At the start of the Spring semester, I emphasized the importance of standing together and upholding the values of our University in uncertain times. We have since seen a series of federal actions that have affected CUNY and higher education significantly.
When facing challenging moments, I like to turn to our foundational documents for guidance and reassurance. The 1979 CUNY Financing and Governing Act lays out a vision for our mission and goals, justifying the “legislature’s support of an independent and unique structure for the university” based on its “vital importance as a vehicle for the upward mobility of the disadvantaged.” It also states that “activities at the City University campuses must be undertaken in a spirit which recognizes” the imperative need for diversity “and the positive desire to have City University personnel reflect the diverse communities which comprise the people of the city and state of New York.”
As we return from Spring Recess, I want to assure you that our principles have not changed and that evolving federal developments have our full attention. We remain committed to a CUNY that has lifted generations of New Yorkers of all means and backgrounds and that is at the vanguard of the production and dissemination of knowledge, discovery and creativity for the public good.
We are in regular consultation with state and local officials to assess the impacts of policy and funding changes for the many members of our community including our researchers. We are also leveraging our ties with national organizations, like the American Council of Education (ACE) and we have joined other universities in writing letters to agencies and elected officials, warning them of the potential consequences of some of the pauses or funding cuts to campus grants. The University’s Office of Legal Affairs is monitoring nationwide lawsuits against executive orders impacting higher education to protect CUNY from federal overreach and we have provided information and support to the Attorney General’s Office in litigation brought on behalf of New York State.
Funding Challenges
We are evaluating how changes to funding from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy and other federal agencies will impact our research and programming. Cuts in NIH reimbursements, for example, for operational costs of research and training are being challenged in court, but should they be carried out we estimate that CUNY would receive only about 35% of our expected $12.7 million payment on currently active grants. In addition, 61 CUNY research projects have been subject to stop-work orders from federal agencies. The proposed cuts and stop-work orders are already having an impact on our colleges and create an uncertain future for our faculty and staff who are involved in research, innovation and discovery, a core part of our mission as a great public university. In partnership with the Research Foundation of CUNY, we are assessing and managing the unfolding situation daily. We are grateful to the campus grants officers, principal investigators and RFCUNY staff for their ongoing work to manage the impacts of this changing landscape.
CUNY is also being impacted by cuts to federally funded programs and workforce development grants that have diversity, equity and inclusion objectives. Funding cuts to programs that guide our students to fulfilling careers in fields with public impact will have serious consequences for them and the city. For instance, the U.S. Department of Education’s recent cancellation of $600 million for teacher-training programs included an $8.4 million grant to Lehman College to train bilingual teachers. The Lehman program serves students, some with disabilities, in high-need schools in the Bronx. Canceling the program would be a tremendous loss for CUNY and the city, leaving thousands of public-school students without the accessible education they deserve. This action is being challenged in court by eight states, including New York.
A University for Immigrants
We are also closely watching policies that could threaten the essential transformative role higher education plays in civil society. We fear the consequences of the dismantling of the federal Department of Education and the effect it could have on vital student programs. We are troubled by reports of foreign-born students and scholars who attend or teach in American universities being detained by federal officials despite having maintained lawful status and with the authorities providing no indication of the charges raised against them. We are equally troubled by the recent changes in the visa status of some of our international students with F1 visas. We have written to all of them to make sure they know who to contact for up-to-date guidance and support. And we remain concerned in these uncertain times about the thousands of CUNY students who are undocumented or whose status could be terminated or revoked, as with the announced plans to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain groups.
As a university that has always welcomed students from everywhere in the world, we are committed to protecting the rights of our students, faculty and staff to the fullest extent of the law and regardless of immigration status. We will continue to adhere to CUNY policy that requires a judicial warrant for any federal or local law enforcement official who comes to a campus seeking to make an arrest and we take seriously the need to safeguard the privacy of student and personnel records.
The University is seeking private and alternative resources to assist our community during this time and continues to provide the best up-to-date guidance about shifting U.S. immigration policies and actions. Our University has a long history of providing a range of supports to our immigrant students, employees and other New Yorkers, including through the services of CUNY Citizenship Now!, the nation’s oldest, largest university-based legal assistance program. Please visit this page for the most current resources and this page for the latest immigration law updates. CUNY students and employees can request a consultation with Citizenship Now! by completing this form.
Protecting All Students
As one of the most racially and ethnically diverse universities in the country – with a student body that is 23% Asian, 26% Black, 28% Latino and 23% White – CUNY proudly represents the city we serve and the communities we live in. We achieve this diversity with adherence to all federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexuality and other categories of personal identity. These laws provide equal access to education and opportunity, and we remain committed to ensuring that all our campuses and programs continue to protect everyone in our community.
Our obligation to safeguard civil rights extends to members of our LGBTQ+ community. In addition to enforcing CUNY policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sex and sexual orientation, we adhere to New York State Human Rights Law, a broad and comprehensive anti-discrimination statute that can exceed the protections of federal regulations.
To maintain campuses that are welcoming, safe and free of discrimination, the University has taken concrete steps over the past few years to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate including creating a Center for Inclusivity and Equal Opportunity, which expands, strengthens and centralizes our efforts to combat discrimination and foster dialogue. Other measures include launching a systemwide campus climate survey, conducting constructive dialogue training for University and campus leaders and providing workshops on navigating difficult conversations to faculty and students, and distributing $1.3 million to our colleges in the past two years to support programs that confront religious, racial and ethnic discrimination.
Academic Freedom
We are mindful of the threat that these and other challenges pose to academic freedom at our University and at institutions across the country. Academic freedom is central to the life of this university, and we are firm in our conviction that funding for our critical research and discovery must be free of ideological and political conditions and should not be granted with strings attached. At the same time, academic freedom comes with responsibilities. As educators, we strive to be exemplars and role models, and our freedom of expression must be exercised with care, and in that light, especially in the classroom.
We are moving forward with the Freedom of Expression Working Group tasked with developing a University-wide policy that reflects the purpose and nature of higher education and considers the appropriate balance of interests recognized by the First Amendment and the principles of academic freedom. I have charged the group, composed of administrators, representatives from the University Faculty Senate and the University Student Senate, college presidents and deans, and members of the faculty, to have a draft policy for Board consideration in the Fall semester. I have also asked the Working Group to consult with and seek input from the broader CUNY community in their work.
I know how hard it is for many of us to cope with so much uncertainty, on so many fronts. But one thing I have learned over my two decades at CUNY – and especially during my six years as your chancellor – is how determined we are as a community, and how resourceful and resilient we can be in the face of even the most daunting challenges.
Be assured that CUNY and campus leadership are mobilized to support everyone in our community in every way we can. Know that you are not alone in these turbulent times and that we will stand together – students, faculty and staff – in our commitment to our ideals, to our city and to each other.
By Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, PhD
