ALBANY— Gov. Cuomo’s newest appointee is a sure bet for CUNY.
The state Senate confirmed Barry Schwartz, an excutive VP at Ronald Perelman’s investment firm — MacAndrews & Forbes — to serve on the City University of New York’s governing board.
Schwartz also sits on the board of Scientific Games, a MacAndrews-backed firm that has a five-year, $98 million state contract to print lottery tickets.
Schwartz contributed $25,000 to Cuomo’s re-election campaign last year; Perleman donated $50,000.
Cuomo’s former chief of staff, Steve Cohen, also is a vice president at MacAndrews & Forbes.
Schwartz, not a CUNY school graduate, does have a background as a higher education advisor. He serves on the board at Georgetown and Kenyon College, his alma mater.
Cuomo’s office defended the decision to appoint Schwartz in a statement Wednesday night.
“As the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kenyon College and a Member of the Board of Visitors of the Georgetown University Law Center, Barry Schwartz has a deep knowledge of the issues facing higher education,” the statement read.
A Cuomo administration official said the Scientific Games contract was competitively bid and noted the firm had secured the business for the past 30 years, predating Schwartz’s appointment.