by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
An article appeared recently in a local Black Newspaper alleging that Medgar Evers College students did not know what was going on on the campus; and that there was a great deal of confusion, ignorance, mis-information and misunderstanding swirling around the controversy of newly appointed William Pollard, who was broughtin to replace 20-year president Edison O. Jackson.
According to the students, this was patently untrue. In fact, just after that edition, MEC students held a demonstration against Pollard outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), {in the freezing cold} protesting his giving the keynote speech for the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration.
Additionally, other students, some of whom were members of the NAACP, attempted to engage President Pollard in why he had elected to dismiss the Black Think Tank from the campus; evicted the Center for NU Leadership, after having confiscated their computers; why it was that the Bunche DuBois center had likewise been evicted; and why he had cancelled a contract with Carver Bank (a Black bank) in favor of a contract with CitiBank. In order to quash their stand, the NAACP Youth Council was severely reprimanded, {allegedly by none other than Hazel Dukes, who, it was later learned, had been friends with the wife of the ersatz President}. To the NAACP students’ dismay, rather than being rewarded and complimented for taking a principled stand for their rights, and for upholding the mission of Medgar Evers College as a COMMUNIVERSITY {a fitting term coined by Major Owens, Congressman, Retired, who was one of founding members of Medgar Evers College}. Principles which most of us who grew up in the NAACP Youth Council were taught from Day One {including yours truly - I cut my teeth on Civil Rights in the NAACP's Youth Council at the tender age of 10}. Unlike us, however, MEC NAACP students were silenced, censured, and booted from the campus! The young lady, who was President of the college chapter, is now totally intimidated and disillusioned {way to encourage our youth to be involved, right? The idea is to pass the baton, not hit them in the head with it; mentor, not demean.}
It is clear that the Medgar Evers students not only know what's going on, but that they don’t like it. They are holding weekly poetry slams and fact finding meetings as we speak, to garner the additional support necessary to make sure that Medgar Evers College is still a Black College when they return in the Fall. From so many indications, there's danger of it becoming other than that.
And while these students are juggling between work, study and civic actions, tt is also true that their efforts are not being honored, or respected by the defacto college president, who chose to ignore their most recent request for an audience with him. He, likewise, appears to be ignoring a petition that was presented to him, which had been circulated around the campus with more than 500 (and counting) signatures, demanding both audience and answers.
The petition, which has 31 questions gathered from a poll of Medgar Evers students printed on the reverse side (see below), was given to Pollard prior to the Spring and Easter Break. Thus far, as of today, May 5, 2011, he has neither answered them, nor responded to the petition.
This is the petition below - my comments are in brackets:
STUDENT PETITION FOR A SUNSHINE MEETING
In our democratic country of America, the people have a right to TRANSPERANCY. This means that any activities utilizing tax payer funds must be open to the public review. We are respectfully requesting that Medgar Evers College President, Dr. William Pollard, and his executive cabinet, convene a special meeting to answer basic questions about problems which impact students and faculty. We, the undersigned students consider it necessary to have a TRANSPARENCY meeting in order for students to obtain a clear understanding of the critical plans and actions now taking place in our school. (See Questions on the back of the Petition)* Please provide at least one week notice for the meeting date.
The questions were compiled, and the signatures gathered by the Ad-Hoc Committee for Truth Search (Gracia Branch and Bonita Grant)
The Questions, which follow, show that the students know what’s up, and want answers and action:
1. Can you begin the meeting with full disclosure of the college buget and current expenditures?
2. Will more money be made available for student scholarship, computers, the writing lab, the learning center, more library assistance, etc?
3. How was 1.2 million dollars ($600,000 per year for two years) from the Federal predominantly Black Colleges Program spent?
4. Who paid for he $100,000 dollars student trip to Brazil, and when will the students report on their learning experiences there?
5. What was the amount of money spent for single hotel rooms for an overnight stay in Albany for certain privileged students?
6. Who ordered deluxe jackets for $350 each and distributed them to a select few?
7. Did Medgar Evers (college) lose a $20,000 deposit on the Javits Center commencement site reservation?
8. Why has the college spent more than $100,000 on advertisement and publicity campaign?
9. Did the college refuse capital funds that could meet some of our student needs?
10. Why do so many of Medgar Evers college students fail to get the maximum financial aid from Pell Grants?
11. When will your office provide a Master Plan to guide the college for the next five years?
12. What steps have you taken to help faculty and staff understand that CUNY was established to educate the children of working class families?
13. Do you fully support the goals articulated by the community leaders when Medgar Evers was founded?
14. Why did you end the “direct admission” policy which gave priority to the high school graduates of Central Brooklyn?
15. What will you do about highly educated faculty members who give their lectures and then race out of the classrooms and are never available for student consultation?
16. In evaluating faculty, does the committee consider their degree of dedication and commitment?
17. Why are certain very effective faculty members not being reappointed?
18. Why are you dismantling CENTERS at Medgar Evers, while other CUNY colleges are encouraging (and establishing/funding) CENTERS?
19. Why have you exhibited (so) much hostility to a community-based program for ex-offenders { referring to Center For Nu Leadership - which has been evicted from the campus}?
20. Why are you encouraging District Attorney Hynes to use Medgar Evers College to bolster his political image, while he allows increasing crime in our neighborhoods to go unchecked?
21. Why is it so hard for students to get proper advice concerning their academic programs?
22. What is the reason for the constant turnover of our academic advisors?
23. Is your administration planning to better train the staff that is responsible for admissions, financial aid, registration, bursar duties etc?
24. Are you willing to establish a special telephone complaint center (211 phone number) with rapid response to student grievances?
25. Why are staff members never discipline for openly displaying a hostile attitude towards students?
26. Do clerks, secretaries and custodians have tenure?
27. Why is it so complicated to get books that have been put on reserve, and to make copies?
28. Are there irregularities in the administration of student government funds, and is your office conducting an investigation?
29. Do you have hours posted that are available for the students who want an appointment with you? {and if so, where are they, and when are they?}
30. Is it true that you refuse to accept residence in our local community, and CUNY agreed to pay several million dollars for you condo located in Williamsburg?
31. Will you support the establishment of a field house and physical fitness center at the Armory located a few blocks away from Medgar Evers on Bedford Avenue between President and Union Streets? {1579 Bedford Avenue to be exact; it was just learned that the State of New York turned the facility over to the City of New York - the students are seeking assistance from elected officials and representatives, who must move fast in order not to have it turned into yet another homeless shelter in their community}.
Medgar Evers students range in age from 18 to 80; some are just starting out in college, some are returning after having raised their children; some are trying to turn their lives around. Medgar Evers College was established to address the needs of all these people. It is New York's ONLY BLACK COLLEGE! The community must stand with their students, who are their children, neighbors, associates, friends, in making sure that Medgar Evers Mission and pledge to the community is not violated, and tossed aside.
The students are doing their part, and it's time for us to do ours: If you are interested and concerned about the fate of Medgar Evers College, contact the Medgar Evers Coalition at (718) 710-4528; visit the website www.MEfortheCommunity.org; and participate in their meetings, held each Thursday from 7:00pm - 9:00pm (call for location).
Civil Rights leader MEDGAR EVERS, former Field Secretary for the NAACP, fought against injustice in his community and beyond. Our COMMUNIVERSITY and the people of the community must stand together to make sure that his name and his legacy are not violated by those who have no understanding, care, concern or respect for us, our culture, our history, or our future.
Take care &
STAY BLESSED &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Gloria Dulan-Wilson Blog/ ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS
For Eclectic Black People
VIP: Views . Interests . Perspectives
Showing posts with label Center for Nu Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Center for Nu Leadership. Show all posts
5.05.2011
3.07.2011
Update:CUNY Chancellor/MEC Pres Mock the Memory and Legacy of Medgar Wiley Evers: Attack on Center for NU Leadership and the MEC Black Think Tank
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson (originally published 3/07/2011)
I’m going to start this off with a quote from Dr. Divine Pryor. It’s so heavy I didn’t want to leave it to the end of this article:
“For the past seven years, The Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions has successfully created opportunities for people entangled in the law to access higher education as a way to transforming their lives. Our attempt to secure a multi-million dollar grant was only an effort to formalize what we have been doing informally over the past seven years. It’s unfortunate that President William Pollard and his administration could not appreciate the fact that members of the Center for NU Leadership are living, breathing examples of what is possible when an individual decides to transform their lives after making a mistake.
It’s ironic that we can be proud of the fact that New York City has one of the most effective garbage recycling systems in the world, but somehow President Pollard doesn’t believe that a human being can be recycled.” Dr. Divine Pryor, March 6, 2011
Now for those of you who have been following these issues, or who are embroiled in the task of saving the school, the Medgar Evers College situation continues “to get curioser and curioser” - to paraphrase Alice in Wonderland. Speaking of which, given the specious assertions and allegations on the part of CUNY’s legals, one has to wonder what they’re up to really.
It kind of pivots between “here we go again,” and “oh no! Not that stupid stuff again!” You can decide after I outline the facts.
Fact: Center for NU Leadership was founded by Dr. Divine Pryor and Eddie Ellis some 7 years ago to help those who had run afoul of the law, lead better lives by providing them with a college education, so that they could make a positive contribution to society and their communities.
Fact: Dr. Edison O. Jackson, then President of Medgar Evers College, in wanting to provide services to a broader range of the population in and around Brooklyn and the greater New York Area, invited Dr. Pryor to establish an office for the Center for NU Leadership, so that those previously incarcerated who were looking to change their lives could matriculate at Medgar Evers College. Additionally, they maintained an open door policy, so that applicants and participants could come in from the street and be assisted in obtaining the education needed to provide them with career strategies and goals.
Fact: Over the past 7 years Center for NU Leadership has successfully assisted over 200 applicants graduate from Medgar Evers and enter into such arenas as legislative offices, corrections, the court systems, district attorney’s offices and non-profit organizations.
Fact: For such a small staff that’s a major track record - particularly since they are still fully employed, and continuing to make positive contributions to the community, setting a positive example for the youth and peers with whom they interact.
Fact: President William Pollard doesn’t get it. His allegation that the program exposed the campus to criminal elements, which, by the way, has not been a problem in the entire 7 years they have been affiliated with the campus, is a sad indictment on a person who looks like us, has a similar pigmentation, but it all stops there - scratch that surface, and there is something completely different lurking underneath. Howard Johnson, who serves as provost, is equally culpable, as evidenced by his hostile and aggressive actions against Center for NU Leadership, the Bunche DuBois Center, faculty, staff, and students. But, in addition to his not getting it - is the even sadder (read sicker) fact that he apparently doesn’t care.
Fact: Chancellor Goldstein apparently really doesn’t care - about Pollard, about Medgar Evers College, about the Black students, about the Brooklyn Community. He is about the “my way or high way” approach. The only thing is that the strings are showing and the puppet and puppet master are both about to be caught up in them.
Fact: The eviction of Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions from Medgar Evers College was heinous and unconscionable. It was based on racism and stereotypes. It was an affront to the men and women who have worked diligently to turn their lives around. And an even greater affront to Dr. Pryor who has dedicated his time, talent, intelligence and energy to developing what the prisons systems could or would not do, a viable program that spoke (speaks) to the needs of those in our community who have been disenfranchised by a system that would rather criminalize them than provide them with the education they deserved.
Fact: The confiscation of the Center for New Leadership’s computers (which they owned outright), and the confiscation of their hard drive was not only egregious, but criminal on the part of CUNY and Medgar Evers College. It not only violates their rights as an organization, but there are certain intellectual property laws, copyright infringement, as well as other rights to privacy that have been trampled in this newest racist attempt to denigrate this organization.
Fact: The allegation of a criminal investigation being their cause for seizing Center for NU Leadership‘s property, as alleged by the legals of CUNY, has no basis in fact. Not only were there no presentations of warrants, or any of the other protocols that would precede a search and seizure procedure, there has never been any necessity for an investigation of any type until the fabrication on the part of MEC’s new administration.
Fact: There is so little regard for Black people on the part of the CUNY administration, that they apparently disrespected the Black elected officials who tried to meet with them to ameliorate the problem and bring, what they had hoped would be a positive solution to a problem that has now mushroomed out of proportion. One community leader stated very matter of factly: “White people having no regard for Black people is not new. We’ve lived with that all our lives. But to have a person who is supposed to be Black, participate in the dismantling of an institution that has been built by the efforts of a community dedicated to educating their youth, and providing them with a legacy, goes to very heart of self-hatred; and cannot be tolerated.”
Fact: State Supreme Court Judge Kramer, who presided over the hearing, Friday, March 4, 2011 in the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, could not believe that the legals of CUNY were refusing to return the hard drive from the Center for NU Leadership’s computers. (Judge Kramer had ordered Medgar Evers to return to NuLeadership computers that the administration had confiscated in
mid-December but that were purchased independently by the center).
Fact: Subsequent hearing date set for April 8, 2011, during which time the CUNY legals will try to make those allegations hold water. While we put nothing past their trying to justify their actions, and prove their allegations (given the nature of the individuals involved), through manufactured evidence, the fact still remains that there is not now, nor has there ever been any reason to seize the materials, equipment, supplies owned and operated by the Center for NU Leadership.
Fact: The Medgar Evers faculty issued a vote of no confidence in Pollard, stating he is betraying the mission of a college presumably dedicated to the academic needs of the urban poor and working class.
Fact: On March 8, 2011, the New York City Council is holding hearings on academic excellence and the necessity of cultural programs to round out the educational millieu. The hearings will be held at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor hearing room at 2:00PM. We are holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall at 1:00pm. Would like to have as many people from the community present as possible.
Fact: MEC/CUNY’s stupidity Brooklyn's loss and SUNY’s gain. SUNY has offered to house the Center for NU Leadership, blowing holes in the allegation that they presented a criminal element on the MEC campus. If there was so much danger, why would SUNY offer them a considerable increase in funding as well as space and support. What Goldstein, Pollard and Johnson have essentially done is deprived the Brooklyn community of an essential program that has provided services for the growing number of ex-offenders who are returning to the community. *(see press release below)
NB: While SUNY will be housing the program on their campus, that should not obviate the demand that a branch of the center be re-established at Medgar Evers with full staff and equipment, immediately, if not sooner. In fact, faculty, staff, programs that were in existence upon Pollard’s arrival, must be completely reinstated and MADE WHOLE, WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Fact: Under the leadership of President Edison O. Jackson, Medgar Evers College had amassed some of the greatest minds in Black culture, politics, history and leadership, including former New York State Assemblyman Roger Green, Congressman Major Owens, Dr. Zulema Blair, Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Dr. Betty Shabazz (deceased), Ambassador Pursoo. It was a magnate for some of the greatest minds and leaders who frequented the campus affording the students an opportunity to be involved in leading edge issues and endeavors. The underhanded manner in which these and others have been treated has left a stain on the schools reputation as a center for higher learning and a magnate for genius.
Fact: Under the tyranny of Goldstein, Pollard and Johnson, more damage has been done to revert the campus back to pre-Jackson days when the school was floundering for an identity and direction.
Fact: If the Brooklyn Community, and the greater New York Community, the elected officials, and the students, parents, and faculty, don’t act immediately and take a stand for Medgar Evers College, the dream and goal of a COMMUNIVERSITY will have been destroyed, right along with so many other important programs and institutions we and our predecessors have fought long and hard to establish in the Black community. THAT MUST NOT HAPPEN.
Fact: My father used to say, “there’s nothing worse than an educated fool, or the person who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing.” There is also nothing worse than a people or a community who will sit idly by and allow the educational and cultural future (and present) of their children to be trampled on, with out taking a stand.
QUESTION: NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Contact and support the MECCoalition@gmail.com
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
PS: I could not close this article without quoting someone else that Ive admired for a long time, Dr. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in California. He always spoke about "Turning your scars into stars." And to me that is precisely what Dr. Divine Pryor has been doing with the Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions.
*IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS, I'M APPENDING IT TO THIS BLOG:
Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions Finds
New Home at SUNY Old Westbury College
Brooklyn, N.Y. – In a visionary move, SUNY Old Westbury College, under the leadership of its president Dr. Calvin O. Butts, has invited the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions to leave embattled Medgar Evers College (MEC), relocate its operation on the Long Island campus and open a SUNY satellite site in Brooklyn, thus allowing them to continue working there. The leadership of the Center concluded that as long as President William Pollard and Provost Howard Johnson are in charge of MEC, they will never provide a favorable work environment for them. Senior officials at SUNY Old Westbury say that NuLeadership has accepted their offer and submitted a detailed proposal which “is being given serious consideration.”
The invitation by SUNY Old Westbury allows the college to extend its reach into New York City, through Central Brooklyn, and to provide greater opportunities for its students to acquire internships, engage in community oriented research and have an urban office that serves as a direct pipeline for future enrollments. In addition to the invitation from SUNY, NuLeadership has received offers to work with one of the largest labor unions in the city and to further collaborate with a faith based academic institution. Both these offers are being considered as part of an integrated and comprehensive restructuring of their capacity building.
The move to SUNY comes on top of two outstanding Court victories for NuLeadership in its multi-count lawsuit against CUNY which is pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The suit challenges CUNY for their illegal attempt to evict the Center, invasion of the Center’s privacy, theft of their computers and confiscation of personal and intellectual property. In a stunning defeat for CUNY and Medgar, the Honorable Justice Herbert Kramer refused to grant their motion to dismiss the case. Instead, he granted the Center for NuLeadership, represented by attorney Ron McGuire, a temporary restraining order against the eviction, declared the seizure of their computers unconstitutional and ordered CUNY to show cause. The case is scheduled for additional hearing on April 8, 2011.
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions is headed by Dr. Divine Pryor, Eddie Ellis, Kyung Ji Rhee and Chino Hardin, who are all plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It is the first and only public policy, research, training, advocacy and academic Center in the country, conceived and operated by formerly incarcerated professionals. It was established ten years ago as an inter-disciplinary forum for scholars, policy makers, legal practitioners, law enforcement, civil society leaders, clergy and those previously incarcerated who are seeking to influence and impact urban contemporary social, economic and criminal justice issues. Its innovative policy and advocacy initiatives cover both adult and juvenile systems from a community level perspective.
According to Dr. Divine Pryor, executive director of the Center, “this move to SUNY is a major achievement. It is a natural evolution that allows us access to the state university system. Since our involvement with the criminal justice/punishment system is both national and statewide, our moving to SUNY Old Westbury greatly and further facilitates the work.”
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions will continue and expand its public policy development, lead the national debate regarding the need for a “nu-justice paradigm” in the adult and juvenile justice systems, and offer instructional services, counseling and support to the formerly incarcerated community in Brooklyn and throughout the state, with a special focus on those seeking higher education.
Eddie Ellis, co-founder of the Center for Nuleadership noted, “We have worked with SUNY Old Westbury’s President, Dr. Calvin Butts and Vice President Hakim Lucas, for many, many years. Their commitment to justice policy reform, system realignment and support for the social service work of our Center has deep roots and is a perfect fit. We are honored to accept their invitation. The possibilities before us are unlimited.”
I’m going to start this off with a quote from Dr. Divine Pryor. It’s so heavy I didn’t want to leave it to the end of this article:
“For the past seven years, The Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions has successfully created opportunities for people entangled in the law to access higher education as a way to transforming their lives. Our attempt to secure a multi-million dollar grant was only an effort to formalize what we have been doing informally over the past seven years. It’s unfortunate that President William Pollard and his administration could not appreciate the fact that members of the Center for NU Leadership are living, breathing examples of what is possible when an individual decides to transform their lives after making a mistake.
It’s ironic that we can be proud of the fact that New York City has one of the most effective garbage recycling systems in the world, but somehow President Pollard doesn’t believe that a human being can be recycled.” Dr. Divine Pryor, March 6, 2011
Now for those of you who have been following these issues, or who are embroiled in the task of saving the school, the Medgar Evers College situation continues “to get curioser and curioser” - to paraphrase Alice in Wonderland. Speaking of which, given the specious assertions and allegations on the part of CUNY’s legals, one has to wonder what they’re up to really.
It kind of pivots between “here we go again,” and “oh no! Not that stupid stuff again!” You can decide after I outline the facts.
Fact: Center for NU Leadership was founded by Dr. Divine Pryor and Eddie Ellis some 7 years ago to help those who had run afoul of the law, lead better lives by providing them with a college education, so that they could make a positive contribution to society and their communities.
Fact: Dr. Edison O. Jackson, then President of Medgar Evers College, in wanting to provide services to a broader range of the population in and around Brooklyn and the greater New York Area, invited Dr. Pryor to establish an office for the Center for NU Leadership, so that those previously incarcerated who were looking to change their lives could matriculate at Medgar Evers College. Additionally, they maintained an open door policy, so that applicants and participants could come in from the street and be assisted in obtaining the education needed to provide them with career strategies and goals.
Fact: Over the past 7 years Center for NU Leadership has successfully assisted over 200 applicants graduate from Medgar Evers and enter into such arenas as legislative offices, corrections, the court systems, district attorney’s offices and non-profit organizations.
Fact: For such a small staff that’s a major track record - particularly since they are still fully employed, and continuing to make positive contributions to the community, setting a positive example for the youth and peers with whom they interact.
Fact: President William Pollard doesn’t get it. His allegation that the program exposed the campus to criminal elements, which, by the way, has not been a problem in the entire 7 years they have been affiliated with the campus, is a sad indictment on a person who looks like us, has a similar pigmentation, but it all stops there - scratch that surface, and there is something completely different lurking underneath. Howard Johnson, who serves as provost, is equally culpable, as evidenced by his hostile and aggressive actions against Center for NU Leadership, the Bunche DuBois Center, faculty, staff, and students. But, in addition to his not getting it - is the even sadder (read sicker) fact that he apparently doesn’t care.
Fact: Chancellor Goldstein apparently really doesn’t care - about Pollard, about Medgar Evers College, about the Black students, about the Brooklyn Community. He is about the “my way or high way” approach. The only thing is that the strings are showing and the puppet and puppet master are both about to be caught up in them.
Fact: The eviction of Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions from Medgar Evers College was heinous and unconscionable. It was based on racism and stereotypes. It was an affront to the men and women who have worked diligently to turn their lives around. And an even greater affront to Dr. Pryor who has dedicated his time, talent, intelligence and energy to developing what the prisons systems could or would not do, a viable program that spoke (speaks) to the needs of those in our community who have been disenfranchised by a system that would rather criminalize them than provide them with the education they deserved.
Fact: The confiscation of the Center for New Leadership’s computers (which they owned outright), and the confiscation of their hard drive was not only egregious, but criminal on the part of CUNY and Medgar Evers College. It not only violates their rights as an organization, but there are certain intellectual property laws, copyright infringement, as well as other rights to privacy that have been trampled in this newest racist attempt to denigrate this organization.
Fact: The allegation of a criminal investigation being their cause for seizing Center for NU Leadership‘s property, as alleged by the legals of CUNY, has no basis in fact. Not only were there no presentations of warrants, or any of the other protocols that would precede a search and seizure procedure, there has never been any necessity for an investigation of any type until the fabrication on the part of MEC’s new administration.
Fact: There is so little regard for Black people on the part of the CUNY administration, that they apparently disrespected the Black elected officials who tried to meet with them to ameliorate the problem and bring, what they had hoped would be a positive solution to a problem that has now mushroomed out of proportion. One community leader stated very matter of factly: “White people having no regard for Black people is not new. We’ve lived with that all our lives. But to have a person who is supposed to be Black, participate in the dismantling of an institution that has been built by the efforts of a community dedicated to educating their youth, and providing them with a legacy, goes to very heart of self-hatred; and cannot be tolerated.”
Fact: State Supreme Court Judge Kramer, who presided over the hearing, Friday, March 4, 2011 in the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, could not believe that the legals of CUNY were refusing to return the hard drive from the Center for NU Leadership’s computers. (Judge Kramer had ordered Medgar Evers to return to NuLeadership computers that the administration had confiscated in
mid-December but that were purchased independently by the center).
Fact: Subsequent hearing date set for April 8, 2011, during which time the CUNY legals will try to make those allegations hold water. While we put nothing past their trying to justify their actions, and prove their allegations (given the nature of the individuals involved), through manufactured evidence, the fact still remains that there is not now, nor has there ever been any reason to seize the materials, equipment, supplies owned and operated by the Center for NU Leadership.
Fact: The Medgar Evers faculty issued a vote of no confidence in Pollard, stating he is betraying the mission of a college presumably dedicated to the academic needs of the urban poor and working class.
Fact: On March 8, 2011, the New York City Council is holding hearings on academic excellence and the necessity of cultural programs to round out the educational millieu. The hearings will be held at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor hearing room at 2:00PM. We are holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall at 1:00pm. Would like to have as many people from the community present as possible.
Fact: MEC/CUNY’s stupidity Brooklyn's loss and SUNY’s gain. SUNY has offered to house the Center for NU Leadership, blowing holes in the allegation that they presented a criminal element on the MEC campus. If there was so much danger, why would SUNY offer them a considerable increase in funding as well as space and support. What Goldstein, Pollard and Johnson have essentially done is deprived the Brooklyn community of an essential program that has provided services for the growing number of ex-offenders who are returning to the community. *(see press release below)
NB: While SUNY will be housing the program on their campus, that should not obviate the demand that a branch of the center be re-established at Medgar Evers with full staff and equipment, immediately, if not sooner. In fact, faculty, staff, programs that were in existence upon Pollard’s arrival, must be completely reinstated and MADE WHOLE, WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Fact: Under the leadership of President Edison O. Jackson, Medgar Evers College had amassed some of the greatest minds in Black culture, politics, history and leadership, including former New York State Assemblyman Roger Green, Congressman Major Owens, Dr. Zulema Blair, Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Dr. Betty Shabazz (deceased), Ambassador Pursoo. It was a magnate for some of the greatest minds and leaders who frequented the campus affording the students an opportunity to be involved in leading edge issues and endeavors. The underhanded manner in which these and others have been treated has left a stain on the schools reputation as a center for higher learning and a magnate for genius.
Fact: Under the tyranny of Goldstein, Pollard and Johnson, more damage has been done to revert the campus back to pre-Jackson days when the school was floundering for an identity and direction.
Fact: If the Brooklyn Community, and the greater New York Community, the elected officials, and the students, parents, and faculty, don’t act immediately and take a stand for Medgar Evers College, the dream and goal of a COMMUNIVERSITY will have been destroyed, right along with so many other important programs and institutions we and our predecessors have fought long and hard to establish in the Black community. THAT MUST NOT HAPPEN.
Fact: My father used to say, “there’s nothing worse than an educated fool, or the person who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing.” There is also nothing worse than a people or a community who will sit idly by and allow the educational and cultural future (and present) of their children to be trampled on, with out taking a stand.
QUESTION: NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Contact and support the MECCoalition@gmail.com
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
PS: I could not close this article without quoting someone else that Ive admired for a long time, Dr. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in California. He always spoke about "Turning your scars into stars." And to me that is precisely what Dr. Divine Pryor has been doing with the Center for NU Leadership on Urban Solutions.
*IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS, I'M APPENDING IT TO THIS BLOG:
Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions Finds
New Home at SUNY Old Westbury College
Brooklyn, N.Y. – In a visionary move, SUNY Old Westbury College, under the leadership of its president Dr. Calvin O. Butts, has invited the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions to leave embattled Medgar Evers College (MEC), relocate its operation on the Long Island campus and open a SUNY satellite site in Brooklyn, thus allowing them to continue working there. The leadership of the Center concluded that as long as President William Pollard and Provost Howard Johnson are in charge of MEC, they will never provide a favorable work environment for them. Senior officials at SUNY Old Westbury say that NuLeadership has accepted their offer and submitted a detailed proposal which “is being given serious consideration.”
The invitation by SUNY Old Westbury allows the college to extend its reach into New York City, through Central Brooklyn, and to provide greater opportunities for its students to acquire internships, engage in community oriented research and have an urban office that serves as a direct pipeline for future enrollments. In addition to the invitation from SUNY, NuLeadership has received offers to work with one of the largest labor unions in the city and to further collaborate with a faith based academic institution. Both these offers are being considered as part of an integrated and comprehensive restructuring of their capacity building.
The move to SUNY comes on top of two outstanding Court victories for NuLeadership in its multi-count lawsuit against CUNY which is pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The suit challenges CUNY for their illegal attempt to evict the Center, invasion of the Center’s privacy, theft of their computers and confiscation of personal and intellectual property. In a stunning defeat for CUNY and Medgar, the Honorable Justice Herbert Kramer refused to grant their motion to dismiss the case. Instead, he granted the Center for NuLeadership, represented by attorney Ron McGuire, a temporary restraining order against the eviction, declared the seizure of their computers unconstitutional and ordered CUNY to show cause. The case is scheduled for additional hearing on April 8, 2011.
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions is headed by Dr. Divine Pryor, Eddie Ellis, Kyung Ji Rhee and Chino Hardin, who are all plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It is the first and only public policy, research, training, advocacy and academic Center in the country, conceived and operated by formerly incarcerated professionals. It was established ten years ago as an inter-disciplinary forum for scholars, policy makers, legal practitioners, law enforcement, civil society leaders, clergy and those previously incarcerated who are seeking to influence and impact urban contemporary social, economic and criminal justice issues. Its innovative policy and advocacy initiatives cover both adult and juvenile systems from a community level perspective.
According to Dr. Divine Pryor, executive director of the Center, “this move to SUNY is a major achievement. It is a natural evolution that allows us access to the state university system. Since our involvement with the criminal justice/punishment system is both national and statewide, our moving to SUNY Old Westbury greatly and further facilitates the work.”
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions will continue and expand its public policy development, lead the national debate regarding the need for a “nu-justice paradigm” in the adult and juvenile justice systems, and offer instructional services, counseling and support to the formerly incarcerated community in Brooklyn and throughout the state, with a special focus on those seeking higher education.
Eddie Ellis, co-founder of the Center for Nuleadership noted, “We have worked with SUNY Old Westbury’s President, Dr. Calvin Butts and Vice President Hakim Lucas, for many, many years. Their commitment to justice policy reform, system realignment and support for the social service work of our Center has deep roots and is a perfect fit. We are honored to accept their invitation. The possibilities before us are unlimited.”
2.14.2011
Medgar Evers College in Crisis: Sign the Petition and Take a Stand: If the People Will Lead the Leaders Will Follow
by Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello All:
This is an immediate notice to Brooklyn's Black Community and those who wish us well. There is a crisis brewing at Medgar Evers College, and it's been allowed to fester and degenerate into a maisma with a cloud of gloom and a crisis of confidence looming over the entire campus, as well as the community.
Those of you who know the history of Medgar Evers College know that this school did not come about because of the generosity of the City University System. There was no benevolent being there who suddenly woke up and said, "Wow! There's no historically Black college or university or school that speaks to the needs of the Black students in New York, let us establish a college for them." No, that did not happen.
What did happen is the people like Jitu Weusi, Albert Vann, Annette Robinson, and other stalwarts of the community, got to together with the Brooklyn community, put together a plan and demanded a college be established that was more in line with the unique needs of the Black students. And it took months, to bring this about. It took years to find a president whose leadership finally made Medgar Evers the stellar college it has become under the City University System. Under his 20 years of leadership, Medgar Evers has made great strides, with more yet to come.
Well that progress appears to be halted in its tracks under the mis-direction of the newly appointed president, William Pollard. It took 20 years for Medgar Evers to gain its credibility, and in less than one year Pollard has apparently caused them to either reverse or disappear. Not only has he stated that he was not hired to lead a Black College; applicants from the surrounding community, who used to be able to apply directly for admission, now have to go through CUNY Central for admission. This has decimated the number of Black students who would have had the opportunity to begin their higher education.
To make it even more bizarre, Pollard has severed the contract with Carver Federal Savings (a Black Bank), and instituted CitiBank instead. What's up with that?
Additionally, Pollard asserted that there were students who were receiving financial aid illegally - and has terminated several students' lifelines to obtaining a higher education.
Now this might be understandable if Pollard was of any other ethnicity. But Pollard is allegedly African American (I'm reserving what I could really call him. There is a name for an individual who stabs his own people in the back, and gets paid to do so -- and since we all know what that name is, I don't need to go there - use your own imagination and experience).
The problems facing Medgar Evers has been compounded by the actions on the part of Howard Johnson, the individual selected as provost, who has caused several essential programs to be evicted from the campus. The combination of the two individuals have turned twenty years of progress backwards. MEC, despite the new buildings, is facing a downward spiral as a result of these two who serve to the detriment of the students and the community.
The Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity comprised of community members, professors, elected officials, and students, have been meeting consistently to try to stem the tide of this effort to undermine Medgar Evers' primacy as a Black school.
But here's my dilemma: With all this roiling right under the noses of Black people in Brooklyn, with the very future of their children's education in jeopardy, I want to know why is everyone else in Brooklyn sooooo quiet? Why is it that there aren't thousands of Brooklynites surrounding that campus demanding Pollard's exit? Why haven't our elected officials put their foot down and demanded his exit? Why all the posturing and the meetings. Why are we sitting here watching a car wreck as though we're driving down the I-95, waiting to see how many casualties before we act? What the Sam Hill is going on with us, with this wait and see attitude?
Don't we have enough assaults on our education with adding insult to injury?
I recently saw a movie on Ancient Mali, where they discovered thousand year old libraries that had to be protected from white maurauders who did not value our culture. They were able to devise ways to protect those treasures so that today the world marvels at the fact that our civilization predates the European system, and there is concrete evidence of that fact.
At the present moment, I am looking at a situation where the same genetic codes that caused us to protect our treasures then have to be re-inculcated now - before its too late. Our children, their education, our community, our accomplishment are individually and collectively treasures, and it is incumbent on us to protect it.
It doesn't matter if you never attended, or ever plan to attend Medgar Evers College; just as it does not matter if you or any of your children ever attended Paul Robeson (also under siege in Brooklyn); it's about the entire society of which you are a part. It is to be treasured because we developed it for us by us. It is not to be violated by interlopers who are paid to come in eviscerate progress made through devotion, dedication, diligence, blood, sweat and tears. It is as sacred as any church. It is just as much a treasure as gold, silver, or millions of dollars. Because it is an investment into our futures, our self-esteem, our self worth, our very empowerment.
So, why is the Black community so quiet? I am posting this in my blog, and I want each individual who receives it to send it to ten of their friends, relatives, associates - whether they live in Brooklyn or not - and tell them to get involved: Sign the petition below, write your congressman, write your city council representative, write your assembly members, write your state senators and tell them that you want Medgar Evers delivered from the hands of those that are looking to destroy it, and new leadership immediately established, if not sooner.
Not since the Civil Rights Era has there been more at stake. Many students who are now the grandchildren of those of that era, have chosen to take a stand against the denigration of Medgar Evers College, including the MEC NAACP. They have engaged other students who appear to be fearful of reprisals, in taking a principled stand to maintain Medgar Evers College is the only semblance of an Historically Black College/University in the North. Taking a cue from the examples of their parents and grandparents, these students understand the necessity of being involved in their future, and not sitting idly by while others destroy what has been so hard fought to bring into existence. It is heartening to see that our students are willing to take the baton and continue the mission.
Reaching back to the Mali documentary, I mentioned earlier, there was a theme song that has remained in my conscious-soulness, and I'm sharing the title with you here:
"IF THE PEOPLE WILL LEAD, THE LEADERS WILL FOLLOW"
Let that statement marinate in your mind for a moment. IF THE PEOPLE WILL LEAD, THE LEADERS WILL FOLLOW!!! We are the people. We are responsible for our leaders. If they do something we don't like, or if they don't represent us appropriately, we have the right and responsibility to put them on blast, and make them take corrective actions. We can either let them lead us by the noses, or we can take principled stands. In this instance, if we don't let the so-called leaders know of our displeasure, and of our desires, they will pretty much go along without having any inkling of our concerns. But once we stand up, stand together, and put our demands in their face, they either have to accede to our needs and demands, or get out.
It is time for the community of Brooklyn to take back their leadership, and send a signal to our representatives to get the job done now.
Below is a petition that you can copy, paste and sign in reference to the Medgar Evers College crisis. Please sign it and send it back to the email address highlighted below.
Also included is an update on the Coalition's activities to save Medgar Evers. Your help and support are needed immediately, if not sooner. So make it your business to be a part of the solution, not a part of the side line.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
_______________________________________________
PETITION (cut and paste to print petition Email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528):
The Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity
January 5, 2011
Hon. Matthew Goldstein
Chancellor
City University of New York
535 E. 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
Re: A Call for the Resignation of Dr. Howard Johnson as Provost of Medgar Evers College
Dear Chancellor Goldstein:
I am very disturbed by the changes which have occurred since Dr. William Pollard became president of Medgar Evers College in August 2009. His policies have compromised the ability of the institution to serve its students and his policies have demoralized the College’s faculty. I am not adverse to change and recognize that it is necessary for the growth of any institution. However, this administration’s policies have hindered the ability of the institution to ensure the academic excellence and integrity of its mission as defined by the founders and stakeholders.
Many of the issues stem from the actions and unprofessional working style of the Provost, Dr. Howard Johnson, and from his lack of commitment to the mission of the College. Among other actions, this provost has violated CUNY Bylaws, union contracts and the Medgar Evers College Governance Plan in the non reappointment of faculty; removed chairs for spurious and unsubstantiated reasons; reduced support mechanisms and faculty resources for student success; oversaw the withdrawal of support for the Medgar College Preparatory School’s Dual Enrollment Program; and issued an eviction notice to the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions despite its formal approval by the College’s governing body, the College Council.
In view of the actions cited above and more, I request that you direct President Pollard to ask for the resignation of Provost Howard Johnson immediately. I am sure that the resignation of Provost Johnson will initiate the steps to resolve these critical issues at Medgar Evers College.
Yours truly,
Full Name: *_________________________________________________
Email: _________________________________________________
Phone: _________________________________________________
Comments: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528.
What’s Going on at Medgar Evers College? - THE FACTS
Presented by the Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity (aka The MEC Coalition)
• Petition Letter to the Hon. Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of the City University of New York
• Petition Letter to Dr. William L. Pollard, President, Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York
In view of the actions listed below, the faculty of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (MEC) affirmed a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE in the current Administration, and specifically, in the Office of the President, Dr. William Pollard and in the Office of the Provost, Dr. Howard Johnson.
At a meeting held by the Committee of the Faculty of the Whole, 89% of the faculty issued a vote of no confidence.
Under the administration of President Pollard and Provost Johnson, the following have occurred:
1. The administration has violated CUNY Bylaws, union contracts and the Medgar Evers Governance Plan in the non-reappointment of faculty.
2. The administration has disseminated notices of non-reappointment to faculty and staff via campus police, email, and visits to classrooms (in front of students), and offices.
3. The administration has removed the Chair of Education for spurious and unsubstantiated reasons (Per PSC Contract, Chairs in CUNY are elected by faculty, not appointed by President and Provost). The Chair of Education had been elected by the faculty in her department
for a three year term.
“WHAT WOULD MEDGAR DO?” STAND FOR JUSTICE!
On Monday, January 17, 2011 at the 25th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, (where Dr. William Pollard was invited to speak), we conducted a Silent Demonstration to protest the desecration of the mission of Medgar Evers College. The Mission of MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE Is UNDER ATTACK!
4. The administration has reduced support mechanisms and faculty resources which include:
* Elimination of the Writing Center
* Elimination of the Center for Teaching and Learning
* Reduction of tutors in the Learning Center budget
* Reduction of staff in the College’s library
* Reduction of staff in the Student Computer Lab
* Reduction of resources and research opportunities for the Psych Lab
* Blocking of funding supporting faculty/student research and the mission of the College
5. The administration has issued an eviction notice to the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions despite its adherence to the formal application process and subsequent approval by Medgar Evers College’s governing body, the College Council, in accordance with the Policy Guidelines for Centers, Institutes, Consortia and Special Initiatives at The City University of New York (approved by the Board of Trustees, 27 February 1995) and the Medgar Evers College Governance Plan.
6. The administration has not hired faculty positions in academic departments, yet has hired numerous high level administrators and consultants.
7. The administration has withdrawn support for the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School’s Dual Enrollment Program which provides high school students with opportunities to take college level courses while enrolled in high school.
8. The administration has not announced a Master Plan or direction for MEC, after an entire year of governance.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF Medgar Evers College
* MEC was founded four decades ago during a period of institution building by communities of color across this country and in Central Brooklyn, specifically, to address the need for access to higher education, to be coupled with community engagement and development
* MEC has a proud history of leadership and involvement in advocacy that advances and promotes the political, cultural, social, economic and academic power of people of color in Central Brooklyn
* MEC is rooted in the progressive history of Central Brooklyn through its academic, professional, advocacy and civic programs
* MEC has created a culture of academic excellence for students and faculty
* The actions of the administration, as represented by the Offices of the President and Provost, demonstrate a lack of commitment to the “community–oriented” mission of Medgar Evers College and the community stakeholders of Central Brooklyn who helped to birth Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College also:
* Transforms the lives of individuals within their communities and the global world
* Provides students with access to high quality professional degree programs
* Offers 17 baccalaureate and 8 associate level degree programs in the liberal arts, science, health, business, and education
* Provides students who move from associate level to baccalaureate level degree programs with high academic standards
* Maintains a national and international presence through its Centers
* Offers conferences, seminars and workshops that support academic programs and student success
The Students
* Capture first place prizes in prestigious competitions like the Wharton Undergraduate Marketing Conference case competition
* Present their original research and scholarship at conferences across the globe
* Participate and are leaders in national student business associations of NABA (National Assoc. of Black Accountants, AMA (American Management Assoc.), CISTA (Computer Information Systems Technology Association, MECPA (Society of Public Administration), and MIA (Minority Investment Assoc.) which have won numerous awards.
* Are members of honor societies (Delta Mu Delta and Kappa Beta Delta) and participate in national and regional conferences that promote personal and career goals
* Matriculate as the first in their family to pursue higher education
About The Faculty
* Include distinguished scholars, researchers, and former members of the city, state and federal legislatures of the United States
* Are Involved in a range of research and grant activities in their disciplines
* Received numerous awards within their disciplines
* Include Fulbright scholars and a Guggenheim Fellow
* Collaborate with entities such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct space science research, which included the launching of a satellite for government payloads
* Are Awarded research grants by the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education, among others
* Include faculty and directors, who host national and international conferences, including:
o National Black Writers Conference
o Environmental Science Conference
o Social Work Conference
o Diopian Inquiry and Research on Education as Culture Transmission Conference
About The Centers
* Strengthen, enrich and support the College’s academic degree programs
* Serve as vehicles for research, training, advocacy and career development in public service and public policy fields
* Fulfill the College’s mission of communicating the knowledge of tradition, the teaching of scholars and the beauty and profundity of students’ cultural heritage
* Develop non degree and co-curricular cultural programs which serve students and a broad range of community residents
* Fulfill the College’s mission through interaction with community representatives, cultural and public institutions
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions (CNUS) has operated at Medgar Evers College for the past six years. CNUS provides critical policy research and advocacy training on criminal and juvenile justice system reform issues; develops initiatives, policy recommendations and programs aimed at increasing access, retention, and graduation rates for formerly incarcerated students; and promotes leadership and career development in the fields of public policy and advocacy related to criminal justice and civil rights.
The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy (DBC) is a think tank dedicated to forging solutions to the challenges confronting people of color living within urban communities in the United States and throughout the African Diaspora. DBC produces research, formulates policies, sponsors conferences, and produces public affairs media programming that advances economic and social justice.
The Center for Black Literature expands, broadens, and enriches the public’s knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of black literature; continues the tradition and legacy of the National Black Writers Conference and serves as a voice and resource for black writers. It is the only Center devoted to this in the country.
The Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) is a community-based legal organization that specializes in addressing racial justice issues. CLSJ provides quality legal advocacy, trainings, and research services in a personal manner to people of African ancestry and the disenfranchised.
About the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School (MECPS)
* The MECPS was created as a partnership with Medgar Evers College
* The MECPS was cited by Department of Education, College Board and President Obama as an exemplary model of high school and college collaboration
* The MECPS was only one of three in the nation to win a College Board Inspiration Award Winner for helping underserved students achieve equitable access to higher education
* The MECPS ranked as one of the top best public high schools in Brooklyn
* The MECPS offers one of the largest Chinese language programs for students not from a Chinese background in the United States
For more information, visit www.Facebook.com/MEfortheCommunity. You do not have to be a member of Facebook to view this Facebook Page.
Send an email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello All:
This is an immediate notice to Brooklyn's Black Community and those who wish us well. There is a crisis brewing at Medgar Evers College, and it's been allowed to fester and degenerate into a maisma with a cloud of gloom and a crisis of confidence looming over the entire campus, as well as the community.
Those of you who know the history of Medgar Evers College know that this school did not come about because of the generosity of the City University System. There was no benevolent being there who suddenly woke up and said, "Wow! There's no historically Black college or university or school that speaks to the needs of the Black students in New York, let us establish a college for them." No, that did not happen.
What did happen is the people like Jitu Weusi, Albert Vann, Annette Robinson, and other stalwarts of the community, got to together with the Brooklyn community, put together a plan and demanded a college be established that was more in line with the unique needs of the Black students. And it took months, to bring this about. It took years to find a president whose leadership finally made Medgar Evers the stellar college it has become under the City University System. Under his 20 years of leadership, Medgar Evers has made great strides, with more yet to come.
Well that progress appears to be halted in its tracks under the mis-direction of the newly appointed president, William Pollard. It took 20 years for Medgar Evers to gain its credibility, and in less than one year Pollard has apparently caused them to either reverse or disappear. Not only has he stated that he was not hired to lead a Black College; applicants from the surrounding community, who used to be able to apply directly for admission, now have to go through CUNY Central for admission. This has decimated the number of Black students who would have had the opportunity to begin their higher education.
To make it even more bizarre, Pollard has severed the contract with Carver Federal Savings (a Black Bank), and instituted CitiBank instead. What's up with that?
Additionally, Pollard asserted that there were students who were receiving financial aid illegally - and has terminated several students' lifelines to obtaining a higher education.
Now this might be understandable if Pollard was of any other ethnicity. But Pollard is allegedly African American (I'm reserving what I could really call him. There is a name for an individual who stabs his own people in the back, and gets paid to do so -- and since we all know what that name is, I don't need to go there - use your own imagination and experience).
The problems facing Medgar Evers has been compounded by the actions on the part of Howard Johnson, the individual selected as provost, who has caused several essential programs to be evicted from the campus. The combination of the two individuals have turned twenty years of progress backwards. MEC, despite the new buildings, is facing a downward spiral as a result of these two who serve to the detriment of the students and the community.
The Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity comprised of community members, professors, elected officials, and students, have been meeting consistently to try to stem the tide of this effort to undermine Medgar Evers' primacy as a Black school.
But here's my dilemma: With all this roiling right under the noses of Black people in Brooklyn, with the very future of their children's education in jeopardy, I want to know why is everyone else in Brooklyn sooooo quiet? Why is it that there aren't thousands of Brooklynites surrounding that campus demanding Pollard's exit? Why haven't our elected officials put their foot down and demanded his exit? Why all the posturing and the meetings. Why are we sitting here watching a car wreck as though we're driving down the I-95, waiting to see how many casualties before we act? What the Sam Hill is going on with us, with this wait and see attitude?
Don't we have enough assaults on our education with adding insult to injury?
I recently saw a movie on Ancient Mali, where they discovered thousand year old libraries that had to be protected from white maurauders who did not value our culture. They were able to devise ways to protect those treasures so that today the world marvels at the fact that our civilization predates the European system, and there is concrete evidence of that fact.
At the present moment, I am looking at a situation where the same genetic codes that caused us to protect our treasures then have to be re-inculcated now - before its too late. Our children, their education, our community, our accomplishment are individually and collectively treasures, and it is incumbent on us to protect it.
It doesn't matter if you never attended, or ever plan to attend Medgar Evers College; just as it does not matter if you or any of your children ever attended Paul Robeson (also under siege in Brooklyn); it's about the entire society of which you are a part. It is to be treasured because we developed it for us by us. It is not to be violated by interlopers who are paid to come in eviscerate progress made through devotion, dedication, diligence, blood, sweat and tears. It is as sacred as any church. It is just as much a treasure as gold, silver, or millions of dollars. Because it is an investment into our futures, our self-esteem, our self worth, our very empowerment.
So, why is the Black community so quiet? I am posting this in my blog, and I want each individual who receives it to send it to ten of their friends, relatives, associates - whether they live in Brooklyn or not - and tell them to get involved: Sign the petition below, write your congressman, write your city council representative, write your assembly members, write your state senators and tell them that you want Medgar Evers delivered from the hands of those that are looking to destroy it, and new leadership immediately established, if not sooner.
Not since the Civil Rights Era has there been more at stake. Many students who are now the grandchildren of those of that era, have chosen to take a stand against the denigration of Medgar Evers College, including the MEC NAACP. They have engaged other students who appear to be fearful of reprisals, in taking a principled stand to maintain Medgar Evers College is the only semblance of an Historically Black College/University in the North. Taking a cue from the examples of their parents and grandparents, these students understand the necessity of being involved in their future, and not sitting idly by while others destroy what has been so hard fought to bring into existence. It is heartening to see that our students are willing to take the baton and continue the mission.
Reaching back to the Mali documentary, I mentioned earlier, there was a theme song that has remained in my conscious-soulness, and I'm sharing the title with you here:
"IF THE PEOPLE WILL LEAD, THE LEADERS WILL FOLLOW"
Let that statement marinate in your mind for a moment. IF THE PEOPLE WILL LEAD, THE LEADERS WILL FOLLOW!!! We are the people. We are responsible for our leaders. If they do something we don't like, or if they don't represent us appropriately, we have the right and responsibility to put them on blast, and make them take corrective actions. We can either let them lead us by the noses, or we can take principled stands. In this instance, if we don't let the so-called leaders know of our displeasure, and of our desires, they will pretty much go along without having any inkling of our concerns. But once we stand up, stand together, and put our demands in their face, they either have to accede to our needs and demands, or get out.
It is time for the community of Brooklyn to take back their leadership, and send a signal to our representatives to get the job done now.
Below is a petition that you can copy, paste and sign in reference to the Medgar Evers College crisis. Please sign it and send it back to the email address highlighted below.
Also included is an update on the Coalition's activities to save Medgar Evers. Your help and support are needed immediately, if not sooner. So make it your business to be a part of the solution, not a part of the side line.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
_______________________________________________
PETITION (cut and paste to print petition Email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528):
The Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity
January 5, 2011
Hon. Matthew Goldstein
Chancellor
City University of New York
535 E. 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
Re: A Call for the Resignation of Dr. Howard Johnson as Provost of Medgar Evers College
Dear Chancellor Goldstein:
I am very disturbed by the changes which have occurred since Dr. William Pollard became president of Medgar Evers College in August 2009. His policies have compromised the ability of the institution to serve its students and his policies have demoralized the College’s faculty. I am not adverse to change and recognize that it is necessary for the growth of any institution. However, this administration’s policies have hindered the ability of the institution to ensure the academic excellence and integrity of its mission as defined by the founders and stakeholders.
Many of the issues stem from the actions and unprofessional working style of the Provost, Dr. Howard Johnson, and from his lack of commitment to the mission of the College. Among other actions, this provost has violated CUNY Bylaws, union contracts and the Medgar Evers College Governance Plan in the non reappointment of faculty; removed chairs for spurious and unsubstantiated reasons; reduced support mechanisms and faculty resources for student success; oversaw the withdrawal of support for the Medgar College Preparatory School’s Dual Enrollment Program; and issued an eviction notice to the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions despite its formal approval by the College’s governing body, the College Council.
In view of the actions cited above and more, I request that you direct President Pollard to ask for the resignation of Provost Howard Johnson immediately. I am sure that the resignation of Provost Johnson will initiate the steps to resolve these critical issues at Medgar Evers College.
Yours truly,
Full Name: *_________________________________________________
Email: _________________________________________________
Phone: _________________________________________________
Comments: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528.
What’s Going on at Medgar Evers College? - THE FACTS
Presented by the Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity (aka The MEC Coalition)
• Petition Letter to the Hon. Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor of the City University of New York
• Petition Letter to Dr. William L. Pollard, President, Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York
In view of the actions listed below, the faculty of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (MEC) affirmed a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE in the current Administration, and specifically, in the Office of the President, Dr. William Pollard and in the Office of the Provost, Dr. Howard Johnson.
At a meeting held by the Committee of the Faculty of the Whole, 89% of the faculty issued a vote of no confidence.
Under the administration of President Pollard and Provost Johnson, the following have occurred:
1. The administration has violated CUNY Bylaws, union contracts and the Medgar Evers Governance Plan in the non-reappointment of faculty.
2. The administration has disseminated notices of non-reappointment to faculty and staff via campus police, email, and visits to classrooms (in front of students), and offices.
3. The administration has removed the Chair of Education for spurious and unsubstantiated reasons (Per PSC Contract, Chairs in CUNY are elected by faculty, not appointed by President and Provost). The Chair of Education had been elected by the faculty in her department
for a three year term.
“WHAT WOULD MEDGAR DO?” STAND FOR JUSTICE!
On Monday, January 17, 2011 at the 25th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, (where Dr. William Pollard was invited to speak), we conducted a Silent Demonstration to protest the desecration of the mission of Medgar Evers College. The Mission of MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE Is UNDER ATTACK!
4. The administration has reduced support mechanisms and faculty resources which include:
* Elimination of the Writing Center
* Elimination of the Center for Teaching and Learning
* Reduction of tutors in the Learning Center budget
* Reduction of staff in the College’s library
* Reduction of staff in the Student Computer Lab
* Reduction of resources and research opportunities for the Psych Lab
* Blocking of funding supporting faculty/student research and the mission of the College
5. The administration has issued an eviction notice to the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions despite its adherence to the formal application process and subsequent approval by Medgar Evers College’s governing body, the College Council, in accordance with the Policy Guidelines for Centers, Institutes, Consortia and Special Initiatives at The City University of New York (approved by the Board of Trustees, 27 February 1995) and the Medgar Evers College Governance Plan.
6. The administration has not hired faculty positions in academic departments, yet has hired numerous high level administrators and consultants.
7. The administration has withdrawn support for the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School’s Dual Enrollment Program which provides high school students with opportunities to take college level courses while enrolled in high school.
8. The administration has not announced a Master Plan or direction for MEC, after an entire year of governance.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF Medgar Evers College
* MEC was founded four decades ago during a period of institution building by communities of color across this country and in Central Brooklyn, specifically, to address the need for access to higher education, to be coupled with community engagement and development
* MEC has a proud history of leadership and involvement in advocacy that advances and promotes the political, cultural, social, economic and academic power of people of color in Central Brooklyn
* MEC is rooted in the progressive history of Central Brooklyn through its academic, professional, advocacy and civic programs
* MEC has created a culture of academic excellence for students and faculty
* The actions of the administration, as represented by the Offices of the President and Provost, demonstrate a lack of commitment to the “community–oriented” mission of Medgar Evers College and the community stakeholders of Central Brooklyn who helped to birth Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College also:
* Transforms the lives of individuals within their communities and the global world
* Provides students with access to high quality professional degree programs
* Offers 17 baccalaureate and 8 associate level degree programs in the liberal arts, science, health, business, and education
* Provides students who move from associate level to baccalaureate level degree programs with high academic standards
* Maintains a national and international presence through its Centers
* Offers conferences, seminars and workshops that support academic programs and student success
The Students
* Capture first place prizes in prestigious competitions like the Wharton Undergraduate Marketing Conference case competition
* Present their original research and scholarship at conferences across the globe
* Participate and are leaders in national student business associations of NABA (National Assoc. of Black Accountants, AMA (American Management Assoc.), CISTA (Computer Information Systems Technology Association, MECPA (Society of Public Administration), and MIA (Minority Investment Assoc.) which have won numerous awards.
* Are members of honor societies (Delta Mu Delta and Kappa Beta Delta) and participate in national and regional conferences that promote personal and career goals
* Matriculate as the first in their family to pursue higher education
About The Faculty
* Include distinguished scholars, researchers, and former members of the city, state and federal legislatures of the United States
* Are Involved in a range of research and grant activities in their disciplines
* Received numerous awards within their disciplines
* Include Fulbright scholars and a Guggenheim Fellow
* Collaborate with entities such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct space science research, which included the launching of a satellite for government payloads
* Are Awarded research grants by the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education, among others
* Include faculty and directors, who host national and international conferences, including:
o National Black Writers Conference
o Environmental Science Conference
o Social Work Conference
o Diopian Inquiry and Research on Education as Culture Transmission Conference
About The Centers
* Strengthen, enrich and support the College’s academic degree programs
* Serve as vehicles for research, training, advocacy and career development in public service and public policy fields
* Fulfill the College’s mission of communicating the knowledge of tradition, the teaching of scholars and the beauty and profundity of students’ cultural heritage
* Develop non degree and co-curricular cultural programs which serve students and a broad range of community residents
* Fulfill the College’s mission through interaction with community representatives, cultural and public institutions
The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions (CNUS) has operated at Medgar Evers College for the past six years. CNUS provides critical policy research and advocacy training on criminal and juvenile justice system reform issues; develops initiatives, policy recommendations and programs aimed at increasing access, retention, and graduation rates for formerly incarcerated students; and promotes leadership and career development in the fields of public policy and advocacy related to criminal justice and civil rights.
The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy (DBC) is a think tank dedicated to forging solutions to the challenges confronting people of color living within urban communities in the United States and throughout the African Diaspora. DBC produces research, formulates policies, sponsors conferences, and produces public affairs media programming that advances economic and social justice.
The Center for Black Literature expands, broadens, and enriches the public’s knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of black literature; continues the tradition and legacy of the National Black Writers Conference and serves as a voice and resource for black writers. It is the only Center devoted to this in the country.
The Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) is a community-based legal organization that specializes in addressing racial justice issues. CLSJ provides quality legal advocacy, trainings, and research services in a personal manner to people of African ancestry and the disenfranchised.
About the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School (MECPS)
* The MECPS was created as a partnership with Medgar Evers College
* The MECPS was cited by Department of Education, College Board and President Obama as an exemplary model of high school and college collaboration
* The MECPS was only one of three in the nation to win a College Board Inspiration Award Winner for helping underserved students achieve equitable access to higher education
* The MECPS ranked as one of the top best public high schools in Brooklyn
* The MECPS offers one of the largest Chinese language programs for students not from a Chinese background in the United States
For more information, visit www.Facebook.com/MEfortheCommunity. You do not have to be a member of Facebook to view this Facebook Page.
Send an email to MECCoalition@gmail.com or call 718.710.4528.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
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