Subject:
Support staff representation on Community College Boards!
Message:
Dear Assemblymember,
As a constituent and someone who cares deeply about public higher education in New York state, I urge you to work with your leadership to bring A.6782 (Bronson) to the Assembly floor for a vote. This legislation expands the Board of Trustees for community colleges to include an eleventh, ex-officio, non-voting member who shall be elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college. Companion legislation (S.6342 Stavisky) has already passed the Senate.
SUNY community colleges are currently administered by a separate Board of Trustees composed of ten members — five are appointed by the local legislative body or board, or other appropriate governing agency; four are appointed by the governor; and one member is elected by and from among the students at the college. Unfortunately, there is no faculty or staff representation on any of the boards. Consequently, faculty input is often limited to a few minutes during the "public comment" period of trustee meetings. Since the faculty and staff interact with the students daily, they are keenly aware of what is going on at their institutions and what policy decisions may or may not be working. This legislation will give faculty/staff a voice, albeit a non-voting one, on their boards of trustees.
The SUNY Board of Trustees was recently expanded to include the President of the University Faculty Senate as a non-voting, ex-officio member. The inclusion of a faculty member has resulted in a collaborative improvement between the trustees, administrators and faculty, all in furtherance of the SUNY mission. Including community college faculty/staff on their boards will yield the same results.
Thank you for your consideration of this very important matter. I respectfully ask that you raise this issue with your leadership and members of your conference, and I would greatly appreciate a response to my email.
Sincerely,
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