are real hot- button 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. Q: I remember reading in the CUNY newsletter that there is still an issue of We are proud to tuition remittance for doctoral students. What are we doing to attract them salute our alumna to stay within the CUNY system? New York State Senator A: When we have budgetary problems, we do all that we can to maintain our RUTH HASSELL-THOMPSON 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 West 181 Street & University Avenue Bronx, NY 10453 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 718.289.5888 www.bcc.cuny.edu know we need to do more and there’s no doubt we’ve fallen short.

10 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on One Year that Shaped My Life ALUMNI Legislators

t seemed like a simple college assign- realized that I needed to Although he never did get to ASSEMBLYMAN ment: Write a paper that discusses find out what I wanted Belize and Guyana during his 5 J. GARY PRETLOW Iyour place in life. my place in life to be 1/2-year tour of duty, he did It wasn’t until Darryl C. Towns,a fresh- before I could continue visit Asia, Germany, Korea, “ he background I man honors student at CUNY’s Medgar working on a degree. Egypt and the Philippines, T received at Baruch Evers College in the 1979-80 academic That episode was the among other places. He attained College helped me in all year, began putting down his thoughts that impetus for my changing the rank of staff sergeant in the aspects of my life,” said he realized that something was terribly, my life.” Air Force before returning to Assemblyman J. Gary terribly wrong. Since his first classes school. Pretlow, who represents “I realized that I couldn’t do it, because at Medgar Evers, Towns, a In 1990, Towns graduated the 87th Assembly I didn’t know my place in life,” he says. “I Democrat who now is with honors with a bachelor’s District, encompassing came from a family where getting a degree the assemblyman for degree in economics from North Mount Vernon and parts of Yonkers. was considered something you were Brooklyn’s 54th district Carolina A&T State University, “Baruch gave me a good business sense expected to do. Everyone in my family had in East New York, and which was his parents’ alma and taught me how to read, understand Assemblyman Darryl C. and prepare budgets and business plans, all at least a master’s degree. I was at Medgar who is the son of U.S. Towns mater. (His family was very Evers because it was convenient to where I Rep. Edolphus Towns, familiar with the CUNY system: of which is essential in my work in the was working as a bank teller, but I needed had been rethinking his life. “I was going His mother has a master’s degree in educa- Legislature,” he said, adding, “I would to know why I was going to school. I was a to school with people from countries like tion from Brooklyn College, and his father never have gone to Baruch if it weren’t for very skilled writer, so I wrote a piece of Belize and Guyana that I had never heard taught at Medgar Evers but not at the time Queensborough Community College,” fluff to fulfill the assignment.” of,” he says. “And I wanted to broaden my Towns attended.) where he earned an associate degree in But his teacher, Dr. Mary Umolu, thinking and mindset about the world. I In 1993, he was elected to the business administration. wouldn’t accept that, and the fact that she wanted a more global mindset. I started Assembly to represent the district where “I am one of the biggest touters of com- made him consider his role in life changed talking to my professors and classmates he had been raised. munity colleges. They are very important the course of his life. “She talked to me about what I should do. This experience “I attended classes at CUNY for only institutions and deserve our full support,” about it, and she made me rewrite the with Dr. Umolu at CUNY led me to join one year, but they shaped my life,” he says. he said. paper a couple of times, but she kept say- the military, and the military gave me the “It was an extremely good situation for Advocating support for CUNY and for ing, ‘It still doesn’t tell me anything.’ And I wherewithal to see the world.” me. It was eye-opening.” 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 Any College (As Long As It’s CCNY) must. CUNY has been effective in offering a quality education to students who want ong before Assemblyman Joel M. the state. I felt I had to get involved.” another eight years. to better their lives, achieve their profes- Miller began his career as a dentist He began to actively work for State Miller is a major in the New York State sional goals and contribute to our society. I Lin Poughkeepsie, in the Dutchess Senator Stephen M. Saland and later decid- Guard, serving as senior dentist at Camp don’t see how we can afford not to.” County area (102nd AD) he has repre- ed to run for the Assembly. Miller is partic- Smith. His interest in education and in sented since 1995, he lived in a low-cost ularly proud of the comeback he sees in health has at times overlapped, when, for ASSEMBLYWOMAN housing project near Boston and Gun Hill the economy of the area he represents. instance, he has actively supported legisla- NETTIE MAYERSOHN Roads in the Bronx. Miller served on active duty in the tion to remedy the nursing shortage Miller recalled that his father, a New United States Air Force after his gradua- through education programs. ettie Mayersohn was York City firefighter, told him, “You can go tion from Columbia University’s School of “Education is the solution to many Nelected to the New to any college you want as long as it’s City Dental and Oral Surgery. He remained in problems. We have to support it in order York State Assembly from College.” the Air Force Reserve as a captain for to build our future,” he said. the 27th District in Needless to say, City College it was. As Queens in 1982, after serv- a former ranking minority member of the ing as a community activist Higher Education Committee, Miller is for over 30 years. She is a well aware that many New Yorkers face 1979 graduate of Queens College. variants of that same “choice” he did for “Queens gave me the opportunity to the same reason—modest family income. complete my education. I graduated from He started out at City as an engineering high school during the Depression and, at student but switched along the way to that time, college was not an option.” pre-dentistry. That meant he was required The first member of her family to to take an extensive core of liberal arts attend college, she noted that Queens’ courses, including public speaking, political affordability made it possible for her to science, history and English. put two sons through college while she Miller feels that these courses “gave me was pursuing her degree. a well-rounded outlook. They gave me a Forced to combine her studies with a set of ideas and of ideals and they taught full-time job while also raising her family, me to examine issues critically.” He was it took her ten years to graduate. “But they elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated were a wonderful ten years and that was from CCNY with honors. the advantage of being a ‘late returnee’ to “In today’s complex world, a person academia. I was determined to get as can’t advance without a college degree,” much out of them as possible.” Miller observed. “With the cost of private CUNY and Queens College are high colleges being what it is, it’s more impor- priorities for Mayersohn because she tant than ever before that we support our believes in the University’s mission. “As public colleges. long as Queens College continues to main- “I believe the state has violated its tain its high standards, it will continue to responsibility to fund both CUNY and represent hope and opportunity for disad- SUNY by having the colleges within these vantaged students from all walks of life,” systems rely more and more on tuition. she said. That is why she has “consistently Keeping our public colleges affordable supported requests for reasonable increas- makes the difference for many students es in funding and for maintaining a cap on between going to college and not going. tuition,” she added. That affects their entire future which in Mayersohn has served as the New York turn affects our communities.” State Delegate to the International Responsibility and service to communi- Women’s Conference. Among her awards ty have been key focuses of Miller’s life. and honors are the Builders of He became active in politics when massive Brotherhood Award of the National downsizing at IBM had a devastating effect Conference of Christians and Jews, and on his own community in the early 1990s. the Legislator of the Year Award from the “At that time, during the Cuomo years, I New York State Chapter of the National believe that the tax policies in effect were Organization for Women. driving many businesses and jobs out of Assemblyman Joel Miller believes that “education is the solution to many problems.”

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 11 CUNY & Interview with QA Assemblyman Ronald Canestrari

ssemblyman Ronald Canestrari is Chair of the Unlock A 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, the Power Rensselaer, and Saratoga Counties, and serves on sev- eral other Assembly committees. Canestrari’s distin- guished 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.

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? 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 exec- utive, for the Governor, for projects that we have no involvement in…. Not that www.csi.cuny.edu 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 COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND what the detail is in the plan. 2800 Victory Boulevard•Staten Island, NY 10314•718.982.2010•Marlene Springer, President 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 allot- ting 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 govern- ment. 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.

12 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 SPOTLIGHT on College: A Start in the Right Direction ALUMNI Legislators

en. Marty Golden says that he might CUNY because, at the time, it was less criminal justice from St. John’s University. have ended up as an accountant, but expensive, it was a good system and it had “I got my degree late in life,” he says, SENATOR Sthat’s getting a little ahead of the high standards.” He may have liked math, adding that that helped him with his story. but at Staten Island, it was writing that change in careers – he and his family ADA L. SMITH Golden, a Republican, was the son of grabbed his attention. “I was not a great bought Bay Ridge Manor, a popular cater- tate Sen. Ada L. Smith’s Irish immigrants who settled in Bay Ridge, writer,” he admits, “but the essay-writing ing hall in Brooklyn, when he left the first lessons in the work- nd S which is part of the 22 district that he course opened doors for me, and it’s police department. ings of government came now represents. He and his seven siblings helped me become a better speechwriter.” In 1997, he was elected to the New when she was a member of were too poor to think about getting col- Golden went straight from Staten Island York City Council, where as a member of CUNY’s University Student lege degrees. So when he graduated from into the police force, where his street the Higher Education Committee he Senate as a Baruch College high school in the 1970s, he considered smarts helped him “fight the good fight.” championed funding for CUNY. He also student. himself lucky to get in a couple of semes- It was at this time that he had a second secured funding for computers in every “Baruch’s population is so diverse that ters at CUNY’s College of Staten Island. opportunity to go to college: He enrolled classroom in his council district. representing it taught me how to work “We had to work to stay in the city,” he in the New York School of Printing and As a council member, Golden estab- with people who come from many ethnic says of his family, adding that his was the took summer courses at John Jay College lished a model program, in conjunction backgrounds and who have differing per- first generation to go to college. “I chose of Criminal Justice, where he earned a with the Kings County district attorney’s spectives,” she said. dozen credits. His office, through which people sentenced to Smith earned an associate degree in brothers Patrick, a ser- community service maintained parks in marketing at CUNY’s New York City geant on the city the district. He also worked to find solu- Technical College, then studied marketing police force, and tions to school crowding and backed the and business at Baruch. Vinnie, also attended idea of giving the mayor control of the Born in Virginia and raised in the John Jay. His college school system. Williamsburg-Greenpoint area of education, he says, CUNY has been such a positive force in Brooklyn, Smith now represents the 10th stood him in good Golden’s life that he’s hoping his own chil- District (Southeast Queens). She was first stead. He earned 49 dren will follow in his footsteps when it elected in 1987 and is now serving her medals in “the great- comes time for them to choose a college. eighth term. est job I’ve ever had,” “The CUNY system started me off in Smith worked full-time while attending before an injury suf- the right direction,” Golden says, adding New York City Technical College as an fered in a drug raid that at times his political work takes him evening student. After earning her associ- forced him to retire in to John Jay for receptions and meetings ate degree, she quit her job to study full- 1983 after a decade with the president. time at Baruch, and received her bache- on the police force. It “The CUNY system is one of the finest lor’s degree in 1973. was only then that he in the country. It is important to fund “You have a totally different value sys- completed his college CUNY because it’s the future of the coun- tem when you come back to school after Senator Marty Golden grew up poor, but CUNY offered him a education by earning try. The students, these are the young men spending some years in the world of quality education at a cost he could afford. an associate’s degree in and women who will lead this country.” work,” Smith said. “You understand the value of an education.” Smith tells legislative colleagues who Senator Looks to CUNY for Expertise favor increasing CUNY tuition that keep- ing public higher education affordable “is not giving anything away to these stu- UNY has been part of State Sen. Education. He has also taught at SUNY- He earned his bachelor’s degree in pub- dents, it’s an investment. Every CUNY Old Westbury and at Long Island lic service at Pennsylvania State University Kevin S. Parker’s life ever since student who goes on to become a taxpay- University. and a master’s degree in urban policy at Che can remember. ing citizen creates a more solid tax base “I was only 26 when I started teaching,” the New School of Social Research in His mother, Georgie E. Parker, was within this state.” he recalls. “I was the youngest professor New York City. Parker decided to earn his assistant registrar at Brooklyn College for In addition to battling for higher educa- and in many cases the first black professor Ph.D. because he felt it would “give me 36 years before her retirement. The col- tion, Smith has sought more equitable the students had seen. I think it was the skills to think more broadly about the lege is in his neighborhood, Flatbush, part funding for New York City’s public important for the students to realize that issues I would face in a career in public of the area he now represents, the 21st schools. She has worked to ensure quality if I could do it they could.” He hopes to service. I decided to run for the State Senatorial district. patient care and has been a strong advo- return to college teaching. Senate to put into practice many things I “In fact, Brooklyn College is the largest cate for senior citizens. institution in my district,” he points out. Parker lets his constituents know that learned in the graduate program.” Parker, a member of the Higher Educa- his earliest schooling Parker has served ASSEMBLYWOMAN tion Committee, believes that bringing more took place at PS 193, on the staffs of for- resources to the higher education budget is JHS 240 and Midwood mer Manhattan AUDREY I. PHEFFER HS in his district. Borough President central to his mission as a legislator. ueens College means a “There are many immi- Ruth Messinger, “I often turn to CUNY faculty mem- great deal to me,” said grants living in the Assemblyman Nick Q bers as a resource for information on many Assemblywoman Audrey I. nearby neighborhoods. Perry, former New issues,” he notes. “They are an incredible Pheffer. “It gave me the It’s good for people to York City Council source of expertise. I asked my staff to opportunity, through the know I’ve grown up Member Una take a course Brooklyn College offered on ACE program, to complete there and that it’s pos- Clarke, the New immigration law for that reason.” my college education with sible to build lifelong York State Urban The faculty is what drew him to the flexibility I needed as a single parent roots in the area.” Development CUNY’s Graduate Center when he decid- of two children and a full-time employee.” He also mentions his Corporation and in ed to pursue a Ph.D. in political science. She graduate cum laude from Queens schooling because he government affairs Parker completed most of his doctoral College in 1982. believes education is for UBS Paine coursework before taking a leave when he The first member of her family to the key to individuals’ Webber. was elected in 2002, and intends to resume attend college, she wouldn’t have been able improving their lives. He is proud of his studies soon. “The Graduate Center’s to afford college were it not for Queens’ Several CUNY students his ties to the labor political science faculty includes nationally low cost, “which was essential to my ability have served as interns movement, noting known urban policy experts,” he explains. to attend school and still meet my other in Parker’s office. that his father was Parker himself has been a CUNY facul- responsibilities,” she noted. “I utilize the “Economic develop- Senator Kevin S. Parker a union organizer ty member in several settings. While he knowledge and resources I obtained at ment and immigration and that he and his was special assistant to former New York Queens College on a daily basis.” issues are major interests of mine,” he says, parents have been union members. State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, Parker Pheffer has lived in Queens for more “And economic development and educa- All of which brings him back to the taught African American Studies at than 45 years, has represented the 23rd tion go together. Education is the key to topic of economic development, one of his Brooklyn College, City College’s Center Assembly District for over 16 years and has establishing our state as a world-class passions. “I’m working with Brooklyn for Worker Education, John Jay College of been overwhelmingly re-elected each term. economy. It is unfortunate that tuition was College to establish a business develop- Criminal Justice, Baruch College and A strong supporter of public higher raised last year but we did raise TAP funds. ment center there to serve students and Medgar Evers College at various times. He education and The City University, she We have to think about creating jobs in local businesses.” has served as advisor to student groups at said they are essential to giving today’s growing areas like biotechnology and For Parker, “It all comes back to provid- Brooklyn College and taught a graduate students, particularly members of low- allowing our students to acquire the skills ing opportunities for education. That’s our course on “Blacks in the Labor Movement” income groups, minorities and immigrants, for those jobs.” responsibility and our future.” at Brooklyn’s Center for Worker the opportunity to attend college.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 13 SPOTLIGHT on alma mater, even sponsoring legislation to CUNY and SUNY students cut and the better than a rarified atmosphere can -- keep the John D. Calandra Italian Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) well and that can be an educational advantage ALUMNI Legislators American Institute in Manhattan at The supported. I paid a small tuition – my col- in many ways.” Graduate Center of CUNY. lege education wasn’t free – but that made Sanders is proud of major increases in ASSEMBLYMAN He chose to attend Hunter College a huge difference for me. That’s true for state school funding during his years as because his brother went there and many people.” chairman of the Education Committee, CARL E. HEASTIE because it was in the Bronx, where he has especially the revision of state education nce he decided he lived his entire life. “It was a magnificent SENATOR aid formulas to make them more equitable for districts with higher needs. “I think our Owanted to earn an school,” he said. “And I got an excellent RUTH HASSELL-THOMPSON M.B.A., Assemblyman education.” public higher education systems are one of Carl E. Heastie of the tate Sen. Ruth our most vital resources.” he said. Bronx set about doing ASSEMBLYMAN SHassell-Thompson, what any smart busi- an alumna of Bronx ASSEMBLYMAN Community College, nessperson would do – DOV HIKIND ICHAEL ENJAMIN a bit of comparison was elected in 2000 to M A. B ssemblyman Dov shopping. represent the 36th lthough Assembly- Hikind earned his “I checked a web site which evaluated A Senatorial District, man Michael A. bachelor’s degree in A university schools of business and saw that comprising parts of Benjamin attended Political Science from Baruch College had a very good rating. I Westchester and the Hunter College nearly Queens College and his looked into NYU and found that it cost Bronx. two decades ago, the master’s in Urban three times more and wasn’t offering any- She was active in both business and lessons he learned there Administration from thing better. Not being a rich man, I found community service before being elected to have stayed with him Brooklyn College. He Baruch’s credentials together with the the Mount Vernon City Council in 1993, every day of his career. recently marked his price made it the right choice.” where she served as council president and It was three instruc- 22nd year in the New York State “When the tuition hike came up for our acting mayor. She was also chair of the tors in the graduate pro- Legislature as the representative for the consideration, it affected me personally city’s Capital Projects Board, vice chair of gram in urban affairs in the 1987-89 aca- 48th Assembly District, an area that and I knew how it affected other students. its Urban Renewal and Real Estate Boards, demic years – Stanley Moses, Peter Salins, encompasses Borough Park, Dyker That was true of several of my colleagues and a member of the Board of Estimate. who is now provost of the SUNY system, Heights, Kensington and sections in the legislature as well. I believe that A retired nurse-counselor who special- and Hans Speigel, the chairman of of Flatbush. Assemblyman Diaz is a student at Lehman ized in helping women with substance- Hunter’s urban affairs planning department The first member of his family to College, for instance.” abuse issues, she was also president and – who really made him think, not only attend college, he credits CUNY with Heastie, who was elected in 2000, had CEO of Whart Development Company, a about the assignment at hand but also offering him “the opportunity to get a high worked for the New York City Deputy real-estate development company and a about his role in effecting political change. quality education in an atmosphere that Comptroller as a budget analyst, in which consultant to small and developing busi- “Moses had a real affinity and love for was conducive to learning.” post he prepared reports on city spending. nesses before entering politics. public policy and government’s providing In 1996, Hikind founded the United His initial training in budget analysis came In 1980, Hassell-Thompson became services when the private sector could or New York Democratic Club, a political from another public institution of higher executive director of the Westchester would not,” Benjamin said. “Speigel, who action group dedicated to bipartisan sup- education, SUNY-Stony Brook, where he Minority Contractors Association, and was very liberal, had a wonderful way of port of candidates in major city and state majored in applied mathematics and sta- served in that capacity until June 1987. engaging students in thinking about the races who are committed to quality of life tistics. She became well-versed in economic issues. And Salins, with whom I still keep concerns and promoting greater unity and “I find that my studies at Baruch, in development issues that impact women in touch, was perhaps the most conserva- understanding within New York’s diverse combination with my work experience, and people of color, and became a strong tive member of the faculty. He was communities. have prepared me for really reading and advocate of their cause, persuading mem- opposed to rent control. At that time, I Hikind believes “education is the foun- understanding a budget,” he said. bers of both the public and private sectors disagreed with him, but now I realize that dation of life and the lifeline of society. I How does Heastie manage to combine to increase economic participation with it has been a factor in distorting the rental- had great teachers and a wonderful experi- his busy schedule as a legislator with his minority and women-owned businesses. housing market in New York.” ence at The City University,” he said, “and graduate work? “Baruch is a business Before leading the WMCA, she worked In addition to the excellent and engag- my education gave me the skills and the school for working people. I find that in for the Westchester Community ing faculty members, Benjamin said that it tools required for a successful career in general the faculty is flexible,” he said. Opportunity Program for 10 years in a was the diversity of the student population public service.” number of management positions, from at Hunter that he found most helpful. “We That is why he is committed to “making director of a day-care center to executive had the chance to learn from the com- ASSEMBLYMAN sure that CUNY receives the funding it assistant to the executive director. bined experiences and cultures of all these needs so that today’s students can have TEPHEN AUFMAN different ethnic perspectives,” said S K the same chance to receive a high quality, Benjamin, who represents the 79th hen Assemblyman affordable education that I did at Queens ASSEMBLYMAN Assembly District in the Bronx, where he Stephen B. and Brooklyn Colleges.” W has always lived. “Because of that, I Kaufman tosses off a STEVEN SANDERS learned that there is not just one way of reference to Chaucer or ooking back, ASSEMBLYMAN looking at an issue or policy. This has been Tennyson in one of his Assemblyman L a great help in politics, because I represent speeches, it’s an homage Steven Sanders com- JEFFREY KLEIN a district that is predominantly black and to Prof. Nicholas Lyons, mented, “In a way, City Hispanic, but there also are other groups, who taught English at ssemblyman College led to my entire and I’m always trying to bring diverse Hunter College. AJeffrey Klein of career.” groups together.” Although he graduated with a bache- the 80th Assembly In 1973, when he was The list of issues that Benjamin, the lor’s degree in political science, Kaufman District in the Bronx a senior majoring in gov- first African-American to head the Bronx recalls his English classes with great affec- graduated from both ernment, the college Board of Elections, is involved with is, tion. In those days – he graduated in 1965 Queens College in placed him in an internship in then- indeed, varied. In addition to working with – Hunter College was small. “There were 1983 and from CUNY Assemblyman Andrew Stein’s office. As community groups to improve education, only five buildings, it was a country-style Law School in 1994. things turned out, Sanders became Stein’s he has focused on political redistricting, campus and everyone knew each other,” In between his two successor in representing Manhattan’s 74th restoring banking services, fighting envi- Kaufman said. stints as a CUNY student, Klein earned Assembly district. ronmental racism and making neighbor- Classes had an average of only 20 stu- master of public administration degree in At CCNY, which is also his father hoods safer. dents, so “there was much interaction 1985 at Columbia University’s School of Murray’s alma mater (class of 1938), Benjamin, who has a bachelor of arts between students and professors,” International and Public Affairs. Sanders fondly recalled “the excellent pro- degree in political science from Syracuse Kaufman said. “It was a nurturing environ- “I always had a strong interest in public fessors in the social sciences.” He said that University, said that one of the reasons he ment. Professor Lyons loved the subject of service and CUNY Law School is the only great faculty members and hands-on work chose to enroll in Hunter’s master of sci- English, he loved the students and he was school completely dedicated to that goal,” experience in one’s field of interest is what ence program in urban affairs, aside from an excellent teacher.” he said. public higher education should be all about. the fact that the program is “well respect- It was this first taste of academic life that Klein said that in today’s world a “I think we have a moral imperative to ed,” was because his mother earned three spurred Kaufman to go on to earn two college education is a must for many occu- make certain that higher education is a degrees from CUNY schools. She is an other degrees: a juris doctor from American pations, equivalent in terms of its entry possibility for everyone who has the desire alumna of Bronx Community College, University Washington College of Law, level value to what a high school diploma to acquire it,” he said. “I think that when Lehman College and The City College of where he was assistant editor of the Law once meant. you have a public education you tend to New York. Review and editor-in-chief of the law school “Our public higher education system is be exposed to more things, You learn to “I found it to be a good learning envi- newspaper; and a master of law degree from the only route to improved opportunities work with and to relate to all kinds of ronment,” he said, adding that he has New York University. A practicing attorney, for people in our state who are not people from many backgrounds and many experienced CUNY from the other side of he has law offices in the Bronx. wealthy,” he said. “I would like to see the walks of life. You deal with the real world the desk, too: He has been a lecturer on Kaufman has been supportive of his tuition hikes which were imposed on every day. It can prepare you socially far

14 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2004 race and ethnicity at John Jay College. Benjamin credits current Chancellor Matthew Goldstein with increasing enroll- ment 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 educa- tion every day. It helps me better understand urban planning in my assembly district.”

ASSEMBLYWOMAN DIANE GORDON here is no such T 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 African- American poems to enhance our reading and writing skills. The class was well attend- ed, 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 every- thing 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 chal- lenged 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 alco- holism 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 15 while having sufficient time to partici- time to focus on their research and Extending the Tenure Clock pate fully in college life. scholarship, thus enhancing the learning This additional time not only benefits environment and creating an atmos- new faculty but also results in a tenure phere of excellence for all students. clock that is more consistent with other Q. What if a faculty member joins the continued from front make the least possible change in the higher education institutions. Increasing University after teaching elsewhere or statute regarding tenure; in fact, we evaluators who frequently convey sur- the time to tenure will enhance our quickly develops a substantial record propose changing only one word. prise at the brevity of the CUNY ability to recruit, as well as retain, a of scholarship? Will he/she have to tenure clock, commenting on how dif- Moreover, it should be noted that diverse faculty on our campuses. wait seven years to obtain tenure? SUNY’s system of tenure has never ficult it is to properly evaluate scholar- Q.. The core mission of The City A. No. The option of seeking early tenure been embodied in a statute, only in ly potential at a three-and-one-half to University of will continue to be available and will SUNY’s own five-year juncture. New York is to be encouraged in appropriate cases. internal rules, and Q. The University has indicated that mod- educate the The University plans to communicate there has never ifying the tenure clock from five to citizens of this to all of the college presidents and been any move- TOWN MEETING ON seven years will bring CUNY into con- New York to submit an amendment to the ment to rethink EXTENDING THE formity with other colleges and uni- City. How Board’s Bylaws to make clearer that tenure at SUNY. versities across the nation. Please TENURE CLOCK does this early tenure consideration is particu- Q. Will increasing the larly appropriate where faculty have explain. CUNY Full-time Faculty Invited change in the time to tenure prior teaching experience and/or have A. The tenure clock at CUNY is short in Hosted by Chancellor Matthew Goldstein tenure law affect the repre- developed a substantial record of comparison with other colleges and Tuesday, March 16, 2004, 5-7 pm benefit our sentation of scholarship in less than seven years. universities. Across institutions of Baruch Vertical Campus, students and minorities and higher education, the tenure clock 55 Lexington Ave. (corner of E. 24th St.) enhance their Q. How will the change in the tenure women on our averages seven years. For example, at 14th Floor, Room 14-220 educational clock affect the timing of promotion campuses? experience? to associate professor (and the atten- SUNY the standard period is seven PROCEDURES FOR TOWN MEETING A. The City A. The City dant salary increase)? years. At the University of Michigan • Full-time faculty who wish to speak University of New University of and Columbia, it is eight years. At Yale should email Ms. Barbara Cura, A. It has always been the case that faculty York values excel- New York is it is ten years. The AAUP Guidelines Office of the Chancellor, at may be promoted to associate profes- lence. Over the committed to consider a seven-year tenure clock [email protected] by the close sor prior to tenure. Indeed, sometimes past year, CUNY its core mission acceptable. of business on Friday, March 12, 2004. untenured faculty are recruited to has made a com- of providing an Q. Does the new tenure clock have any • The maximum time permitted for each CUNY as associate professors at the mitment to excellent edu- consequences for the concept of speaker will be three minutes. Written outset. That will continue. In addition, recruit and hire cation to its tenure or academic freedom at statements are welcome and appreciated. the University will propose an amend- increasing num- students. We CUNY? • Faculty who cannot participate in the ment to the Board’s Bylaws making bers of full-time are working promotion to associate professor auto- A. Categorically “No.” The University is Town Meeting are encouraged to email faculty who diligently to matic upon the granting of tenure. firmly committed to both tenure and ideas and comments to Executive demonstrate direct our academic freedom for its faculty. The Vice Chancellor Louise Mirrer at Q. Would the proposed modification of excellence in resources to University simply wishes to create a [email protected] the tenure clock apply to any current teaching and support that more reasonable time frame within • The Town Meeting will be videotaped faculty? scholarship. mission. Most which candidates for tenure will be and audio recorded so that there will be A. At the direction of the Chancellor and Further, we have notable among evaluated. a public record of the proceedings. as a result of faculty comments, the renewed our our efforts is modification has been made prospec- Q. Isn’t the University concerned that the efforts to ensure a the restoration tive only. The seven-year tenure clock proposal may cause the State broadly diverse of full-time fac- will apply to faculty hired on or after Legislature to rethink tenure more pool of candidates from which to ulty. As we increase the ranks of the September 1, 2004 and to faculty generally? select new hires. Increasing the time to full-time faculty, lengthening the time hired before that date only if they vol- A. No. There is no evidence whatsoever of tenure will provide sufficient time for to tenure will provide these new hires a untarily opt for the longer probation- sentiment in Albany favoring a new faculty of all backgrounds to sufficient opportunity to participate in ary period in writing by the end of rethinking of tenure. Further, we have demonstrate solid performance and the life of the college, engage more their third year of employment. taken extreme care in our proposal to build a sufficient record of scholarship, fully with students, and have sufficient Community College Enrollment at Record High

tudent enrollment at The City Community College Investment Program. through the taxes they will pay for decades est paralegal studies. University of New York's six com- Through this initiative, the community col- to come and their numerous contributions Kingsborough Community College Smunity colleges reached 72,473 for leges are hiring 450 new staff, including 300 to our City and State.” enrolls more than 15,000 students, about the Spring semester, the highest level in full-time faculty members this year, as well Borough of Manhattan Community half of whom are working toward associate history, boosted by a jump of more than as substantially enhancing libraries and other College is located in the heart of New York degrees that will enable them to transfer to 10,000 degree-seeking students—or 16.5 academic and student support services. City, and it reflects the best of downtown baccalaureate institutions. The other half percent—in the last three years. “CUNY's six community colleges are Manhattan: the culture of Tribeca, the are in career-oriented programs such as Borough of Manhattan, Bronx, Hostos, contributing mightily to New York City’s vibrancy of Wall Street, and the promise business administration, fashion merchan- Kingsborough, LaGuardia, and renaissance, providing training and re-train- of the Statue of Liberty. dising, mental health, journalism and print Queensborough Community Colleges also ing opportunities for the City's workforce Bronx Community College, situated on media, among others. LaGuardia serve an additional 100,000 continuing and a strong foundation for transfer stu- a 53-acre campus that is home to the pres- Community College joins Barnard College education students. The two-year colleges dents to continue their education at the tigious Hall of Fame for Great Americans, and UCLA as the only three colleges sponsor programs for over 20,000 high baccalaureate level,” stated Chancellor offers Associate's degrees in the liberal arts nationwide to receive the prestigious 2004 school students through “College Now,” the Matthew Goldstein. He further stated, and sciences, the health sciences, business, Theodore M. Hesburgh Award Certificate University's highly successful enrichment “Our record student enrollment—the high- and public service occupations. of Excellence, which recognizes innovative program offering college coursework to est in CUNY's history—is a testament to Hostos Community College, nationally faculty training programs that enhance public high school students. Six high the dedication and ambition of our student known for its bilingual approach to educa- classroom instruction and student learning. schools are now on the community college body and the devotion and expertise of the tion, offers a rich variety of career and lib- Queensborough Community College offers campuses. University's faculty and staff. CUNY stu- eral arts programs, ranging from account- outstanding programs in a broad range of The University is making an unprece- dents will repay many times over the ing, business, and data processing to nurs- liberal arts and sciences, pre-professional, dented investment through a $25 million investments made in their education ing, public administration and public inter- career, and technical subjects.

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