Leadership dispute simmers at Nassau Community College

Daily Point

Chief Administrative Officer Maria Conzatti in faculty group's crosshairs

This week, Nassau Community College Chief Administrative Officer Maria Conzatti sent a message to the entire campus community, but it seemed especially directed at one cohort: the faculty.

The emailed letter discussed many of the changes the college is making and compared them with other community colleges across the state, some of which, Conzatti said, are experiencing faculty layoffs and program closures.

"Here at Nassau, we have been able to mitigate some of the more disruptive consequences of the changes we have had to make ..." Conzatti wrote.

For instance, she pointed to the college's effort to merge 21 departments into six broader areas of academic study, noting that they allowed full-time faculty to continue teaching a full schedule.

"As a result, not a single tenured faculty member was laid off, thus preserving a central pillar of our success as an institution," she wrote.

The letter didn't come out of the blue. The NCC administration has been battling with the leadership of the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers, which just last month issued a cease and desist letter to the college contending it had violated the collective bargaining agreement with some of its faculty-related policies.

In a letter to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman sent last month and posted to the union's website, a group identified only as "concerned faculty" of the school sought "executive intervention to stop the gross administrative and fiscal mismanagement currently dismantling our programs and stalling students' academic momentum toward degree attainment."

The concerned faculty group said they would be launching a petition "to raise awareness" this month.

The same group also sent a letter to SUNY Chancellor John King, pointing to the SUNY trustees' disapproval of Conzatti's appointment as president last year. In March, the SUNY board approved new rules that would require the tenure of a temporary administrator-in-charge to be "revoked" 60 days following disapproval.

But that hasn't happened yet at NCC — because King has yet to officially adopt those new rules.

"We need permanent, qualified and visionary leadership at Nassau Community College ..." the faculty's letter to King said.

In her own correspondence, Conzatti didn't refer to the SUNY decision or anything specific regarding the disputes with the faculty. She reported that the school had discontinued academic programs "where low enrollment signaled significant lack of student interest," while maintaining most of the school's coursework. And she noted that NCC is in the process of reducing graduation requirements to 60 credits, in part to reduce the per-credit cost burden on students.

Conzatti's letter emphasized the school's continued mission of preparing students "to enrich our community, economy and society" and preparing them for their future.

"I look forward to working with all of you to maintain that commitment as we respond to the changes taking place today," she wrote.

Jerry Kornbluth, NCC's vice president for community and governmental relations, told The Point on Tuesday that Conzatti's letter was in part to send a message directly to the faculty as a whole, without union leaders as a go-between.

"Unfortunately over the years, the union has gotten in the way of progress because they're sending a totally different message than what the college is sending," Kornbluth said. "We have to let everybody know exactly what's going on at the college."

But NCC union president David Stern told The Point that the issue is more significant than the concerns of union leaders.

"The morale is very low," Stern said. "We don't want this war. But we're focused on our students and our students are really suffering." 

Also key to the current moment: The NCC faculty currently are not getting promotions or raises, because their contract expired last year.

Stern said he is hoping to see "a presidential search where we get an academically-minded president at the college."

Kornbluth, however, said the administration has students' interests in mind. 

"We want peace in the college," Kornbluth said. "Look at the good we're doing right now when we have all this pushback. Think about what we could do if we worked together. We're not looking to hurt anybody."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

A 'dream president'?

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Quick Points

Nor'easter redefines beachfront view

• Tuesday night's debate between Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman may not be drawing interest on prediction markets, but the gubernatorial election sure is. Both Kalshi and Polymarket have Hochul as a lock for Election Day, with Kalshi predicting Hochul has a 94.3% chance of winning and Polymarket giving her a 95.4% chance. But the smart money is on both candidates saying the word "affordability" at least once in their faceoff.
• Long Island's coastal communities are still reeling from last month's nor'easter, when they saw beachfront real estate become houseboat communities. Recreational Tobay Beach in Oyster Bay lost about 60% of its sand, and at Smith Point Beach in Brookhaven Town, ocean waves were lapping the staircase from the pavilion to the beach. A new $150 million bridge to replace the old one that connects Mastic Beach to Fire Island will end up being a bridge to the surf if this keeps up.
• Whale watching took on new meaning last week when a pair of juvenile humpback whales were able to safely return to open water after becoming stranded off Fire Island behind a sandbar from the nor'easter. Future beach attractions might have to include whale rides.
• Locals trying to gauge storm intensity in the South rely on what's known as the Waffle House Index, since the breakfast chain typically stays open 24/7 except during really nasty storms. Some folks use the Waffle House Index to figure out if they need to evacuate. Maybe a Long Island eatery can sponsor a storm index ranking for the next nor'easter or hurricane. Regardless, Long Island needs a Waffle House.
• More terrifying than haunted houses, corn mazes or a Halloween boat burning, more Long Island towns are trying to pierce the state's property tax cap, citing inflationary pressures beyond their control. Politicians asking permission to raise taxes even higher? Now that's scary.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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