Audio available here.

Summary from the the Adjunct Project:

“CUNY Graduate Center President Kelly held a Community Meeting on
Monday, February 25, 2013. A group of students, faculty, and staff
raised critical questions about the Fall 2013 GC Restructuring Plan,
CUNY Pathways, the Kroll Report, insurance coverage, and other issues.
These questions had been openly crowd-sourced beforehand to encourage
campus-wide input in shaping this forum.

The Adjunct Project has organized an “alternative Community Meeting” to be held on Friday, March 8, 3-5pm in GC room 5414:

“[S]tudents, faculty, and staff can interact and strategize responses to the lack of general participatory democracy and transparency at the Graduate Center, and how specifically to counteract the worst aspects of the Fall 2013 Restructuring Plan.

 

 Notes from meeting w/ Pres. Kelly on February 25, 2013, 3pm

Approx. 70 in attendance.

New Fellowship packages:

• Modest decrease in size of PhD, modest increase of Masters
• Increase in funding for PhDs
• Reduced incoming class size by 61 students across 24 programs by 2015
  • 423 in 2012
  • 362 in 2015
• Value of fellowships increased
•  100 tuition only fellowships
• Says committed to diversity .  No specifics.
• Problem: will create a discrepancy between current ECFs. We’re going to address it in 2 ways: identify more resources for more students as well as philanthropic resources at the urging of the DSC
• We have until fall of 2014 to come to some redress before the force of difference is felt. Requires partners. Stresses it is not a unilateral decision. At American Univ its 80/20 masters/phd, here it is reverse 15/85 masters/phd. Want to change that. Primarily we’ll be a PhD program. Emphasizes MALS program. Says no reduction in programs.
• Promises dependent on fiscal availability.

1^st year ECF asks about disparity. Why do we have to Fall 2014 and not this fall?

• Kelly says student is receiving more than those before her, he’s more concerned with the TEACHING disparity and where he is targeting, which is why he has until 2014.

Student asks about partners in a dialogue

• BK says he looks for variety of partners on financial side, the university, students, staff. He assumes the latter two won’t be writing checks to solve the problem but he’s “anxious” to speak with them

Student asks about DSC and club space moving from 5^th floor to basement

• BK says we’ve doubled students and faculty since moving into this building.

• Basically, we’ve grown. Looking for more space elsewhere. After talking to ppl involved, but there’s a lack of money for new space. No decision has been made, full consultation of students will be involved.

Student asks how students are consulting in restructuring plan

• Goal was higher funding, he says they realized they created a disparity, lists incidences when students were consulting (spoke too fast for me to list them all)

Student asks about the lack of parental leave and federally mandated well women services associated with ACA

• Kelly asks Scott to address it
• Scott talks about consulting with someone in Albany to implement it

Contraception was brought up.

• It seems that Scott needs particular points about ACA and how it will impact NYSHIP to address it. This seemed like a dodge to me
• BK says GC made the case in Albany that NYSHIP services available to SUNY students should be made available to CUNY students. Says it was successful. Refers to Scott for details. Says plan has to be in compliance with ACA. Says they’re keeping a close watch on it

BK returns to parental leave. Says there’s a task force working with Louise Lanahan (sp?) about pregnancy accommodation

• This is the 1 semester leave that has been mentioned previously.
• Accommodation in place by Sept 1.

Student asks about equal pay for equal work, adjucts inclusive and new fellowships. Notes increase in disparity.

• BK says student is totally correct about pay scale for adjuncts and has nothing to add
• Regarding doctoral fellowships, he says the goal is to get better and better
• It sounds like the admin is just going to wait this out. The disparity will disappear over time regarding fellowship

Student asks about phasing in of fellowships instead

• BK says that’s what that this is, a phase in. we’re a tiny part of a large university with lots of components

Student asks about funding and says she doesn’t have an ECF and notes the monetarily disparity specifically. Notes struggling students. Asks what is being done right now

• BK’s face at this comment was priceless
• BK says he understands and recognized the students complaints, says he can’t do anything about adjunct pay but that he can continually speak about it
• Says he’s not turning a blind eye to 12,000 adjuncts, 10% who are phds at the GC
• BK says this is a national issue, not just a CUNY issue, says as long as resources are continually restricted in the public sector, this will continue to be an issue.

Student asks about PATHWAYS and how that will effect grad students

• BK says it won’t impact it in his opinion. Particularly he says w/decline of teaching due to new fellowships, need for adjuncts will go up. Where do we find teachers then is the question? Says it’s an exploitative way to look at grad students.
• That being said, there will be too many positions, not too few.
• Notes impact of past budget cuts have taking a long time to rebound
• Is he concerned about pathways denying opportunities? He is not

Mike asks “If someone has outside funding, is there a hard cap on how many students are admitted?”

• BK says if someone produces outside funding, he says “come on down” but his concern is that in the past, like int’l students, were promised one thing and got another.

Student asks about follow up on question of diversity. Asks what current steps are made that Eos/programs are at least having convo on diversity

• BK says he needs student help with that. Says that this new funding does not mean will be seeking out a different type of student that we have in the past
• BK says diversity in terms of lifestyle, sexual orientation, economic difference, etc are hard to measure, but it’s up to the individual programs and he’s removed from it. BK says he wants to give them tools to do as best as they possibly can.

Person asks about int’l students

• BK says that if someone comes with a major grant, we can admit them. But we will not give a slot b/c your parents have vast resources that they will sign up for. Says this is beyond the pale

Student talks about Marilyn Katel (sp?) archives (apologies I have no idea how to spell this)

Student asks about incremental increase in funding versus decline of class size

• BK says it is not a major decrease: 61 students of 5 years. Quotes Bill Clinton “it’s the arithmetic” (Pretty sure he’s leaving out part of this quote)
• Enrollment strategies have to be adjusted to placement outcomes

Student asks about role of students, faculty, and staff. What does democracy mean? This has to be some DSC person. Asks it to BK as well as to the whole room. Says there are 2 community meetings a semester but it is different from day-to-day conversations and we want alternative community meetings to come up with alternative plans for our university

• BK says he would offer as evidence the strategic plan. In terms in collaboration: it is rare that he doesn’t give the same speech 3 times a week.
• Provost talks about collaboration being in the DNA of this institution.

Student asks about students getting arrested on campuses. Asks what response is to that Kroll report about Baruch

• BK says 1) wasn’t there when report was issued, can’t comment ???, 2) our position is we try to manage our own affairs in our own house but he could not promise that there would a change in that policy. He has 2 commitments; protect free speech and protect others to live their lives, 3) … I don’t think he did 3 points but whatever

Many thanks to Adam for these excellent notes. -FA