We thank the speakers, moderators, and conference attendees for a successful 52nd Annual Conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions.

The theme of the annual conference was Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining. The program was designed to help build an alliance of stakeholders within higher education to protect and defend our shared fundamental values in these extraordinary times.

The success of the conference would not have been possible without the support and assistance of Hunter College President Nancy Cantor, our Board of Advisors, along with the staff of the Roosevelt House, the CUNY Graduate Center, and conference staff and volunteers. We also thank the sponsors of the conference along with the unions, businesses, institutions, and law firms that purchased advertisements in our conference program.

The Full Conference Program.

Below are links to video recordings of certain presentations at the National Center's 52nd Annual National Conference.  We thank the AV staff at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute and at Hunter College for their assistance on the video production. Additional video links are TBA.

Welcoming Remarks with William A. Herbert, Executive Director, National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, Hunter College, CUNY, Manoj Pardasani, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Hunter College, CUNY, Malini Cadambi-Daniel, Executive Director, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, AFT Local 2334, Ahsan Ali, Senior Director of Labor Relations, Tufts University, and Jessica Baker, Hunter College student and National Center intern.

Keynote Presentation: Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining with Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities, and Adrienne Lu, Senior Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Moderator.

Research Panel: Presentation on the 2024 Directory of Faculty Contracts and Bargaining Agents in Higher Education with Jacob Apkarian, Associate Professor, Sociology, York College, CUNY, Joseph van der Naald, PhD Candidate in Sociology, Graduate Center, CUNY, Susan Kelly, President, Microsearch Corporation, Mary Taber, Director of Research, UUP, Commentator, Dana Fleming, Associate General Counsel, Tufts University, Commentator, and Malini Cadambi-Daniel, Executive Director, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, AFT Local 2334, Moderator.

Book Discussion: Organizing Professionals: Academic Employees Negotiating a New Academy (Rutgers University Press, 2025) with author Gary Rhoades, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona, Richard Gomes, Staff Representative, AFT New Jersey, Jennie Shanker, Staff Representative, AFT New Jersey, Laura Murphy, Dutchess Community College, Dan Echikson, Organizer, ACT-UAW Local 7902, and Ryan Quinn, Reporter, Inside Higher Ed, Moderator.

52nd Annual National Conference Sponsors