City Councilwoman Raps CUNY Leadership Search

By DYLAN CAMPBELL

The chairwoman of the City Council Committee on Higher Education on Thursday criticized the CUNY search for chancellor and college presidents as shrouded in “a cloak of secrecy”, leading to a lack of diversity in the leadership of the largest public university in the nation.

“Do you think it’s important the community have some kind of input or involvement in this process? We are in an age now where people are talking about being transparent. That’a a big word now, transparency,” Councilwoman Inez Barron asked witness Mahlet Tsegaye’s, Director of Executive Search for CUNY.

“I guess maybe that would be a good thing,” said Tsegaye, stressing that it was only her opinion.

The issue of transparency has created controversy in CUNY after a recent report that City College interim president, Vincent G. Boudreau, a white man, would take on the post permanently, motivating 20 elected officials and community leaders from the Harlem neighborhood surrounding City College to protest, saying their “input, insight and influence” was ignored. The outcry delayed his ultimate appointment and brought into question the way CUNY recruits its leaders.

Tsegaye defended the confidentiality of the search. She said that though that she did not make the rule, she understands it to be a source of protection for candidates applying from high-level positions at other universities.

“I think CUNY has the results that it has because it has not, in my opinion, invested enough time and energy,” Barron said. “As my colleague has said, there are black candidates that are out there and for us to have not found them, I think speaks to the fact that CUNY is not being zealous enough to go out and pursue that and be able to do that.”

The diversity of the student body contrasts strongly with the diversity of the leadership. As of Fall 2016, 25 percent of the CUNY student body were African-American, 30 percent Hispanic, 25 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 15 percent white. But all seven chancellors since 1960 were white and only one was a woman. Out of the 11 senior college presidents six are white, three are African-American and two are Puerto Rican while four of the seven community college presidents are white.

“These numbers beg us to ask what is preventing CUNY from hiring chancellors and college presidents that reflect the diversity of its outstanding student body,” said Barron.

“I do feel that this country, the bedrock documents of this country, on what still governs this country and those bedrock documents do not treat African Americans as full people. We are three-fifths, ain’t never changed it,” said Barron. “So we are looking to have a chancellor that understands the importance of a CUNY education.”