Clarification of Non-reappointments at Medgar Evers College
Erroneous statements have been made, and reported on by the press, concerning three distinguished faculty members who were not among the adjunct faculty not reappointed.
The Honorable Major Owens, one of the founders of the College, a distinguished public servant, and a strong asset to our students, was reappointed as a Distinguished Lecturer for Fall 2011 to Spring 2012.
Dr. John Flateau was reappointed for the upcoming academic year. He has been on a public service leave of absence without pay from CUNY for academic year 2010-2011, and is completing his responsibilities as Deputy Secretary of the Senate, and as a member of the NYS Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. He is expected to return to his teaching position at Medgar Evers College this upcoming semester, Spring 2011.
The Honorable Eugene Pursoo was non-reappointed as a Distinguished Lecturer because his term in this title expired. Such a term carries a seven-year time limit, and he served in this capacity for eight years, as he was granted a one-year extension.
The College has a strong commitment to the educational mission and the standards of excellence that allow the students to reach their highest aspirations.

Clarification of Medgar Evers College’s Position on NuLeadership

The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) at Medgar Evers College, under the leadership of Senior Vice President and Provost Dr. Howard C. Johnson, sent a formal request for NuLeadership to leave campus effective December 30. This decision arose out of legal, substantive, and procedural concerns about the actions of NuLeadership.
In May 2010, NuLeadership submitted to OAA a grant proposal for review and signature. In response, OAA posed several fundamental questions concerning both the proposal, and, more significantly, NuLeadership’s legal standing, as well as its academic and administrative functions. NuLeadership not only questioned the College’s authority to raise such questions, but refused to adequately address our questions and adhere to the standards set forth by the University for academic Centers at the College.
As a result, the College took steps to recover its associated assets by removing the computers from the work space used by NuLeadership. The computers in question belong to the College and are tagged and logged in our inventory. Moreover, given the fact that NuLeadership is not a CUNY-approved Center, and its principals are not University or College employees, our College had reasonable concerns of violations of Policy 4.1 (Computer Resource Use) of the University Manual of General Policy, which states:
“Use of University computer resources is limited to activities relating to the performance
by University employees of their duties and responsibilities. For example, use of University computer resources for private commercial or not-for-profit business purposes, for private advertising of products or services, or for any activity meant solely to foster personal gain, is prohibited. Similarly, use of University computer resources for partisan political activity is also prohibited.”
Our College has been at the forefront of issues concerning the condition of members of the African Diaspora, and how these conditions impact those in the Central Brooklyn community. These issues are addressed in the research and teachings of our faculty, in addition to the work of the Counseling Center, the Women’s Center, and the Male Development and EmpowermentCenter to provide support for the full range of students on our campus, including those who have been incarcerated. There is not, nor has there ever been, a Medgar Evers College policy enacted that penalizes any prospective or current student who has been incarcerated. Our issue is the steadfast resistance of NuLeadership to adequately address the legal, substantive, and procedural requirements of the College and the University.
The College has a strong commitment to the educational mission and the standards of excellence that allow the students to reach their highest aspirations.