Ex-Yale President Schmidt draws fire in new position

Former Yale President Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., TC '63, LAW '66, has gone from the frying pan into the fire. A controversial figure throughout his tenure at Yale, Schmidt was appointed by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to chair the Advisory Task Force on the City University of New York (CUNY) on Wed., May 6. Many believe Schmidt's appointment is part of Giuliani's hotly contested agenda to end remedial education at CUNY.

COURTESY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS Former Yale President Benno Schmidt, TC '63, LAW '66, faces new conflict at the City University of New York.

Schmidt resigned from Yale in 1992 after six years marred by conflict. As president, he pushed through controversial and unpopular academic reforms such as a faculty hiring cap and drastic reduction in the sociology department in an effort to balance the University's budget and rebuild its infrastructure.

Since leaving Yale, Schmidt has served as chief executive officer of the Edison Project, a for-profit organization that manages public schools around the country. And now, CUNY has called on Schmidt to streamline their system. "I think there is no more important domestic issue than how to provide effective educational opportunity for all of our citizens," Schmidt said. He emphasized public schools' obligation to taxpayers to maintain high academic standards with the funds they receive.

Schmidt hopes to set specific standards for admission into CUNY. "There is a good deal of evidence that CUNY has not made clear to the New York public schools or leaders or students just what the standards are for admission to the college program," Schmidt commented. "It's hard to meet standards when people don't know what they are."

Schmidt's CUNY appointment comes at a crucial period in the history of the school system. CUNY's Board of Trustees has been debating whether to eliminate the school's remedial education programs in its senior schools for students who fail a placement test. Currently, almost all public universities in the country have some sort of remedial program, which makes CUNY's debate a hot political issue.

Many CUNY students are opposed to the elimination of remedial education. They argue that without remedial programs, it would be harder for foreign-born students to enter the CUNY system, since they often need help in English. "It's like shutting the door on immigrants," Mizanoor Biswas, chair of the University Student Center and a graduate of City College, said. Biswas himself is a native of Bangladesh--the school's student body is 49 percent foreign born.

The remedial programs also help the school's minority and older population. According to the school's Office of Institutional Research and Analysis, two-thirds of CUNY students are minorities, and only about seven percent graduate within four years. Biswas reported that the average graduating senior is 27 years old. Many fear that the elimination of remedial programs will prevent students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds or are returning to school after some time off.

Schmidt agrees that remedial programs are necessary to ensure access to CUNY for international and disadvantaged students. He maintained that he is committed to helping "urban youngsters, disadvantaged youngsters, and recent immigrants." But according to Schmidt, "The question is more, `Where should it take place?'"

Schmidt said that one solution to the remedial dilemma could be to privatize remedial programs. "I think [privatization] is an option," he explained. "[Privatizing education] can add to people's choices." He suggested that the school could subcontract the remedial program to a private educational service, such as Sylvan, Kaplan, or Berlitz. This could encourage competition among Catholic schools, CUNY, and public high schools.

But some are convinced that Schmidt's subcontracting plans could be just as damaging as removing the programs altogether. Susan O'Malley, professor of English at Kingsborough Community College and Secretary of the University Faculty Senate, fears that ending or privatizing remedial education would destroy CUNY's mission. "It will be a disaster if remediation is privatized," she said. "Something like 80 percent [of entering students] need at least one remedial course," O'Malley said. Biswas agreed that privatization is not the answer. "The institutions have a responsibility to New York," he said.

CUNY faculty and students worry what the fate of their university will be when the task force reports to the Mayor at the end of the year. Some fear the decision to end remedial education may have been made before the task force was created, and question the task force's autonomy from city hall. "The mayor has no love for City University," O'Malley said. But Schmidt maintained that the task force has no "formal connection" with the Board of Trustees, except for one member, Deputy Mayor Herman Bedillo.

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