The President’s Community Meeting
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The second President’s Community Meeting of the academic year was held on Tuesday, December 2 in the Graduate Center’s Skylight Room.

Most of the discussion revolved around issues of budget and finance. President Bill Kelly described the situation as “fluid,” and stated that all his remarks on this matter were offered in “a spirit of contingency.” Nonetheless, the current expectation is that the University – and, therefore, the Graduate Center – will not be asked to absorb additional mid-year budget cuts, largely because there will not be an opportunity to offset such cuts with modest tuition increases. (Students have already paid tuition for the Spring semester, and cannot be asked to pay an increase retroactively.) Regular, reasonable tuition increases are a possibility in the future, however, the President emphasized that revenues from these increases would, at least in part, be invested back into the University.

The situation for the current academic year is stable. “For now, we’re staying the course,” said the President. “We’ve attempted to maintain what we have by being very cautious about investing in new projects.” While there have been no noticeable falloffs in commitments to education and services, some faculty searches have been put on hold, and plans for new programs, certificates, and degrees have been suspended. The President stated that “reasonable and prudent precautions are being taken to safeguard the budget and protect the interests of current Graduate Center students and staff.” However, he pointed out that since no one can know the full extent of the economic crisis (which is depleting the tax revenues that support CUNY), the situation regarding upcoming academic years is less certain. He added that the University is being “well-led” in this regard.

The President briefly reviewed the significant progress that has been made in the level of support the Graduate Center is able to provide to doctoral students. There are currently between 2,400 and 2,500 financial support packages available. Benefits now include tuition remission for those who teach at CUNY within the first five years of study, and health insurance for those who teach or work at CUNY. He stated that the Graduate Center will continue working to enhance these benefits even in these difficult economic times.

President Kelly noted that Michael J. Mahoney had recently passed away. Mr. Mahoney, who retired in 2007, served as the Graduate Center’s Director of Facilities and Campus Planning. Memorials may be sent to Heifer International.

The President announced that this year’s holiday party will take place on Thursday, December 18 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM in the Dining Commons.