The Chancellor’s Report – CUNY Podcasts The Chancellor’s Report – CUNY Podcasts

In his report to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor James B. Milliken commented on several budgetary matters, including the University’s annual budget request and a first time, 4-year financial plan. Designed to support the University’s 4-year master plan, Chancellor Milliken said this year’s budget request “reflects our priorities for educating hundreds of thousand of students—supporting their success and helping them launch the careers that will uplift their families in the city and state.”

The Chancellor also updated the Board on new leadership for City College and said he expects the appointment of an interim president, “to happen in the very near future.”

At the Board of Trustees’ September meeting, Chancellor James B. Milliken asserted that this academic year, CUNY “will collaborate as never before, both internally and outside the University,” a key goal of a “connected CUNY” that is a theme and aim of the University’s new Master Plan. The Chancellor expressed optimism about the year ahead, touting recent achievements including the record CUNY graduation rate last spring, and high rankings for The Macaulay Honors College, the School of Professional Studies, and The Stella and Charles Guttman Community College.

The University’s Board of Trustees approved collective bargaining agreements with its six unions on June 27, including contracts with the Professional Staff Congress and District Council 37 providing 10.41% in compounded wage increases with retroactive pay dating to contract expirations more than six years ago. Chancellor James B. Milliken expressed gratitude to union leaders and his senior staff for their focus on finding “common ground” in contract talks. “We are presenting to our Trustees what I believe are fair agreements to our faculty and staff — agreements that they deserve after having gone far too long without contracts,” the Chancellor said at the Board’s meeting. “CUNY faculty and staff are essential partners in the work that we have done and the work that we have in front of us. The result will be that our students are better prepared for the most promising opportunities that face them.”

During the March meeting of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Milliken provided an update on state budget negotiations and said there must be no cut to CUNY’s budget. “As we continue to work with state leaders on the budget, we will not lose sight of the goal of continuing to provide the highest quality, affordable education to those students who, in so many instances, prove they can do the most with it…The investments that the taxpayers have made in CUNY continue to provide enormous returns as our colleges and leaders create new programs and new opportunities for our students, all contributing to the atmosphere of excellence at CUNY.”

In his report to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Milliken commented on several aspects of the 2016 Executive Budget including CUNY’s role in a plan to offer college-level instruction in state prisons and a renewed effort to pass a state DREAM Act.  The Chancellor also noted that CUNY’s online bachelor’s degree program at the School of Professional Studies and CUNY School of Law had recently received national recognition. Regarding proposed shifts in state funding, Chancellor Milliken said: “We will not lose sight of the real interests at stake, the education and the futures of the over 500,000 students served everyday by The City University of New York.”

Chancellor Milliken restated his commitment to obtaining a fair contract for faculty and staff. The Chancellor also announced $20 million in performance funds from the state budget that will be allocated for new academic initiatives being developed by the colleges. In addition, the Chancellor said city funding that will allow a significant expansion of CUNY’s successful programs, ASAP and CUNY START, and $17 million in merit scholarships for students.