HIGHER ED TODAY
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Caribbean L 12 ife, JAN. 28-FEB. 3, 2022
Vincentian musical maestro Frankie McIntosh in honorary regalia. Frankie
McIntosh
Vincentian musical icon
marks 25th anniversary
of tribute stamp
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn-based Vincentian musical
giant Dr. Frankie McIntosh has begun
celebrating 25 years of a commemorative
stamp in his honor by the government of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dr. McIntosh — a preeminent
Caribbean musician,
arranger, composer,
musical director and producer
— told Caribbean
Life exclusively Sunday
night that was “difficult
for me, in 2022, to describe
the emotions experienced
25 years ago, when a commemorative
stamp bearing
my image was issued
by the then government of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines,”
under the New
Dr. Frankie McIntosh’s
commemorative
Democratic Party (NDP)
administration of late
Prime Minister Sir James F. Mitchell.
“Neither can I vividly recall all the
particulars surrounding its issuance,”
said McIntosh, who, in December 2020,
was conferred the Doctor of Letters (D.
Litt), honoris causa, by the University of
the West Indies (UWI).
“Although the government’s gesture
was highly valued, I didn’t consider it
necessary to proclaim the good word to
the general public,” added a very humbled
Dr. McIntosh, who was musical
arranger, keyboardist, technical producer,
pianist, music software programmer
and conductor for some of the most
prominent Caribbean calypsonians, such
as Alston “Becket” Cyrus; The Mighty
Sparrow; Explainer; Calypso Rose; Obstinate;
Short Shirt; Shadow; Swallow; Lord
Kitchener; Crazy; Winston Soso; and
Duke; among others.
“Only close relatives and friends were
informed,” continued McIntosh of the
commemoration. “That
remained the case until a
few days ago, when my sister,
Cheryl, took the initiative
to post a photo of the
stamp on her Facebook
page, thereby triggering a
groundswell of congratulatory
messages.
“I beg your indulgence
in permitting me
to extend, via this forum,
a heartfelt ‘Thank you’ to
all well-wishers,” Dr. McIntosh
said.
According to the St. Vincent
and the Grenadines
Postal Corporation, the
Frankie McIntosh Stamp
was issued on Jul. 24, 1997.
“’Good news travels slowly but arrives
in the end, thank goodness. Bad news
always arrives a day too soon’”, said McIntosh,
quoting Halldór Laxness (1960).
“Could Mr. Laxness have had foresight of
my commemorative stamp, released in
1997, but making news headlines today,
2022?”
He said that it was on a Wednesday,
when Cyprian “Cyp” Neehall, the editor
of the local Vincentian newspaper,
called him in New York from St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, stating that he was
“instructed, by whom I don’t recall, to
convey the news that the government
had plans to put me on a stamp, but
would need a photo by Friday.”
stamp.
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The opening of the spring semester
for CUNY comes with great news for students
and faculty on all our campuses,
and for public higher education in New
York State. In January, Governor Kathy
Hochul announced a budget plan that
will allow CUNY to hire more than 500
new full-time faculty members, an investment
that is so pivotal to our longterm
strategies that we made it the top
priority in the University’s proposed
budget request for the next fiscal year.
The funding for new faculty hires
— part of the governor’s proposal to
increase state support for CUNY and
SUNY by more than $1.5 billion over the
next five years — marks a seminal advancement
of our historical mission to
provide high-quality education to New
Yorkers of all backgrounds and means.
Increasing the number and proportion
of full-time faculty has direct bearing on
student success and retention, and the
benefits are also substantial for faculty.
The state’s investment will bring
more stability to many of the courses
we offer, especially introductory classes
that many times prove the hardest to engage
students. Because some of the new
full-time hires will likely come from the
ranks of current CUNY faculty adjuncts,
the new state funding will also create a
critical career pathway for some of our
dedicated and talented part-time faculty.
And it will help us in our ongoing efforts
to increase the diversity of our faculty.
An added benefit of the increase in
full-time faculty is that it will bolster
our academic departments throughout
the University, whose faculty have made
numerous and important contributions
in their respective fields. It will reduce
the amount of time department chairs
need to spend on hiring, evaluations and
related administrative tasks, freeing
them to focus more broadly on creating a
more collegial departmental life, building
curricula and improving courses
and advising to better serve their students’
needs.
An Unprecedented Approach
One of the reasons I am so excited
is that many of the new full-time faculty
will be assigned to entry-level and
gateway courses with high numbers of
students who struggle. These courses
are often taught by part-time faculty
who often don’t get the chance to teach
a particular class over successive semesters.
Full-time faculty have the benefit
of more time to work with students
and to develop advisory and mentoring
relationships that can make the difference
between a student who perseveres
to overcome obstacles and one who gives
up and drops out. Full-time faculty also
have time to revise and improve their
courses, refine their teaching methods
over time and develop new offerings to
serve our students.
We also won’t simply be hiring people
and sending them into classrooms.
Instead, from the moment the first group
of new faculty join us they will be invited
to participate in CUNY’s Innovative
Teaching Academy, which we began
in 2020 to improve teaching and encourage
faculty throughout the University
to adopt proven pedagogy and high-impact
best practices. It’s the kind of professional
development for faculty that I
have long believed is sorely lacking in
higher education. This onboarding of
such a large group of new faculty is unprecedented
at CUNY, and very rare in
general.
Moving forward, continued investments
will further solidify the University’s
research programs, scholarship and
creative work, and targeted hires in the
sciences will grow and support the University’s
research pipeline and support
for STEM students.
Universities across the country, especially
public ones, have been contending
with their over-reliance on parttime
teachers for many years. It’s been
a particularly important issue for us at
CUNY, and for me personally since I assumed
leadership of the University in
2019. Governor Hochul’s budget marks a
turning point in our efforts, a major vote
of confidence for public higher education
in New York and an investment in
the success of our students that will pay
dividends for years to come.
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