Columbia Spectator
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Putting Pen To Paper
Demands for a Community Benefits Agreement on Expansion Grow
By Erin Durkin Spectator Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: >Manhattanville Expansion" href="http://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2005/02/18/NewsManhattanvilleExpansion/">News>>Manhattanville Expansion
If Columbia's Manhattanville expansion goes forward as planned, many people in the affected community want to make sure there's something in it for them.
Their preferred method of doing so is a Community Benefits Agreement-a formal contract between a developer and representatives of the surrounding community designed to ensure that the community shares the benefits of any proposed development.
Last September, Community Board 9 included a provision requiring a CBA in any future rezoning. The provision was part of a 197-A plan, a large scale plan drafted by the board that will serve as a guide for any development in the neighborhood. The document calls for land use or zoning changes in West Harlem to be accompanied by a CBA with the developer. The CBA would "help assure that the environment is protected, that housing opportunities for low, moderate and middle income residents are protected and expanded and that high road jobs and locally owned businesses will be created and existing businesses protected."
Similar documents in the past have included provisions for everything from scholarship funds to community rooms. Columbia has not firmly committed to signing a CBA, but University officials have indicated that they are willing to consider it as a possibility.
Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin said that he wants "commitments made in connection with rezoning to be clear and unambiguous to all members of the community. When we and the appropriate leaders sit down, we will reach an agreement that's in ours and the community's best interest."
"Vagueness is in no one's interest," he added.
Formal negotiations toward a CBA have not begun, but talks over the shape such negotiations may take are underway.
"We take seriously our responsibility to work with the community and are willing to discuss long term benefits that are aligned with the University's mission as an educational institution. Whether or not that results in some sort of formal binding agreement is still undecided. However, we are not opposed to the idea," said Liz Golden, Columbia's director of operations, planning and special projects.
While the University has never entered into a formal CBA before, it has made other commitments related to previous development plans that have since seen mixed results.
The administration agreed to provide space for the New York Public Library in conjunction with the construction of its Broadway dormitory in 2000. And when Columbia built its Audubon Research Building in Washington Heights in 1990, they agreed to open a community health center near the site; a center focusing on mental health needs is now operated there by the Association of Progressive Dominicans. The University also agreed to provide jobs and job training for local residents and to establish a scholarship fund.
University officials maintain that they have lived up to their commitments at Audubon.
However, Mark Levine, who is currently a member of Community Board 12 but was not at the time the agreements were made, said he is dissatisfied with the number of local jobs and job training created. He also said that of the $750,000 scholarship fund that Columbia agreed to establish, $600,000 remains unspent.
"They agreed to things on paper 15 years ago that they didn't live up to," Levine said, adding that he hopes Columbia will agree to a formal, legally binding CBA for future phases of development at the Audubon facility.
Sandra Harris, director of community affairs at Columbia University Medical Center, said that the University "worked very closely with the [community] board on our commitment to hire local residents." She said that promises on local hiring were fulfilled, noting that eight to nine percent of construction jobs at the facility went to local residents, and 45 percent went to minorities.
The scholarship fund, which pays medical school expenses for a group of Malcolm X Scholars, is intended to be an endowment that will perpetually generate money for scholarships. Depleting the money in the fund could cause it to collapse.
Harris added that the medical center prides itself on its close relationship with neighbors and with CB12, and that close communications will continue in conjunction with any future development.
Though formal negotiations are not underway for a Manhattanville CBA, many community members have been vocal about the provisions they would like to see in such an agreement.
CB9's 197-A plan calls for a portion of revenue gained by rezoning to be invested in a community trust fund, which members hope will be a part of any CBA. The fund would pay for benefits including affordable housing, local job creation and skill development, environmental protection, and educational, cultural, and recreational facilities.
While they agree that these are the main areas of need that should be covered in any CBA, some activists and organizations have tacked on demands of their own.
"Whatever's not covered by the 197-A that the community needs should be covered by the CBA," said Tom Kappner, a member of the Coalition to Preserve Community.
Community activist and city council candidate Cynthia Doty said that jobs created by the Manhattanville expansion should be for local residents, and Columbia should commit to job training programs to compensate for disparities in skill levels. Without a firm commitment to job training to put local residents on a career track, Doty said, "high paying, skilled jobs will go to white people from outside the area."
Kappner said that a CBA should also include commitments from Columbia to favor locally owned businesses in renting out commercial space and to allow independent, outside supervision of any biotech facility built in Manhattanville.
Affordable housing commitments would be insufficient if they simply created housing accessible to people making less than the median income of New York City as a whole; instead, Doty said, commitments should reflect the lower median income of the specific local area. She also called for minority contractor hiring.
University officials did not speculate on specific provisions that may be included in any CBA, calling such speculation premature at this stage in the process.
Community activists stressed that a CBA would be meaningless unless it included an enforcement mechanism. Proposals include a law passed by the City Council, a contractual agreement enforceable by lawsuit, financial penalties assessed by the city for violations, and making building permits contingent upon compliance.
For many in the community, the negotiations leading up to an agreement are nearly as important as the content of the agreement itself.
"If the process is wrong, I'm almost certain the content will be wrong as well," Kappner said. He expressed concerns that the University may engage in non-publicized negotiations with hand-picked representatives of the community or just come up with an agreement unilaterally.
The CPC endorsed the recommendations of the 197-A plan and pointed to CB9 as the appropriate partner for negotiations with Columbia towards a CBA.
While acknowledging that "some people have personal agendas," Doty described the 197-A as a unifying force for the community and said that CBA negotiations are "the opportunity for the community board to be empowered."
CB9 Chairman Jordi Reyes-Montblanc agreed that the community board was the appropriate negotiating partner and said the board would step up as soon as Columbia indicated a readiness for formal negotiations. Until then, he said it would be inappropriate to speculate on the specific provisions that CB9 will seek to have included in an agreement.
"We are at an impasse," he said, indicating that he is waiting for Columbia to make the next move.
"We are engaging in ongoing discussions with community leaders, the city, and elected officials to determine the best process. We believe that benefits to the community are critically important and hope that there will be a process in place soon," Golden said.
Activists are guardedly optimistic about getting what they want out of a CBA.
"To be a community organizer ... one has to be optimistic," said Nellie Bailey, head of the Harlem Tenants Council. "My optimism doesn't come from faith that Columbia wants to do the right thing, [but] under pressure they can be made to do the right thing."
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Saturday, January 31, 2004
MINUTES OF CU SENATE MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2003
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 05:04:32 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anne Z. Whitman"
Subject: MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2003
To: Jordi Reyes Montblanc
Jordi FYI
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/senate/minutes/03-04/SenMins121203.htm
University Senate Proposed: January 30, 2004
Adopted:
MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2003
President Lee Bollinger, the chairman, called the Senate to order shortly after 1:15 pm in the Davis Auditorium of the Schapiro Engineering Building. Fifty-four of 100 senators were present during the meeting.
Minutes and agenda: The minutes of November 14 and the agenda were adopted as proposed.
Report of the President:
--Campus planning: In what has become a monthly update on campus planning, the president said he had met earlier in the day with Assemblyman Keith Jackson and with leaders of the Amsterdam News. The president’s general feeling was that the campus expansion effort is progressing; an important question is, how will it relate to Columbia’s neighbors, particularly the Harlem community?
The president hoped to be able to make a significant public statement about the progress of deliberations by around the end of January, when Columbia will begin a political effort to seek regulations that will enable it to pursue a Manhattanville development.
At the same time, the University is pursuing some short-term opportunities for space it already owns on Morningside and Washington Heights. The urgent need for science facilities in the next 3-5 years has focused attention on the northwest corner of the Morningside campus.
Longer-term efforts to plan for St. John the Divine are now in a hiatus.
--Academic planning: A group of senior administrators including Provost Alan Brinkley, Health Sciences Vice President Gerald Fischbach, Executive Vice President for Research David Hirsh, and Acting Arts and Sciences Vice President Ira Katznelson is planning for the sciences.
The president has just formed a task force on globalization, which he characterized as Columbia’s most critical issue in the next decade. The group will expand to include an equal number of outsiders.
--Budget issues: Columbia appears to have weathered the recent economic downturn reasonably well, compared to peer institutions, although the budgetary returns aren’t all in for next year. There appear to be sufficient resources to fund some interesting initiatives, and there may be more in the near future.
Report of the Executive Committee chairman:
--Town hall meeting on Manhattanville: Sen. Paul Duby (Ten., SEAS) said the Executive
Committee wants to hold a town hall meeting early in the new year to discuss Manhattanville, perhaps at the end of a regular Senate meeting, and perhaps in concert with an information fair the administration is planning on this topic. Any member of the Columbia community can speak at the town hall meeting.
--Task force on sexual misconduct: Sen. Duby said the task force roster is almost complete, and he hoped to provide a final list during the Christmas break.
--Columbia diplomas: At its meeting on December 8, the Executive Committee had discussed a student proposal to redesign the basic Columbia diploma. The student caucus is soliciting suggestions; its recommendations will need Trustee approval and will certainly not be adopted in time for Commencement 2004.
--Staff changes: Desiree Bermani, a member of the Senate staff for the past three years, has resigned to pursue other opportunities.
--Changes in committee assignments: The Senate approved a list of late changes in committee assignments.
--Holiday party: Sen. Duby reminded senators about the holiday party in the Senate office after the meeting.
New business:
--Resolution to Add One Student Senator from Teachers College: Sen. Duby noted that 60 senators (three-fifths of the current membership of the Senate) were needed to vote for the resolution, which would change the Senate by-laws. But only 53 senators were present.
Several senators suggested ideas for circumventing the three-fifths requirement. None persuaded Howard Jacobson, the parliamentarian, who stressed that three-fifths of all incumbent senators must be present at the meeting where the vote is to take place.
The president called for discussion of the measure. Nathan Walker (Stu. Obs., TC), a co-chair of the Senate student caucus, presented the resolution. He addressed the question, Why should students from an institution with its own separate charter participate as full voting members in the Senate of Columbia University? Mr. Walker said that TC is Columbia’s graduate school of education, enrolling 5000 students. Like any other Columbia faculty, TC offers no degrees of its own but recommends candidates for Columbia degrees.
In addition, Mr. Walker said, TC students are subject to Columbia’s Rules of Conduct governing rallies and demonstrations, and are also involved in a number of other facets of University life, paying to use Columbia health services, libraries, and athletic and religious facilities. TC students cross-register, enroll in dual degree programs, and earn Columbia certificates.
The resolution also fits with current policy on affiliated institutions, Mr. Walker said. The TC faculty, like the Barnard faculty, has two voting seats in the Senate, and Barnard students have one voting seat as well. Why not TC students?
In the course of a year and a half of working on the present resolution, Mr. Walker said, he and fellow TC students Rachel Bell and Jeffrey Sult have recognized the value of the contribution TC students can make to the Senate. They are the teachers, the principals, and policymakers in neighborhood schools. He urged senators to consider their perspective in formulating plans for Manhattanville. And just as Columbia is now rebuilding its relations with the surrounding community, TC seeks to rebuild its relations with Columbia. Some TC people have sometimes called 120th Street the widest street in the world; the presence of a dozen TC people at the present meeting was a sign of that effort to bridge that gulf, Mr. Walker said.
There was applause. With the permission of the president, Janice Robinson, General Counsel of Teachers College, conveyed the enthusiasm of TC President Arthur Levine for the resolution.
A senator asked why TC students were not granted Senate voting privileges from the outset. Mr. Walker said TC’s separate charter may have been a reason. The president noted that Barnard also has a separate charter, but its students have a voting seat in the Senate. Mr. Jacobson noted that Barnard’s affiliation with Columbia is much closer in a number of ways, including the tenuring of faculty.
Sen. Richard Bulliet (Ten., A&S/SS) expressed disappointment as chairman of the Structure and Operations that yet another measure commanding general support had failed to pass because of Senate voting rules. He asked for a suspension of the rules.
Mr. Jacobson said the requirement of a three-fifths vote for changes in Senate by-laws is contained not only in those by-laws but also in the University Statutes. He said Structure and Operations could consider amendments to those rules. He said he did not know of a resolution supported by a large majority of the Senate that did not pass eventually.
Sen. Bulliet said problems like these contribute to a perception of the Senate as dysfunctional.
The Senate could change its by-laws to allow for a simple majority to decide on by-laws changes—though that change would itself require a three-fifths majority. He suggested that a chairman, setting aside petty empiricism, could declare that he sees three-fifths of all incumbent senators in the room.
In response to a question from Sen. Karl Kroeber (Ten., A&S/Hum), Mr. Jacobson said the present proposal would add a seat to the Senate; no one would lose a seat.
Sen. Jeremy Waldron (Ten., Law) proposed a resolution “that this meeting of the Senate expresses its support for the resolution to add one seat for a TC student, and looks forward to its favorable consideration at a meeting at which the appropriate number of senators is present.” By voice vote, the Senate unanimously supported this resolution, which itself required a suspension of the rule that resolutions proposed for the first time on the Senate floor must be referred to a committee before they can be brought to a vote.
--Resolution to Use Gender-neutral Language Throughout the Senate By-laws: Mr. Walker presented this resolution. Those present agreed without dissent to express the sense of the Senate favoring this resolution, as they had with the TC resolution.
--Report on Manhattanville from the Task Force on Campus Planning: Sen. Sharyn O’Halloran, co-chair of the task force, gave its third report since its founding last spring.
She said the group has focused on three issues this fall:
1. A study of the economic impact of a Columbia Manhattanville development, prepared by the Appleseed consulting group. Sen. O’Halloran referred to a portion of this report, describing current conditions, that had been distributed in the Senate packet. One table showed that the area currently supports some 1100 jobs; New York City is the leading employer, with 321 (28 percent) of the jobs, followed by the Alexander Doll Company. Columbia ranks sixth, with 51 jobs. Another table shows the types of businesses in the neighborhood: those providing automotive services are the most numerous, with 31.
Sen. O’Halloran provided a few demographic details about neighborhoods near the proposed Manhattanville site: about 50 percent of the households in the Grant Houses, on the south side of 125th Street east of Broadway, are below the poverty line, with incomes below $12,000. In Morningside Gardens, just to the south, the median income is $60,000, with a 3 percent poverty rate. Low-income residents in the area tend to have low English literacy rates. In parts of the area as many as one third of the residents do not speak English well.
This sketch of the area highlights three community needs: entry-level jobs for unemployed workers, opportunities for low-wage workers to upgrade their skills, and basic adult education.
2. Academic planning efforts. So far Columbia’s School of the Arts is the only academic unit with a place assured in a Manhattanville development. Beyond this little has been settled. In productive conversations with Provost Brinkley, the task force has discussed the kinds of information needed to decide on academic uses of the area, and has stressed the need for transparency. The provost has sent a letter to each Columbia school seeking its academic vision; the responses may show a cluster of functions that might relocate to Manhattanville, thereby enabling further reallocations of existing space.
3. The need to disseminate information on Manhattanville: While some advisory groups have learned something about ideas for Manhattanville, there has been little public dialogue. This is particularly worrisome, Sen. O’Halloran said, since other broad ideas, such as Community Board 9’s 197-A plan for the larger area, are now being discussed publicly. There is now a sense in the task force that the University, to manage this process effectively, has to start making its position public. While understanding the administration’s need to retain flexibility, the task force thinks the University is now between a rock and a hard place.
Current thinking is for the administration to present an information fair, perhaps over a three-day period, that might culminate in a Senate town hall meeting, either as part of a regular plenary meeting or separately. A joint approach of this kind could provide information and start discussion. The week of January 30 is the target date. The task force would like to confirm this format and timetable in the next two or three weeks, Sen. O’Halloran said.
Sen. Samuel Silverstein (Ten., HS) asked for clarification of sometimes overlapping areas presented in the Appleseed report. Sen. O’Halloran and Jeremiah Stoldt, director of special projects for the Office of Facilities Management, explained that the overlap is unavoidable, because the census data is drawn from slightly different areas that are not precisely congruent with Columbia’s proposed development area, which has very few residents in it. In addition, the Appleseed study was trying to measure possible “secondary” effects of a Columbia development on a larger surrounding area.
Sen. Sally Findley (NT, Public Health) suggested that Columbia could provide a vital community service not only through job opportunities but by applying its leverage to protecting the health of the surrounding community, where asthma and other ailments are serious problems. For Columbia to make common cause with community residents against such environmental hazards as the city’s bus barn near 132nd Street and the waste treatment plant slightly to the north could be a win-win situation.
Sen. O’Halloran said the task force has noted that the Manhattanville area has the highest asthma rate in the city, and the bus depot appears to be the culprit. This problem is serious not only for people living nearby now, but also for Columbia people who may live and work there later on. She noted that sustainable development is one of the key objectives of the Manhattanville plan. She understood that the environmental issue in Manhattanville is now a key discussion item between Columbia and the city.
Sen. Linda Beck (NT, Barnard) said a more urgent worry than air pollution for some community members is the fear that they will lose their homes if Columbia moves into the neighborhood.
Sen. O’Halloran said “secondary displacement” that might be caused by a Columbia development in Manhattanville—quite apart from gentrification caused by broader Manhattan housing trends—requires continuing study. She said this is an important concern, which the University has to address.
Sen. Bulliet asked what fraction of the 1100 jobs in Manhattanville are held by neighborhood residents. Sen. O’Halloran wasn’t sure, but thought that most of the public-sector jobs, and a majority of the jobs overall, are held by people who live elsewhere.
Sen. Silverstein asked if it was the position of the committee that the bus depot is the area’s principal polluter. Sen. O’Halloran said that in studies conducted so far, in which other variables are held constant, proximity to the bus depot seems to the most frequent indicator for asthma in the immediate area.
Sen. Silverstein was skeptical of the idea that that bus depot could cause more pollution than the West Side Highway. Mr. Stoldt said that the building in the recent study of asthma effects is 3333 Broadway, a Mitchell-Lama development just uptown from the bus barn at 133rd Street. Asthma rates are significantly higher in 3333 Broadway than in 560 Riverside, for example, which is just as close to the West Side Highway. But he said the question requires more study.
Sen. Findley mentioned another air pollution study of the area, which she said is now compiling a large quantity of useful data. Mr. Stoldt said he would be interested in seeing this study.
Sen. Barry Allen (Research, HS), an area resident, listed two other reasons for local pollution problems: the number of auto repair shops, and the topography of the proposed site, which is a kind of trough where pollutants can collect.
Sharyn O’Halloran said the prominence of sustainable development among the planning principles expresses the importance Columbia attaches to pollution problems in Manhattanville.
Sen. Leni Darrow (Stu., CE) asked if Columbia people with health conditions might get worse if they moved close to the West Side Highway in Manhattanville. The president said he had not heard of such a problem. Another concern is noise, from construction and other local conditions.
Another environmental issue, he said, is the wind, which can be strong in Manhattanville.
--Resolution to Establish a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development (Education): Sen. Letty Moss-Salentijn, chair of Education, invited Prof. Jeffrey Sachs to present the program.
Prof. Sachs said the purpose of the program is to harness the social and physical sciences in an effort to address a range of serious problems that are not being adequately addressed in the traditional disciplines. Without this interdisciplinary sapproach, it will be impossible to tackle such problems as the AIDS pandemic, the 3 million children dying of malaria this year in sub-Saharan Africa, the 60 million people drinking arsenic-laden water in Bangladesh, or deforestation in the Congo, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon.
Prof. Sachs said that in his own home discipline—economics—dissertations are not even being written on topics like these. The present proposal has emerged from SIPA and the Earth Institute, two academic units part of whose purpose from the beginning has been to foster indisciplinary scholarship. The curriculum of the program, which has already attracted attention beyond Columbia, will focus on the social sciences, but with a deep concentration in one of four physical science disciplines: physical earth processes (mainly climate), environmental engineering, ecology and conservation science, and public health and health sciences. The advisory committee would include social and physical scientists, and the degree would be based in the Department of International and Public Affairs (DIPA).
Sen. Jorge Otero-Pailos (NT, SAPP) asked how the proposed Ph.D. relates to a program in sustainable development being developed by Prof. Joseph Stiglitz. He also noted that sustainable development is an important theme in the Architecture School now, particularly in connection with cultural heritage and preservation, and he asked if Prof. Sachs had considered this.
Prof. Sachs said the program developed by Prof. Stiglitz is also interdisciplinary, but entirely within the social sciences. He expressed interest in the work in sustainable development going on at the Architecture School. In his proposed program, he said, the methods sequence features spatial analysis, an area that may overlap in promising ways with architectural scholarship.
Sen. Silverstein asked how the proposed program differs from a Ph.D. program in physical science with a concentration in social sciences. Prof. Sachs said students in both the social sciences or the natural sciences have expressed interest in a Ph.D. with a concentration in the other discipline, and his proposed program could accommodate both groups.
But the basic proposal is for a Ph.D. in the social sciences, with a sufficient scientific knowledge to be able to read the literature critically in the relevant discipline. The curriculum includes a year of graduate-level science.
Sen. Findley said the goal is not only scientific literacy but an ability to conduct a conversation in a common language across the disciplines. Prof. Sachs thanked her for stating the program’s purpose better than he had.
Sen. Michael Adler (Ten., Bus.) asked about the program’s budgetary implications. It takes a sympathetic dean to want to incur another cost center, he said.
Lisa Anderson of SIPA said she was a sympathetic dean. She said a careful effort had been made to anticipate and provide for the costs of the program. In addition, two existing SIPA programs, in economic policy management and in environmental science and policy, are master’s programs with paying customers that will provide revenues to support the new Ph.D. program.
Sen. Ira Katznelson, Acting Vice President for Arts and Sciences, said he had conducted a careful study this fall to identify funding for the present proposal that would not drain resources from other Ph.D. programs. He said the proposed area of research and teaching has already generated significant interest and support. Also built into the program is a reserve fund to cushion ups and downs in the first three years. Finally, Arts and Sciences will also conduct a systematic fiscal and intellectual review of the program at the close of year 3.
Sen. Eugene Litwak (Ten., A&S/SS) asked about limits of the proposed program, which seemed to focus exclusively on developing nations. What about the industrialized world? Another remarkable fact, he said, is that an enormous amount of collaborative research is taking place already, but almost entirely outside the Arts and Sciences, in Public Health and professional schools. He invited Prof. Sachs to comment on the future of the social sciences, particularly in light of his Ph.D. proposal.
Prof. Sachs stressed that his program is about the whole world, not just developing countries.
He agreed that a lot of research is taking place, but he worried that it is not happening in the Arts and Sciences. In a recent search for articles on deforestation in leading economics journals, he found one in the last 13 years. The social sciences need to confront this challenge, he said.
Sen. Litwak thought a Ph.D. program is a limited way to attack the issue Prof. Sachs had raised. He called instead for a rethinking across the University of possibilities for collaboration.
President Bollinger reminded Sen. Litwak that the globalization task force gearing up now will address the University’s direction in different disciplines in a comprehensive way. The planning initiative now under way in the natural sciences will address connections with other parts of the university. There will also be a planning effort in the humanities in due course.
Prof. Sachs said the Earth Institute is grappling daily with some of the challenges Sen. Litwak had raised, and he would be happy to discuss them further with him.
A senator asked what career path graduates of the proposed Ph.D. program might follow. Prof. Sachs expected Columbia to lead a broad movement to address global issues in sustainable development. The new interdisciplinary approach, which may become a discipline in its own right over time, will provide ample job opportunities in academic centers, international institutions, and government, he said..
The Senate unanimously approved the proposal by voice vote.
--Resolution to Establish an M.A. Program in Climate and Society (Education): Sen. Moss-Salentijn presented the program.
Sen. Bradley Bloch (Alum.) asked what the basis was for establishing a program in climate and society, as opposed to climate and architecture or climate and some other field. How will thinking about this pair of topics change in five years?
Sen. Moss-Salentijn took the point. She said there is a perceived need for this program now. As thinking changes, the program may adjust, although there may be new programs as well. She also saw no reason why a program couldn’t focus on this particular problem for as long as the approach is useful; if it’s no longer useful in 10 years, there’s no reason not to close it down.
Many new “M.A. Only” programs were established with just such a trajectory in mind, she said.
Sen. Otero, noting that architecture instruction in this country started in departments of geology and mines, eventually branching out and forming separate schools, said there’s a case to be made for experimental programs. At the same time, it is important to be aware of steps already taken in the direction of the new experimental field and to include them in the curriculum.
Sen. Adler said the program appeared not to be thought out. He could not understand its admissions standards or its target audience. He said that unless a new master’s program is based in a separate school, it will inevitably remix and recombine programs and students that are already here.
Prof. Sachs said the present M.A. program emerges from three world-class Columbia centers for climate science: the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES), the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction.
Dean Anderson spoke in favor of the program.
Sen. Findley said the proposed program will help to provide students with the grounding needed to bridge disciplinary boundaries.
Sen. Darrow said the Education Committee subcommittee that reviewed the proposal saw clear links to the theme of globalization.
The president thought the benefits of bringing together Columbia’s highly significant research enterprise in climate science with the work of social scientists were self-evident. He said the profound questions about how the University should decide to divide the issues of the world should be asked over and over again as disciplines and schools evolve.
By voice vote the Senate approved the resolution with one nay and one abstention.
Resolution to Establish the Doctor of Nursing Practice (Education): Sen. Moss-Salentijn reminded the Senate of the history of deliberations on this proposal, which included one entire Senate meeting agenda and a good portion of another in the fall of 2002.
Those discussions brought to light a number of reservations about the proposal that was before the Senate at that time. The Education Committee has since received two documents: the newest set of guidelines for clinical doctorates at Health Sciences, which Education has accepted as a working document, and a reworked program proposal that met all previous objections.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said her committee now thinks the academic program merits a clinical doctorate. She added that the committee was asking the Senate to vote on this academic program, not on nurses’ clinical activities, or the setting in which they will be allowed to practice. Those issues are for the nursing and medical professions to resolve, she said.
The president said the proposal has been with the Senate a year and a half, and the proponents may feel that they have been tortured. He said the Senate had properly insisted on a full review of the program at Health Sciences, which the proposal has now had.
Sen. Debra Wolgemuth (Ten., HS) expressed thanks to Sen. Salentijn for her long service on this issue. She also asked Sen. Salentijn to distribute the revised guidelines for clinical doctorates to all senators. Sen. Wolgemuth, a member of the medical faculty, had never seen them, nor had she heard any discussion of them at meetings uptown, including questions about the guidelines for nursing practice vis a vis medical doctors. She said these issues deserve serious discussion.
Sen. John Brust (Ten., HS) said one reason the proposal was sent back before was that it was misleading, even though the Education Committee had approved it. For example, he said, what was described as a “residency” was nothing of the sort. He said the new proposal speaks of a full-time residency. He did not know what that meant, and he had only seen the new proposal for the first time when he walked into the present meeting. He did not think it was appropriate for the Senate to vote, taking on faith what the Education Committee recommended, when the Senate found the last time around that it could not.
He asked whether the Doctor of Nursing Practice, like the Doctor of Medicine, would require passage of parts 1 and 2 of the national boards?
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said she agreed with Sen. Brust about the term “residency,” which in medicine and dentistry refers to training that comes after the degree, not before, as in the DrNP. She urged the nursing faculty to use another term.
But she also said the clinical doctorate before the Senate is for nursing practice, not medical practice, and therefore it is not reasonable to demand that nurses take the medical boards.
She again distinguished the academic program of the DrNP, which she said deserves a doctorate, from the practice of graduates of the program. That issue does not need to be voted on by the Senate, but should be discussed between the professions, she said. She understood that Sen. Brust might consider this distinction a form of weaseling.
Sen. Brust said the end result may be someone who calls himself or herself doctor, hangs up a shingle, and practices medicine, misleadingly.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said nurses have given assurances that that won’t happen.
Sen. Brust said they are going to practice medicine, independently.
Judy Honig, a nonsenator and a dean at the Nursing School, received permission to speak. She said nurses are already licensed, as nurse practitioners, to do many things that the DrNP will properly train them to do, with experiences that are mentored, clinical, and rigorous. The Nursing School is standardizing, regulating and monitoring the training.
She said the term “residency” is not uncommon in other disciplines. The DrNP residency is a focused, supervised, scholarly clinical experience that will span a year.
Sen. Suzanne Bakken (Ten., Nursing) said that Health Sciences Vice President Gerald Fischbach had called a retreat a few weeks earlier, where he reaffirmed his support for the DrNP, and said that the proposed program meets the revised guidelines for clinical doctorates.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn asked the president to close the discussion. There was no objection.
The president said that if the resolution is adopted, the administration will still have to bring it to the Trustees for final approval.
The Senate then approved the DrNP by voice vote, with one nay and one abstention.
There being no further business, the president adjourned the meeting shortly before 3:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Mathewson, Senate staff
From: "Anne Z. Whitman"
Subject: MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2003
To: Jordi Reyes Montblanc
Jordi FYI
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/senate/minutes/03-04/SenMins121203.htm
University Senate Proposed: January 30, 2004
Adopted:
MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2003
President Lee Bollinger, the chairman, called the Senate to order shortly after 1:15 pm in the Davis Auditorium of the Schapiro Engineering Building. Fifty-four of 100 senators were present during the meeting.
Minutes and agenda: The minutes of November 14 and the agenda were adopted as proposed.
Report of the President:
--Campus planning: In what has become a monthly update on campus planning, the president said he had met earlier in the day with Assemblyman Keith Jackson and with leaders of the Amsterdam News. The president’s general feeling was that the campus expansion effort is progressing; an important question is, how will it relate to Columbia’s neighbors, particularly the Harlem community?
The president hoped to be able to make a significant public statement about the progress of deliberations by around the end of January, when Columbia will begin a political effort to seek regulations that will enable it to pursue a Manhattanville development.
At the same time, the University is pursuing some short-term opportunities for space it already owns on Morningside and Washington Heights. The urgent need for science facilities in the next 3-5 years has focused attention on the northwest corner of the Morningside campus.
Longer-term efforts to plan for St. John the Divine are now in a hiatus.
--Academic planning: A group of senior administrators including Provost Alan Brinkley, Health Sciences Vice President Gerald Fischbach, Executive Vice President for Research David Hirsh, and Acting Arts and Sciences Vice President Ira Katznelson is planning for the sciences.
The president has just formed a task force on globalization, which he characterized as Columbia’s most critical issue in the next decade. The group will expand to include an equal number of outsiders.
--Budget issues: Columbia appears to have weathered the recent economic downturn reasonably well, compared to peer institutions, although the budgetary returns aren’t all in for next year. There appear to be sufficient resources to fund some interesting initiatives, and there may be more in the near future.
Report of the Executive Committee chairman:
--Town hall meeting on Manhattanville: Sen. Paul Duby (Ten., SEAS) said the Executive
Committee wants to hold a town hall meeting early in the new year to discuss Manhattanville, perhaps at the end of a regular Senate meeting, and perhaps in concert with an information fair the administration is planning on this topic. Any member of the Columbia community can speak at the town hall meeting.
--Task force on sexual misconduct: Sen. Duby said the task force roster is almost complete, and he hoped to provide a final list during the Christmas break.
--Columbia diplomas: At its meeting on December 8, the Executive Committee had discussed a student proposal to redesign the basic Columbia diploma. The student caucus is soliciting suggestions; its recommendations will need Trustee approval and will certainly not be adopted in time for Commencement 2004.
--Staff changes: Desiree Bermani, a member of the Senate staff for the past three years, has resigned to pursue other opportunities.
--Changes in committee assignments: The Senate approved a list of late changes in committee assignments.
--Holiday party: Sen. Duby reminded senators about the holiday party in the Senate office after the meeting.
New business:
--Resolution to Add One Student Senator from Teachers College: Sen. Duby noted that 60 senators (three-fifths of the current membership of the Senate) were needed to vote for the resolution, which would change the Senate by-laws. But only 53 senators were present.
Several senators suggested ideas for circumventing the three-fifths requirement. None persuaded Howard Jacobson, the parliamentarian, who stressed that three-fifths of all incumbent senators must be present at the meeting where the vote is to take place.
The president called for discussion of the measure. Nathan Walker (Stu. Obs., TC), a co-chair of the Senate student caucus, presented the resolution. He addressed the question, Why should students from an institution with its own separate charter participate as full voting members in the Senate of Columbia University? Mr. Walker said that TC is Columbia’s graduate school of education, enrolling 5000 students. Like any other Columbia faculty, TC offers no degrees of its own but recommends candidates for Columbia degrees.
In addition, Mr. Walker said, TC students are subject to Columbia’s Rules of Conduct governing rallies and demonstrations, and are also involved in a number of other facets of University life, paying to use Columbia health services, libraries, and athletic and religious facilities. TC students cross-register, enroll in dual degree programs, and earn Columbia certificates.
The resolution also fits with current policy on affiliated institutions, Mr. Walker said. The TC faculty, like the Barnard faculty, has two voting seats in the Senate, and Barnard students have one voting seat as well. Why not TC students?
In the course of a year and a half of working on the present resolution, Mr. Walker said, he and fellow TC students Rachel Bell and Jeffrey Sult have recognized the value of the contribution TC students can make to the Senate. They are the teachers, the principals, and policymakers in neighborhood schools. He urged senators to consider their perspective in formulating plans for Manhattanville. And just as Columbia is now rebuilding its relations with the surrounding community, TC seeks to rebuild its relations with Columbia. Some TC people have sometimes called 120th Street the widest street in the world; the presence of a dozen TC people at the present meeting was a sign of that effort to bridge that gulf, Mr. Walker said.
There was applause. With the permission of the president, Janice Robinson, General Counsel of Teachers College, conveyed the enthusiasm of TC President Arthur Levine for the resolution.
A senator asked why TC students were not granted Senate voting privileges from the outset. Mr. Walker said TC’s separate charter may have been a reason. The president noted that Barnard also has a separate charter, but its students have a voting seat in the Senate. Mr. Jacobson noted that Barnard’s affiliation with Columbia is much closer in a number of ways, including the tenuring of faculty.
Sen. Richard Bulliet (Ten., A&S/SS) expressed disappointment as chairman of the Structure and Operations that yet another measure commanding general support had failed to pass because of Senate voting rules. He asked for a suspension of the rules.
Mr. Jacobson said the requirement of a three-fifths vote for changes in Senate by-laws is contained not only in those by-laws but also in the University Statutes. He said Structure and Operations could consider amendments to those rules. He said he did not know of a resolution supported by a large majority of the Senate that did not pass eventually.
Sen. Bulliet said problems like these contribute to a perception of the Senate as dysfunctional.
The Senate could change its by-laws to allow for a simple majority to decide on by-laws changes—though that change would itself require a three-fifths majority. He suggested that a chairman, setting aside petty empiricism, could declare that he sees three-fifths of all incumbent senators in the room.
In response to a question from Sen. Karl Kroeber (Ten., A&S/Hum), Mr. Jacobson said the present proposal would add a seat to the Senate; no one would lose a seat.
Sen. Jeremy Waldron (Ten., Law) proposed a resolution “that this meeting of the Senate expresses its support for the resolution to add one seat for a TC student, and looks forward to its favorable consideration at a meeting at which the appropriate number of senators is present.” By voice vote, the Senate unanimously supported this resolution, which itself required a suspension of the rule that resolutions proposed for the first time on the Senate floor must be referred to a committee before they can be brought to a vote.
--Resolution to Use Gender-neutral Language Throughout the Senate By-laws: Mr. Walker presented this resolution. Those present agreed without dissent to express the sense of the Senate favoring this resolution, as they had with the TC resolution.
--Report on Manhattanville from the Task Force on Campus Planning: Sen. Sharyn O’Halloran, co-chair of the task force, gave its third report since its founding last spring.
She said the group has focused on three issues this fall:
1. A study of the economic impact of a Columbia Manhattanville development, prepared by the Appleseed consulting group. Sen. O’Halloran referred to a portion of this report, describing current conditions, that had been distributed in the Senate packet. One table showed that the area currently supports some 1100 jobs; New York City is the leading employer, with 321 (28 percent) of the jobs, followed by the Alexander Doll Company. Columbia ranks sixth, with 51 jobs. Another table shows the types of businesses in the neighborhood: those providing automotive services are the most numerous, with 31.
Sen. O’Halloran provided a few demographic details about neighborhoods near the proposed Manhattanville site: about 50 percent of the households in the Grant Houses, on the south side of 125th Street east of Broadway, are below the poverty line, with incomes below $12,000. In Morningside Gardens, just to the south, the median income is $60,000, with a 3 percent poverty rate. Low-income residents in the area tend to have low English literacy rates. In parts of the area as many as one third of the residents do not speak English well.
This sketch of the area highlights three community needs: entry-level jobs for unemployed workers, opportunities for low-wage workers to upgrade their skills, and basic adult education.
2. Academic planning efforts. So far Columbia’s School of the Arts is the only academic unit with a place assured in a Manhattanville development. Beyond this little has been settled. In productive conversations with Provost Brinkley, the task force has discussed the kinds of information needed to decide on academic uses of the area, and has stressed the need for transparency. The provost has sent a letter to each Columbia school seeking its academic vision; the responses may show a cluster of functions that might relocate to Manhattanville, thereby enabling further reallocations of existing space.
3. The need to disseminate information on Manhattanville: While some advisory groups have learned something about ideas for Manhattanville, there has been little public dialogue. This is particularly worrisome, Sen. O’Halloran said, since other broad ideas, such as Community Board 9’s 197-A plan for the larger area, are now being discussed publicly. There is now a sense in the task force that the University, to manage this process effectively, has to start making its position public. While understanding the administration’s need to retain flexibility, the task force thinks the University is now between a rock and a hard place.
Current thinking is for the administration to present an information fair, perhaps over a three-day period, that might culminate in a Senate town hall meeting, either as part of a regular plenary meeting or separately. A joint approach of this kind could provide information and start discussion. The week of January 30 is the target date. The task force would like to confirm this format and timetable in the next two or three weeks, Sen. O’Halloran said.
Sen. Samuel Silverstein (Ten., HS) asked for clarification of sometimes overlapping areas presented in the Appleseed report. Sen. O’Halloran and Jeremiah Stoldt, director of special projects for the Office of Facilities Management, explained that the overlap is unavoidable, because the census data is drawn from slightly different areas that are not precisely congruent with Columbia’s proposed development area, which has very few residents in it. In addition, the Appleseed study was trying to measure possible “secondary” effects of a Columbia development on a larger surrounding area.
Sen. Sally Findley (NT, Public Health) suggested that Columbia could provide a vital community service not only through job opportunities but by applying its leverage to protecting the health of the surrounding community, where asthma and other ailments are serious problems. For Columbia to make common cause with community residents against such environmental hazards as the city’s bus barn near 132nd Street and the waste treatment plant slightly to the north could be a win-win situation.
Sen. O’Halloran said the task force has noted that the Manhattanville area has the highest asthma rate in the city, and the bus depot appears to be the culprit. This problem is serious not only for people living nearby now, but also for Columbia people who may live and work there later on. She noted that sustainable development is one of the key objectives of the Manhattanville plan. She understood that the environmental issue in Manhattanville is now a key discussion item between Columbia and the city.
Sen. Linda Beck (NT, Barnard) said a more urgent worry than air pollution for some community members is the fear that they will lose their homes if Columbia moves into the neighborhood.
Sen. O’Halloran said “secondary displacement” that might be caused by a Columbia development in Manhattanville—quite apart from gentrification caused by broader Manhattan housing trends—requires continuing study. She said this is an important concern, which the University has to address.
Sen. Bulliet asked what fraction of the 1100 jobs in Manhattanville are held by neighborhood residents. Sen. O’Halloran wasn’t sure, but thought that most of the public-sector jobs, and a majority of the jobs overall, are held by people who live elsewhere.
Sen. Silverstein asked if it was the position of the committee that the bus depot is the area’s principal polluter. Sen. O’Halloran said that in studies conducted so far, in which other variables are held constant, proximity to the bus depot seems to the most frequent indicator for asthma in the immediate area.
Sen. Silverstein was skeptical of the idea that that bus depot could cause more pollution than the West Side Highway. Mr. Stoldt said that the building in the recent study of asthma effects is 3333 Broadway, a Mitchell-Lama development just uptown from the bus barn at 133rd Street. Asthma rates are significantly higher in 3333 Broadway than in 560 Riverside, for example, which is just as close to the West Side Highway. But he said the question requires more study.
Sen. Findley mentioned another air pollution study of the area, which she said is now compiling a large quantity of useful data. Mr. Stoldt said he would be interested in seeing this study.
Sen. Barry Allen (Research, HS), an area resident, listed two other reasons for local pollution problems: the number of auto repair shops, and the topography of the proposed site, which is a kind of trough where pollutants can collect.
Sharyn O’Halloran said the prominence of sustainable development among the planning principles expresses the importance Columbia attaches to pollution problems in Manhattanville.
Sen. Leni Darrow (Stu., CE) asked if Columbia people with health conditions might get worse if they moved close to the West Side Highway in Manhattanville. The president said he had not heard of such a problem. Another concern is noise, from construction and other local conditions.
Another environmental issue, he said, is the wind, which can be strong in Manhattanville.
--Resolution to Establish a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development (Education): Sen. Letty Moss-Salentijn, chair of Education, invited Prof. Jeffrey Sachs to present the program.
Prof. Sachs said the purpose of the program is to harness the social and physical sciences in an effort to address a range of serious problems that are not being adequately addressed in the traditional disciplines. Without this interdisciplinary sapproach, it will be impossible to tackle such problems as the AIDS pandemic, the 3 million children dying of malaria this year in sub-Saharan Africa, the 60 million people drinking arsenic-laden water in Bangladesh, or deforestation in the Congo, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon.
Prof. Sachs said that in his own home discipline—economics—dissertations are not even being written on topics like these. The present proposal has emerged from SIPA and the Earth Institute, two academic units part of whose purpose from the beginning has been to foster indisciplinary scholarship. The curriculum of the program, which has already attracted attention beyond Columbia, will focus on the social sciences, but with a deep concentration in one of four physical science disciplines: physical earth processes (mainly climate), environmental engineering, ecology and conservation science, and public health and health sciences. The advisory committee would include social and physical scientists, and the degree would be based in the Department of International and Public Affairs (DIPA).
Sen. Jorge Otero-Pailos (NT, SAPP) asked how the proposed Ph.D. relates to a program in sustainable development being developed by Prof. Joseph Stiglitz. He also noted that sustainable development is an important theme in the Architecture School now, particularly in connection with cultural heritage and preservation, and he asked if Prof. Sachs had considered this.
Prof. Sachs said the program developed by Prof. Stiglitz is also interdisciplinary, but entirely within the social sciences. He expressed interest in the work in sustainable development going on at the Architecture School. In his proposed program, he said, the methods sequence features spatial analysis, an area that may overlap in promising ways with architectural scholarship.
Sen. Silverstein asked how the proposed program differs from a Ph.D. program in physical science with a concentration in social sciences. Prof. Sachs said students in both the social sciences or the natural sciences have expressed interest in a Ph.D. with a concentration in the other discipline, and his proposed program could accommodate both groups.
But the basic proposal is for a Ph.D. in the social sciences, with a sufficient scientific knowledge to be able to read the literature critically in the relevant discipline. The curriculum includes a year of graduate-level science.
Sen. Findley said the goal is not only scientific literacy but an ability to conduct a conversation in a common language across the disciplines. Prof. Sachs thanked her for stating the program’s purpose better than he had.
Sen. Michael Adler (Ten., Bus.) asked about the program’s budgetary implications. It takes a sympathetic dean to want to incur another cost center, he said.
Lisa Anderson of SIPA said she was a sympathetic dean. She said a careful effort had been made to anticipate and provide for the costs of the program. In addition, two existing SIPA programs, in economic policy management and in environmental science and policy, are master’s programs with paying customers that will provide revenues to support the new Ph.D. program.
Sen. Ira Katznelson, Acting Vice President for Arts and Sciences, said he had conducted a careful study this fall to identify funding for the present proposal that would not drain resources from other Ph.D. programs. He said the proposed area of research and teaching has already generated significant interest and support. Also built into the program is a reserve fund to cushion ups and downs in the first three years. Finally, Arts and Sciences will also conduct a systematic fiscal and intellectual review of the program at the close of year 3.
Sen. Eugene Litwak (Ten., A&S/SS) asked about limits of the proposed program, which seemed to focus exclusively on developing nations. What about the industrialized world? Another remarkable fact, he said, is that an enormous amount of collaborative research is taking place already, but almost entirely outside the Arts and Sciences, in Public Health and professional schools. He invited Prof. Sachs to comment on the future of the social sciences, particularly in light of his Ph.D. proposal.
Prof. Sachs stressed that his program is about the whole world, not just developing countries.
He agreed that a lot of research is taking place, but he worried that it is not happening in the Arts and Sciences. In a recent search for articles on deforestation in leading economics journals, he found one in the last 13 years. The social sciences need to confront this challenge, he said.
Sen. Litwak thought a Ph.D. program is a limited way to attack the issue Prof. Sachs had raised. He called instead for a rethinking across the University of possibilities for collaboration.
President Bollinger reminded Sen. Litwak that the globalization task force gearing up now will address the University’s direction in different disciplines in a comprehensive way. The planning initiative now under way in the natural sciences will address connections with other parts of the university. There will also be a planning effort in the humanities in due course.
Prof. Sachs said the Earth Institute is grappling daily with some of the challenges Sen. Litwak had raised, and he would be happy to discuss them further with him.
A senator asked what career path graduates of the proposed Ph.D. program might follow. Prof. Sachs expected Columbia to lead a broad movement to address global issues in sustainable development. The new interdisciplinary approach, which may become a discipline in its own right over time, will provide ample job opportunities in academic centers, international institutions, and government, he said..
The Senate unanimously approved the proposal by voice vote.
--Resolution to Establish an M.A. Program in Climate and Society (Education): Sen. Moss-Salentijn presented the program.
Sen. Bradley Bloch (Alum.) asked what the basis was for establishing a program in climate and society, as opposed to climate and architecture or climate and some other field. How will thinking about this pair of topics change in five years?
Sen. Moss-Salentijn took the point. She said there is a perceived need for this program now. As thinking changes, the program may adjust, although there may be new programs as well. She also saw no reason why a program couldn’t focus on this particular problem for as long as the approach is useful; if it’s no longer useful in 10 years, there’s no reason not to close it down.
Many new “M.A. Only” programs were established with just such a trajectory in mind, she said.
Sen. Otero, noting that architecture instruction in this country started in departments of geology and mines, eventually branching out and forming separate schools, said there’s a case to be made for experimental programs. At the same time, it is important to be aware of steps already taken in the direction of the new experimental field and to include them in the curriculum.
Sen. Adler said the program appeared not to be thought out. He could not understand its admissions standards or its target audience. He said that unless a new master’s program is based in a separate school, it will inevitably remix and recombine programs and students that are already here.
Prof. Sachs said the present M.A. program emerges from three world-class Columbia centers for climate science: the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES), the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction.
Dean Anderson spoke in favor of the program.
Sen. Findley said the proposed program will help to provide students with the grounding needed to bridge disciplinary boundaries.
Sen. Darrow said the Education Committee subcommittee that reviewed the proposal saw clear links to the theme of globalization.
The president thought the benefits of bringing together Columbia’s highly significant research enterprise in climate science with the work of social scientists were self-evident. He said the profound questions about how the University should decide to divide the issues of the world should be asked over and over again as disciplines and schools evolve.
By voice vote the Senate approved the resolution with one nay and one abstention.
Resolution to Establish the Doctor of Nursing Practice (Education): Sen. Moss-Salentijn reminded the Senate of the history of deliberations on this proposal, which included one entire Senate meeting agenda and a good portion of another in the fall of 2002.
Those discussions brought to light a number of reservations about the proposal that was before the Senate at that time. The Education Committee has since received two documents: the newest set of guidelines for clinical doctorates at Health Sciences, which Education has accepted as a working document, and a reworked program proposal that met all previous objections.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said her committee now thinks the academic program merits a clinical doctorate. She added that the committee was asking the Senate to vote on this academic program, not on nurses’ clinical activities, or the setting in which they will be allowed to practice. Those issues are for the nursing and medical professions to resolve, she said.
The president said the proposal has been with the Senate a year and a half, and the proponents may feel that they have been tortured. He said the Senate had properly insisted on a full review of the program at Health Sciences, which the proposal has now had.
Sen. Debra Wolgemuth (Ten., HS) expressed thanks to Sen. Salentijn for her long service on this issue. She also asked Sen. Salentijn to distribute the revised guidelines for clinical doctorates to all senators. Sen. Wolgemuth, a member of the medical faculty, had never seen them, nor had she heard any discussion of them at meetings uptown, including questions about the guidelines for nursing practice vis a vis medical doctors. She said these issues deserve serious discussion.
Sen. John Brust (Ten., HS) said one reason the proposal was sent back before was that it was misleading, even though the Education Committee had approved it. For example, he said, what was described as a “residency” was nothing of the sort. He said the new proposal speaks of a full-time residency. He did not know what that meant, and he had only seen the new proposal for the first time when he walked into the present meeting. He did not think it was appropriate for the Senate to vote, taking on faith what the Education Committee recommended, when the Senate found the last time around that it could not.
He asked whether the Doctor of Nursing Practice, like the Doctor of Medicine, would require passage of parts 1 and 2 of the national boards?
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said she agreed with Sen. Brust about the term “residency,” which in medicine and dentistry refers to training that comes after the degree, not before, as in the DrNP. She urged the nursing faculty to use another term.
But she also said the clinical doctorate before the Senate is for nursing practice, not medical practice, and therefore it is not reasonable to demand that nurses take the medical boards.
She again distinguished the academic program of the DrNP, which she said deserves a doctorate, from the practice of graduates of the program. That issue does not need to be voted on by the Senate, but should be discussed between the professions, she said. She understood that Sen. Brust might consider this distinction a form of weaseling.
Sen. Brust said the end result may be someone who calls himself or herself doctor, hangs up a shingle, and practices medicine, misleadingly.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn said nurses have given assurances that that won’t happen.
Sen. Brust said they are going to practice medicine, independently.
Judy Honig, a nonsenator and a dean at the Nursing School, received permission to speak. She said nurses are already licensed, as nurse practitioners, to do many things that the DrNP will properly train them to do, with experiences that are mentored, clinical, and rigorous. The Nursing School is standardizing, regulating and monitoring the training.
She said the term “residency” is not uncommon in other disciplines. The DrNP residency is a focused, supervised, scholarly clinical experience that will span a year.
Sen. Suzanne Bakken (Ten., Nursing) said that Health Sciences Vice President Gerald Fischbach had called a retreat a few weeks earlier, where he reaffirmed his support for the DrNP, and said that the proposed program meets the revised guidelines for clinical doctorates.
Sen. Moss-Salentijn asked the president to close the discussion. There was no objection.
The president said that if the resolution is adopted, the administration will still have to bring it to the Trustees for final approval.
The Senate then approved the DrNP by voice vote, with one nay and one abstention.
There being no further business, the president adjourned the meeting shortly before 3:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Mathewson, Senate staff
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Housing Development Fund Corporations - From Public Housing to Private Corporations
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2003 Oct
Housing Development Fund Corporations
From Public Housing to Private Corporations
By Mary K. Fons
In order to get from one side of the Hudson River to the other, one would need to cross a bridge, get in a boat, or be able to jump a very long distance. Since not many people want to attempt the latter, most people utilize tools like bridges or some sturdy method of transportation when they want to get from Point A to Point B.
Organizations
Housing Development Fund Corporations
Home
2003
2003 Oct
Housing Development Fund Corporations
From Public Housing to Private Corporations
By Mary K. Fons
In order to get from one side of the Hudson River to the other, one would need to cross a bridge, get in a boat, or be able to jump a very long distance. Since not many people want to attempt the latter, most people utilize tools like bridges or some sturdy method of transportation when they want to get from Point A to Point B.
Upon first inquiry, tenants who wish to convert their buildings from city-owned properties into private cooperatives soon realize that the road will be long - and sometimes frustrating. But tenants who choose to pursue the process to the end also realize that perhaps the best way is to form a Housing Development Fund Corporation or HDFC. When they do this, they are in essence forming that bridge from Point A to Point B, and no jumping needs to enter the picture.
According to Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, president of both 601 W. 136th Street - an HDFC co-op in Manhattan - as well as the volunteer, no-for-profit HDFC Council, a group dedicated to helping tenants take charge of their own buildings and turn them into thriving, successful cooperatives, there are over 1,000 HDFCs in New York City. That's a lot - but what does it mean to be an HDFC co-op? Is an HDFC a business? Sort of. Is it a group of people? Yes, definitely. Does every co-op need to be an HDFC co-op? It depends.
Reyes-Montblanc spoke with The Cooperator recently and said - half-jokingly - that he's been in this business for over 15 years and he still doesn't understand everything there is to know about HDFCs. But we'll try to shine the light on the subject for those who may be in the dark.
Technically speaking, HDFCs are New York State corporations governed by New York State Private Housing Finance Law and are simultaneously incorporated under New York's Business Corporation Law (BCL) so they can issue stock as a co-op corporation. Some HDFCs - though not many - also come under the guidance of non-profit laws. While this information is important to someone wanting to fully understand HDFCs, it's the very information that gets people confused. The best way to explain what an HDFC is and the purpose behind the title is to go through the process a lot of tenants follow when converting their city-owned building into a co-op housing environment.
After we understand how an HDFC is formed, the technical details make a little more sense. Say, for example, there is a building with 100 units somewhere on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Let's call it Building X. The tenants of Building X decide they want to buy their building from the city of New York and turn it into a limited liability co-op. By organizing themselves as an HDFC, they provide several avenues for themselves, the most important of these being their opportunity to utilize what's called a Tenant Interim Lease or TIL.
HDFCs and TILs go hand in hand, most of the time. The Tenant Interim Lease is a net lease that the city issues to the HDFC tenant organization - the individuals who have decided to take steps to purchase their building. Under the TIL, the tenants act as owners and managers of their building, just as though they were already operating as their own co-op. The HDFC is then required to send reports every month, detailing the progress of the building, repairs that must be made, and so forth - like a status report on a probationary social program.
After two to three years (though it can be as long as five in some cases), providing the tenant organization has proven themselves to be capable of handling and managing their building, a rehab and renovation is scheduled. The city of New York at that point would hire a private construction firm to make the necessary improvements on Building X. Oftentimes, the buildings are in a depressed state and a major overhaul would be necessary. In such cases, the tenants would be temporarily relocated to live elsewhere while the changes to the building are taking place. Relocating people for a lengthy amount of time sounds like a major inconvenience but tenants aren't quick to complain. The city didn't start its HDFC rehab program until 1995 - and before that time, buildings were sold to tenants as-is, which caused any number of safety risks and financial headaches for the brand new owners.
Once the rehabbing is done, the tenants move into their new home and voila - they are the proud shareholder-owners of an HDFC limited equity co-op, just like the tenants of 601 W. 136th Street and other co-ops. Some buildings will find the process takes longer than others but the benefits of co-op living are surely worth the wait.
Income restrictions are the norm and both HPD and HDFC are empowered to enforce specific income guidelines. Whether the tenants are involved in the buildings' purchase from the beginning, or move in at the time of conversion, they are entitled to protection from skyrocketing rents or fees. Should any part of the building sell at any time, the HDFC plays a role in making sure that the new tenants meet the income restrictions already in place.
An HDFC is also eligible for tax breaks under Article XI: Tax Exemptions for HDFC-Owned New Construction or Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing. Under this provision, HDFCs can obtain full or partial exemption from real estate taxes for up to 40 years. This is a major coup for tenants of HDFC co-ops, though it is important to know that the tax break doesn't just happen on its own. The New York City Council must pass an HPD resolution authorizing the tax exemption. Then, the Tax Incentive Programs Unit (TIP), which can be reached by calling 212-863-5110, will issue a Certificate of Eligibility. Finally, the Department of Finance implements your building's benefit. It may sound like a lot of red tape but the reward may be worthwhile and a boon to any HDFC's operating budget. (Go to www.nyc.gov for additional information on how your HDFC can apply.)
Help is at Hand
If all this sounds convoluted and confusing, that's because it is. But help is available to deserving, committed cooperators who want to make the absolute most of their ownership and vested interest in their homes. Aside from the government Web sites and programs set up to help ease the process and aid the prosperity of new HDFC co-ops, there's also the HDFC Council, headed up by Reyes-Montblanc himself. The group, according to Reyes-Montblanc, "Usually doesn't get involved in the pre-conversion process, although many buildings' tenant associations do tend to contact us for advice and guidance as they get closer - usually about a year before conversion."
The council - an entirely volunteer endeavor - manages to do a lot with a little, not unlike the new cooperators they're helping along the way. "We don't really do outreach," says Reyes-Montblanc, "as we have very limited resources, however word-of-mouth and referrals keep us quite busy. Usually, we take the role of mentors and counselors, reviewing the building's common practices, both administrative and financial, and we make suggestions as to how to improve their business practices and how to refine their business judgment and define the role and responsibilities of the directors, both as individuals and as a board."'
Reyes-Montblanc points out that not every single co-op that comes to the council is automatically granted its time and assistance. "We go through a triage and select to work only with buildings where there is a real board that demonstrates a desire and commitment to improving their deficiencies and living by their bylaws and governing documents. Some buildings we refer to the not-for-profit [Department of Housing Preservation and Development] contracted agencies for specific training or to the workshops and seminars offered by the [Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums] or the Federation."
Reyes-Montblanc points out that the HDFC Council often exhorts those who opt to convert to cooperative living to get involved politically as well. "We ask our members to seek appointments to their Community Planning Boards and School District Boards, and to develop close working relationships with elected officials. We have members in 27 of the 51 Community Planning Boards, and in some like my own CB9M in Westside Heights, we have large representation as well, as in CB4M in Hell's Kitchen and others in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. We've been able to initiate legislation that has been passed and signed into law and have two [pieces of legislation] in the works with the New York City Council."
The expectation (and hope) of the tenants of any co-op - as well as the city of New York - is that the inhabitants of an HDFC co-op community will prosper and thrive in a comfortable place in which to live. By incorporating your co-op as an HDFC, you become part of a larger community of New York cooperators.
Mary Fons is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to The Cooperator.
http://www.cooperator.com/articles/928/1/Housing-Development-Fund-Corporations/Page1.html
Friday, September 19, 2003
Community Board Saves M104 Bus Route
A plan by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the route of the M104 bus line has been dropped after a long negotiation between the MTA and community activists.
The MTA initially planned the route change in order to better serve the new development in the Harlem Piers area near 125th Street along the Hudson River. In addition, the transit authority has been in the process of reorganizing all of its bus depots, and the new route was designed in part to reflect the switch in the M104's service station from the Amsterdam depot--which closed on Sept. 7--to the Manhattanville depot, according to MTA spokeswoman Marisa Baldeo.
The new route would have withdrawn service on Convent Avenue by going up Amsterdam Avenue and turning west at 133rd Street. Presently, the northbound M104 turns east at the intersection of Broadway and 125th Street. The bus goes up Amsterdam Avenue, turns east at 129th Street, and heads south on Convent Avenue to the intersection at 125th Street.
In response to the proposed route change, community members held several meetings and participated in public hearings over the course of the summer. Community Board 9 members, along with several senior citizens from the community, testified at hearings and sent petitions with citizens' signatures. Also, because MTA is a state agency, CB9 members contacted New York State elected officials as well as Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields, said Theodore Kovaleff, the co-chair of CB9's Transportation and Uniform Services subcommittee, which helped negotiate the change.
On a map, the change seemed to be a simple, one-block shift to the west. But to the residents on Convent Avenue between 125th and 129th Streets--many of whom are low-income senior citizens--that one shift could have limited their mobility in everyday life, according to Kovaleff.
He explained that because Convent Avenue sits at the top of the hill, a route change would have forced elderly residents to walk up and down the slope or a flight of stairs in order to take the M104.
Without M104 service, the only line running along Convent Avenue in the same direction as the M104 would have been the M18, which comes much less frequently than the M104.
Additionally, riders would have had to transfer several times in order to go downtown, according to Kovaleff, requiring them to pay multiple fares.
"There [were] people who [were] going to be harmed physically and financially," Kovaleff said.
"[The plan] was really something that put a major hardship in our senior citizen community."
But for many residents, the route change would have provided a more effective mode of transportation to the Fairway Market on 12th Avenue at 125th Street. This advantage of potentially creating a direct route to Fairway was discussed and "perceived as a positive thing," according to Daniel Zweig, the co-chair of Community Board 7's Transportation Committee. CB7 serves the area just south of the area served by CB9, but was not in direct contact with CB9 during the negotiation process, according to Zweig.
But for many residents, the route change would have provided a more effective mode of transportation to the Fairway Market on 12th Avenue at 125th Street. This advantage of potentially creating a direct route to Fairway was discussed and "perceived as a positive thing," according to Daniel Zweig, the co-chair of Community Board 7's Transportation Committee. CB7 serves the area just south of the area served by CB9, but was not in direct contact with CB9 during the negotiation process, according to Zweig.
During the negotiation period, concerned parties discussed several compromise plans--some of which would still have provided transportation to Fairway--but could not find one that would serve the senior citizens as well as the original route, Kovaleff said.
Baldeo said that the MTA is aware that by rerouting, it would have taken service away from people who live in the area."We don't just make decisions," Baldeo said. "Community Board plays a big role. We have to see all who is going to be affected, and see if it is worth [the change]."
For now, the M104 route will remain unchanged. "[It was a] major victory for the community," Kovaleff said. "We were heard and the government responded."
But once the construction of the facilities begins for the development project in the Harlem Piers area, "it's going to be an issue again," Baldeo said. "Transportation will be a problem."
Thursday, August 28, 2003
Pedro del Valle
Pedro del Valle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Pedro del Valle
August 28, 1893 - April 28, 1978
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle
Place of birth
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Place of death Annapolis, Maryland
Allegiance
United States of America
Service/branch
US Marine Corps
Years of service 1915-1948
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands 11th Marine RegimentIII Amphibious Corps Artillery1st Marine Division
Battles/wars The Banana WarsBattle of GuadalcanalBattle of GuamBattle of Okinawa
Awards Distinguished Service MedalLegion of Merit
Lieutenant General Pedro Augusto del Valle (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) was a United States Marine Corps officer who became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of Lieutenant General. His military career included service in World War I, Haiti and Nicaragua during the so-called Banana Wars of the 1920s, and in the seizure of Guadalcanal and later as Commanding General of the U.S. 1st Marine Division during World War ll.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding leadership as Commanding General of the First Marine Division, during the attack and occupation of Okinawa from 1 April to 21 July 1945. His citation reads in part, "Undaunted by the deadly accuracy of enemy gunfire, he repeatedly visited the fighting fronts, maintaining close tactical control of operations and rallying his weary but stouthearted Marines to heroic efforts during critical phases of this long and arduous campaign. By his superb generalship....Major General del Valle contributed essentially to the conquest of this fiercely defended outpost of the Japanese Empire.[1]
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early years
1.2 The Banana Wars & pre-World War II
1.3 World War II
1.4 Post-World War II
1.5 Later years
2 Works of Pedro del Valle
2.1 Books
2.2 Articles
3 Awards and Recognitions
3.1 Foreign decorations
4 See also
Biography
Early years
Del Valle was born on August 28, 1893 in San Juan, Puerto Rico when the island was still under Spanish colonial rule. He was related to Dr. Francisco del Valle, a surgeon who had served as mayor of San Juan from 1907 to 1910. In 1900, two years after the Spanish-American War, the del Valle family moved to Maryland where they became U.S. citizens (The Jones Act of 1917 later gave United States Citizenship to all Puerto Ricans born on the island).[1]
He received his primary and secondary education in Maryland. On June 17, 1911, after he graduated from high school del Valle received an appointment by George Radcliffe Colton, who served from 1909 to 1913 as the U.S. appointed governor of Puerto Rico, to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Del Valle graduated from the academy in June 1915 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Marine Corps on June 5, 1915.[1][2]
The Banana Wars & pre-World War II
Pedro del Valle helped the Marine Corps in the capture of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1916, for which he was awarded his first Legion of Merit. Del Valle commanded the Marine detachment on board the USS Texas (BB-35) in the North Atlantic during World War I.
In 1919, he participated in the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet.[1] Later he served as "Aide-de-camp" to Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton after serving on a tour of sea duty aboard the USS Wyoming(BB-32). His job included an inspection tour of the West Indies in the company of General Pendleton.[1]
In 1926, del Valle served with the Gendarmerie of Haiti for three years and, during that time, he also became active in the war against Augusto Sandino in Nicaragua. In 1929, he returned to the United States and attended the Field Officers Course at the Marine Corps School in MCB Quantico, Virginia.[1]
In 1931, Brigadier General Randolph C. Berkeley appointed del Valle to the "Landing Operations Text Board" in Quantico, the first organizational step taken by the Marines to develop a working doctrine for amphibious assault.
In 1932, he wrote an essay titled "Ship-to-Shore in Amphibious Operations" which was published in the Marine Corps Gazette. In his essay, he stressed the importance of a coordinated amphibious assault and of an execution of an opposed landing.[3]
He worked as an intelligence officer in Havana, Cuba in 1933 under Admiral Charles Freeman, following the Cuban Sergeant's Revolt. From 1935–1937, del Valle was Assistant Naval Attache, attached to the American Embassy to Italy in Rome.[1]
While on duty, del Valle participated as an observer with the Italian Forces during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The experiences which del Valle gained as an observer led him to author the book "Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia" where he describes the events leading up to the Italian expedition and the complete movements of combat operations by the Italian Army under Generals De Bono, Badoglio and Graziani.[4]
In 1939, he was ordered to attend the Army War College in Washington, D.C. and after graduating was named Executive Officer of the Division of Plans and Policies, USMC.[1][4]
World War II
Major General Pedro del Valle (second from left)
is greeted by Colonel Puller (Chesty) on Pavuvu
in late October 1944, while Major General Rupertus
(far left) looks on
On March 1941, del Valle became the Commanding Officer of the 11th Marine Regiment, (artillery). Upon the outbreak of World War II, del Valle led his regiment and participated in the seizure and defense of Guadalcanal providing artillery support for the 1st Marine Division.
In the Battle of Tenaru, the fire power provided by del Valle's artillery units killed many assaulting Japanese soldiers before they ever reached the Marine positions. The attackers were killed almost to the last man. [3]
The outcome of the battle was so stunning that the Japanese commander, Colonel Ichiki Kiyonao, committed seppuku shortly afterwards..[5]
General Alexander Vandegrift, impressed with del Valle's leadership recommended his promotion and on October 1, 1942, del Valle became a Brigadier General. Vandegrift retained del Valle as head of the 11th Marines, the only time that the 11th Marines has ever had a general as their commanding officer.[3]
In 1943, he served as Commander of Marine Forces overseeing Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Russell and Florida Islands.
On April 1, 1944, del Valle, as Commanding General of the Third Corps Artillery, III Marine Amphibious Corps, took part in the Battle of Guam and was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. The men under his command did such a good job with their heavy artillery that no one man could be singled out for commendation. Instead each man was given a letter of commendation by del Valle which was carried in their record books.[6]
In late October 1944, he succeeded Major General William Rupertus as Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division, being personally greeted in his new command by Colonel Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller. At the time, the 1st Marine Division was training on the island of Pavuvu for the invasion of Okinawa.
On May 29, 1945, del Valle participated in one of the most important events which led to victory in Okinawa.[7]
After five weeks of fighting, del Valle ordered Company A of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle, a medieval fortress of the ancient Ryukyuan kings. Seizure of Shuri Castle represented a moral blow for the Japanese and was an undeniable milestone in the Okinawa campaign.[3]
The fighting in Okinawa would continue for 24 more days. Del Valle was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa.[3]
Post-World War II
After World War II ended, del Valle was ordered back to Headquarters Marine Corps, where he was named Inspector General, a position which he held until he retired on January 1, 1948.
On February 19, 1946 Senator Dennis Chavez of New Mexico and del Valle held a meeting with President Harry S. Truman in the White House, in which Senator Chavez recommended del Valle for the position of governor of Puerto Rico. [8]
From 1898 to 1942, the governors of the island were officials appointed by the President of the United States. The first civilian and native Puerto Rican appointed governor of Puerto Rico was Jesus T. Piñero in 1942. If Congress had not approved legislation in 1947 allowing Puerto Ricans to elect their own Governor, del Valle may have been appointed to the governorship.[9]
Later years
After retiring from the Marine Corps, del Valle worked as a representative of ITT in the company's office in Cairo, Egypt. After some time with the company he was named president of ITT for all South America in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a position that he held until 1951.
Believing that the United States was in danger of a communist threat, del Valle tried to convince the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Department of Defense to form a vigilante minuteman group. He also believed that the CIA should operate behind Russian and Chinese lines. After his ideas were turned down, he decided to form his own group.
In 1953, del Valle met with Lt. Col. John H. Hoffman (USMC), Lt. Col. Eugene Cowles Poneroy, Brigadier General Bonner Fellers, and Major General Claire Chennault (USAF) and formed the "Defenders of the American Constitution" (DAC). DAC's main goal was to purge the United States of any communist influence. The idea behind the group was to organize the citizens in each state as vigilantes against sabotage and other forms of treason, then link them up in some national headquarters.[10]
Del Valle ran for governor of Maryland in 1953, however he was defeated and failed to be nominated in the Republican primary election. The controversial views shared by some of the members of "DAC" was to blame for the organization's decline in popularity.[10]
On April 12, 1961, del Valle invoked The Protocols of the Elders of Zion during a speech before the United States Daughters of 1812, in an attempt to prove that Communism and Socialism were introduced to Russia by an "Invisible Government" whose intention was to destroy that country. Del valle also belonged to a group known as the "Sons of Liberty", established in 1967 in Annapolis, Maryland and named after the secret patriotic society which directed the actions of the Boston Tea Party on December 13, 1773.[11]
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle, who was married to Katharine Nelson (1890-1983), died on April 28, 1978 in Annapolis, Maryland. He was buried in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery of Columbarium. After del Valle’s death at age 85, the DAC ceased to exist.[12]
Works of Pedro del Valle
Books
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Diary and reports of the U.S. naval observer of Italian oparations in East Africa: March 1937 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1937).
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia (Harrisburg, PA: Military service Pub. Co., 1940).
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Semper fidelis: An autobiography (Hawthorne, CA: Christian Book Club of America, 1976).
Lieutenant General Pedro A. del Valle, U.S. Marine Corps (retired) (Oral history program).
Articles
"Guam, the Classical Amphibious Operation" Military Review (1944)."Massed Fires on Guam" Marine Corps Gazette(1944).
Awards and Recognitions
Among Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle's decorations and medals were the following:
Navy Distinguished Service Medal,
Legion of Merit with a Gold Star,
Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Ethiopia 1936–36,
Presidential Unit Citation, Guadalcanal 1942, Okinawa 1945,
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Star, Haiti 1916,
Dominican Campaign Medal, Dominican Republic 1916,
World War I Victory Medal 1918,
Haitian Campaign Medal, Haiti 1926,
Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, Nicaragua 1930,
American Defense Service Medal,
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars,
American Campaign Medal,
World War II Victory Medal,
Foreign decorations
Order of the Crown of Italy, Italy 1936,
East African Medal, Italy
Colonial Order of the Star of Italy,
Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valor,
Cuban Naval Order of Merit second class, Cuba 1938,
Ecuadorian Decoration of Abdon Calderon Star first class with Diploma, Ecuador 1942.
See also
United States Marine Corps Portal
Puerto Rico Portal
List of famous Puerto Ricans - Military
Puerto Ricans in World War II
List of Historically Important U.S. Marines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Pedro del Valle
August 28, 1893 - April 28, 1978
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle
Place of birth
San Juan, Puerto RicoPlace of death Annapolis, Maryland
Allegiance
United States of AmericaService/branch
US Marine CorpsYears of service 1915-1948
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands 11th Marine RegimentIII Amphibious Corps Artillery1st Marine Division
Battles/wars The Banana WarsBattle of GuadalcanalBattle of GuamBattle of Okinawa
Awards Distinguished Service MedalLegion of Merit
Lieutenant General Pedro Augusto del Valle (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) was a United States Marine Corps officer who became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of Lieutenant General. His military career included service in World War I, Haiti and Nicaragua during the so-called Banana Wars of the 1920s, and in the seizure of Guadalcanal and later as Commanding General of the U.S. 1st Marine Division during World War ll.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding leadership as Commanding General of the First Marine Division, during the attack and occupation of Okinawa from 1 April to 21 July 1945. His citation reads in part, "Undaunted by the deadly accuracy of enemy gunfire, he repeatedly visited the fighting fronts, maintaining close tactical control of operations and rallying his weary but stouthearted Marines to heroic efforts during critical phases of this long and arduous campaign. By his superb generalship....Major General del Valle contributed essentially to the conquest of this fiercely defended outpost of the Japanese Empire.[1]
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early years
1.2 The Banana Wars & pre-World War II
1.3 World War II
1.4 Post-World War II
1.5 Later years
2 Works of Pedro del Valle
2.1 Books
2.2 Articles
3 Awards and Recognitions
3.1 Foreign decorations
4 See also
Biography
Early years
Del Valle was born on August 28, 1893 in San Juan, Puerto Rico when the island was still under Spanish colonial rule. He was related to Dr. Francisco del Valle, a surgeon who had served as mayor of San Juan from 1907 to 1910. In 1900, two years after the Spanish-American War, the del Valle family moved to Maryland where they became U.S. citizens (The Jones Act of 1917 later gave United States Citizenship to all Puerto Ricans born on the island).[1]
He received his primary and secondary education in Maryland. On June 17, 1911, after he graduated from high school del Valle received an appointment by George Radcliffe Colton, who served from 1909 to 1913 as the U.S. appointed governor of Puerto Rico, to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Del Valle graduated from the academy in June 1915 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Marine Corps on June 5, 1915.[1][2]
The Banana Wars & pre-World War II
Pedro del Valle helped the Marine Corps in the capture of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1916, for which he was awarded his first Legion of Merit. Del Valle commanded the Marine detachment on board the USS Texas (BB-35) in the North Atlantic during World War I.
In 1919, he participated in the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet.[1] Later he served as "Aide-de-camp" to Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton after serving on a tour of sea duty aboard the USS Wyoming(BB-32). His job included an inspection tour of the West Indies in the company of General Pendleton.[1]
In 1926, del Valle served with the Gendarmerie of Haiti for three years and, during that time, he also became active in the war against Augusto Sandino in Nicaragua. In 1929, he returned to the United States and attended the Field Officers Course at the Marine Corps School in MCB Quantico, Virginia.[1]
In 1931, Brigadier General Randolph C. Berkeley appointed del Valle to the "Landing Operations Text Board" in Quantico, the first organizational step taken by the Marines to develop a working doctrine for amphibious assault.
In 1932, he wrote an essay titled "Ship-to-Shore in Amphibious Operations" which was published in the Marine Corps Gazette. In his essay, he stressed the importance of a coordinated amphibious assault and of an execution of an opposed landing.[3]
He worked as an intelligence officer in Havana, Cuba in 1933 under Admiral Charles Freeman, following the Cuban Sergeant's Revolt. From 1935–1937, del Valle was Assistant Naval Attache, attached to the American Embassy to Italy in Rome.[1]
While on duty, del Valle participated as an observer with the Italian Forces during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The experiences which del Valle gained as an observer led him to author the book "Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia" where he describes the events leading up to the Italian expedition and the complete movements of combat operations by the Italian Army under Generals De Bono, Badoglio and Graziani.[4]
In 1939, he was ordered to attend the Army War College in Washington, D.C. and after graduating was named Executive Officer of the Division of Plans and Policies, USMC.[1][4]
World War II
Major General Pedro del Valle (second from left)
is greeted by Colonel Puller (Chesty) on Pavuvu
in late October 1944, while Major General Rupertus
(far left) looks on
On March 1941, del Valle became the Commanding Officer of the 11th Marine Regiment, (artillery). Upon the outbreak of World War II, del Valle led his regiment and participated in the seizure and defense of Guadalcanal providing artillery support for the 1st Marine Division.
In the Battle of Tenaru, the fire power provided by del Valle's artillery units killed many assaulting Japanese soldiers before they ever reached the Marine positions. The attackers were killed almost to the last man. [3]
The outcome of the battle was so stunning that the Japanese commander, Colonel Ichiki Kiyonao, committed seppuku shortly afterwards..[5]
General Alexander Vandegrift, impressed with del Valle's leadership recommended his promotion and on October 1, 1942, del Valle became a Brigadier General. Vandegrift retained del Valle as head of the 11th Marines, the only time that the 11th Marines has ever had a general as their commanding officer.[3]
In 1943, he served as Commander of Marine Forces overseeing Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Russell and Florida Islands.
On April 1, 1944, del Valle, as Commanding General of the Third Corps Artillery, III Marine Amphibious Corps, took part in the Battle of Guam and was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. The men under his command did such a good job with their heavy artillery that no one man could be singled out for commendation. Instead each man was given a letter of commendation by del Valle which was carried in their record books.[6]
In late October 1944, he succeeded Major General William Rupertus as Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division, being personally greeted in his new command by Colonel Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller. At the time, the 1st Marine Division was training on the island of Pavuvu for the invasion of Okinawa.
On May 29, 1945, del Valle participated in one of the most important events which led to victory in Okinawa.[7]
After five weeks of fighting, del Valle ordered Company A of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle, a medieval fortress of the ancient Ryukyuan kings. Seizure of Shuri Castle represented a moral blow for the Japanese and was an undeniable milestone in the Okinawa campaign.[3]
The fighting in Okinawa would continue for 24 more days. Del Valle was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa.[3]
Post-World War II
After World War II ended, del Valle was ordered back to Headquarters Marine Corps, where he was named Inspector General, a position which he held until he retired on January 1, 1948.
On February 19, 1946 Senator Dennis Chavez of New Mexico and del Valle held a meeting with President Harry S. Truman in the White House, in which Senator Chavez recommended del Valle for the position of governor of Puerto Rico. [8]
From 1898 to 1942, the governors of the island were officials appointed by the President of the United States. The first civilian and native Puerto Rican appointed governor of Puerto Rico was Jesus T. Piñero in 1942. If Congress had not approved legislation in 1947 allowing Puerto Ricans to elect their own Governor, del Valle may have been appointed to the governorship.[9]
Later years
After retiring from the Marine Corps, del Valle worked as a representative of ITT in the company's office in Cairo, Egypt. After some time with the company he was named president of ITT for all South America in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a position that he held until 1951.
Believing that the United States was in danger of a communist threat, del Valle tried to convince the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Department of Defense to form a vigilante minuteman group. He also believed that the CIA should operate behind Russian and Chinese lines. After his ideas were turned down, he decided to form his own group.
In 1953, del Valle met with Lt. Col. John H. Hoffman (USMC), Lt. Col. Eugene Cowles Poneroy, Brigadier General Bonner Fellers, and Major General Claire Chennault (USAF) and formed the "Defenders of the American Constitution" (DAC). DAC's main goal was to purge the United States of any communist influence. The idea behind the group was to organize the citizens in each state as vigilantes against sabotage and other forms of treason, then link them up in some national headquarters.[10]
Del Valle ran for governor of Maryland in 1953, however he was defeated and failed to be nominated in the Republican primary election. The controversial views shared by some of the members of "DAC" was to blame for the organization's decline in popularity.[10]
On April 12, 1961, del Valle invoked The Protocols of the Elders of Zion during a speech before the United States Daughters of 1812, in an attempt to prove that Communism and Socialism were introduced to Russia by an "Invisible Government" whose intention was to destroy that country. Del valle also belonged to a group known as the "Sons of Liberty", established in 1967 in Annapolis, Maryland and named after the secret patriotic society which directed the actions of the Boston Tea Party on December 13, 1773.[11]
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle, who was married to Katharine Nelson (1890-1983), died on April 28, 1978 in Annapolis, Maryland. He was buried in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery of Columbarium. After del Valle’s death at age 85, the DAC ceased to exist.[12]
Works of Pedro del Valle
Books
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Diary and reports of the U.S. naval observer of Italian oparations in East Africa: March 1937 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1937).
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia (Harrisburg, PA: Military service Pub. Co., 1940).
Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Semper fidelis: An autobiography (Hawthorne, CA: Christian Book Club of America, 1976).
Lieutenant General Pedro A. del Valle, U.S. Marine Corps (retired) (Oral history program).
Articles
"Guam, the Classical Amphibious Operation" Military Review (1944)."Massed Fires on Guam" Marine Corps Gazette(1944).
Awards and Recognitions
Among Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle's decorations and medals were the following:
Navy Distinguished Service Medal,
Legion of Merit with a Gold Star,
Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Ethiopia 1936–36,
Presidential Unit Citation, Guadalcanal 1942, Okinawa 1945,
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Star, Haiti 1916,
Dominican Campaign Medal, Dominican Republic 1916,
World War I Victory Medal 1918,
Haitian Campaign Medal, Haiti 1926,
Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, Nicaragua 1930,
American Defense Service Medal,
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars,
American Campaign Medal,
World War II Victory Medal,Foreign decorations
Order of the Crown of Italy, Italy 1936,
East African Medal, Italy
Colonial Order of the Star of Italy,
Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valor,
Cuban Naval Order of Merit second class, Cuba 1938,
Ecuadorian Decoration of Abdon Calderon Star first class with Diploma, Ecuador 1942.
See also
United States Marine Corps Portal
Puerto Rico PortalList of famous Puerto Ricans - Military
Puerto Ricans in World War II
List of Historically Important U.S. Marines
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
In Growth Spurt, Columbia Is Buying Swath of Harlem
In Growth Spurt, Columbia Is Buying Swath of Harlem
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
NEW YORK TIMES 7/30/2003
Columbia University, long starved for land at its campus in Morningside Heights, is buying up a 17-acre swath in West Harlem for its first major expansion in 75 years. The university's long-range plan calls for removing the battered brick industrial buildings now in the area bounded roughly by Broadway, 125th Street, 12th Avenue and 133rd Street and replacing them with a new tree-lined campus of school buildings, performing arts centers, research labs, a jazz club and dormitories.
The proposed multibillion-dollar project, about half the size of Columbia's 36-acre campus in Morningside Heights, would be built in the coming decades and could become what the university regards as a link to its health sciences complex in Washington Heights. Aside from acquiring the rest of the land, Columbia also needs zoning changes that would allow high-rise development of nonindustrial buildings.
Columbia has crowded new buildings onto campus for years and erected towers on scattered sites in the surrounding area, but officials say it needs to expand if it is to continue to attract top professors, researchers and students.
Columbia is hoping that its plans will fit well with efforts by the state, city and community groups to redevelop the Hudson River waterfront and West Harlem, which the university prefers to call by its historic name, Manhattanville.
"This is an opportunity in Manhattanville to create something of immense vitality and beauty," said Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia's president. "This is not to just go in and throw up some buildings. These would be beautiful, magnificent buildings on the order of what we have in Morningside Heights. Maybe not in mass, but in quality."
Columbia has more than 20,000 students and 9,000 employees, making it the 12th-largest employer in New York City and the largest recipient of research funds in the city. The university has hired the Renzo Piano Building Workshop and Skidmore Owings & Merrill to design the project. If it goes ahead, the first phase would include a 500,000-square-foot complex on 125th Street for the School of the Arts, research space, residence halls and retail space.
Columbia hopes to avoid the kind of community opposition and campus rebellions caused by its past attempts to expand, or its effort in 1968 to build a gymnasium in Morningside Park. To that end, the university is focusing on a run-down industrial area of warehouses, auto-repair shops and a meatpacking plant, avoiding a string of apartment buildings along Broadway between 133rd and 132nd Streets, but including an odd-shaped block to the east, bounded by Broadway and Old Broadway.
The area is framed by an elevated subway line along Broadway and a highway viaduct along 12th Avenue; Manhattanville Houses are to the east and another housing complex is to the north.
The university has been meeting quietly in the past two months with United States Representative Charles B. Rangel and state and city officials about plans to redevelop the area. It has also established a task force including representatives of the local community board and various neighborhood groups, a tactic that some residents have found encouraging and a break with what they said was Columbia's past arrogance.
"They're treading lightly," said Peggy Shepard, executive director of West Harlem Environmental Action, who has met with Columbia officials. "They put together a task force to show the community they want to do this in partnership. They have not really presented anything at this point. It's mostly them listening to us. As long as their needs are compatible with how the community sees the use of the manufacturing zone, it could be a good thing."
Over the past 50 years, Columbia has spilled down Broadway from the gates of its main campus at 116th Street. Its attempts to erect new buildings or buy old ones and squeeze out residents have generated one neighborhood battle after another.
Columbia has owned property on the south side of 125th Street since the late 1960's, but few people have been aware of the extent to which the university has been buying or leasing property in West Harlem, particularly for the past year. It rents space, for instance, in the old Studebaker building on 131st Street and has an option to buy the six-story structure as well as the garage next door. The university owns a parking lot on 129th Street and, real estate executives said, is negotiating to buy the land occupied by a U-Haul franchise on Broadway, near 132nd Street.
According to a Columbia document prepared for government officials, it owns or controls more than 40 percent of the 17 acres for the new campus and is in talks to buy 32 percent more.
Next spring, the city and the state expect to begin a $12 million plan to rebuild the Harlem piers on the waterfront between St. Clair Place and 133rd Street for recreational use. The city is also working with the community board, Columbia and others on a plan to rezone the neighborhood and encourage economic development under Henry Hudson Parkway, just to the west of the new campus.
The university's plans would amount to one of the largest development projects in the city and could fit in with those efforts, although there is clearly potential for friction. School buildings, laboratories and science labs would generate new jobs, university officials said, and there is the possibility that businesses could locate nearby as a result of research work.
In addition, Columbia said it would provide space for retail shops and nonprofit organizations along Broadway and 12th Avenue and would develop partnerships between, say, the School of the Arts and local artists and community organizations.
That approach contrasts sharply with what others have taken as Columbia's view of Harlem in the past. In the 1960's, the university built a tower for faculty apartments at the corner of 12th Avenue and St. Clair Place, it put the front door facing west, in effect turning its back on Harlem and 125th Street.
Now the university's plans for high-rise buildings could also run afoul of efforts by community groups to preserve the low-scale character of Harlem. Housing is a pressing issue, and the university's project may require moving a major Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus garage now on 133rd Street. Finally, Columbia would almost certainly need state help to condemn property that it cannot buy.
Jarvis Doctorow, for one, said he was having too much fun to sell. Mr. Doctorow, who is 79, owns the seven-story factory at 3280 Broadway that he converted to an office building, where Columbia is among the renters.
"I cannot prevent people from knocking on my door," he said, "but the building is not for sale."
Columbia has made no secret of what it says is its desperate need for land to expand. A 1998 survey by the office of the university provost found that it had less space per student than other major universities, 194 square feet; in contrast, the report said Princeton had 561 square feet, the University of Pennsylvania 440 and Harvard 368.
Columbia is erecting a 16-story apartment building for law students at Amsterdam Avenue and 122nd Street and an adjacent $50 million academic center. It is finishing a building on 110th Street, starting work on another at 103rd and Broadway, and planning for perhaps two towers on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.
Mr. Bollinger said he saw the land in Manhattanville as an important opportunity.
"Over the long term, upper Manhattan is our home," Mr. Bollinger said. "Columbia will never fully realize its own aspirations unless it accepts that. The question is, how do we weave together this tapestry? Any sense of a gated community or a town-gown line would be a mistake."
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