Regent McCarthy makes first visit to Eastern

James McCarthy, a new board member of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR), visited Eastern Connecticut State University on May 4 to hear about the concerns of faculty and staff.

The BOR is the governing body that oversees the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU). McCarthy serves on the board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

McCarthy has worked numerous roles over his 50-year career in higher education, including faculty and administrative positions at several institutions. He has also served as an education consultant across the country and internationally.

“This is a listening tour,” he told the audience in the Student Center Theatre. “I’m brand new on the job. I’m here to listen.”

Concerns over the state’s higher education budget — which is under review in the current legislative session, set to adjourn June 7 — provided the backdrop for the forum. Many faculty and staff are concerned that the budget as currently proposed will severely underfund the CSCU system and negatively impact students.

To these concerns, McCarthy noted that the state currently has a historic surplus in its rainy-day fund. He said that the state’s spending cap and resistance to tap into reserves are the greatest barriers to securing the CSCU more funding.

Prior to serving on the BOR, McCarthy was the interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York from 2007-12. He then was named president of Suffolk University until retiring in 2014.

Categories: Administration