Union College President Stephen C. Ainlay has been appointed to a new state commission charged with identifying ways of improving the quality of higher education in New York.
“I am both pleased and honored to have been appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education for New York,” said Ainlay, who recently completed his first year as president of Union. “It provides a vehicle for considering ways in which we can strengthen education in New York and, in the process, explore new initiatives, partnerships and opportunities. The governor has recognized the key role that education will play in the future of the state, and I look forward to working with my fellow members on what promises to be an important commission.’’
Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order in May creating the commission, which is chaired by Hunter Rawlings, the former president of Cornell University.
“Excellence in higher education is a key to our state’s future,” Spitzer said in announcing the commission. “The state’s network of outstanding public and private colleges and universities is essential to producing the highly skilled work force that will be a major driver of New York’s Upstate economy. This new commission will help identify innovative, cutting edge ideas and necessary improvements that will help improve the quality of education we deliver and make New York’s higher educational system a world class institution.”
The commission will study the current higher education system and make recommendations about:
- improving access to the state’s public higher education system;
- expanding its degree programs to reflect state and regional economic development objectives;
- preparing community college graduates for a smooth transition to four-year institutions and/or obtaining high value jobs upon graduation; and
- enhancing the capacity of the state’s university research centers to regain New York’s preeminent status in academic research while providing additional opportunities for high value employment.
The commission also will make recommendations that address flexibility on the systems’ individual campuses to attract the best and brightest students and faculty and enlist them in the service of the economic, humanitarian and civic needs of their communities.
The commission held its first meeting June 19 and is scheduled to present a preliminary report to Gov. Spitzer Dec. 1.
The members of the Commission are:
Hunter Rawlings, President Emeritus, Cornell University Chairman
Stephen C. Ainlay, President, Union College
Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University
Don Boyce, Student, Rockefeller School of Public Affairs
Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Syracuse University
John Clark, Interim Chancellor Nominee, State University of New York
Milton Cofield, New York State Board of Regents
Lois DeFleur, President, Binghamton University
John Dyson, Chief Executive Officer, Pebble Ridge Vineyards and Wine Estates
Peter Fishbein, Special Counsel, Kaye Scholer LLP
Hon. Deborah Glick, Chairwoman, Assembly Higher Education Committee
Matt Goldstein, Chancellor, City University of New York
Carl Hayden, Former Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents
Elena Kagan, Dean, Harvard Law School
Marcia V. Keizs, President, York College of the City University of New York
Abraham Lackman, President of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities
Hon. Senator Kenneth LaValle, Chairman, Senate Higher Education Committee
Eduardo Marti, President, Queensborough Community College
Richard Mills, Commissioner of Education
Myron Mitchell, Faculty, State University of New York
Robert Paaswell, Faculty, City University of New York
Hon. Crystal Peoples, Member of Assembly
Bruce Raynor, President, UNITE HERE
William Scheuerman, President, United University Professions
Joel Seligman, President, University of Rochester
John Sexton, President, New York University
John Simpson, President, State University of New York at Buffalo
Tom Schwarz, President, Purchase College – State University of New York
Marc Shaw, Trustee, City University of New York
Lauren Talerman, Student, Queens College
Adam Urbanski, President, Rochester Teachers Association