Faculty Senate Peacemaker Resigns

The crisis at CCNY continues with the defection of our ombudsperson By Ashley KalstekCity College of New York faculty senate ombudsperson, Dr. Jane Gallagher, resigned immediately on September 27, according to an e-mail she sent to professors and staff. This adds another layer to the chaos on campus in the midst of a financial crisis, federal investigation of President Lisa Coico, and reported infighting among the faculty.The ombudsperson’s responsibility in the faculty senate includes investigating individual complaints against the administration -- which means the position has been in overdrive as President Lisa's drama has been flooding media in the last few months.Gallagher volunteered for the position in 2010 in the hopes of raising morale on campus. Until this past year, she felt that she had. “The atmosphere at the College has recently turned so negative that I cannot continue in this job,” stated Gallagher. She also noted that she has “profound disagreements with some members of that Committee about the secrecy of their proceedings as well as their continuing attacks on the president.”The rest of Gallagher’s e-mail talks about how her relations with the senate, the faculty's governing body, have deteriorated to the point where she could not function as ombudsperson and that she feels that “no one at CCNY should have to learn about campus squabbles from the local media before they are discussed within our community.” Of course, this alluded to the investigation of potential missing funds and administration misconduct at CCNY in both the New York Times and New York Post, among other top media outlets.David Jeruzalmi, the chair of the faculty senate, responded to Gallagher’s resignation, noting that he feels “grateful to Professor Gallagher for her service to the college as ombudsperson, and in her other capacities.”Gallagher will retain her positions as director of academic standards in CLAS and professor of biology.” She has been an educator at CCNY since 1978, according to her LinkedIn profile.Dr. Gallagher did not respond to The Campus’s request for comment.