PROFESSIONAL STAFF CONGRESS

MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
CHAPTER

NEWSLETTER

March 29, 1974

Report of Committee on Sabbaticals:

Sabbatical leave for the faculty of the City University of
New York is a fond wish one often applies for but rarely receives.
In theory, all full-time members of the permanent instructional staff
(tenured faculty or lecturers with certificates of continuous employ-
ment) are eligible for sabbatical leaves after 6 years of full-time
service in the university. In practice, the application for sabbat-
ical is often rejected betwean the point of departure—the Department
P & B Committee, the point of endorsement—the College Wide P & B
Committee, the point of recommendation—the President, and the point
of decision—the Board of Higher Education.

The current PSC/CUNY contract lists sabbatical leaves under
the heading "Fellowship Awards" (Article 25). Permanent members of
the instructional staff may apply for a fellowship award (sabbatical)
for the purpose of:

1) Research (ineluding study and related travel)
2) Improvement of Teaching
3) Creative Work in Literature or the Arts

The fellowship (sabbatical) application mest be approved
by the Department P & B Committee, the College Wide P & B Committee,
the President, and the Board of Higher Education. It mest further
be arranged that the work of the department in which the individual
serves can be carried foward effectively during the period of the
leave (6 months at full-pay or 1 year at half-pay).

The PSC/CUNY contract stipulates that the Board of Higher
Education shall authorize the following sums to finance Fellowship
(Sabbatical) Awards:

9/1/72 $1 million
9/1/73 $1.5 million
9/1/74 $1.75 million

The Committee inquiry with the Board of Higher Education
revealed that the $1 million appropriated for 9/1/72 and $1.5 million
appropriated for 9/1/73 has been distributed among the colleges of
the City University. The formla for distribution, we were told, de-
pends upon the number of persons eligible at each college—the eligi-
bility list to be submitted by the President. The precise amount,
however, granted to each college is a matter of classified informa-
tion; and the personnel at the Board of Higher Education would supply
no further details. According to the Chancellor's Repont of the B.H,E.
(June, 1973), Manhattan Commmnity College received six fellowship
awards for the period 9/1/73 for a total of $70,425. The amount of
fellowship awards for the period 9/1/74 is not yet known.

Editora: PSC/BMCC Executive Board pec disae
PSC/BMCC Newsletter Volume I, No. 11. Meeting:
Wednesday
April wh 1974
Room H 458


Committee Observations:

To receive a sabbatical from the City University of New
York virtually requires an act of God. There is no established
objective criteria for determining the merit of an application for
sabbatical. The individual faithfully states his intended purpose
(research, improvement of teaching, or creative work), but patron-
age and politics are the crucial variables. Notwithstanding buge-
tary considerations, the recommendation of the President is ob-
viously decisive. The President is empowered with the sabbatical
sword to reward those applicants who have obeyed and to punish
those who have transgressed.

If you are fortunate enough to have Presidential endorse-
ment, the Board of Higher Education may suspend or revoke your sab-
batical application. In April, 1971 C.U.N.Y¥. Chancellor Symour
Hyman announced his decision to comply with a ruling of the State
Legislature to declare a moratorium on sabbatical leaves for a period
of one year (Minutes, B.H.E., April, 1971). All sabbatical requests
were suspended un pril, 1972. During the “lame-duck" period from
September, 1972 to August, 1973, the Board of Higher Education announ-
ced that "all requests for sabbatical leaves of absence for the 1973-
1974 academic year are withdrawn subject to a new contract" (Minutes,
B.H.E., Jan., 1973). Evidently, the most unfavorable time to apply
for a sabbatical is during the last year of a contract.

Sabbaticals are sometimes awarded to senior members of the
university who are about to retire. The B.H.E., graciously waives the
by-laws (which require one year of service after leave) and dispenses
a sabbatical, like a gold watch, to retiring members of the staff.

The current contract states that “special consideration shall
be given to those applicants who have not had a sabbatical leave or
fellowship in (14) or more years." Thus, if you survive 14 years or
more in the system, you might be given “special consideration," not
necessarily a sabbatical.

Submit Recommendations For Change:

The PSC/BMCC chapter is requesting recommendations concerning
sabbaticals to be negotiated in the next contract. Submit your sug-
gestions to your department representatives.

At the PSC/BMCC chapter meeting on Wednesday, March 20th, 1974, the
following motions won unanimous approval:
Motion I.

WHEREAS, at a meeting of the College Wide Personnel
& Budget Committee on March 8, 1974, President Edgar Draper,
in an emotional outburst, leveled grave and unsupported charges
on and distortion against the MCC/PSC Executive Board,
ans

WHEREAS, he named Carol Brandon and Mayer Rossabi,
serving at that meeting in their capacities as elected Depart-
ment Chairpersons, specifically in his charges, and

WHEREAS, he demanded an on the spot apology, threatening
otherwise to leave the body, and

WHEREAS, upon receiving no apology left the meeting and
abandoned his responsibility to serve as the Chair:

BE IT RESOLVED, that the BMCC Chapter of the PSC condemns
the President for blatantly violating both the contract and the
BHE by-laws and for his inappropriate and unprofessional conduct
before the College Wide P & B Committee at that meeting.

Motion II.

BE IT RESOLVED, that the BMCC Chapter of the PSC expres-
es its vote of confidence in the leadership of its Executive
Board and encourages it to continue to represent the interests
of the instructional staff.

Motion III.
That the above resolutions be distributed throughout
the College Commnity, to the PSC Executive Council and the

members of the BHE,
LL