Queens College professor steps down as CUNY staff union president
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Queens College Professor Barbara Bowen, center, has stepped down as president of the CUNY Professional Staff Congress after 21 years. Courtesy Photo by Dave Sanders
By Rachel Vick
Queens College professor and president of the CUNY faculty and staff Union Barbara Bowen is stepping down after a month-long election for a new board, the Professional Staff Congress announced last week.
Bowen, who served for 21 years, is remembered by her fellow board and union members for her unwavering activism for both human rights and the rights of CUNY community members.
“Under President Bowen’s leadership, the PSC has grown into a strong progressive union that has made huge gains for our members while simultaneously opposing racist austerity measures in higher education that harms our students,” said First Vice President Andrea Vásquez.
She will return to the English department at Queens College next year, leaving behind a legacy emphasizing the power of collective bargaining and organized membership.
“I cannot imagine a greater privilege than being accountable to people in struggle,” Bowen said. “There has not been a single day since I was first elected that I haven’t felt grateful for the chance to contribute to the PSC’s collective work.”
“To be in this position is to realize anew that the power of a union is the power of an organized membership,” she added. “Everything the PSC has done has been possible only because of the thousands of PSC members and allies.”
Though there is always more work to be done, Bowen said she is confident that the PSC is in good hands and that president-elect James Davis “is more than up to the challenge.”
Davis, a professor of English and the union chapter chair at Brooklyn College, is credited with increasing membership at the chapter and effectively amplifying voices of faculty, staff, and students.
He will serve alongside Vásquez and newly elected Felicia Wharton as treasurer and Penny Lewis as secretary after being sworn in later this month.
Davis said that he and the other board members are looking forward to continuing the work that Bowen started.
“Emerging from the pandemic and recession, we’re eager to build upon that legacy and help to turn this moment of crisis into a movement of possibility for all who study and work at CUNY,” he added.
