The governing body of the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies pursuant to the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees is the Academic Governing Council (AGC). The AGC consist of all full-time, jointly-appointed, and consortial faculty. The Dean, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the two Higher Education Officers (HEOs) who have primary responsibility for administration of the School’s two academic programs serve as ex-officio members without vote. At least one student from each department is elected in accordance to rules established by the student governing body.

The AGC has the following standing committees: Steering and Elections Committee, Curriculum Committee, Admissions and Awards Committee, and Student Academic Appeals Committee. Students elect their representative members of each standing or ad hoc committee. All meetings of the Academic Governing Council are open to all members of the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies community. For more information about the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies AGC, and the complete governance document, visit Academic Governance Plan page.

Contact

StudentServices@slu.cuny.edu

Student Leadership Opportunities – The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies offers leadership opportunities to enrich the student experience and help students develop their leadership skills.

Academic Governing Council Members

Faculty, Additional Voting and Ex-Officio Members

Faculty Members Dept. Term Title/ AGC role
Kafui Attoh Urban Studies 2018 – present Associate Prof., AGC Chair
Sofya Aptekar Urban Studies 2020 – present Associate Prof., Chair of Curriculum Comm.
Juan Battle Urban Studies 2018 – present Professor
Cameron Black Labor Studies 2023 – present Assistant Prof.
Ellen Dichner Labor Studies 2020 – present Distinguished Lecturer
Deepak Bhargava Urban Studies 2019 – 2023 Distinguished Lecturer
Alethia Jones Labor Studies 2021- present Distinguished Lecturer
Penny Lewis Labor Studies 2018 – present Professor, Chair of P&B
Steve London Urban Studies 2019 – present Associate Prof., Urban Studies Chair
Ruth Milkman Labor Studies 2018 – present Professor., Labor Studies Chair
John Mollenkopf (on leave 2023) Urban Studies 2018 – present Professor
James Rodriguez Urban Studies 2021 – present Assistant Prof.
Michael Stack Urban Studies 2023 – present Assistant Prof. Substitute line
Samir Sonti Urban Studies 2020 -present Assistant Prof.
Nantina Vgontzas Labor Studies 2023- present Assistant Prof.
Stephanie Luce (on sabbatical until Fall 2024) Labor Studies 2018 – present Professor
Additional Voting Members
Marie Romani Administration 2024-2026 HEO, Administrative Specialist
Liam Lynch Urban Studies 2023-2024 Teaching Adjunct
Claudia Schacter-deChabert Labor Studies 2023-2024 Teaching Adjunct
Ex-Officio Members
Greg Mantsios Administration 2018 – present Dean
Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers Administration 2019 – present Associate Dean of Academic Affair
Irene Garcia-Mathes Labor Studies 2023- present HEO, Advisor for Labor Studies
TBA Urban Studies

Student Representatives

Tania Caldwell

Dept. Urban Studies
Term 2022-2025
Title / Role Student Representative

My name is Tania Caldwell. I came to SLU in the spring of 2020 as part of the Community Leadership Semester program. In the fall of 2020, I decided to continue pursuing my education and apply for the BA in Urban Studies program. I received the Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship for Diversity in 2020. In fall 2021 I was part of the CUNY Women Public Services program which gave me the opportunity to have a fellowship at the office of the State’s Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. I have served as the secretary of our SLU student union, which has given me the opportunity to represent our school as a delegate at the University Student Senate. Today I am working as a community outreach assistant at the Korean American Family Services Center, working with the Latin immigrant community in Queens. I want to be able to continue supporting our student body, represent, and help to push to bring more programs, scholarships, and other benefits to make our school more adaptable for my fellow students. I am a mother, wife, and full-time worker, and I also want to add to my priorities list my leadership engagement in my school. I am seeking to continue serving my school and collaborate with other members to bring more opportunities for our fellow students!

Anna Tresvalles

Dept. Urban Studies
Term 2023-2026
Title / Role Student Representative

My name is Anna Tresvalles and I am a full-time undergraduate student studying in the BA in Urban and Community Studies program and a CUNY advocate, having recently graduated from LaGuardia Community College with an AA in Political Science. At LAGCC, I participated in President’s Society Environment, the Honors Internship Program, the SOAR Program and Gardiner-Shenker Student Scholarship, learning leadership and community organizing skills, and with internship experience at the City Council and Long Island City Partnership. I am passionate about serving our school community and advocating for more opportunities to nurture and connect our student body. I am a Solidarity Scholarship recipient and a member of the Urban Academy, trying to get involved in our school in a meaningful and impactful way. I hope to collaborate with fellow students to create new experiences and use my skills from past experience in student leadership positions to organize and bring new energy to student life. I believe that our student leadership should be focused on the needs and reality of students, advocating to minimize gaps that exist in resources and assist transparent, continuous communication between staff and administration. With your support, I hope to represent the SLU student collective and support their experience on the Academic Governing Council and CUNY’s University Student Senate.

Miriam Uribe

Dept. Labor Studies
Term 2022-2023
Title / Role Student Representative

My name is Miriam Aidee Uribe Martinez (she/her/ella) and I am a MA in Labor Studies student and a recipient of the Joseph S. Murphy Diversity Scholarship. I’m an undocumented immigrant raised in California and currently living in Brooklyn. I have always been passionate about immigrant and workers’ rights advocacy. As an undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco, I advocated for undocumented students, co-founded UndocuWeek, and helped create the Magis Fellowship – a fellowship that provided unrestricted stipends to undocumented students. I have also been co-chair, bargaining team member, labor-management committee member, and mobilizer for two of the non-profits I’ve worked at. I’d love to bring my experience as an organizer and advocate to CUNY SLU and fight along with my fellow colleagues to ensure that our school meets the needs of our student population. I would especially be interested in supporting and advocating for our undocumented students on campus.

Kevin Wilson

Dept. Labor Studies
Term 2022-2025
Title / Role Student Representative

My name is Kevin Wilson.  SLU needs the kind of leadership that is conscientious of the economic, political and racial divisive times that we are living in today.  This is the kind of leadership that is deliberate, transparent but remain steadfast with a focus on labor issues.  That is a snapshot of my vision for our SLU Student Leadership.  I have demonstrated from my past involvement in this SLU Student Union and my local Public Employees Federation (PEF) union that I am the type of leader that prioritizes the issues of all members and relentlessly work to resolve them.  I have also served on the Regional and Statewide Political Action Committees and several Statewide Labor Management Committees for the Office of Mental Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.  Labor needs a fiery and visionary leader echoing your heartfelt concerns on issues that impact many facets of your everyday existence in our CUNY community.

Guidelines for AGC Composition and Meetings

Required Voting Members

  • Faculty:
    • All full-time, jointly-appointed, and consortial faculty.
    • One teaching adjunct from each department (2 total)
      • Elected for a one (1) year term by the adjuncts teaching in the program.
      • compensated for their attendance at AGC meetings.
    • Students: At least one student elected from each acadstrongic department, with a maximum 1:3 ratio of student-to-faculty representatives.
      • Students serve for up to three (3) years.
      • Elections for students follow rules established by the student governing body and should be staggered so there is overlap between new and experienced student representatives.
    • Staff: One (1) member of the HEO staff
      • Elected by the HEO stafffor a two (2) year term.

Non-Voting (Ex-Officio) Members

  • Dean of the School of Labor and Urban Studies
  • Associate Dean for Acadstrongic Affairs
  • Higher Education Officers (HEOs) who are responsible for overseeing the School’s acadstrongic programs (2 people)

Meetings

  • Chairperson: A tenured faculty member elected by the AGC for a term of three years.
  • Quorum: A majority (half plus one) of the voting members of the AGC must be present to conduct official business and approve resolutions.
  • Administration: Assigned staff members provide administrative assistance for keeping minutes, calling meetings, and other administrative
  • Participation: Non-member teaching adjuncts and staff may attend meetings and serve on committees with voice but without vote.