New York Needs a New Deal for Higher Education

hen Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, he promised the American people a New Deal. One that focused on the “three Rs” — relief for the economically struggling, recovery to help free the nation from the grip of the Great Depression, and reforms to prevent a similar economic collapse from occurring again.

The New Deal helped put the nation on the path to improvement and created landmark legislation such as the Social Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Wagner Labor Relations Act, which guaranteed workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively.

Ultimately, these policies reshaped the U.S. and helped lead to generations of prosperity and global leadership.

This year, during the 2023 New York state legislative session, our state leaders must craft a new deal for public higher education. A new deal that invests in SUNY, CUNY and community colleges so New York state students have access to top-rated public colleges and universities without incurring huge financial burdens. A new deal that offers recovery after years of operating under austerity budgets, and reforms to boost support for students in need.

To put the state on a path to achieving that goal, NYSUT, United University Professions, the Professional Staff Congress and community colleges are calling for a game-changing $4.7 billion investment in public higher education. Hundreds of NYSUT activists traveled to Albany in February to bring that message to lawmakers during the union’s Higher Education Lobby Day. “We can’t fall into the trap of shifting the increasing costs of public higher ed onto the backs of our students,” said Andy Pallotta, NYSUT president.

Pallotta noted that although SUNY, CUNY and community colleges received historic funding increases in last year’s state budget, the institutions still face great need due to years of underfunding. “We need to substantially increase the number of full-time faculty and increase pay for our dedicated adjuncts,” he said.

“We create citizens of the world when we walk into a classroom and do the work we do,” said Fred Kowal, United University Professions president. “We see the assault on democracy everywhere. This is what we can do and why that funding is so crucial.”

“We’re in Eastern Long Island, Western New York, the North County and down in the Southern Tier, but one thing we all have in common is that we are so underfunded,” said Roberta Elins, president of the United College Employees of Fashion Institute of Technology.

Additional funding is also needed to expand access for students of color, first generation attendees and students whose family incomes fall below the state average. As colleges and universities are forced to raise tuition and make cuts to academic programs and student services, the changes disproportionately affect low-income and Black and brown communities. Many students face steep financial and personal difficulties, including food insecurity, increasing the need for student supports. “We help students to transform themselves, their lives and in the process they transform their communities,” said James Davis, Professional Staff Congress president.

A New Deal for Higher Education would recenter our state’s public colleges and universities as a public good.