Racial Equity at CUNY
Committee on Higher Education
Meeting overview
The Committee on Higher Education held an oversight hearing on racial equity at CUNY, receiving testimony from Alicia Albarran, Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, and Larry Johnson Jr., President of Bronx Community College. The hearing covered faculty and staff diversity, hiring and recruitment practices, retention, professional development, student support programs and leadership pipelines. No legislation was considered; this was a fact-finding and accountability exercise.
CUNY presented a broadly positive picture of its diversity record. Its student body is 78% students of color, and 45% of its nearly 19,000 faculty members are from minority groups, well above the national average of roughly 28%. Over the past academic year, 61% of new full-time faculty hires were from minority groups. Senior leadership has also diversified substantially since 2019, with 62% of the 26 college presidents and deans now from minority groups. On the student side, CUNY reported it has already met its 2030 goal of closing the racial gap in graduate school enrollment from CUNY baccalaureate programs, ahead of schedule.
Chair Joseph pressed consistently on the gap between student demographics and faculty demographics, particularly the underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic faculty relative to the student body, and the higher whiteness of part-time adjunct faculty and graduate-level students. She asked pointed questions about whether CUNY has specific numeric targets for diversity. The honest answer, given repeatedly and somewhat awkwardly, is that it does not: CUNY relies on broad recruitment, diverse search committees, Chief Diversity Officer sign-off and feedback loops rather than quotas or measurable demographic goals. A council member followed up on this directly, noting that without defined goals it is hard to assess whether anything is actually improving beyond good intentions and busy committees. The provost's responses on metrics were notably vague, though she cited the COACHE biennial faculty survey and exit surveys as key tools.
Several substantive program updates emerged. The SEEK program guidelines, which have not been updated in 30 years, are apparently finally on the verge of a revision, with SEEK directors having recently completed draft changes headed for board review. CUNY is rolling out COEUS, a new centralized grant management system, which for the first time will allow the system to identify faculty struggling with grant applications and connect them with more successful peers across campuses. A research program called AI Corps was highlighted as a successful pilot within SEEK focused on STEM research mentorship. BCC's president described an unusually comprehensive wraparound services model, including a food pantry serving 2,000 families a month and an early childhood center, reflecting the acute socioeconomic pressures on the Bronx student population. Chair Joseph closed by pushing CUNY on outreach to middle schools and guidance counselors, and on the stagnation of SEEK enrollment despite growing need, receiving commitments to more strategic K-12 partnership work and a five-year enrollment growth plan.
Numbers
- CUNY enrolls nearly 247,000 students across 26 campuses as of fall 2025.
- CUNY student body composition in fall 2025: 22.7% Asian or Pacific Islander, 27.5% Black, 27.6% Hispanic, 21.9% White.
- 78% of CUNY students are students of color.
- CUNY employs nearly 19,000 faculty members, of whom 45% are from minority groups, compared to a national average of approximately 28%.
- Full-time CUNY faculty racial breakdown: 15% Asian, 15% Black or African American, 13% Hispanic.
- Part-time CUNY faculty racial breakdown: 14% Asian, 17% Black or African American, 14% Hispanic.
- 61% of new full-time faculty hires in 2024-25 were from minority groups.
- In 2024-25, 21% of new full-time hires were Black or African American, the highest rate in five years; 27% were Asian; 9% were Hispanic.
- More than two-thirds of CUNY's non-teaching staff are members of minority groups: 17% Asian, 24% Black, 26% Hispanic.
- 62% of CUNY's 26 college presidents and deans are from minority groups: 27% Black, 27% Hispanic, 8% Asian.
- 50% of the CUNY Chancellery belongs to a minority group: 14% Black or African American, 21.4% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian.
- CUNY applicant pools for faculty positions are currently approximately 54% people of color.
- CUNY fills approximately 65 executive-rank positions per year, roughly 50% internal and 50% external hires.
- Graduate-level CUNY students are 40-42% White as of 2025 enrollment figures, more than twice the share of any single other ethnic category.
- Bronx Community College enrolled 7,345 students in fall 2025, an 8% increase from a pandemic low of 6,787 in fall 2024.
- BCC student body: 48% Hispanic, 42% Black, 5% Asian Pacific Islander, 5% White; 67% Pell Grant recipients; 63% first-generation college students.
- BCC's food pantry serves up to 2,000 families per month; a snack cart program serves up to 150 students per day.
- BCC's Office of Personal Counseling conducts approximately 150 mental health sessions per month.
- BCC's Early Childhood Center served 43 preschoolers and 18 infants and toddlers as of spring 2026.
- More than 1,070 BCC students are enrolled in nursing and allied health programs.
- BCC employed 2,044 faculty and staff in the past academic year, approximately 78% identifying as non-White.
- CUNY's ASAP program serves nearly a third of all incoming community college freshmen.
- CUNY Reconnect has served more than 71,000 students since its 2022 launch; over two-thirds identified as Black or Hispanic in its first two years.
- College Now and Early College programs served more than 30,000 students in 2024-25, of whom 35% were Hispanic and 24% were Black.
- The Mellon Foundation awarded CUNY a $3 million grant for the Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative, funding 126 competitive projects in 2022-23, followed by a new $5 million grant through fiscal year 2028.
- The BRESI cluster hiring initiative will add four new faculty positions in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies over three years.
- CUNY's COACHE faculty satisfaction survey is conducted every two years.
- Tenure and promotion at CUNY is a seven-year process.
Action Points
- CUNY to provide the Committee with a breakdown of faculty retention rates by race and ethnicity.
- CUNY to provide the Committee with gender breakdown of Chancellor-level and senior leadership positions.
- CUNY to provide the Committee with specific comparative data on racial representation among full-time versus part-time adjunct faculty.
- CUNY to share the COACHE faculty survey instrument and any available published results with the Committee.
- CUNY to share links to annual diversity plans currently posted on college websites with the Committee.
- CUNY to provide the Committee with data on racial representation in the new AI faculty cluster hire once hiring is completed.
- CUNY to provide the Committee with written responses to questions about the Honors College diversity recruitment strategy, to be answered by the relevant dean.
- CUNY to share revised SEEK program guidelines with the Committee once finalized and submitted to the board.
- CUNY administration to confirm to the Committee whether reporting systems are on track to comply with the new 2029 federal race and ethnicity reporting requirements, including the Middle Eastern or North African category.
- CUNY to provide the Committee with the University Advisory Council on Diversity's meeting records and any recommendations or reports it has produced.
- CUNY to expand leadership development pipeline programs modeled on the enrollment management initiative to student affairs and other professional tracks across the system.
- BCC to continue strengthening K-12 outreach partnerships, including with middle schools and community-based organizations, as part of the enrollment growth strategy for SEEK and related programs.
- CUNY central office to ensure SEEK enrollment strategy and five-year plan is formally shared with the Committee.
- CUNY to use the new COEUS grant management system to identify and mentor faculty struggling with grant applications, particularly in STEM, and to report outcomes to the Committee.
- CUNY to invite Chair Joseph to the AI Corps SEEK research showcase event.
▸ Full Transcript
Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Higher Education. At this time I would like to remind everyone to please silence all devices. If at any point during the hearing you wish to testify at today's hearing, please see the sergeant at the back of the room to fill out a testimony slip, even if you have registered previously online.
Good afternoon, Chair Joseph and members of the Committee. I am Alicia Albarran, Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost of CUNY. I am pleased to be joined today by Larry D. Johnson Jr., President of Bronx Community College. Thank you for convening today's hearing on Racial Equity at CUNY. Few questions are more central to our university's purpose or more consequential for the future of our City.
As the first Latina to serve as the university's Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, I am intimately aware of why representation matters. I am a first-generation American, a first-generation college student and the daughter of Cuban refugees. I started as a faculty member at Queens College in 2003 and have dedicated my career to making the university more equitable. The consequential work we are doing together sends an important message to our campus community and City, namely that the principles of access and inclusion are crucial drivers of success for all New Yorkers. Discussions like the one we are having today provide important forums to focus attention on racial equity and other issues that pursue justice for underserved CUNY students.
CUNY mirrors New York City's rich diversity. 78% of our student population are students of color. Serving them equitably is what our university exists to do. CUNY's mission has always been rooted in equity, access, opportunity and academic excellence. Diversity is not separate from those commitments. It is essential to them. In fact, it is both a moral and legal obligation. New York State Education Law Section 6201, which established CUNY as a unified system in 1961, explicitly calls for a university that reflects the diverse communities that comprise the people of the City and State.
CUNY serves nearly 247,000 students across 26 campuses and degree levels. In fall 2025, the student body was 22.7% Asian or Pacific Islander, 27.5% Black, 27.6% Hispanic and 21.9% White. To fulfill our academic mission, we strive to ensure that our faculty reflects a comparable breadth of perspectives in identity, lived experience and intellectual approach. A diverse faculty strengthens the university in specific, measurable ways. It broadens the questions we ask and the knowledge we produce. It deepens the student educational experience, allowing students to see themselves reflected in the curriculum and in their mentors. It strengthens pedagogy and mentorship in a system where students bring a wide range of perspectives into the classroom. It ensures that our programs evolve alongside the society our students will enter. Diversity in this sense is not an initiative. It is a core component of the university's quality and strength.
The question of faculty diversity is one of the most persistent challenges in American higher education. A Chronicle of Higher Education analysis published this month, drawing on federal data from 2024, found that more than seven out of ten faculty members nationwide were White. Minority faculty, the report found, represent approximately 28% of all faculty. CUNY significantly exceeds that national average, with 45% of our nearly 19,000 faculty members coming from minority groups in fall 2025. This
includes 15% who were Asian, 15% who are Black or African American and 13% who are Hispanic. While CUNY's faculty diversity far exceeds the national average, we know our work is ongoing and we are committed to broadening opportunity across the university. Over the past five years, a majority of new full-time faculty hires at our senior and community colleges have come from minority groups, reaching 61% in 2024-25. In that year, 21% of hires were Black or African American, the highest rate in five years, while 27% were Asian and 9% were Hispanic.
CUNY's non-teaching workforce is also highly diverse. More than two thirds of our staff are members of minority groups: 17% are Asian, 24% are Black and 26% are Hispanic. The diversification of CUNY's senior leadership has accelerated since 2019, when Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez became Chancellor. Since then, minority group representation among our 26 presidents and deans has grown to 62%, including 27% who are Black and 27% who are Hispanic. At CUNY Central, 50% of the Chancellery belongs to a minority group.
The numbers tell part of the story. The programs tell the rest. The most important thing to understand about CUNY's approach is that we are strengthening academic fields in ways that expand opportunity, support excellence and better serve our diverse students and City. The clearest example is our investment in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies. In 2020, CUNY received a multimillion dollar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop and expand initiatives advancing social and racial justice. At the center of that work is the $3 million Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative, BRESI, which awarded competitive grants for 126 projects during the 2022-23 academic year. In 2024, the Mellon Foundation extended this commitment with a new $5 million grant through fiscal year 2028, focused on two things: launching New York State's first PhD and Master's program in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies at the Graduate Center, and a cluster hiring initiative bringing four new faculty positions in this field over the next three years. The cluster hiring model across multiple campuses allows us to build CUNY's strength in the field, foster collaborative research and teaching and create a sustainable foundation for future academic growth.
The BRESI initiative is not a standalone program. It is a system-wide academic effort designed to advance racial and social justice through curriculum, research and graduate education, and to support faculty-led work in curriculum and community engagement while building a pipeline of scholars working on issues central to New York City and beyond.
Our commitment to equity extends well beyond faculty hiring to the many long-standing, proven programs that serve hundreds of thousands of CUNY students, with a particular focus on our commitment to racial equity. Our ASAP program, Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, serves nearly a third of all incoming community college freshmen, with an even higher share among Black and Hispanic students. SEEK and College Discovery were founded more than 60 years ago specifically to expand access. These programs continue to provide academic and financial support to thousands of students facing systemic barriers to higher education. College Now and Early College programs served more than 30,000 students in 2024-25, of whom 35% were Hispanic and 24% were Black. CUNY Reconnect, our initiative for adult learners and students returning to complete their degrees, has served more than 71,000 students since its launch in 2022. In its first two years, more than two thirds of enrollees identified as Black or Hispanic.
We are proud of our diversity at CUNY and remain committed to continuing our work with focus, clarity and purpose, building a stronger, more dynamic academic institution that reflects the breadth of New York City and serves its students with excellence. I look forward to your questions.
Good afternoon, Chair Joseph and members of the Committee. I am Larry Johnson, the seventh President of Bronx Community College. It is an honor to lead this historic educational institution and continue my service within CUNY as a national advocate for community colleges and student success. Throughout my career, from Georgia Piedmont Technical College to Broward College, St. Louis Community College, Phoenix College and CUNY's Guttman Community College, I have focused on transforming institutions. That commitment guides my leadership through the Bronx Renaissance 2031, a new strategic vision centered on student success, workforce preparation, partnership and inclusive opportunity. Under this vision, we are building a renaissance rooted in access, belonging and the belief that the West Bronx deserves public institutions prepared to meet the promise of this generation.
Bronx Community College's diversity and access story is central to our mission, enrollment identity and value to New York City. Located in University Heights, BCC serves a community where race, income, language, immigration, family responsibility and educational opportunity intersect. The Bronx is among the nation's most vibrant and culturally rich communities. It is also navigating poverty, housing insecurity, food insecurity, health disparities, limited digital access and uneven economic opportunity. In this context, our mission is local and urgent.
In fall 2025, Bronx Community College enrolled 7,345 students. Our student body was 48% Hispanic, 42% Black, 5% Asian Pacific Islander and 5% White. 70% are Bronx residents, 67% are Pell Grant recipients, 63% are first-generation college students, 64% have non-US ancestry and 33% are non-native English speakers. Like many community colleges, BCC experienced enrollment declines following the pandemic. Our headcount declined to 6,787 students between fall 2020 and fall 2024. Since then, BCC has begun to reverse that trend. In fall 2025 we enrolled 7,345 students, an 8% increase and an important sign of institutional recovery.
We have strengthened recruitment and enrollment strategies through a more data-informed, student-centered approach focused on application-to-graduation conversion, onboarding, financial aid completion and advising. We have expanded recruitment across the Bronx, deepening partnerships with high schools, Early College programs and community organizations, and invested in high-demand, career-aligned programs in nursing, allied health, engineering and technology. Our goal is not simply enrollment recovery. It is connecting more Bronx residents to college access, career pathways, transfer opportunities and long-term economic mobility.
At BCC, we recognize that student success does not begin and end in the classroom. Hunger, housing insecurity, child care responsibilities, mental health needs, financial instability, transportation barriers and limited technology access all affect whether students enroll, persist and complete. Through our Access Resource Center, we provide a one-stop connection point for benefit screening, SNAP, food pantry services, housing options, transportation referrals, legal and financial consultations, tax preparation, fair hearing assistance and other government resources. The Bronco Food Pantry serves up to 2,000 families each month. The snack cart program serves up to 150 students per day, recognizing the simple truth that students cannot fully focus if they are hungry. Our Office of Personal Counseling provides comprehensive mental health support including individual, group and family counseling, with trained clinicians conducting 150 sessions per month, helping students to address anxiety, depression, loneliness and stress. Our Early Childhood Center strengthens access for student parents. As of spring 2026, it served 43 preschoolers and 18 infants and toddlers. By supporting student parents, we support retention, graduation and intergenerational opportunity.
BCC is also a pilot campus for CUNY CARES, a three-year Bronx-based initiative supported by the New York City Council that connects students to health care, mental health treatment, food, housing assistance, SNAP, Medicaid and other public benefits through trained student advocates and navigators.
BCC's academic portfolio is one of the most important equity assets we offer. Programs that prepare students for career advancement across fields is central to New York City's future, especially in a borough where many residents seek credentials, skills and pathways that increase household income. Health care is one of the Bronx's largest employment sectors and the need for trained professionals continues to grow. At BCC, more than 1,070 students are enrolled in nursing and allied health programs including radiologic technology, medical laboratory technology, nuclear medicine and medical office assistant programs.
Through clinical partnerships with Montefiore Medical Center, Jacobi Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian and Montefiore Wakefield, our students gain hands-on experience and prepare to enter the workforce directly. Graduates enter careers that provide economic stability with wages that support families and strengthen the Bronx economy.
Beyond health care, programs in cybersecurity and networking, computer science, automotive technology, engineering, business administration, education, criminal justice, digital arts, liberal arts and sciences and other fields connect students from historically underserved communities to sectors with real demand. The goal is earning power and stability and mobility. Students should not have to navigate college through guesswork, disconnected offices or unclear handoffs. Advising, structured pathways and academic planning aligned with career planning make access real.
BCC's student ecosystem includes many holistic, structured student success and access programs. In fall 2025, enrolled students in ASAP, College Discovery, College Now, the Early College Initiative, CLIP, CUNY Start, English Start, Future Now and Math Start. These programs help students build early momentum, access proactive advising, receive academic preparation and know someone at the college is helping them move forward.
Who serves our students? This past academic year, BCC employed 2,044 faculty and staff, with approximately 78% identifying as an ethnicity other than white. Our workforce included 126 Asian employees, 444 Black employees, 517 Hispanic employees, 318 white employees and 39 employees who identified as other minority groups. This diversity expands our perspectives and strengthens our ability to meet students' holistic needs.
Bronx Community College is one of New York City's most important institutions, but access alone is not enough. We will continue strengthening advising, student services, academic pathways, financial support, workforce preparation and career outcomes so the students we enroll are the students we retain, graduate, transfer and launch into careers — careers that are vital not only to the Bronx but to the future of New York City. As a CUNY community college, we remain both student-centered and community-centered. That means meeting students' basic needs, expanding high-demand academic and workforce programs, strengthening pathways to completion and ensuring that more Bronx residents can access the opportunities that lead to economic mobility. Our diverse faculty and staff are partners in this work. Together, we are not just helping them walk across the graduation stage — we are helping them walk through open doors of opportunity for themselves, for their families, for tomorrow's workforce and for the future of the Bronx and our vibrant New York City.
Thank you, thank you, Dr. Johnson. I have a question for the Provost. How do you collect information about race and ethnicity for students and employees? Are the groupings in line with current federal requirements? How do you account for people who identify with multiple race, ethnicity or ancestry?
Sorry. We collect that information — did you want to address both faculty and students? At the time of employment we collect that information and we capture information where it is reported.
For multiple, they can select more than one if there are multiple ethnicities. For the students, at the time of application is when we collect that information, and we are in compliance with all federal and state laws in how that information is collected. Thank you.
Given that each campus and perhaps each department within the campus does its own hiring, how does community leadership work towards a racially diverse faculty? While each of the campuses have their own HR and chief diversity officers, centrally we also have the same office. So centrally, all of the information — we ensure compliance with and ensure processes are followed both at the campuses. Everything gets reported up and final approval is at the central level. So while hiring is initiated and takes place at the campuses, everything then comes through the central HR offices. Are you seeing differences in representation across faculty based on position of authority and seniority?
I cannot speak to the specific numbers, but what I can say is CUNY has really put in and doubled down on our efforts to ensure that we receive a diverse breadth of applications. You can see that in the numbers of our diversity. I mean, that is really the focus — how do we expand access, opportunity and intentionally really reach a very wide group of representatives? But I will also add it is just as important then in retaining, and the efforts that we do. It is a collective approach across all the campuses and the central leadership as well.
Thank you for that. The percentage of white full-time faculty is measurably higher than the percentage of white students at CUNY, and the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino faculty is clearly smaller compared to CUNY students. These statistics strike me as underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic faculty. Is this a concern to you? Do you have a goal for improving these discrepancies?
We really focus on diversity at the point of the application and notification. How can we reach the broadest group of faculty to bring in a very diverse pool of applicants? That is really a large part of where we focus our efforts. But a very important part is also feedback. I have to note how many committees we have across all of CUNY, both at the central office level and at the different campuses, whose purpose really is to survey and provide feedback and information on our efforts, to have that feedback loop.
We try initiatives, we try things to make sure that we are reaching the largest breadth of faculty and staff in leadership in those applications. But then we have members of our community — faculty and staff across HR, across all campuses, at the central office level — providing feedback on these initiatives so that we can continuously make improvements in our work. It is that continuous feedback loop that I think is what strengthens CUNY in our diversity.
I always say that you have to get feedback from the people who are on the ground and doing the work in real time, so in order for you to apply what you are getting back from feedback in real time. That is really good. So my next question will be: the percentage of white part-time adjunct faculty is measurably higher than the percentage of white students, and the percentage of Black — so it is the same — Hispanic/Latino and Asian faculty is clearly smaller than the percentage of those students. Is that a concern to you and do you also have a goal to improve that?
The same work that we are doing overall across all positions applies to part-time
faculty as well. So the same type of feedback, real-time feedback — all of the groups and councils and committees are representative of part-time faculty, full-time faculty, part-time staff and full-time staff. That feedback loop encompasses, and those groups and committees encompass, our entire CUNY community. Do you also get feedback and surveys from students as well?
Absolutely, absolutely. The D-Climate survey is a mechanism to provide feedback. We also have the student experience survey that we deliver to maintain that continuous feedback loop and that open dialog, and we invite students to participate in almost every committee across CUNY. Thank you for
empowering students. What is the impact on Black, Hispanic and Asian faculty of being in the minority of their colleagues? Do teachers of color report any measure of stress or workload as being higher or different from any of their other colleagues?
These groups that I mentioned earlier — I do want to speak specifically about the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate created IDEA, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access, specifically to be able to provide feedback on any concerns. We also have a COACHE faculty survey that we deliver to all of the campuses. We receive a centralized report on the measures and ask questions specifically of faculty, and we create committees across every single college. They are required to take the feedback seriously and take actionable steps on the feedback provided through those surveys. I am not sure if President Johnson, being on the ground and being responsible for some of that COACHE faculty survey, has something you want to add to that.
That really helps to inform continuous improvement. As the president of the college, this is always important to me — to hear directly from stakeholders because they are the ones who are serving our students. They are boots on the ground. So we take those surveys very seriously and we make sure that those action plans comport with the university
requirements. And how often are these surveys given out?
Every two years. The COACHE survey is every two years, but the University Faculty Senate committee and the campus affinity groups that we have — we have Latino Faculty and Staff Association, Black Faculty and Staff Caucuses — that is continuous and year-round. The feedback, and a lot of the feedback, really is about creating mentorship opportunities, which we have done, and providing professional development opportunities. The goal really is to create a sense of belonging and inclusivity, and we have taken great strides in that based on the feedback that we have collected collectively. Thank you.
We know that the racial and ethnic makeup of faculty varies from campus to campus at CUNY. How do you judge that makeup? Is it by the makeup of the student body, or is there a general standard across campuses for faculty makeup by campus?
Which campuses do you feel are more...
Most in line with where they should be, or at least in line?
I ask you to repeat that question.
I know, I know, I got you. We know that the racial and ethnic makeup of faculty varies greatly from campus to campus at CUNY. How do you judge that makeup? Is it by campus, based on the makeup of each campus's student body, or is there a general standard across campuses? Looking at the faculty makeup campus by campus, which campuses do you feel are most in line with where they should be, and which are least in line?
We do not have any particular standards. We collect the data individually at all of the colleges and we ensure consistency in our practice and our recruitment efforts, so what is done at one campus is done across all of them. That is part of that model of having the chief diversity officers across the campuses, but then at the central office we also have a CDO and we have HR to ensure that those recruitment efforts are consistently practiced across all of the campuses. Thank you.
For that. What about the makeup of CUNY students? At community colleges and senior colleges it seems reasonably well balanced across racial and ethnic groups, but at the graduate level CUNY students are 40% to 42% white — 2025 enrollment figures — that is more than twice as many white students as any other single ethnic category of students. How do you account for that difference? Have you set any specific recruiting and admission goals to look at this disparity?
In our strategic plan, our goal was by 2030 to eliminate the disparity in the number of minority students compared to white students who enroll in graduate programs at CUNY. That was really our focus and our target — how do we eliminate that racial gap? I am very proud to say that although we established a goal for 2030, we have already achieved that goal. We now have the same percentage of our minority students as compared to white students who graduate from CUNY baccalaureate programs enrolling in our graduate programs. That is where we concentrated our efforts — how do we support, encourage and increase the number of students going to graduate school. I am very proud that we reached that goal so quickly.
What help can the City Council be in supporting CUNY and meeting its goals regarding the racial and ethnic makeup of students, faculty and administrators? I have always asked that whenever you come here — how can we be a partner to you?
Thank you so much for that. I always appreciate that question. I think the continued support — we do a lot of funding for the programs that really help promote and support our continued ability to provide support for our diverse student body and meet those needs. I would say continue doing exactly what you are doing: advocating for us and funding these programs. We are very grateful. Are you on track to change your reporting on race and ethnicity by 2029, when the new federal report will include a single combined race to allow multiple responses and add Middle Eastern or North African as a new minimum category?
Yes. I asked my data people and both of them confirmed. Data drives this work — as an educator you know that it drives our data policy and even funding. Absolutely, knowing how many students are coming to your school, we are able to answer that. Colleagues, do you have questions? Thank you for being here. Thank you. I wanted to ask about the difference between the percentage of the faculty that is diverse from adjunct faculty versus full-time, and if you see a difference in racial representation there.
There is a difference across the two groups and we apply the same exact approach to recruitment and increasing preparation and professional development for all of our faculty, and to provide as many opportunities as possible for them. So the same things that matter so much to us — how do we increase the diversity of our students, our faculty and staff, and how do we ensure that we are capturing the largest breadth — are the same things that we apply across position type.
And between those two types of faculty, where do you see greater diversity?
I think I would have to get back to you just on the specific numbers to show the makeup, because you want to know the difference across the racial groups, where there might be the largest gap, whether adjunct or full-time, but I
was asking about that. Another question is on the retention side. So there is recruitment but then there is retention, and whether you see differentials across different racial groups or different types of faculty members, and where in the faculty pipeline you see the greatest attrition.
So I have the breakdown. Full-time faculty is 13% Black or African American, 12% Hispanic or Latino, 17% Asian. And then part-time faculty:
17% Black or African American, 14% Hispanic or Latino and 14% Asian. The retention efforts are the same that we provide for full-time and part-time faculty. So those committees and those groups and those opportunities to provide that feedback — all faculty, regardless of being full-time or part-time, can participate. But more importantly, the efforts that we then develop and the professional development opportunities, really focused on creating that sense of belonging and support, are available to both.
I will also say our union is a champion of this and a partner with us. We have grants available — they are available to both part-timers and full-timers so they can continue to attend conferences and do research. The equity that we provide is across both full-time and part-time faculty to retain and support and create a sense of belonging. Thank you.
Always great to see you, and it is great to see a Bronx guy here. This is fantastic. I feel seen.
I have heard the phrase "increased diversity" a number of times. I am wondering what that means. In other words, what are the goals for increasing diversity? How do you know you have reached the goal? The goal of increased diversity in the faculty — is there a percentage of faculty members that are of a certain demographic to know that you have increased diversity?
I will start by talking about diversity. Diversity is not just ethnic diversity. It is really about academic diversity and ensuring that everything — our faculty, our staff, our community — reflects that of the city. These students, we want to prepare them for the workforce in a very diverse city. So diversity to us means diverse intellectual perspectives, diversity in being able to see and have mentors of people that look like you, that have lived experiences such as yours. So it means a lot. We really want to represent the students and represent New York City. There are no goals, no quotas, no numbers.
For example, in the BRES initiative of the clustering hire, we have found that is a really impactful way to gain and reach that diverse perspective. We do that — we are hiring clusters of faculty. We do not want all the faculty to be in one particular department or one specific specialization. We want the expertise to be across all of the disciplines. When you hire a group of faculty from one pool, it ensures that you are going to be able to select a diverse group of faculty. For the BRES program — the Black Race and Ethnic Studies program — it is that same approach, and we have found that that is a really powerful and impactful way to ensure the diverse perspectives of those hires.
So there are no goals for diversity in, let us say, ethnic background, but there are also no specific metrics in terms of, let us say, political perspectives or academic background.
Or country of origin.
We do not establish goals based on race, ethnicity or gender. What are the needs of the students to meet the workforce demands? What are the things that are happening culturally? How can our students who want to contribute — so many of our students want to contribute societally back to New York City — ensuring that we have sufficient academic experiences, a curriculum that meets our needs, the needs of our students and our city.
You have a University Advisory Council on Diversity. Is their perspective the same as yours, that there are a lot of different definitions of diversity, that they do not focus on race or, you know, hiring more Black and Latino instructors for example? Is that the diversity as you have explained?
While they may focus more on some of the issues of race and racial equity, they do have a very broad perspective and it is very focused on how to create a sense of belonging within CUNY. How do we ensure that everyone who is hired at CUNY feels a sense of belonging? One thing that I love to tell people — I have had the privilege of going to all 26 colleges and I have met faculty, staff and administrators, and regardless of where their perspectives are or their backgrounds, they all come to CUNY because of the mission of CUNY. So we know that our mission attracts people who want to be able to give back, to provide, to be here for our students and mentor our students.
I guess, when did they last meet — the Advisory Council — or how often do they meet? When did they last just meet?
They meet monthly. They tried...
Do you want to... somebody — are you on the Council? Yes. Ask her and she can tell me, or we can choose to swear her in. Come on up. You have to be sworn in right here to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before this Committee. Yes. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay, so you met last month?
Yes, actually, and it was last week.
Last week. Okay. They attempt to meet once a month. Of course, sometimes in summer that is not as possible. As it should be! Come on, we work so hard. Teachers work hard during the year. Let us give us the summer. And does your committee...
...release reports or recommendations? And if you do, are those recommendations implemented by CUNY or your respective campuses?
The history of the Council began with reviewing compliance. In more recent years it has been more about inclusion and belonging. Currently they are engaged in two major efforts. One is to produce our biannual diversity conference in 2027, where we have our faculty and staff come to share their research and share their ideas. Another is to have a panel on CUNY's contribution to the history of diversity in higher education and to also provide some awards recognizing people in our community who have done a great deal.
Okay, and just — I am certainly interested in what those goals are. Those sound like very valuable events. Does the Council itself make recommendations or policy proposals to CUNY Central or to their respective campuses as to increased diversity, as we were saying?
In recent years they have met with the Chancellor informally once a semester. They have not issued reports from those meetings but they have had conversations.
Okay. I mean, it sounds like you have a number of representatives from various schools and various backgrounds. It sounds like these panels and these biannual conferences are excellent opportunities to address a problem of disparity — I think in our faculty versus our students. It just seems like a missed opportunity to not make recommendations to CUNY, who would, I know, gladly implement policy changes if made by such an illustrious group of individuals.
I do want to add — while the group does not provide a formal report with any recommendations, in those conversations with the Chancellor they do bring up ideas and thoughts, and those are shared and they are taken very seriously. Because we receive feedback from all of our different groups, the Faculty Senate — their group in particular — did just recently issue some recommendations and a report, and they are working on another one, I think for the fall, because it is a little outdated and a couple of years old. So while you are highlighting one particular group, there are groups across all of the campuses that do very similar things and provide feedback individually to some of the college presidents — not even all at the central office level — but there are many different committees and affinity groups that do the same thing: meet, provide recommendations and then provide those recommendations to the leadership.
I think I will share — I know my time is about up. I am certainly...
...interested in what those goals are for these affinity groups and the Council, what the actual goals are and what CUNY's steps are in actually meeting those...
...goals. Conversations are great but a little...
Better. Absolutely. And one way — in the COACHE faculty survey — that is something where some of the questions specifically ask about a sense of belonging. If you are a faculty member of a minority, what are the recommendations? Then we create a university-wide group dedicated to those recommendations that has to provide updates on what steps have been taken.
For example, we found — which is true nationally — that faculty of color in particular, and women, sometimes get stuck at the associate professor rank and aspire to be full professor. So we then developed very targeted support. There was a lack of reported clarity on the tenure and promotion process, and so I am very happy to say I have officially issued tenure and promotion guidelines for all of the colleges to try and help address that.
So we take the feedback very, very seriously. Because once you know, having and recruiting a diverse group of faculty and staff is absolutely wonderful, but retaining them is the goal. Making and creating a sense of belonging and welcoming and support for their professional growth and development — that is where a lot of the recommendations come in. How do you create a sense of community amongst the faculty and staff?
Thank you. Thank you, Chair.
You are very welcome. I have a question. Do you track retention of faculty? Are there differences across racial and ethnic lines?
We do track retention. Correct. That is HR — HR tracks retention. We also have an exit survey program that our colleges participate in, and we do ask for self-identification in that survey as well. I do not have that information and we do not have the details of...
...the numbers. So you can get that to me as well. What percentage of diversity is in your Chancellor positions, by race and gender? Let me see here.
I can say: for presidents and deans, Black or African American is 27%, Latino/Hispanic is 27% and Asian is 8%. For the Chancellor's Cabinet and the Chancellery, 50% belong to a minority group — 14% Black or African American, 21.4% Hispanic/Latino, 3.6% Asian. And how about gender?
I do not have that. You will get that tonight? Absolutely. That would be great. I have a question. What role do the Black administrators play in assisting with policy implementation across the university system, and how are they included in the decision-making process? You said you take a survey — are the Black staffers included in making and implementing some of these policies? Absolutely.
It is not a separate subgroup but definitely part of the group and the conversation. So many of the executive leaders across the colleges as well represent and are diverse, and participate in our policy and decision-making. I would ask that a president give the perspective at the college level of how that is done.
Absolutely. So as a president in the university, I participate in the Chancellor's — what is called COPS — and that is where we get a chance to really opine on policies and procedures that impact the university and also impact our respective campuses, and the policy and procedures of how we can really inform how the university is moving forward.
What type of mentorship opportunities exist for faculty of color when they join your staff? Educators across the city have a mentor for three years. What is your mentorship policy for professors?
So for all of our faculty, upon hire — and this was part of the tenure and promotion guidelines to ensure that there is consistency across colleges — many of the colleges now assign a faculty member a mentor from the very beginning, a junior faculty mentor, to help support them and get acclimated to the college. There are also a lot of affinity groups across all of the colleges and the faculty are invited to participate in those affinity groups. They will have social events, they get together, and it varies from campus to campus, but there is a lot of engagement.
We also have at the central office the Office of Faculty Affairs. We will have new faculty events to bring everyone together so they can meet across the system. Because at the individual colleges there is a lot done, and we want them to know that so many of them came here because, while I might be the only one specializing in my particular area at this college, I know that we exist across the university. So providing those opportunities and engagements to meet faculty that have similar lines of research brings them together. While the colleges do things individually, at the system level we engage in different opportunities.
We also have a faculty fellowship program where junior faculty are assigned a mentor to help them in writing and making sure they reach their writing and publication goals. So there are many different mentorship opportunities, not just for promotion and tenure processes, as well as the...
Specific — how long are the mentorship...
...programs? The mentorship at your departmental level would be, you know, until you get tenure and promotion, but...
Those relationships kind of last forever. How long can someone take before they become tenured?
It is a seven-year process. So it is seven years of mentorship and meeting and making sure that you are on track.
That would be at the departmental level. Then the other programs — some mentors, as they meet in these affinity groups and different events — can last throughout the lifetime of the faculty member. The writing program is a one-year mentorship program, and of course continued relationships after that. Okay, thank...
...you. What recruitment process...
...is utilized for filling positions across CUNY? I ask for a little clarity — are you looking at what the steps are, what is done? Do you want to give a little bit about the...
...diversity...
Yes, sure. And if I am asked — are you focusing on faculty or all staff at CUNY? Faculty.
Faculty at CUNY. We begin with the definition of what the jobs are that we wish to fill, and...
There has been a tradition...
...unfortunately in higher education that if a job becomes available, it is communicated through informal networks — that was the historical version. CUNY has been very clear about widely distributing information about jobs. We had all of our faculty jobs up on the internet beginning in 2004, at a time when other universities were not doing that. We belong to two consortia of employers that distribute jobs to people who are interested, including the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, which is a central hub for people seeking jobs in higher education, and also the Direct Employers Association, which distributes jobs through various networks to the public.
We have a standard manual on how searches should be performed, and it is a responsibility of the Chief Diversity Officer to educate the people at the school as to not only compliance requirements but what makes a successful search, what kinds of questions are best used to help people demonstrate their capabilities, and so on. The...
...Chief Diversity Officer also signs off on any selection...
...procedures, signs off on the results of the search and is generally monitoring the activities as they go. Faculty are generally selected through a search committee, and we expect the search committee to represent the diversity of the faculty as well. That is very...
...important. And maybe you can speak to — each search committee member has to receive a particular...
The Chief Diversity Officer — some officers provide that training every time there is a...
...search. Other schools have a standard that everyone has to have that training twice a year. There is an external search firm for certain...
...positions? No, that would be the Chief Diversity Officer who provides that...
...orientation. Okay. What about the other positions — directors, executives? What is that rule? Same rule that applies? Yes. Okay. Does CUNY track and evaluate the diversity of applicant pools across positions? Do you track that and look across...
Yes. I was looking today — our applicant pools for faculty positions are approximately 54% people of color at this time, which is...
Extraordinary, really. And what are some of the criteria you consider when determining when...
...the candidate advances to the next step of the hiring process? What does that look like for faculty?
Initial review of all of the resumes that are submitted — that is the initial review. There is conversation and discussion. Each committee member is asked to rank and evaluate each of them based on the Chief Diversity Officer guidelines. Then from that, Pool 1 and Pool 2 are identified. Pool 1 is the group that you want to first bring in...
...for interviews. Pool 2 is if we have people that might drop out — say they are no longer interested — so nothing can move forward without the sign-off from the Chief Diversity Officer. So after the search committee does that initial review, the Chief Diversity Officer looks at all of the applications to ensure that these groups, Pool 1 and 2, are based on the criteria established in that job description. Then from there they are interviewed — brought in, sometimes for in-person, sometimes it is first Zoom and then they advance a smaller group to in-person interviews. Oftentimes they come in, do a mock course and teach a lesson. All of the disciplines do it a little bit differently. Then the recommendation is made to the dean or provost for the selection of the candidate.
One good thing I am wondering — how do you assess whether efforts are reaching a broad range of qualified applicants? How do you assess that?
We do look at the applicant pools — not only how many people apply...
...but of the people who apply and are qualified, how many are selected for interviews and who are they, and how that progresses into offers. So applicants to interviews, interviews to offers, are tracked. Okay. What practices do you have in place to ensure equitable access to employment opportunities across the university system?
I ask — what do you mean? For existing employees or...
Can you speak up? Yes. For current employees — all of our jobs are posted and available for internal and external people to apply. I would say that is primarily it.
I have a quick question. For faculty, how do you provide professional development to support faculty learning opportunities? Sometimes the interviews are a mock lesson — what other support do you provide for faculty in terms of professional development once they are part of your system?
Yes, we have no shortage of professional development opportunities for our faculty. Each of our campuses has a Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence where there are a plethora of opportunities for faculty development and teaching. We also at the central office do the same thing, and we coordinate with all of the directors across the campuses. The Office of Faculty Affairs also provides professional development for faculty who want to work with and collaborate with other researchers, and we facilitate that collaboration because that is also very meaningful to faculty — especially faculty of color — that sense of unity and partnership and being able to work with other faculty.
So we have an Office of Research that facilitates some of those collaborations, and the campuses do that as well. The campus provost and leadership coordinate that as well. We also have, for the faculty who, like me, consider a leadership role at some point... we have created a department chair training. They are elected, and oftentimes years and years ago there was no department chair training and each person was trying to figure out the role on their own. We have a system-wide department chair training we offer every single summer. We offer sessions throughout the year for department chairs, and a lot of the campuses have also created their own professional development opportunities for those who might be interested in doing a leadership role. So whether it is teaching, research or potential leadership opportunities, we offer a wide range of development opportunities as well. That was going to be my follow-up — and once you get into leadership...
Who supports you when you are in leadership and guides you? So you do have that support in place for...
Folks who are in leadership positions — who typically participates in your screening, your interview, your hiring decision? Is it a group? For example, principals in public schools go through a C30 process. What is your process like?
For faculty, it is a search committee of other faculty primarily. It is possible, if there are not a lot of faculty at one school in a certain discipline, they can have faculty from other schools on the committee as well, and generally at least five people.
At least five people to come in and interview and ask the questions. For our cluster hires, we have faculty from different colleges in that group to be able to offer that diverse perspective.
Is there any training provided for the hiring managers that are going to sit on this hiring process? Is it a requirement that all of them...
Receive training? And they do the same thing in public schools, okay.
What safeguards are in place to minimize bias through the hiring process? That would be the training, and bias training is offered as part of that requirement. The chief diversity officers at all of the colleges provide that, and at the central office level as well, so regardless of where the search committee lies...
Yes. How are candidates evaluated, and what measures ensure consistency, transparency and decision making? Well, all candidates are evaluated based on the criteria in the job description. I will say the HR offices work very closely — whether it is a faculty position or a staff position — to ensure a very transparent and clear job description. Oftentimes we know what the job is and what we want, and it sounds really great in our head but it might not appear that way on paper. So there are a lot of checks and balances to ensure that every candidate knows the specific criteria they will be evaluated on, and that is reflected in that job description. We have strict guidelines that require that anyone who is brought into an interview — we have to demonstrate we have used and adhered to those criteria that were explicitly listed in the job description, and those are the only ones that we can use.
Follow up real quick on your professional development — is it tailored to Black faculty or any other ethnic group on campus? I saw you turn and I thought you were going to...
Answer that. So the ones that we have at the central office level are not tailored — that would be more at the campus level. Affinity groups at the campuses do individualized professional development, and those are at the campus level. But we also have a Diversity Projects Development Fund at central, which is run as a grassroots diversity equity initiative that is led by faculty and staff. It is open to anyone in the system for funding, and that in and of itself — these passion projects — really give diverse faculty and staff an opportunity to meet others through professional development opportunities. So they can do activities that are of their interests and lead to their professional...
Growth and development. And what metrics do you have in place to assess the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at supporting Black faculty?
Our main tool is the COACHE survey and the surveys that we do, and reporting and measuring and monitoring retention. We collect and we track retention information. The collective information from the feedback from all of the different groups that we receive throughout the year, plus the COACHE formal survey, and looking at retention — so it is a collective approach. There is not one specific metric that tells us how we are doing. We really look for that feedback. That is why that feedback is so critical — hearing directly from people and giving them an opportunity to be heard, versus a very delayed survey waiting two years. We want to hear from faculty and from our staff where there might be concerns, and so it is really that feedback mechanism combined with looking at the numbers.
And implementing feedback in real time. Absolutely — not waiting two years. That is right. What resources and support systems are necessary to empower Black faculty in their academic roles?
I really think it is all the opportunities that we have mentioned before. A sense of belonging and mentorship opportunities are very critical. Dedicating resources — which we have done — and the individual colleges... I might ask President Johnson to talk about what is dedicated specifically, because these professional development opportunities do require a level of funding. The college presidents — President Johnson can explain what he does. But at central, we allocate and dedicate some of our operating budget specifically to initiatives of professional development and leadership training. All of the initiatives that we mentioned are ones that we have a specific earmark for, and we insist on providing these opportunities. Do faculty give you feedback on whether they are working or not, and what should be improved, and how is that implemented with their voice in mind?
After every single event we always do a survey. We always want to know how we could do better, what could be changed, did they receive what they had expected, were their expectations met. We use that feedback every single year, and I am proud to say that the results are always very positive — they want more and more and more. So we do those surveys after every single event. I do not know, President Johnson, if you wanted to add anything to that.
Absolutely. You know, in coming to CUNY, one of the things that I realize is that we are not short on resources in terms of preparing our faculty for success. As the president, it is important to me that our most important stakeholders are our faculty, because there is a direct correlation — if our faculty are successful, that means our students will be successful. So at a campus level, we work diligently to ensure that through different means.
Resources that are allocated from the university at my discretion give us an opportunity to provide release time for faculty who want to do specialized projects. Also, as the president overseeing the reappointment, promotion and tenure process, it gives me an opportunity to work directly with our provost and our faculty. As I am looking at those packets to determine whether there are additional resources that we need to provide to our faculty to ensure that they are successful — so that when they reach that seven-year clock they are successful — there are a number of resources that we are providing at the college. That is a part of my role, to make sure that I am always very cognizant of our faculty development, ensuring that all of our faculty receive the same resources to ensure that they are serving the most vulnerable students that we have in the Bronx.
And the faculty you have now — your Black faculty members — how do you support them in retaining them in their respective departments? So I would say we serve all of our faculty equally, and that is my role to ensure that all faculty have the same number of resources so that they can serve, again, our most vulnerable students. With our proposal support, we identify that there are opportunities to serve faculty who need a little more additional support, and we allocate those resources through our department chairs to make sure that those faculty are meeting the needs of our students, but that they also comport with the academic rigor we have established as a university.
And I would be remiss if I did not mention that both the union and our faculty senate are very strong partners in this area. The union has research awards, and they have negotiated release time for junior faculty — so less teaching and more time to be focused and dedicated. Over the years it has been reallocated where faculty said that once they get there, the amount of work becomes too much and intense. So now part of it is used when you are junior faculty until you get tenure and are promoted to associate professor, and then you still have some more, so that way you are kind of weaned off of that. But there are also opportunities to apply for grants. The faculty senate is continuously providing that support as well, and so it really is a very strong partnership across the university to make sure that all our faculty are supported throughout their professional journey.
Let us talk about some shortage areas. For example, what strategies can CUNY implement to enhance recruitment of Black faculty in STEM disciplines? We see that across all of our system — that when we do not have enough faculty in the STEM disciplines, what are we doing to recruit more Black faculty in STEM?
I will say that we really are expanding, and when I mentioned the strategic plan and that goal of increasing and decreasing the equity gap of our students applying to graduate school — the focus of really providing the support necessary for our students of color to apply to graduate school and creating an enrollment that is more reflective of our diverse city — that is really where most of our focus is. Because I think that is what we do well: how do we educate students and prepare them for a diverse workforce? That is really where most of our efforts are, because we realize that it is our moral responsibility to ensure that that racial equity gap is decreased.
Yeah, because you are employing the next workforce, so it must also reflect the diversity as well. How can mentorship programs be structured to effectively support Black faculty in STEM, providing support for faculty who come into STEM?
The mentorship opportunities are the same for all of the faculty. At the departmental level, providing that level of support — and the faculty also find mentors in these affinity groups across campuses, providing those levels of support, and sometimes intentionally so. One of the goals of the Office of Research — and we just had a meeting on this actually — in the Office of Research, we just rolled out a centralized research tracking system. It is called COEUS. It is a grant management system, and before, it happened very locally. The campuses and faculty would apply for grants, they might receive them, but there was no centralized system. What excites me the most about this — and I shared this with the Council of Presidents — is that we will be able to see which faculty have been unsuccessful, who keep struggling to get a grant in a particular area, and we can identify other faculty across the system who have been extremely successful in obtaining grants and make those connections to help some of the faculty who have been successful and perhaps have had more years of experience mentor the junior faculty who might be struggling. We have never had insight into that, and so...
We are excited for the opportunity to really provide much more of that, because right now it is much more informal in terms of connecting, but it is not necessarily specific mentorship for a particular goal — other than the faculty publication mentorship program in that area — because that is, I think, an area where we have just never had much insight. Is there any future possibility for partnership and collaboration with CUNY to expand on STEM fields with recruitment of Black candidates, and other partnerships that you can create to address the shortage area, similar to education?
STEM is also one of those areas where we do not have representation.
And I think the mentorship is really key, as you have identified, and really ensuring that we have much more strategic mentorship opportunities in STEM. As you know, publications and grants are really kind of the key to success, and so the targeted mentorship specifically around those areas I think will prove to be extremely useful to our faculty and students.
And earlier you talked about leadership — what specific initiatives have you implemented to identify and promote qualified candidates for positions of Black deans, provosts and presidents?
Our department chair training is really kind of where it all started, and I am very proud to say that I was one of the founding members of the department chair training. My background is organizational psychology, and I very quickly realized that higher education is not different from a lot of the challenges other organizations have — where somebody gets put into a leadership position and has to learn on the job. I realized that very quickly at the department chair level, where I have a PhD in psychology and all of a sudden have to manage a budget and deal with personnel issues, and that can feel like a very lonely and very frustrating place. So that department chair training is really where it starts. In academic positions, that is usually the faculty member's first experience with a leadership role. That foundational position is so important to provide that support, and so we provide that training on the budget, having difficult conversations and meeting the needs of the faculty and the students.
That is really where we provide the level of support. Then at the dean level, under my leadership we have now created a Deans Council, so we have a council of all of the deans to provide that leadership support. So it is not just about support in their current role — it is also about building the bench for the next role. The same thing at the department chair level: that is one of the most impactful parts of the development programs. You identify the people who want to move and advance, and then you have that bench of people when you need somebody for that position. You have identified them because of their participation in these programs. This council model is something that we do often, and at the individual colleges they do the same as well. But at the central office level we have been very strategic specifically about each of the academic ranks, to make sure we not only support them in their current role but also ensure that if they so choose and want to explore other opportunities, they can.
Is there a percentage of women and Black faculty that you look to make sure are also in leadership and representation?
We do not have a specific target or a goal or a number, but we have the opportunity to reach all, and we ensure participation across all.
And how do you measure your outreach strategies designed to attract a diverse pool of applicants for leadership positions?
Well, it depends on the type of leadership position. I would ask President Johnson to talk about some of that at the college level. For an executive search, an executive search firm is used — it depends on the role and the title. I am not from HR so I am not quite sure how the criteria are established for that difference. I do not know...
If HR wants to elaborate on that, and then maybe the campus perspective of what you do.
In terms of search firms, it is generally where we have experienced difficulty in recruiting in the past, either for that specific role or similar roles as well.
We also, for the colleges, we publish a catalog of outreach resources, both free and paid, and networking opportunities, and colleges are encouraged to participate actively in recruiting. What I might add is very similar to what the provost stated — it depends on the specificity of the position. For example, if we are searching for a dean in a very specialized role, we need to engage with a search consultant because they have greater reach in terms of being able to identify a pool of candidates beyond our scope of New York City. So it just really depends on the various roles — whether it is provosts or vice presidencies — and again, depending on the specificity or where we are looking, at the campus level some searches we look to a search firm, and many of those we look to internally. But one of the commitments that I have always had as a leader is to make sure that our students, the students that are in the classroom, and the faculty that are teaching them, that there is a reflection of the ecosystem that they are serving in. I think that is one of the great things that we do at CUNY. We are a laboratory and we are preparing those students for the world of work, and that representation certainly is paramount and it is certainly represented in the faculty.
What role can community engagement play in the selection process for these leadership positions, and how can candidates leverage their connections to enhance community involvement? That is a really good question, thank you.
For example, if there is a position centered around advancement, it is important that we always look to our community because they will be engaged in terms of fundraising and outreach. So oftentimes in my tenure at CUNY I look across the university but also in the community to make sure that there is that connectivity, because as those administrators come on to the college, it is not that they are just engaging internally with the internal stakeholders — they have to know the ecosystem to which they are a part of. So we are always very engaged in how we can engage our community in terms of how they can support and also add a different lens, because they have a different context that might help to strengthen the pool in terms of the candidate that we choose for a respective role.
And I want to add that on some of the executive leadership positions, the search committee is comprised of members external to CUNY — community leaders who are actively involved. So that is absolutely central at the leadership level. It is not at the faculty level; it is the faculty experts with the faculty. But at the leadership level it is really the breadth of that committee, because they are the stakeholders and they are the ones that you want those diverse perspectives from.
Really impact the selection of the right candidate. What steps can be taken to ensure we are achieving diversity goals within the senior leadership teams at CUNY? I do want to say that there is not necessarily a specific goal, but ensuring compliance is something that my HR colleague here can definitely talk about to ensure that it is fair and equitable access.
Yes. Specifically, we do compare our applicant pools and our representation to estimates of labor market benchmarks that are based on both internal and external labor markets, meaning how many people would be eligible to...
...move up into a category and how many people would be available in the local community who might be qualified for a job. One thing that we have noticed year over year is that we fill about 65 or so jobs in our executive ranks each year, and it is pretty much 50/50 internal and external, which speaks to the strength of the internal pipeline that we have at CUNY.
He had asked to go back to my question: do you plan on strengthening the leadership development pipeline, succession planning, professional investment opportunities for Black students, Black staff and administrators?
We continue to provide more professional development opportunities. When I mentioned the Deans Council at the academic level, there are also councils that we have created — for example, in enrollment management. I know I am going to get the name wrong, but it is something with "Stars," looking for leaders within enrollment management. So it is not just within academics and not just the faculty; it is within enrollment management, and we are looking to replicate that within student affairs professionals across the different sectors across the system. How can we create programs? The one within enrollment management has been extremely successful. One participant actually asked to come shadow me for a day and shadow other leaders, and we did exactly that. So it was really very intentional professional development, and we are replicating and expanding access to these models across all of the...
Will CUNY commit to publicly reporting annual data on leadership hiring, promotions, retention and representation so that students, faculty, staff and the public can evaluate progress towards creating leadership that reflects the diversity of New York City and the students...
...at CUNY? We have done that up until now. Each college has prepared an annual plan and they have posted that on their website. We are in the process of determining what kind of plan we will be using in the future and what kind of metrics we will be using, but yes, that is something that should be available.
Would you be willing to share that with the Committee as well? Could we also see a copy of the survey that you provide — the coach survey for faculty? We would love to see that, and we can see the links that you have available to any...
...reports. We can certainly provide that. So recruiting Black students is only the first step, but ensuring that students have equitable access to resources, opportunities and the support systems necessary to persist, graduate and enter meaningful careers is equally important. So...
...how will CUNY strengthen Black students' outcomes through increased investments in SEEK, honors programs, undergraduate research, internships, study abroad opportunities and career readiness initiatives and mental health services, while ensuring equitable access to high-impact...
...practices? So all of our programs — both ASAP and the opportunity programs, and even the dual enrollment and early college programs — are all very much designed to support students where they are, meet them there, and provide the financial and academic support necessary for their success. In the numbers that we have and in the makeup of our students, we have a very diverse group represented across all of the programs. ASAP, dual enrollment and all of those are designed specifically with student success in mind, so transportation costs are covered, food insecurity is addressed through food pantries, and Community Cares is designed to support — it is a holistic approach to support for all of our students to ensure their success.
From a campus perspective, in addition to ASAP and College Discovery, almost half of our students are part of those programs. Of our 7,000 students, about 2,300 students identify as ASAP and about 313 are in Discovery, and we have a number of early college initiatives. But in addition to that, there are programs that are co-curricular in nature, and those also help to foster and support that sense of belonging for students, because we know if they feel they belong they will be retained and they will persist. Programs such as our Men's program, which is akin to the Black Male Initiative, are programs that we have on the campus for students. Equally important is the ROMA program that similarly supports our students who are a part of that initiative. Those are just two examples, and we also have an LGBT+ Resource Center. So when we think about programming at Bronx Community College, and to your question, we know that in addition to the programs that we certainly want more support for — those mentioned earlier — it is the co-curricular programs that also help to foster that belonging that keeps students enrolled at the college.
And there is a program that was created about two and a half years ago — it is a research program specifically for SEEK students where they work closely with a faculty mentor, primarily in STEM fields. Thinking of a pipeline, they do a research project, and some of the students have been able to attend a professional conference for the first time in their lives to showcase some of their research. I attended the conference where they present their work at the end of the year, and what started off as a pilot has been a really robust experience for students. I would love to invite you to it because the energy — it was probably one of the most exciting events. That is something that was created specifically around how do we address support in research in STEM, and we created that program within SEEK called AI Corps. Thank you. I also want to note that CUNY...
...has not updated the SEEK program guidelines in 30 years. What is the timeline to revise these guidelines to remove institutional barriers to admission and better reflect the current socioeconomic and educational realities of today, given those patterns of historical economic disadvantage?
It is almost like you are a mind reader, because I just spoke to somebody about it just...
...fine. You sure did.
Sure. So the SEEK college directors have been working with the dean on those changes, and just this morning — or yesterday afternoon — they wrapped up those changes. The next step would be that it would go to my office for review and then to the board, because they are board-level guidelines. The SEEK directors have been working so long and hard on those revisions because they are very outdated guidelines, and so it has been a very heavy lift. They are all very passionate about it and I am so excited.
We will soon have a new updated set of guidelines. Is there any other program that you are looking at that has been outdated and needs to meet the moment for the students in...
...the system now? None that require board-approved guidelines — others are much more fluid and continuously updated. So we have been very strategic about the language that is permissible in the SEEK guidelines to try to give a little bit more flexibility for the future.
And we hope that when you finalize the revision or update the guidelines, you will please share that with the Committee. Given that programs CUNY has modeled after SEEK, such as ASAP, have grown significantly while SEEK enrollment has remained stagnant or in some cases declined — at a time when more New Yorkers are in need of programs like SEEK — what is CUNY's strategic growth plan for SEEK? What is the outreach? How are you doing it? What is the plan to bring up the...
...numbers? So this is very new. I started in this role last year and was charged with developing an enrollment plan. I hit the ground running, working with all the SEEK directors at each of the campuses. One of the things that was really integral — and I...
...actually started before being in this position — is visiting each of the campuses and having meetings with the SEEK faculty and staff, hearing from them about the challenges, and then meeting specifically with the college leadership. There are many different programs across campuses and sometimes they work in silos, and working in silos can be problematic if enrollment management is not working hand in hand with SEEK, and financial aid verification, which can be a very complicated and cumbersome process. That connection and that collaboration are absolutely critical. So we have been working with each of the college leaders on how to create that synergy and have them in the room in those conversations. Because where strategy is applied to the SEEK program, SEEK enrollment has not declined. In every single program where you see that strategy and that partnership, SEEK enrollment has continued to increase. In certain programs where they have been operating in silos is where there might have been some challenges. We hit the ground running, met with all the presidents at the Council of Presidents, discussed the strategy, and we have a five-year plan. Working hand in hand, I am very excited about what we are going to do.
Are we talking to New York City public school students as well? Are we talking to guidance counselors on the ground to let them know that this program exists? This program should not have a decline — as a matter of fact, you should be bursting at the seams for this program.
Absolutely. I will say one thing: several years ago we started the first-ever all-day event inviting guidance counselors across New York City public schools specifically to highlight and talk about the programs, and it was extremely well attended, to ensure that everybody really knows what the programs are. To your point, some did not know about them. So two or three years ago we started that, and it was a huge success. That partnership with the counselors is absolutely critical — very critical. In the Bronx, we have certainly focused on how we deepen connections with our K-through-12 partners and strengthen those partnerships, not only with them but with our community-based organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs and those various organizations who also have youth components.
But I think in stepping back and also looking at fifth and sixth grade — the middle schools — because that is the next career trajectory in terms of the young people who will become students and who will become employers. We are looking at ways to reach those ninth-through-twelfth graders but also how we reach back even further to really cultivate those younger populations as well, so that they are aware of programs like ASAP and, for us, College Discovery and those different resources, so that they do not see financial resources as a barrier but begin to understand that career pathway while they are in middle school and high school. So we are strengthening partnerships with our superintendents, engaging them, bringing them on campus — not to talk at them but to talk with them around ways we can co-create programming, outreach and open houses that will engage not only the students but also their parents. Those are ways I think in the next few years we will continue to see that growth and also increased diversity, because we are going into the community where the students are.
Partners. Yes, you need to be in the schools and the churches and everywhere else to make sure we are recruiting students as early as middle school. I also believe that there should be programming in middle schools for young people to put them on career pathways — we have so many shortages. So let us talk about our Honors College. In what ways are we modifying the recruitment to specifically target and attract a more diverse pool of students of color?
I have to say that for the Honors College it would be like having the dean of the Honors College here. I do not know the specifics of that college, so we can definitely ask the...
...college. So we will send these questions to be answered. Give me one second — let my attorney... just a few more questions. How does CUNY evaluate and improve its hiring policies and procedures over time? As you hire, are you making improvements as you go along? Walk me through that process.
We have a Council of Chief Diversity Officers and a Council of Human Resources Managers who we meet with regularly and who advise us on issues that they see.
We should also be informed by the data, of course, where we see opportunities for improvement. Earlier you talked about your new AI division...
...what does that look like in terms of representation of Black faculty in that field?
We have not yet hired, so that will be rolled out. But the committees will represent diverse perspectives of faculty, and so in that cluster hiring model we have faculty across different campuses and different areas of expertise, and so this selection...
...process will follow all the rules for the broadest reach and a diverse representation both on the search committee and in the pools. But I do not have any information on the hires because that has not...
...happened yet. And you will get that to us?
Yes. I think the first group is being hired so it might be a little delayed, but when it happens we can get you that information. Okay, all right.