Brooklyn College PSC-CUNY

Address to the Stated Meeting of the Faculty October 23, 2014 Alex S. Vitale Chair Brooklyn College Chapter PSC-CUNY We remain concerned about developments in the School of Business. In their drive to accreditation, the administration seems to have adopted an approach that consistently attempts to go around faculty. Unelected Department Chairs are being brought in, departments are being reconfigured with little or no faculty input, faculty are being told what and how to teach and what journals and conferences are acceptable, and the school appears to be increasingly walling itself off from the rest of the college. The administration seems to be pursuing a very narrow vision of how accreditation can be achieved that distances the school from the rest of the college, rather than embracing a broader liberal arts approach that would build on the college’s many strengths in this area in a way that would enhance the overall education our business students receive. We wil...

Brooklyn College spokesperson Jason Carey told the Eagle on Wednesday, “While the President of Brooklyn College must transmit recommendations of the Faculty Council to the Chancellor, these proposals must be lawful and in line with recent court proceedings that ruled in favor of the CUNY Board of Trustees in initiating academic policy.” He added that reviews of general education happen periodically at the college, and have been encouraged by the Provost. “Our faculty plays a key role in shaping the academic curriculum at Brooklyn College. When reviewing and revising our general education requirements, however, the College is obligated to be guided by the broad framework of the Pathways initiative approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees."

Brooklyn College faculty breaks with CUNY:  votes to retake control of curriculum Brooklyn College. Photo courtesy CUNY Has 'no confidence' in CUNY Board of Trustees By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle The full-time faculty at Brooklyn College passed a resolution on Wednesday to “retake control of curriculum decision making” and demand that the Brooklyn College and CUNY administrations “respect the faculty’s historic role in designing courses,” programs and degree requirements. Professors are rejecting CUNY's move to “override faculty decision making” to implement the “inadequate” Pathways general education program, according to the Brooklyn College Faculty Council. Pathways implements a set of course requirements that every student must complete to earn an undergraduate degree from CUNY, making it easier to transfer one CUNY college to another. But professors complain th...

BROOKLYN COLLEGE FACULTY VOTE TO RETAKE CONTROL OF CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING; VOTE NO CONFIDENCE IN CUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Contact: Alex S. Vitale, avitale@brooklyn.cuny.edu Brooklyn, NY-- For the first time in decades, the entire full-time faculty at Brooklyn College passed a resolution at a special college-wide meeting on April 8 to demand that the Brooklyn College and CUNY administrations respect the faculty’s historic role in designing courses, general education programs, and degree requirements. Two years ago the CUNY Board of Trustees instructed local college administrations to override faculty decision making in implementing the inadequate Pathways general education program, which was opposed by 92% of full-time faculty at CUNY who voted in a referendum held last year. This is despite the fact that college governance documents vest curricular decision making solely in the hands of the faculty. By a vote of 298 in favor, 9 against and 18 abstentions, today’s resolution ...

Dear Colleagues, On Tuesday, for the first time in decades, the Brooklyn College faculty will be voting on a measure at the Stated Meeting of the Faculty. The resolution to be voted on supports the Faculty Council in their effort, as elected representatives of the faculty, to undertake a process of redesigning general education at Brooklyn College . Given recent attacks on faculty governance and faculty control over curriculum it is imperative that this vote succeed. So far the response has been overwhelming. Over 300 full time faculty have committed to attending the meeting. If those numbers hold true, then we will meet our quorum of approximately 275. But that does not leave much room for error. If you have committed to showing up, we need you there. If you haven’t yet and can do so, please let us know you are coming. This vote is about much more than just Pathways or general education. It’s ultimately about faculty power. Over the last generation, at CUNY and throughout aca...

1) Our students need us to stand up for educational excellence. Despite the claims of serving students by easing transfer (the benefits of which have been grossly overstated), Pathways undermines educational standards. Eliminating science labs, speech, and  foreign language requirements disadvantages our students. Restricting the ability of individual colleges to experiment and specialize outside the narrow Pathways framework undermines innovation and the development of new best practices. 2) Brooklyn College’s Faculty Council is currently undertaking a broad review of general education and we are in a position to challenge the Pathways framework by demonstrating strong faculty support for a general education program that is rigorous and effectively meets our students’ needs. 3) Whatever the ultimate outcome of the general education process it is essential that the faculty make clear that the process used to implement Pathways was a violation of faculty governance and a...

The following Resolution Passed the Brooklyn College Faculty Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 80-1.  After the vote, the Provost thanked the faculty, saying that he had fought and lost to keep the science labs, and that the administration supports the return to the 4 hour science courses. BROOKLYN COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK FACULTY COUNCIL March 11, 2014 Special Resolution on General Education Steering Committee Whereas , according to the Governance Plan of Brooklyn College (Article II), the faculty “shall be responsible for the formulation of policy relating to the admission and retention of students, including health and scholarship standards; student attendance, including leaves of absence; curriculum; awarding of college credit; granting of degrees”; and Whereas , Faculty Council is “the legislative body of the Faculty and shall have all the responsibilities of a faculty”;  and Whereas , Faculty Council, at its meeting of ...

Below is draft language of a resolution to come before the Stated Meeting of the Faculty in April. We will be discussing this draft at our Chapter Meeting on March 18th in 222 Whitehead. Feel free to write comments below or email them to alvgc@yahoo.com. Draft Resolution Brooklyn College Stated Meeting of the Faculty April 2014 Whereas, Faculty Council is currently undertaking a process to develop new general education requirements at Brooklyn College, and Whereas, Brooklyn College’s governance plan states that it is the faculty who determine the college’s curriculum and degree requirements, and Whereas it is the faculty who are best positioned to assess the educational needs of students and determine the best ways of meeting those needs, and Whereas we have no confidence in the CUNY Board of Trustees as currently constituted to make curricular decisions, and Whereas Pathways has significantly undermined the educational standards at Brooklyn College, incl...

Dear Colleagues, We will be holding a special meeting of the PSC Chapter at Brooklyn College on Thursday Feb. 27th 12:30-2 in 222 Whitehead.  As most of you know, CUNY Central has capitulated to important faculty demands regarding Pathways, which is a major victory for the Faculty and ultimately the students at CUNY. We still face several struggles, however, here at Brooklyn College. The administration continues to try to force us into the Pathways framework, even as we begin a faculty-lead review of general education. It is imperative that the faculty speak in a clear voice to the Brooklyn College and CUNY administrations that we will not tolerate administrative interference in the curriculum. Therefore, we intend to bring one or more resolutions to the Stated Meeting of the Faculty in April regarding these issues. The Stated Meeting of the faculty is the ultimate voice of the faculty in the governance of the faculty, eclipsing even Faculty Council.  At our next meetin...

The CUNY central administration has finally begun to listen to the majority of faculty about Pathways. Changes to the new core curriculum will begin in Fall 2014, according to a  memo  from Interim Chancellor William Kelly. The changes are the result of the first annual review of Pathways promised in the Board of Trustees' 2011 resolution. The memo announces an end to the three-hour limit on general education courses and says that faculty serving on the committee that reviews general education courses based on Pathways rules will be “chosen through college governance processes.” It also encourages colleges to seek waivers from Pathways rules whenever “a major or degree program cannot be accommodated.” The 30-credit limit on the colleges’ general education core curriculum will remain in place. The changes are consistent with demands for greater autonomy for CUNY’s colleges and respect for faculty’s expertise on curriculum that have been central to the PSC’s Repeal Pathways Camp...

CUNY management was defeated in its attempt to block consideration of a union grievance on the way the University implemented Pathways, and has been told in no uncertain terms that faculty’s curricular duties are terms and conditions of employment covered by the PSC’s contract.  The ruling  was issued on Friday by an independent arbitrator of a grievance filed by the PSC. CUNY had petitioned for the grievance to be dismissed, arguing that issues of governance are not covered by the PSC contract and cannot be challenged by the PSC. The petition to dismiss was an attempt to narrow scope of the contract, and was soundly rejected by the arbitrator. The grievance, filed by the PSC in 2012, alleges that in its implementation of Pathways CUNY failed to act in accordance with University Bylaws and college governance plans established for the development and execution of curriculum changes. The grievance also alleges that the implementation of Pathways was a violation of academic fr...

Last month CUNY Vice-Chancellor Alexandra Logue wrote an essay for Inside Higher Education in which she called for expanding the use of MOOCs. Logue seems to have missed the latest research. This week’s New York Times outlines the latest research affirming the very limited effectiveness of MOOCs (see below and also see this ).  Given that students in MOOCs have an almost infinitesimal completion rate, and given that few students are willing to pay for what MOOCs offer, why are the Chancellery and Board of Trustees so keen on them?  Are they simply the latest victims of the agenda of the K-12 plutocratic reformers and technocrats? The answer may be that MOOCs represent yet another way to degrade public education in the name of lowering costs. Today we learned that as part of CUNY’s ongoing effort to streamline and centralize the curriculum that the Board of Trustees passed a measure that eliminates local controls over the issuing of e-permits. Students now no longer...

On Tuesday Brooklyn College’s Faculty Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing CUNY’s draft policy on “ expressive conduct ” (see below). The draft policy has been heavily criticized by faculty and students and the PSC Delegates Assembly also called for the withdrawal of the policy at its last meeting.  Today the New York Times reported on the issue, quoting PSC President Barbara Bowen saying, “if CUNY is to be an intellectually vibrant university, it must recognize that ‘expressive activity’ is a vital part of campus life, not a danger to be confined to narrow limits.” CUNY senior vice chancellor Frederick P. Schaffer, claims that it was faculty who requested the creation of a unified policy. While it may be true that one or two of the 15,000 faculty may have mentioned something to him along these lines, that does not mean that this point of view is representative of faculty opinion broadly. Now that CUNY has heard from the PSC’s Delegate Assembly, elected by the e...

Last semester the provost unilaterally ended the college’s language and speech requirements over the express objections of Faculty Council. On November 12 th  the Brooklyn College Faculty Council protested this decision by voting 80-3 in favor of a Special Resolution on Faculty Governance . The resolution asserts that the Provost violated the college's governance plan by changing the College Bulletin to comply with Pathways .  The College’s governance plan makes clear that only Faculty Council, not the Provost, the Board of Trustees, or any other administrator, has the authority to make changes to the College Bulletin. The resolution raises a fundamental question. Will the CUNY administration abide by its own governing documents? The Board of Trustees asserts that it has total and unquestioned authority to make any educational changes it wants. The PSC, the University Faculty Senate, and numerous campus governing bodies have challenged their contempt for faculty governan...

Stated Meeting Address October 24, 2013 Alex S. Vitale Chair Brooklyn College Chapter PSC-CUNY As most of you know we have gone 3 years without a contract. This is a condition we share with every unionized employee in the city. Because of Mayor Bloomberg’s insistence on withholding raises and increasing health care contributions, there are no unions currently bargaining with the City. None. Gov. Cuomo has made and in some cases won similar demands from the state unions. As a result, we have very little reason to engage in economic bargaining until the election of a new mayor. We have, however, approached CUNY management about opening up non-economic bargaining and there are many things to discuss. We will prepare to bargain in earnest over economic matters when a new mayoral administration shows an interest in non-concessionary bargaining. But given that the old contract remains in force, we have very little incentive to bargain. On a brighter note, the PSC was the ...

The following resolution will be brought to the November Faculty Council meeting by the FC Steering Committee. The local PSC chapter supports this resolution. BROOKLYN COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK FACULTY COUNCIL November 12, 2013 Special Resolution on Faculty Governance Steering Committee Whereas , according to the Governance Plan of Brooklyn College (Article II), the faculty “shall be responsible for the formulation of policy relating to the admission and retention of students, including health and scholarship standards; student attendance, including leaves of absence; curriculum; awarding of college credit; granting of degrees”; and Whereas , Faculty Council is “the legislative body of the Faculty and shall have all the responsibilities of a faculty”;  and Whereas , Faculty Council, at its meeting of April 3, 2012, voted not to “implement a [CUNY] Pathways curriculum under the current guidelines,” and again, at its meeting...

BY Alex S. Vitale CUNY’s new draft policy on Expressive Activity in paying rhetorical allegiance to the “important of a free exchange of ideas and expression of all points of view,” makes the fundamental mistake of equating protest with speech. Throughout the document, the right to protest is restricted by concerns about “order,” “disruption,” and the “rights of others.” These restrictions indicate a basic misunderstanding of the nature of the right to assembly as distinct from the right to freedom of speech. There are many possible outlets for ideas including interpersonal speech, published writing, and social media. The right to assemble, however, involves the physical manifestation of people in space as both an exercise in communication and an expression of power. As such it is inherently disruptive, disorderly, and interferes with the rights of others. Any policy that attempts to eliminate these qualities reduces protest to speech. The constitution specifically protects t...

President Replaces Department Chiefs, Changes Curriculum By NEANDA SALVATERRA July 19, 2013 The removal of department chiefs and changes to curriculum have roiled Brooklyn College, where the administration is seeking accreditation for popular majors at one of the City University of New York's largest senior branches. Brooklyn College President Karen Gould has rejected the faculty-elected department chairmen for three departments for the next school year, including the college's top majors—finance and business management and accounting—as well as the smaller department of modern languages and literatures. The president also removed the director for the children and youth studies program and almost halved the program's course offerings. "The administration's exercise of power is arbitrary and it has major implications, not just for professors but also for students," says Gertrud Lenzer, who was removed on July 1 as program director for child...