First Chancellor Black and Now Commissioner Steiner!

Dear Commons Community,

This morning Cathie Black left her position as the NYC Schools Chancellor and this afternoon we received word that NYS Education Commissioner David Steiner will also be leaving his position.  Commissioner Steiner was a colleague of ours as Dean of the School of Education at Hunter College.  Below is a blurb on his departure.

Tony

Just hours after the news broke that New York City Schools Chancellor Cathie Black was stepping down, the New York State Education Department confirmed that Commissioner David Steiner is indeed leaving his post as well.

“With the anticipated approval of a final teacher evaluation program in the coming months, I have informed Chancellor Tisch and members of the Board of Regents that I intend to leave the State Education Department later this year,” Steiner said in a statement. “Together we will begin to plan for a seamless transition.”

 

Cathie Black Asked to Leave her Position as NYC Schools Chancellor!

Dear Commons Colleagues,

Here is a brief blurb on the announcement that Cathie Black has been asked to leave her position  as the NYC schools chancellor.

Tony

Cathleen P. Black, a magazine executive with no educational experience who was named as New York City schools chancellor last fall, will step down Thursday morning at the mayor’s urging, city officials said, after a tumultuous and brief tenure.  Ms. Black’s departure, which comes on the heels of the departures of several other high-ranking education officials, was nearly as surprising as her appointment.

Ms. Black will be replaced by Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott, who has long aided the mayor in educational matters, officials said.   Mr. Walcott is to appear with Mr. Bloomberg at an 11:30 a.m. City Hall news conference to announce the change. Ms. Black will not be in attendance, according to a person briefed on the plans. The mayor’s office declined to comment.

 

Paul Krugman at the CUNY Graduate Center Last Night!

Dear Commons Community,

Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in Economics, professor at Princeton University and New York Times columnist, was at the Graduate Center last night where he responded to questions from Peter Beinart.  He also responded to questions from the audience. All in all it was quite an evening with great insights into the state of our economy.  However, I thought one of his best comments related to the pride he takes in writing about complex topics in a manner that the general public can understand.  About fifteen years ago, I attended a talk at Fordham University given by Herbert Simon, another Nobel Laureate in Economics (1978), who said almost the exact same thing.  It is grand to see that academics of such accomplishment think and care about the common citizen when sharing their knowledge.

Thank you, Prof. Krugman!

Tony