Michael D. Usdan, former
president of the Institute for
Educational Leadership
(IEL), has joined the National Center for
Public Policy and Higher Education as a
Senior Fellow, working on the National
Center’s projects in Washington,D.C.
Usdan is also a Senior Fellow at IEL,
where he served as president from 1981
until earlier this year. Before that, he was
Connecticut’s Commissioner of Higher
Education, from 1978 until 1981.
Usdan has written many books and
articles on education, particularly about
urban schools, the relationship between
government, politics and education and,
recently, the growing movement to forge
closer ties between higher education and
the nation’s elementary and secondary
schools.
"The Learning Connection"-a collection
of articles about K-16 partnerships
around the country, edited by
Usdan; Patrick M. Callan, president of
the National Center for Public Policy and
Higher Education; and Gene I. Maeroff,
director of the Hechinger Institute on
Education and the Media, at Teachers
College, Columbia University-was
published last year.
In his role as a senior fellow at the
Center, Usdan said he hopes to "push the
K-16 agenda," in such areas as teacher
education, remedial education and preparation
for college.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
"Mr. Marcus' assertion is simply untrue"
Editor-I always enjoy your informative
publication, and this latest issue was no exception,
especially since it featured a wide ranging
article by Jon Marcus about the
politics of higher education in New York
State.
Mr. Marcus is, of course, entitled to his
opinions. But your readers need to know
there is at least one factual error in his report
that reflects a certain lack of knowledge
about New York politics. Marcus writes that
last year Governor Pataki "cut [the State
Education Department's] staff, stripped it of
oversight of private and public colleges, and
transferred its library and archives to his
control."
Mr. Marcus' assertion is simply untrue.
Those were the governor's proposals, to be
sure, but the legislature rejected them. That
should come as no surprise since it is the
legislature, after all, that appoints the regents,
who in turn oversee the State Education
Department. Historically, governors have
tried to transfer some aspect of Regents
authority to their control. Few have succeeded
in any significant way.
Donald J. Nolan
Former New York State SHEEO
(State Higher Education Officer)
1982-1996
An attack on Giuliani
Editor-There are genuine disagreements
about higher education, and it is valuable
whenever they are discussed on their
merits. The article by Jon Marcus, "Politicizing
University Governance," however, is
little more than an extended ad hominem
attack.
The suggestion seems to be that if these
people are for a core curriculum, then requiring
students to study history, English, math
and science must be a terrible thing. If
Giuliani-a, gasp, elected official-wants to
move remediation out of the senior colleges
and into the community colleges and summer
programs, it must be a sinister proposal.
All this may be welcome reading to
partisans or defensive administrators or people
who just enjoy a good smear, but it poisons
the well of thoughtful discourse, preventing
a serious dialogue about what is the
best education for college students, how
much remediation is too much, and the other
very real issues facing higher education.
Jerry L. Martin, President
American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Washington, D.C.
New York State Board of Regents still in control
Editor-I am writing to point out inaccuracies
in Jon Marcus' article in the
Summer 2001 issue of National CrossTalk.
This article incorrectly reported that the
Regents were stripped last year of oversight
of private and public colleges. That is not
true.
The New York State Board of Regents
continues to be responsible for approving
the long-range master plans of the State
University of New York and The City University of New York. It continues to be responsible
for chartering independent colleges
and universities, for authorizing degree
powers for SUNY and CUNY campuses and
for proprietary colleges, and for approving all
degree programs at public and private
colleges and universities, according to our
quality standards.
The article also is wrong in saying that the
governor transferred control of the New
York State Library and State Museum from
the Regents to himself. That did not happen.
The article gives the impression that there
was no oversight or review by the Regents of
the CUNY Trustees' decision to change their
policy on admission to baccalaureate
programs and to phase out the offering of
remedial courses at CUNY's senior colleges.
That decision was subject to the Regents
approval as an amendment to CUNY's long range
plan.
The Education Department conducted
an exhaustive review of the proposal, including
a site visit to CUNY by a team of
eminent out-of-state consultants, and the
Regents held several public hearings on it. In
November 1999, the board declined to approve
the change that the Trustees proposed
without condition. CUNY made several
modifications and the Regents approved the
modified policy only through the end of
2002.
The article also states that "CUNY's
board is now considering a core curriculum."
As far as we know, that is not the case. Last
summer, as required by New York law, the
CUNY Trustees adopted a new long-range
master plan and submitted it to the Regents
and the governor for approval. As approved
by the Regents, the CUNY plan calls on each
college to establish its own core curriculum
or curricula, a different approach from the
university-wide core requirements the
SUNY Trustees adopted.
The Regents approved the CUNY long range
plan, with condition, and the governor
subsequently did so as well. The analysis of
the CUNY plan that the Department prepared
for the Regents is a public document.
Gerald W. Patton
Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education
New York State Education Department
Jon Marcus Replies
Nolan and Patton are correct that the legislature
stopped Pataki from cutting the
staff of the State Education Department,
transferring its library and archives, and taking
away its oversight of private and public
colleges.
The point is that Pataki did, in fact, try to
do this-and tried again this year to put the
library, archives and museum under a new
Office of Cultural Resources-making little
secret of the reason: He is dissatisfied with
the education department. Even though the
legislature has so far thwarted these attempts,
Pataki cut much of the funding for
the museum, although he did support an
allocation for an exhibit about New York
State governors.
Patton speaks about "impressions" he
believes the story gave. Among them: that
the regents did not review the CUNY trustees'
decision to eliminate remedial courses,
which the story did not say.What the story
said was that the Trustees and the Regents
by that time (and, in the case of the Trustees,
in the nick of time) were firmly in the control
of Giuliani and Pataki.
