December 10, 1968 Letter from Al Vann to Frederick Burkhardt
Item
*COALLUTION on
EDUCATIONAL
WEEDS &SERVICES
268 ASHLAND PLACE / Room 602 / BROOKLYN, N. Y. 11217
NEGOTIATION TEAR — a:s/955-6731/2/3
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Fue _BE OFORD . ~—D
SALTS /)
Mr. A. Vann, Chairman
Mr. J. Pannigan, Vice Chairman
Judge T. Jones
Mrs. E. Sease December 10, 1968
Mr. R. Carson
Prof. H. Patterson, Alternate
Mr. Isaure Santiago, Alternate
Dr. Frederick H. Burkhardt
American Council of Learned Societies
345 East 46th Street
New York, New York 10017
Dear Dr. Burkhardt: jlacch
<
Despite the authenticity of the issues raised by the crag
Negotiating Team at our recent Presidential Search Committee meeting,
B cannot help but note the dignity and patience that you and other
members of the Board of Higher Education displayed as you received
and reacted to the concerns and criticisms presented. Aside from the
admitted insensitivity on the part of members of The City University,
it was also revealed that our members of the Negotiating Team were
even more suspicious than we had articulated.
It is my belief that this realization and awareness
“provides an opportunity to build on the relationship that we had estab-
lished formerly, for we have had evidence that both parties are sincere
and have flexibility. Im these tense and uncertain times our joint
activities, successfully completed, could provide the model that would
serve as the necessary image to be emulated,
The Negotiating Team sincerely hopes that the Board of Higher
Education members of our Presidential Search Committee can continue to
meet the challenges which will enable us to overcome unavoidable prob-
lems, and to achieve our common goals.
Very truly yours,
sl Net Viren
Albert Vann, Chairman
AV:jc
, cc3 Messrs, Porter R. Chandler a i : :
Arleigh B. Williamson ~~ =
Joseph Shenker e
Mrs. Almira Coursey
EDUCATIONAL
WEEDS &SERVICES
268 ASHLAND PLACE / Room 602 / BROOKLYN, N. Y. 11217
NEGOTIATION TEAR — a:s/955-6731/2/3
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Fue _BE OFORD . ~—D
SALTS /)
Mr. A. Vann, Chairman
Mr. J. Pannigan, Vice Chairman
Judge T. Jones
Mrs. E. Sease December 10, 1968
Mr. R. Carson
Prof. H. Patterson, Alternate
Mr. Isaure Santiago, Alternate
Dr. Frederick H. Burkhardt
American Council of Learned Societies
345 East 46th Street
New York, New York 10017
Dear Dr. Burkhardt: jlacch
<
Despite the authenticity of the issues raised by the crag
Negotiating Team at our recent Presidential Search Committee meeting,
B cannot help but note the dignity and patience that you and other
members of the Board of Higher Education displayed as you received
and reacted to the concerns and criticisms presented. Aside from the
admitted insensitivity on the part of members of The City University,
it was also revealed that our members of the Negotiating Team were
even more suspicious than we had articulated.
It is my belief that this realization and awareness
“provides an opportunity to build on the relationship that we had estab-
lished formerly, for we have had evidence that both parties are sincere
and have flexibility. Im these tense and uncertain times our joint
activities, successfully completed, could provide the model that would
serve as the necessary image to be emulated,
The Negotiating Team sincerely hopes that the Board of Higher
Education members of our Presidential Search Committee can continue to
meet the challenges which will enable us to overcome unavoidable prob-
lems, and to achieve our common goals.
Very truly yours,
sl Net Viren
Albert Vann, Chairman
AV:jc
, cc3 Messrs, Porter R. Chandler a i : :
Arleigh B. Williamson ~~ =
Joseph Shenker e
Mrs. Almira Coursey
Title
December 10, 1968 Letter from Al Vann to Frederick Burkhardt
Description
On December 10, 1968, Al Vann, Chairman of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition on Educational Needs and Services (B-SCENS), wrote to Frederick Burkhardt, Chairman of the New York City Board of Higher Education, to comment on a debate that had transpired in a recent meeting of the Presidential Search Committee for Community College 7 of which they were both members. In recent weeks, the Committee had discussed several contentious issues between the delegations from the City University of New York (CUNY) and the one from the Bedford-Stuyvesant community, fueling the Bed-Stuy delegation’s concerns about CUNY's sincerity about its commitment to establish a new college controlled by the Bed-Stuy community. In the letter, Vann praised Burkhardt's “dignity and patience,” while criticizing the “admitted insensitivity” of other CUNY officials in the meeting, concluding that he was optimistic that the two parties could “continue to meet the challenges which will enable us to overcome unavoidable problems, and achieve our common goals."
In February 1968, the City University of New York (CUNY) announced plans to establish a new “Community College 7 in or near Bedford-Stuyvesant. . . oriented to the Bedford-Stuyvesant Community and operated in consultation with the community.” Representatives of a broad network of Central Brooklyn community organizations engaged in an 18 months-long negotiation with CUNY Board of Higher Education officials over CUNY’s plans for its newly announced “Community College 7,” including discussions about the proposed school’s curriculum, who would lead it, and what role the community would play in the school’s governance. The role of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community in planning and determining the leadership of the college remained a central point of controversy between Central Brooklyn’s educational and civil society leaders and CUNY officials in the negotiations that followed.
Contributor
Woodsworth, Michael
Creator
Vann, Al
Date
December 10, 1968
Language
English
Source
Donald Watkins Collection (Brooklyn Public Library)
Original Format
Correspondence
Vann, Al. Letter. “December 10, 1968 Letter from Al Vann to Frederick Burkhardt.”, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/2027