7 December 2021: More Calls for Cuomo Appointed SUNY Chancellor to Go

Calls grow for embattled SUNY chancellor to step down

SUNY Chancellor James Malatras remains under fire for contributing to the toxic environment and to the major scandals of the Cuomo administration he served until his appointment as chancellor in August 2020.

That is despite the statement of support issued by the Andrew M. Cuomo-appointed trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) in support of Cuomo-appointed chancellor James Malatras on late Friday, 3 December 2021 failed to forestall new actions by student groups and the faculty senate to demand Malatras' resignation. The following excerpt gives a status of how SUNY's student government responded:

The SUNY Student Assembly on Sunday afternoon unanimously approved a vote of no confidence in Malatras, a long-time advisor of the disgraced ex-governor who was controversially installed in the position in August 2020 without a nationwide search.

Student Assembly President Brad Hershenson, the only student representative on the Board of Trustees, expressed dismay at the board's decision, which he said failed to consider the wishes of the SUNY student leaders.

"The material that was provided by the Office of the Attorney General showed a level of hostility that is just so unbecoming. Students across SUNY from Buffalo to the Bronx and beyond really feel that the chancellor should resign. We need leadership at the highest level of academic excellence, civility, and moral character," he said. "We are the students! So we are going to continue to raise our voices."

SUNY's faculty appears split. The following excerpt describes the different camps within the faculty:

Meanwhile, faculty appear divided on whether Malatras should continue on as chancellor of the state's colleges and universities.

The Faculty Council of Community Colleges issued a joint statement with SUNY Student Assembly on Friday calling for Malatras to resign. "Allowing the Chancellor to remain in place damages the reputation of the system, detracting from our education and devaluing the degrees we are all working towards," the group said in a statement.

The University Faculty Senate is "still deliberating" on its position on the chancellor, a spokesperson said.

United University Professions (UUP) President Frederick Kowal issued a statement saying the apology was appropriate and the union hopes to continue its working relationship with Malatras, particularly given the university system's stake in upcoming state budget negotiations.

Public Employees Federation President Wayne Spence sent a statement to the SUNY trustees that said in part: "(Malatras') commitment to SUNY hospitals and all 64 SUNY campuses, many of which educate the nurses and other staff that constitute the union I lead, has been unwavering ... Malatras has our full faith and confidence."

The Member Action Coalition of United University Professions, a faculty caucus within the union, on Monday put out a statement joining calls for Malatras to be removed, criticizing the Board of Trustees' position and urging Kowal to retract his statement of support.

"The Board of Trustees statement dismissing the evidence of the Chancellor’s participation in the toxic, bullying atmosphere of Governor Cuomo’s administration betrays those women who have stepped forward to speak truth to power, and also continues to lay bare the Board’s troubling lack of independence from the Governor’s office," the group said in a statement. "Such political indebtedness subverts the role that they should play in promoting and defending public higher education, as well as the fundamental principle of shared governance across the system."

The report also indicates that 15 of the 16 voting members of SUNY's board of trustees supported James Malatras' continued employment as SUNY's chancellor - the 15 appointed to their positions on the board by the resigned-in-disgrace former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The 16th voting member, Student Assembly President Brad Hershenson, who is the only student representative on the Board, favors removing Malatras.