June 22, 2006 | The University
Chairman Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. was reappointed by Governor George Pataki for a seven-year term on the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York. His nomination was approved unanimously by the New York State Senate on June 20, 2006. He was originally appointed to the Board in 1999.
Governor Pataki also appointed, and the State Senate unanimously confirmed on June 21, 2006, two new CUNY Trustees: Philip A. Berry, Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives and Corporate Officer for Colgate-Palmolive, and a Trustee of the CUNY Construction Fund; and Freida Foster-Tolbert, Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Affairs and a former Assistant to the Governor for African-American Affairs. They replace, respectively, former CUNY Trustees Nilda Soto Ruiz and John J. Calandra.
These appointments have been made at a time when CUNY’s reputation is soaring, reinforced by the highest student enrollment increases in over three decades, legions of new student award winners, hundreds of new full-time faculty hires, the attraction of the CUNY Honors College, and a new Graduate School of Journalism scheduled to open in the fall 2006. The University received its best capital and operating budget from the State this past Legislative session.
Chancellor Matthew Goldstein stated that “I am delighted to continue working with Chairman Schmidt and very much look forward to working with the new Trustees and the full Board as we continue moving CUNY ahead.”
Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. has been Chairman of CUNY’s Board of Trustees since 2003, after serving as Vice Chairman from 1999 — 2003. The former President of Yale University, where he was renowned for his defense of free expression and the academic values of liberal education, he launched one of the largest building programs in Yale’s history and became its most successful fund-raiser.
In 1999 a report by a mayoral task force on The City University, Chaired by Mr. Schmidt, laid bare the University’s problems and deemed it “CUNY: An Institution Adrift.” The CUNY Board of Trustees and Chancellor Goldstein utilized the report as a blueprint and moved forcefully to raise academic standards and administrative accountability, as well as admission requirements, strengthen full-time faculty ranks, and collaborate closely with the New York City Department of Education to better prepare high school students for college.
Chairman Schmidt received his college and law degrees from Yale University. Before joining Yale he was Dean of Columbia University Law School, where he joined the faculty in 1969, became one of the youngest tenured professors in Columbia’s history, and was named Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law. One of the nation’s leading scholars of the Constitution, the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, the law of freedom of expression, and the history of race relations in America, Mr. Schmidt served as law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Since 1992 he has been chairman of Edison Schools, Inc., a private company that enters into partnerships with public education authorities to create innovative and world-class public schools. He is a trustee of the National Humanities Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Philip A. Berry has been Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives and Corporate Officer for Colgate-Palmolive, a $12 billion global consumer products company, since 2004. He leads the company’s efforts to attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce and is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating diversity and inclusion strategies on a global basis, along with government compliance. From 2001 to 2003 he was Vice President, Global Employee Relations & Best Place to Work, in charge of employee relations strategy and policies worldwide, and developing the company as an employer of choice. Mr. Berry, who joined Colgate-Palmolive in 1990, served as Vice President of Human Resources for its European Division from 1998 to 2001, providing strategic and operational leadership throughout the Continent. He was Vice President of Human Resources for the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority prior to joining Colgate-Palmolive.
Mr. Berry received a BA in Sociology from Queens College and an Associate’s Degree in Marketing from Borough of Manhattan Community College. He holds an MBA from Xavier University, and an MSW from Columbia University. Mr. Berry has been Chair of the New York City Department of Education’s Human Resources Advisory Panel since 2004. He is a member of CUNY’s Business Leadership Council and a Trustee of the CUNY Construction Fund. In 2004 he received the Governor’s Award for Community Distinction, and in 2003 he was selected by Crain’s New York Business as one of New York’s 100 most influential Black business executives.
Freida Foster-Tolbert has been Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Affairs since 2002. She oversees the work of Community Affairs staff in the New York Metropolitan Area, supervises event planning, and assists in the delegation and assignment of constituent matters as well as scheduling opportunities for the Governor and Community Affairs staff. From 1999 to 2002 Mrs. Foster-Tolbert was Assistant to the Governor for African-American Affairs, serving as his liaison to the African-American community. She advised Governor Pataki and his administration on issues relating to the African-American community, was responsible for maintaining lines of communication between the State’s Executive Chamber and the African-American community, and was also in charge of event planning and constituent matters.
Mrs. Foster-Tolbert holds a BA in Communications, Sociology, and Speech from Hofstra University and received an MS in Corporate Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She was employed at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1997 to 1999, where she assisted in the management of several residence halls and staff. From 1993 to 1996 she worked at CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College as Human Resources Administration Liaison and Recruiter for COPE (College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment Program). She advocated on behalf of 600 students who were receiving public assistance and attempting to further their education, provided critical skills training for students, and implemented systems to facilitate student recruitment. She also assisted in academic advising, coordinated student workshops, and enhanced the program’s organizational development. Prior to that she was a Community Service Coordinator at BMCC, developing relationships with numerous community-based organizations to provide student internships.
Born and raised in Harlem, Mrs. Foster-Tolbert was recently appointed by Governor Pataki to serve on the Harlem Community Development Corporation’s Board of Directors. In 2004 she received the Governor’s African-American Leaders of Excellence in State Service Award.
A recent article in the respected international journal, The Economist, praised CUNY’s model of low tuition and high standards. It reported that higher standards have attracted more students, not fewer, while the University’s racial and ethnic diversity “has remained largely unchanged.”
Striving for new levels of academic excellence, CUNY has raised $750 million toward its unprecedented goal of raising $1.2 billion in operating funds from private sources by 2012. This includes major gifts from two distinguished CUNY graduates: $26 million from Andrew S. Grove, a founder of the Intel Corporation, to City College’s School of Engineering; and $1 million from General Colin L. Powell, to CCNY’s Powell Center for Policy Studies. Other indicators of success are the University’s commitment to faculty, research and facilities known as “CUNY’s Decade of Science,” and a $2.6 billion five-year capital construction and campus renovation program. Over 97% of the University’s Teacher Education graduates now pass the State Certification Exam as a result of reforms implemented throughout the CUNY system.
High resolution photos of Chairman Schmidt and Trustees Berry and Foster-Tolbert may be viewed and downloaded at: http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/news/image_download.html
The City University of New York, the nation’s largest urban public university, includes 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the CUNY Honors College, the Graduate School and University Center, the Graduate School of Journalism, the Law School and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. The University serves more than 450,000 degree-credit students and adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 200 high schools throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York. In 2006, the University is launching its first on-line baccalaureate degree through the School of Professional Studies and a new Teacher Academy offering free tuition for highly motivated mathematics and science majors who seek teaching careers in the city’s public schools.