Matthew Goldstein, who set the City University of New York on the road to an academic renaissance, announced yesterday he plans to step down as chancellor this summer.
He became chancellor in 1999 at a time when a mayoral task force described the institution as “adrift.’’ Goldstein, 71, has won praise for reforms that included raising entrance standards at the senior colleges and for policies that led to record enrollments.
CUNY, which has 24 colleges and professional schools, now boasts more than 270,000 students working toward degrees and another 220,000 people taking adult and continuing-education courses.
In a resignation letter to students and faculty yesterday, Goldstein highlighted as one of his achievements the hiring of 2,000 more full-time faculty members over the past 14 years.