SUNY OKs rule that could oust Nassau Community College President Maria Conzatti

ALBANY — The State University of New York's trustees have approved a new regulation that could oust the Nassau Community College president, who has been serving in an interim capacity for more than four years, by midsummer.

The community college board responded by suing SUNY just 24 hours later, contending the state was overreacting to "contentious labor relations" and was "pandering" to the faculty union.

It was the latest twist in a bitter, long-running fight over the leadership of Maria Conzatti, who is supported by the community college’s trustees but opposed by the college faculty union and, perhaps more importantly, the SUNY board of trustees. Conzatti has been NCC’s interim president or administrator-in-charge since January 2022.

In November, the SUNY board took the unprecedented step of voting down the nomination of Conzatti to become NCC’s full-time president. It was the first time SUNY had rejected someone nominated by a local college board, officials said.

Then, on Tuesday, the SUNY board approved a regulation that limits appointments of an interim president or an administrator-in-charge to one year. The rule takes effect June 1 and sets a course for ousting Conzatti by Aug. 1.

"The administrator-in-charge’s term shall automatically be revoked 60 days following disapproval, and such candidate shall be ineligible to serve as an administrator-in-charge or to otherwise assume the duties of the presidency absent express approval by the State University trustees," the regulation states. The SUNY board approved it unanimously, a spokeswoman said.

Jerry Kornbluth, the college's vice president for community and governmental relations, said Thursday the SUNY regulation is "under examination" but added: "At first blush, it is very troubling."

In fact, NCC trustees filed a lawsuit at 3:59 p.m. Wednesday in Albany County against SUNY, a little more than 24 hours after SUNY approved the new regulation.

In the lawsuit, NCC contended SUNY's disapproval of Conzatti in November was "arbitrary and capricious, affected by errors of law, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to [SUNY's] written presidential search guidance."

Further, NCC asserted the vote against Conzatti was the "result of improper consideration of external and political and union pressure, including from the New York State United Teachers and its local affiliate, the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers."

The NCC trustees are asking the courts to nullify the SUNY board's November vote against Conzatti and declare that she "lawfully serves in holdover capacity as chief administrative officer unless and until a successor is duly appointed by the Nassau Community College board and approved by the SUNY board, consistent with applicable law."

David Stern, president of the college's faculty union, declined to comment Thursday about the NCC lawsuit.

Conzatti has been leading the school in an interim or acting capacity since January 2022 — even though SUNY guidelines say temporary appointments should last no more than six months. But the NCC board said in spring 2023 that it had given Conzatti an "iron-clad" five-year contract and requested SUNY approve her appointment.

The standoff is tangled with a multiyear battle with NCC’s faculty union, which includes the elimination of department chairs, consolidation of departments, alleged blocking of tenure appointments and an expired faculty union contract.

The union sued the college, saying the elimination of 15 academic department chairpersons violated state regulations. A local judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the union failed to show the college violated state procedures when it shrank the total number of departments from 21 to 6. The union has appealed to the Appellate Division, New York’s mid-level court.