Seymour Lachman

Seymour Lachman is the Dean Emeritus of the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College, where he is also a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Government.  Prior to his election to the New York State Senate in 1996, where he served for five terms representing a diverse district that included parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, Dean Lachman’s professional efforts were concentrated in the fields of education, government, and university administration. At the time of his election, he served as University Dean at the City University of New York and Professor of Educational Administration and Government at the Baruch College School of Public Administration. 

While teaching at the City University, Dean Lachman was selected to serve on the New York City Board of Education.  He was subsequently elected President of the Board, and his significant policy accomplishments included restructuring the Board of Education; codifying rights and responsibilities of high school students; establishing confidentiality of student records; creating high school consultative councils of administrators, faculty, parents, and students; and creating an appeals process for the central Board of Education. He is the author of several books focusing on government, including: Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse; The Man Who Saved New York: Hugh Carey and the Great Fiscal Crisis of 1975 (co-authored with Robert Polner); Mr. New York: Lew Rudin and His Love of the City; and Failed State: Dysfunction and Corruption in an American State House. Mr. Lachman is an appointee of the Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate.