The Legislature voted last week on Regents appointments, naming two new Regents, Beverly Ouderkirk to replace James Dawson from the North Country and Catherine Collins to replace Robert Bennett from western New York. In addition, Judith Chin was appointed to the Queens seat vacated by Geraldine Chapey in June, and Judith Johnson was appointed to the Lower-Hudson seat being vacated by the retirement of Harry Phillips. Regents Roger Tilles from Long Island, Lester Young, holding an at-large seat, and Kathleen Cashin from Brooklyn were all reappointed.
While change is generally a good thing, education is losing two huge advocates in Regents Dawson and Bennett. I provide my comment on each Regent and provide a summary of the background of these two exceptional individuals, excerpted from the Regents website.
James C. Dawson served for 22 years and was one of those very capable Regents that had a tremendous grasp of the nuances of P-12 education. He was versed in the details of school finance, assessment, standards, and the challenges of rural education. I provided staff support to Regent Dawson when he chaired the Regents Subcommittee on State Aid and worked with him often as the Department’s rural schools representative. We served on panels together at the annual rural schools conference where Regent Dawson was a regular attendee. He also was an advocate for cultural education and networking between schools and our museums and libraries. Regent Dawson, thank you for your many contributions. You will be sorely missed!
Regent Dawson served on the Board of Regents since 1993, and was reappointed in 2000, 2005 and 2010 to represent the 4th Judicial District (the North Country from the Mohawk River to the Canadian border). During his service on the Board he has chaired the Regents' Cultural Education Committee, the Regents' Administrative Committee, and the Regents' State Aid Subcommittee. He is currently Co-Chair of the Audits/Budget and Finance Committee and Vice Chair of State Aid. He has tirelessly visited every school district, and every school building, in his judicial district. He has been active in NASBE, the National Association of State Boards of Education that represent the state education boards of the fifty states and has served as their President and as the chair or member of several of their study groups on topics as diverse as school construction, the achievement gap, and arts and foreign language education. Since 1970, Dr. Dawson has served on the faculty at the State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh where he teaches courses in geology as a Distinguished Service Professor in the Center for Earth and Environmental Science.
Robert M. Bennett served the Regents for 20 years, including seven years as Chancellor, and when he stopped being Chancellor in 2009, as Chancellor Emeritus since then. He was a champion for children and families complementing his state education work with a focus on services for children and families in his 23-year career as Vice-President, President and CEO of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. Chancellor Emeritus Bennett’s focus on ‘wrap-around’ services for children and families gave him a firm grasp of the challenges facing life in the 21st Century. Chancellor Emeritus Bennett, thank you for your considerable contributions to education.
Robert M. Bennett of Western New York was elected to the Board of Regent in 1995 and reelected in 2000, 2005 and 2010. He was elected Chancellor in 2002, and re-elected in 2004 and 2007. In April, 2009, Bennett stepped down as Chancellor, and continued to serve as a Regent representing Western New York. The Regents unanimously appointed Bennett as Chancellor Emeritus. Chancellor Emeritus Bennett served as vice-president and then president and CEO of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County for 23 years, implementing a number of initiatives to help Erie county youth, families and the elderly. During his time as President, $240 million was raised and allocated for community services. Having taught at the graduate level since 1977, Chancellor Emeritus Bennett currently serves as a distinguished lecturer in Policy and Politics in Education at Niagara University and Canisius College.
Chancellor Emeritus Bennett serves on numerous boards including the Statler Foundation, the John R. Oishei Foundation, the Buffalo Diocesan Planning Commission, Catholic Charities of Western New York, the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Center, Erie County Children’s Coordinating Council and as a Eucharistic Minister for St. Christopher's Parish. Chancellor Emeritus Bennett has received a wide range of awards and recognition, including being named Citizen of the year, twice, by the Buffalo News; recipient of the One Person Award from United Way; D'Youville College's 2000 Community Service Award; the Bishop McNulty Youth Service Award; Citizen of the Year by the Food Bank of Western New York; the Theodore Roosevelt Award; Association of Vocational Education Leadership Award; Friends of Children Award from the Association for the Education of Young Children; Leadership Award from the National Center for Community and Justice; Parents Anonymous Leader Award and the Rev. John C. Cavanaugh Award from the University of Notre Dame; and the St. Bonaventure University Gaudete Medal.