Burton Sacks joined the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies as Associate Dean for Operations in August 2018. Before that, he served as the former chief executive of the Board of Education of the City of New York and the former senior assistant to the president of the United Federation of Teachers. He joined the City University of New York as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Management Services in 2008.
As the former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Operations in the Office of University Relations, Mr. Sacks provided administrative oversight of the Office of Communications and Marketing, the Office of State Relations in Albany, CUNY-TV and Citizenship Now!. He also served as an adviser to the Chancellor on special projects.
In his previous capacity as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Management Services, Mr. Sacks reported to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer. In furtherance of the Chancellor’s goal of creating a more integrated University, he served as an internal consultant assigned to support the Chancellery and campus executives in accomplishing strategic initiatives. As the primary planning and implementation official supporting the Executive Vice Chancellor’s efforts to provide management services to the Chancellery and campus executives, Mr. Sacks worked collaboratively with the Chancellery and campus executives to provide intellectual and conceptual leadership on the delivery of quality University-wide solutions.
In his 33 years with the New York City Board of Education, Sacks served under five chancellors and for a decade, from 1992 through 2002, was its chief executive. During his tenure, he had direct responsibility for the Office of Community School District Affairs, the Office of Monitoring, the Office of Special Projects, Nonpublic School Reimbursable Programs, Office of Zoning, Office of Student Safety and Prevention Programs and the Office of Charter Schools. He also was the liaison for the New York City Police Department’s Office of School Safety. In his work for the New York City Board of Education, Mr. Sacks supervised employees and oversaw and monitored budgets while acting as a liaison to the community school districts. After leaving the board in 2002, he became the senior adviser to the president of the United Federation of Teachers. He held that post until coming to CUNY.
Mr. Sacks holds a professional diploma in educational administration from Yeshiva University. In addition to a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Long Island University, he did post-graduate study at New York University’s Graduate School for Public Administration.
