From: New York News Connection (Albany, NY)
December 21, 2007
Union cheers "thousands more" professors for SUNY & CUNY
Narrator: The New York State Commission on Higher Education is getting so much feedback this week that you might think their address was the North Pole. The commission's new report covers many issues, but Fred Floss, the acting president of United University Professions, says a key conclusion is that students at CUNY and SUNY campuses need thousands more full-time professors.
Click here for Fred Floss actuality -
"The biggest issue is the recognition that we need to invest in full time academic and professional faculty, that’s the starting point that makes all of the rest of the engines and all of the rest of the recommendations go."
"The biggest issue is the recognition that we need to invest in full time academic and professional faculty, that’s the starting point that makes all of the rest of the engines and all of the rest of the recommendations go."
Narrator: The commission recommends hiring 2,000 more full time faculty members for the state’s two university systems. Floss says he doesn't mean to be a 'Grinch,' but he points out that number would barely cover the professors the system lost in the last decade — still, he says it’s a place to start.
The report also suggests various ways state universities could raise additional money, but Floss cautions that New York has to step up first, when it comes to financing.
Click here for Fred Floss actuality -
"So we’re looking for state dollars to make these investments, because that’s the only way that we can generate the other dollars that are going to come from research and philanthropy and everybody else. If the state isn’t seen as putting in dollars, into the program, why would anybody else invest?"
"So we’re looking for state dollars to make these investments, because that’s the only way that we can generate the other dollars that are going to come from research and philanthropy and everybody else. If the state isn’t seen as putting in dollars, into the program, why would anybody else invest?"
Narrator: Giving more control to individual schools is another big theme of the higher education report — Floss says that has already started at some State University campuses, with different levels of success.
Click here for Fred Floss actuality -
"The next step is to say, OK what have we done in the past; what’s worked, what hasn’t worked and how can we work together better? That doesn’t mean we are against decentralization, it just means that we’ve got to talk this through before everybody goes off on their own."
"The next step is to say, OK what have we done in the past; what’s worked, what hasn’t worked and how can we work together better? That doesn’t mean we are against decentralization, it just means that we’ve got to talk this through before everybody goes off on their own."