I hope this update finds you well as the calendar turns to April. I want to begin by wishing a Happy Passover and Joyous Easter to those among our community who celebrate these holidays, and hope that you have a restful and enjoyable time with family and friends.
As we celebrate these holidays, it is important that we reaffirm our commitment to combating religious bigotry and antisemitism when we encounter it. Last week, at the same time that we hosted a speaker who addressed issues of religious pluralism in higher education, we were also notified that someone had removed the Israeli flag from our campus center. Thanks to the hard work of our Public Safety team, we identified and apprehended the responsible party: this matter is being handled through our student conduct system, and the flag is once again back in its rightful place. This incident is anathema to the values of CSI and CUNY, and we condemn it—as we do with any action that targets members of our community—in the strongest terms. Incidents like these should serve as a reminder to reinforce our own individual efforts to treat one another with dignity and respect, as our campus is at its best when we behave in this manner.
This week, I met with the Executive Committee of the College Council, in preparation for our next general meeting (Thursday, Apr. 20) and we discussed several items of importance. These included our budget situation, enrollment initiatives, staffing needs, and the search for increasing (although sometimes elusive) efficiencies. The conversation was, per usual, candid and free-flowing and reflective of the mutual respect that governance leaders and administrators have for each other and for the process. I am proud of the collaboration that marks such conversations, where we can “disagree without being disagreeable” and put aside philosophical differences in pursuit of better meeting our mission and serving our students.
Next week brings the annual Staten Island Borough hearing, where I and members of the Chancellery and Board of Trustees will listen to testimony from members of the community regarding issues germane to CUNY and its operations. I look forward to hearing these concerns and hope to address them moving forward. These deliberations will no doubt form a good part of the agenda for next week’s Council of Presidents meeting, and I will apprise the campus of any developments related thereto.
Wishing you all a restorative Spring Break, until next time,
Timothy G. Lynch, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
