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Impact of capital investments on CUNY's student attraction and retention
1:35:46
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123 sec
Council Member Eric Dinowitz emphasizes the importance of capital investments in CUNY, highlighting how they affect both new facilities and basic infrastructure needs. Executive Vice Chancellor Hector Batista agrees on the priority of maintaining safe and appealing facilities.
- Capital investments cover both new attractive facilities and basic infrastructure needs
- Lack of investment makes it harder to attract and retain students
- CUNY prioritizes facilities that faculty, staff, and students can feel good about and safe in
Eric Dinowitz
1:35:46
And just to be clear what we're for the public, what we're talking about, we are both talking about new facilities that attract students like a nursing facility at Lehman College, Ohio baseball field at Hostos Community College, and we are also talking about state of good repair, and that includes things like making sure students have basic and professors have basic health needs met in the classroom, like not having mold, having heat in the classroom.
1:36:16
Right?
1:36:16
That's what we're talking about when we talk about our capital.
Hector Batista
1:36:20
A %.
Eric Dinowitz
1:36:21
Yes.
1:36:21
And so when the city doesn't invest in the capital needs of CUNY, they're both make they're both perpetuating a system that makes it harder to attract students and harder to keep students.
1:36:35
Would you agree with that?
Hector Batista
1:36:37
I think making sure that our facilities are facilities that both our faculty and staff and students could feel good about and safe is is is our highest priority.
1:36:48
And that's what we advocate.
1:36:49
We've been very lucky at the state level.
1:36:51
We've done extremely well under governor Hochul.
1:36:54
We're hoping that by by this new strategy that we have with OMB that we'll become be successful this this fiscal year.
1:37:02
But the challenge is that we are ready to meet our commitment, but we need the additional resources in order to be able to to do that.
1:37:13
And it is broken down into two buckets.
1:37:15
The first bucket is, you know, we every year our our vice chancellor for facility management, he goes and he meets with the presidents to to understand their priorities.
1:37:25
We then get their priorities and see it's broken down into two two fold.
1:37:30
One is a state of good repair.
1:37:32
And the second part is what what do you need to grow programs to to that affects enrollment.
1:37:38
And I think the challenge the challenge has been is that we have a plan, but there hasn't been an alignment in terms of the resource provided to us.
1:37:47
I mean, that's a fair fair statement to make.