While faculty at The City University spend the largest part of their
time in the classroom and carrying out research projects, many play a
leadership role in administration by serving as department chairs, and
on college and university-wide committees.  Many also place their
knowledge and expertise at the service of the communities surrounding
the Colleges, and have co-operated in the planning of projects and
activities that will ultimately benefit both the University and the
City and State of New York of which it is an integral part.
 
Administration
 
Over 45 years ago, the Chairman of the Board of Higher Education
commended the adoption of a Bylaw that "lodges in faculties and
departments large responsibility for college governances, subject to
the approval and recommendation of the president of the college." The
responsibility for governance through shared authority has
characterized the collegial organization of great universities
throughout this country, allowing faculty and administration to
exercise appropriate influence within their spheres of primary
concern.  Faculty at The City University are involved in the
development and approval of policies concerning curriculum,
instruction, personnel, and academic standards.  Their active
participation has been crucial to the University's continued
commitment to the highest standards of liberal and professional
learning.
 
Department Chairs
 
According to the University's Bylaws, the executive officer of each
department, in addition to undertaking the usual faculty duties of
teaching and research, shall also: ensure the quality of instruction
within that discipline by conducting classroom observations of
faculty; evaluate the performance of department faculty and thus
suggest appropriate direction for further professional development;
select course offerings and arrange class hours so that both faculty
and students will have a convenient schedule for teaching and
learning; review curriculum to ensure that uniform instruction takes
place in all sections of the same course; recruit new faculty for the
department; recommend the promotion, reappointment, and tenure of
faculty; lead the department in the development of curriculum and
instructional methods that reflect state-of-the-art scholarship in
that discipline; monitor student performance in departmental courses
to encourage adoption of the discipline as a major as well as
successful completion of required basic course sequences, ultimately
contributing to student success and retention; represent the interests
of the department through participation in the governance of the
college; prepare the departmental budget proposal and oversee the
disbursement of funds in order to ensure the appropriate expenditure
of resources; and seek recognition of the department's achievements
and funding for the accomplishment of new goals.
 
Committee Service
 
In addition, many faculty volunteer to represent their Colleges and
their disciplines on the University-wide committees that make and
implement policy affecting all units of the University.  For example,
30 faculty are appointed annually to the University Committee on
Research, which reviews and approves projects funded by the PSC-CUNY
Awards; faculty serving on the Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and ESL
Task Forces advise the University's central administration on
effective policy in the area of Basic Skills.
 
College Preparatory Initiative
 
In 1991, CUNY launched a major initiative with the New York City Board
of Education to strengthen the level of academic preparation of high
school students throughout the City.  Upon entrance to college,
students will be expected to have completed courses in English,
algebra, geometry, laboratory and social science, a foreign language,
and the arts.  Faculty from all of CUNY's colleges, in conjunction
with the faculty from high schools in each borough, have developed
learning competencies that students leaving high school should have
attained in each subject area.  Evaluation results on the first group
of students subject to CPI guidelines who entered the University in
the Fall 1993 compared to the 1991 enrollees show the entering class
came to the University with strengthened academic preparation in all
areas.  1993 entering students completed more academic courses in each
of the five areas required by CPI for this year (Social Studies,
Sequential Math, Foreign Language, Lab Science, and English) than 1991
freshman enrollees.  In addition, the percentage of students at both
two and four-year institutions who met or exceeded 1993 CPI
requirements rose to 84% at the community colleges and nearly 86% at
the senior colleges.
 
English as a Second Language Task Force
 
In 1993-1994, a faculty committee was formed to address the needs of
the University's growing English as a Second Language population.  The
findings of this committee were submitted to the Office of Academic
Affairs which is in the process of distributing the committee's report
to various faculty members and University committees for review.
Responses to the report will then be collected by the Office of
Academic Affairs and will be used in conjunction with the report's
findings in order to generate policy recommendations on instructional
approaches and program structures, measurement of students' progress,
certification of proficiency, and other matters pertaining to ESL
instruction.
 
The University Faculty Advancement Program
 
In 1989, this Program was established to promote pluralism and
diversity by supporting junior-ranking faculty in their efforts to
complete their dissertations and receive the doctoral degree.
Participants engage in a program of weekly seminars and individual
counseling by senior faculty mentors.  As of Fall 1994, 40 of the 119
participants in the program, 50 percent of whom are included in the
Affirmative Action Program, have received the doctorate as a direct
result of participation in this program.
 
Professional Staff Congress
 
Since 1972, the Professional Staff Congress/ CUNY has been recognized
by the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York as the
collective bargaining agent under the Public Employees Fair Employment
Act for full-time and part-time members of the instructional staff of
The City University (other than certain instructional staff titles and
functions which are managerial or confidential).  The PSC performs
these essential functions:
 
* It negotiates terms and conditions of employment for its unit members;
* It helps settle personnel conflicts informally and through the
  contractual grievance and arbitration structure on behalf of
  employees, groups of employees, or on its own behalf;
* It funds and participates with the University in the administration
  of the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund, which provides certain welfare
  benefits for members of the instructional staff; and
* It engages in extensive legislative activity on behalf of the union
  and the University.
 
The University Faculty Senate
 
The Charter of the University Faculty Senate mandates its
responsibility for the formulation of University-wide policies and
procedures concerning the academic status, role, rights,
responsibilities, and freedoms of the faculty, as well as issues
concerning education and instruction, research and scholarly
activities of significance to the University as a whole.  The
University Faculty Senate serves as a liaison between the individual
campuses and the central administration of the University.  It advises
the Board of Trustees, the Council of Presidents, and other
University-wide bodies, initiating recommendations and reviewing
changes of policy on issues that are within its sphere of interests.
Equally important, it represents a valuable forum for the exchange of
ideas that concern the faculty and the University.
 
The CUNY Urban Marine and Freshwater Initiative (CUMFI)
 
In 1991, the University launched an initiative to coordinate and
integrate all its marine and freshwater programs.  The CUMFI Advisory
Committee, meeting regularly during the past two years, developed a
plan for a CUNY Urban Marine and Freshwater Institute to focus on
studies of the effects of human activity on the marine and coastal
environments of New York City, and on recruitment of students from
minority groups into environmental sciences.  The committee organized
the first interdisciplinary research and field work course, Field
Methods in Oceanography, at the Queens College Center for
Environmental Teaching and Research at Caumsett State Park on Long
Island, New York in Summer 1992.  An expanded version of the course
was offered in the summers of 1993 and 1994.  Future programs will
focus on issues of shoreline usage, pollution, regional fisheries,
water quality, recreation, opportunities for industrial development,
education and training.
 
Community Service
 
Fifty years ago, the faculty of the four municipal colleges were
commended for using their expert knowledge in the service of the city,
state, and nation. The faculty members cited in that report had served
as: counsel to the New York State Commission on the Condition of the
Urban Colored Population; special adviser to the Bureau of the Budget in
Washington; investigator of wind forces on tall buildings for the
American Institute of Steel; and evaluator of visual aids and safety
devices in the streets of New York City.
 
The faculty have continued their role as consultants to industry,
commerce, and government. Many have also expressed their commitment to
the University's mission of providing access to knowledge and education
for all citizens by volunteering to participate in activities that reach
out into neighboring communities and benefit citizens who otherwise would
not be touched by the presence of a great university in their
neighborhood.
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