CUNYMatters LG-09:CUNYMatters LG 3/05 3/9/09 6:51 PM Page 1 LEGISLATIVE SPECIAL EDITION “O pen the doors to all— let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of cuny.edu/news THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK • FOUNDED 1847 AS THE FREE ACADEMY industry, good conduct, and intellect.” Townsend Harris, Founder SPRING 2009 Inside PAGE CUNY’s 7 Decade of Science From nanotechnology to environmental sensing, here’s a look at groundbreaking research by some of CUNY’s cutting-edge scientists. Creating Jobs, Opportunity: University PAGE Building for projects like the 3-story, 11 New York’s Future 600,000- BMCC’s 9/11-damaged square-foot Fiterman Hall in Lower Manhattan vertical will be replaced and in East campus at Harlem, a new home will be built John Jay for Hunter’s School of Social Work College of and a new School of Public Health. Criminal Justice are creating thousands of jobs for New York. PAGE Rx for More Nurses Workforce Development Now! 12 The university finds innovative ways to keep the caring profession off the critical list. N A FRIGID DAY in January as the educate and train a 21st-century workforce eries unfolding in our labs, to the ongoing reality of vanishing jobs was setting in, during a recession. economic stimulus provided by CUNY stu- Oa New York City Council committee From its historic and continuing role as dents, faculty, staff and graduates who convened a hearing on a timely, if urgent, educator of immigrant and low- and moder- study, work, live, buy and pay taxes here,” subject: workforce development. First up to ate-income New Yorkers, to its resurgence said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. testify were four CUNY educators, and no as an institution that attracts renowned “New Yorkers know that CUNY repre- PAGE wonder: New Yorkers turn to CUNY’s vast researchers and high-achieving students, to sents educational value, and in a challenging Putting Student network of continuing education programs its leadership in mobilizing needed support economy, there is increased demand for our 13 Award Winners when they seek new skills, credentials and for public higher education, CUNY is criti- programs and services,” Chancellor added. On the Fast Track careers, and demand is on the rise. cal to New York’s economic life. “We are providing the highly educated and CUNY steps up efforts to promote The City University of New York regis- “CUNY is one of the state’s most power- skilled workforce our City, State and nation talented students for top awards tered 270,000 continuing education stu- ful economic development engines, from needs to remain competitive.” and scholarships — students like dents last year, and with courses, certificates the high-quality, affordable college educa- CUNY recently responded to the eco- Andrew Santiago, who is reaching and degrees offered throughout the tion we provide, to the cutting-edge discov- nomic downturn with new innovations by beyond his troubled past with the University in reaching out to help of the Kaplan Educational everything from basic financially ailing Foundation. skills prep to asbestos New Yorkers. In abatement to nursing, Students Benefit From Stimulus December, the teaching, and “green” University part- UNY will receive larger Pell and work-study grants, and funds for shovel- technologies, the ready construction projects, as part of the stimulus package signed by nered with the city University is poised to CPresident Obama. Department of play a critical role in Consumer Affairs “We’re pleased that some of that money is going to be coming to New York PAGE re-shaping New York’s State and will benefit SUNY and CUNY,” Chancellor Matthew Goldstein told the and the New York The Futurist Prof. Michio Kaku explores time current and future Feb. 21 Board of Trustees meeting. Specific allocations were being decided in talks Daily News for a 14 travel, invisibility and other not workforce. with the state Division of the Budget and the Legislature. week-long public necessarily unreal phenomena in But CUNY service call-in, the Iris Weinshall, vice chancellor for facilities planning, construction and manage- his recent book, Physics of the strengthens the econo- ment, told the Trustees that Gov. David Paterson wanted to see infrastructure "Your Money Help Impossible. my in ways that far projects that met federal criteria that the funds be used within 120 days and meet Line," staffed by exceed even the chal- “green” standards. “We’re ready with our projects,” she said. 550 CUNY lenge of helping to Continued on next page ® CUNYMatters LG-09:CUNYMatters LG 3/05 3/9/09 6:51 PM Page 2 THECHANCELLOR’SDESK CUNY Gears Up From Student Success to Job Tr Continued from previous page students last year. CUNY’s College Now For New Challenges volunteers manning 48 phone lines from 9 enrolls more than 47,000 New York City high school students in college prep classes. HIS HAS BEEN a difficult year in the CUNY a.m. to 7 p.m. In five days, the call-in field- • CUNY plays a critical role in the educa- our country, our state and at Compact has ed thousands of questions from New tion of people of color in New York City. TCUNY. More than ever, economic called for a Yorkers struggling with debt, credit and conditions require that all of us work tuition policy investment woes. Last year, African Americans and Latinos together to protect the most vulnerable that seeks to The University has assisted thousands of were awarded 50 percent of associate and to enable New York State to recover keep increases at New Yorkers and their families in navigat- degrees, 46 percent of baccalaureate and ultimately invest in its future. As a a modest level. ing economic difficulties through other degrees and 28 percent of master’s degrees key generator of workforce and economic The Executive CUNY-Daily News phone banks staffed by conferred by CUNY. development and the producer of a highly Budget proposes a $20-million University- CUNY experts: the popular, annual “For low- and middle-income New educated citizenry, the University has a wide reduction to our senior colleges in Citizenship Now! immigration help line Yorkers, CUNY has been, and will continue pivotal role to play in recovery efforts. non-core activities and a reduction in and the Your Money Financial Aid Hotline. to be, the higher education vehicle of CUNY is experiencing unprecedented community-college base aid per FTE by choice for reaching and staying in the mid- demand as New Yorkers look to gain new $270 for the current year that would con- Such efforts help students overcome finan- dle class,” Chancellor Goldstein said. skills and reshape careers. Our enrollment tinue into FY2009-10. For CUNY, this cial obstacles to entering CUNY, complet- With many New York employers and is at its highest level since 1975, a 4.8 per- equates to about $4 million in the current ing their education, and improving their cent increase over last year. There are sig- year and $18 million in 2009-10. economic status, fulfilling the University’s workers in financial difficulty, CUNY’s nificant increases in the number of new Particularly in times of financial mission to provide diverse New Yorkers – wide-ranging continuing education pro- freshmen accepted for Spring 2009, and in distress, New Yorkers turn to our commu- many with heavy work and family obliga- grams, serving students with varying educa- the number of Fall 2009 applications. nity colleges for academic, professional- tions — access to a quality education and tional and socioeconomic backgrounds are These increases include more and more development and job-training opportuni- the skills for success. in increased demand. Last year, 180,000 of high-achieving students. The Macaulay ties. CUNY’s six community colleges — the 270,000 student registrations in these Honors College had its largest number of now serving more than 81,000 students, Middle-class ladder programs were for vocational and basic applicants ever for its class of 2012; those an increase of more than 6 percent since The earning power students gain by skills preparation. admitted have average SAT scores of last year — offer high-quality learning attending CUNY has long played a stabiliz- CUNY has responded to the nation’s almost 1400. This fall, Macaulay student opportunities to meet a wide range of ing role in the city’s economy and has been acute nursing shortage by nearly doubling David Bauer of City College was one of needs. Their capacity will be severely test- a significant factor in building the city’s the number of graduates of its programs in 32 Americans awarded a 2009 Rhodes ed in the coming year. Scholarship – CUNY’s third Rhodes in Many CUNY campuses are in disrepair middle class. five years. Last year, the National Licensing five years. The 2009 Princeton Review list and need modernization. Last year, fund- The numbers are telling. Four-fifths of all Exam pass rate for CUNY nursing gradu- of the 100 “Best Value” colleges ranked ing was provided for critical-maintenance students attending two-year colleges in New ates was 86.5 percent compared with an Hunter College No. 8 among U.S. public projects at our senior and community col- York City, and just less than one half of all NCLEX pass rate of 82.1 percent for grad- institutions. Baruch, Brooklyn and Queens leges, and this year the Executive Budget baccalaureate students here, attend CUNY uates of non-CUNY nursing programs in Colleges were among the top 50. recommends another critical-maintenance schools. From 1999-2008, University-wide New York.