President’s Community Message
July 23, 2008
Student Health Insurance

Dear Friends,
 
On Monday, July 21, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees unanimously and enthusiastically approved a resolution authorizing CUNY’s participation in the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP).  As you know from my earlier message, this approval was necessary before we could begin to enroll doctoral students employed at the university in the NYSHIP program.  The Board’s action, in conjunction with a parallel agreement by the PSC, moves us another step closer to our goal.  We will now focus our efforts on working with NYSHIP to expedite the enrollment of eligible students.  I will, of course, keep you posted on our progress.
 
I would be remiss not to mention that the Board’s action came at no small cost. Until the state agrees to cover the substantial subsidy required by this program, the university has agreed to self-fund that expense. In an extremely difficult budget year, this new measure of support for doctoral education would be remarkable were it not entirely consistent with past practice. Five-year recruitment packages, tuition remission, and targeted faculty recruitment initiatives are only the most obvious investments Chancellor Matthew Goldstein has made in CUNY’s doctoral programs.  We are once again in his debt.
 
Best wishes,
 
Bill Kelly