AFT higher education members around the country joined their union brothers and sisters in mourning the  passing of former AFT president Sandra Feldman, Sept. 18, 2005.  Not only was she a strong union leader, a nationally recognized advocate for children and a civil rights activist, but Feldman made higher education a top priority in her stewardship of AFT. “Sandy was a true friend to higher education, and we will miss her,” said AFT vice president William E. Scheuerman.  “In a time when so many are trying to make higher education just a hoop you need to jump through to get a credential or start a career, Sandy understood the value of a strong liberal arts education and the need to educate the ‘whole’ person, as she liked to say,” Scheuerman noted.

Feldman’s deep commitment to higher education, based on her own education at Brooklyn College and New York University, made her a leading advocate of programs to ensure that all students, regardless of their financial resources, have the opportunity to pursue higher education as far as their talents, motivation and hard work will carry them.  Feldman, a strong believer in challenging academic standards, mobilized the union to take stands on issues such as teacher education and electronic learning and worked constantly to strengthen faculty and professional control over educational decision making on campus. During her presidency, AFT higher education nearly doubled in size to 150,000 members.  That growth was due in large part to Feldman’s commitment to focus AFT resources and national attention on the erosion of full-time tenure-track faculty and the overuse and exploitation of part-time/adjunct faculty and graduate employees.

The tremendous growth of AFT’s higher education membership and recognition that AFT has gained as a key voice in higher education policy discussions are only part of the legacy for which Feldman will be remembered.  See the full story of Feldman’s accomplishments and read the remembrances being posted by friends and family from around the country. [Lawrence Gold, Craig Smith]

September 28, 2005