Lawsuit Accuses SUNY-Cobleskill of Discriminating Against Black Students

A former dean of the State University of New York at Cobleskill has filed a lawsuit asserting that the college intentionally recruited and enrolled underqualified black students in order to increase its tuition revenue, according to the Times Union, in Albany. Thomas J. Hickey, the former dean of liberal arts and sciences, says in the lawsuit that the college knew the students had no chance of earning a degree and that the provost resisted efforts to use remedial programs to help them. Further, Mr. Hickey, who is a tenured professor at the college, says he was stripped of his dean position and prevented from getting a job at another college in the system because he spoke out.The SUNY system said in a written statement that “the assertions are baseless and we are confident the court will agree,” according to the Times Union.