Conversation

What is “Public” about Our Public University?

Thu, Apr 12, 2018

6:30 PM–8:30 PM

The James Gallery

The City University of New York defines itself as “the nation’s largest urban public university.” But what does it mean to be a “public” institution in an era of increased privatization and public/private partnerships? As the use of the term “public” has become a catchall, what does “public” mean and look like in practice at the Graduate Center, across CUNY, and in higher education in general? This town hall provides a forum for members of the Graduate Center, CUNY and the broader community to share and exchange ideas about the current use and potential future uses of public space within the Graduate Center, CUNY. The evening will open with brief comments from students, faculty, and community partners engaged with projects addressing these questions and will then open up to collective discussion and brainstorming.

Speakers include:
Inés Vañó García, Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures
Deshonay Dozier, Environmental Psychology
Jessica Murray, Human Development/Psychology
Keith Wilson, the Center for the Humanities
Johanna Miller, New York Civil Liberties Union
Amir Farjoun, Theatre and Performance
Brett Stoudt, Psychology Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, CUNY

To help formulate the conversation in advance of the event, here are a few guiding questions:

How are the public, physical, and digital spaces in the GC currently used? What can we realistically do with the resources we have at hand? What new possibilities can be envisioned?

How do public spaces and existing public activities at the GC serve the broader CUNY communities?

How can we more meaningfully work with public partners and share this work with colleagues across CUNY?

What publics is the GC addressing? What issues of public concern is the GC focused on?

Listening Room 4:30pm-6:30pm outside the Graduate Center, CUNY

In conjunction with this town hall discussion, a pop-up “Listening Room” will be set up outside the Graduate Center, CUNY by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the state affiliate of the ACLU and one of the nation’s oldest and largest defenders of civil liberties and civil rights, from 4:30pm-6:30pm. This “Listening Room” is part of a series of free neighborhood pop-ups across the five boroughs that facilitate conversations among New Yorkers about policing in our communities, inviting communities to share their stories, listen to each other, and message elected officials. For more information about this initiative, visit Listening.nyc. #listeningnyc

Co-sponsored by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Futures Initiative, the Teaching and Learning Center, the James Gallery, the Center for the Humanities, and the Doctoral Students’ Council at the Graduate Center, CUNY.