Three new members join Regents

On Board Online • March 21, 2011

By Brian M. Butry
Communications Coordinator 

Lawmakers in Albany elected three new members to the Board of Regents earlier this month, including James Cottrell, an anesthesiologist who becomes the panel’s first openly gay member.

During a joint session of the Assembly and Senate, Kathleen Cashin,  and James Jackson were also named members of the board. Each will serve five-year terms.

“I am pleased that Dr. Cottrell has been elected a member of the Board of Regents,” said Sen. Thomas Duane, the first openly gay member of the New York State Legislature. “As an openly gay man, I know he will make it a mission to ensure that our lesbian, gay and transgender students have a voice in the Board of Regents.”

Cottrell will serve as a Regent at-large. He will replace Saul Cohen, who stepped down from the board after serving for more than 17 years.

Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, brother of television and film star Rosie O’Donnell, said the election of Cottrell “is a key step forward in ending discrimination and making equality a reality for citizens, especially in our education system.”

A distinguished service professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, Cottrell is editor-in-chief of the Journal on Neurosurgical Anesthesiology. He has served at New York University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Kings County Hospital Center, Long Island College Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center, New York University Medical Center, Belleview Hospital Center and Brookdale Hospital Center.

Cashin will serve as a Regent for the 2nd Judicial District, representing Brooklyn. She takes over for Regent Karen Brooks Hopkins, who stepped down from the board after serving four years.

Cashin is a longtime educator from New York City, having served as a teacher, school principal and superintendent. She serves as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College and New York University, as well as a clinical professor at Fordham University.

Jackson was elected as Regent representing the 3rd Judicial District, which includes Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties. He replaces Joseph Bowman, who stepped down from the board after seven years of service.

Jackson is the principal emeritus of Shaker High School in Albany County, where he served for over 40 years as a teacher, supervisor and principal. A Ford Foundation and Northwestern University Fellow, Jackson has worked with the Center for International Leadership in Education and the Spencer Foundation.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Queens), who co-chairs the Assembly education committee, said the candidates selected “bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise”  to the board.

The Legislature reappointed two sitting members – Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Regent Anthony Bottar.

Tisch, who is an at-large member, and Bottar, who represents Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties in the 5th Judicial District, have both served since 1996.

The Legislature elects the Regents to set educational policy from pre-kindergarten through higher education, as well as oversee the state’s 48 licensed professions. One member is elected from each of the state’s 13 judicial districts and four members serve at-large.