Jill Sitterley, Academic Advisor, Academic Advisement Center
“I am a liberal arts advisor at NCC. we serve approximately 13,000 students who have come to us as an affordable way to begin their education. Every day I see them grow into focused, responsible young adults and go on to pursue their dreams of a bachelors degree. Please don’t forget the important opportunity that community colleges offer to these young people and adults. At $180.00 per credit, I can’t understand how you can call that crushing debt.”

Michael Boyle, Tech Dir/Prod Mgr, Theatre and Dance
“The best way to ensure the long-term availability of a skilled workforce is by allowing each to pursue a variety of interests, change goals as they mature and become broadly educated as to the demands of being a citizen.”

Nancy Rothbaum, Academic Advisor, Academic Advisement Center
“Expecting traditional students to choose their life’s work at the age of 18 in order to support the private sector’s employment pipeline is denying them the opportunity to grow, mature and choose wisely in due time. This is not to diminish the value of career-track programs for those who are decided, but please don’t take the liberal arts option away for those who just haven’t figured it out yet.”

Anissa Moore, Associate Professor, Communications
“I am signing this petition because I believe eliminating the foundation of a liberal arts education from the community college curriculum is another strategy to further perpetuate a social and economic underclass.”

Phyllis Kurland, Professor Student Personnel Services
“Governor Cuomo, for whom I voted, has a short-sighted view of higher education at community colleges, one that limits the aspirations of students and will not prepare them for a lifetime of career possibilities.”

Please join your NCC colleagues, and others from around the state and the nation (including students) by going to the link and signing the petition:
tinyurl.com/letter-to-cuomo-2015

We are also including a link to an article by Lucy McClamont from “Politico” demonstrating our governor has much in common with ultra-conservatives like Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker:
“Scott Walker Urges College Professors to Work Harder”