 | |
| Motto | To learn, to search, to serve |
|---|---|
| Type | Public university system |
| Established | 1948; 77 years ago (1948) |
| Endowment | $4.84 billion (2022)[1] |
| Budget | $13.37 billion (2022)[1] |
| Chairman | Merryl Tisch |
| Chancellor | John King Jr. |
| Vice-Chancellor | Robert Megna |
| Provost | Tod Laursen |
Academic staff | 32,496[2] |
| Students | 363,612 (Fall 2022)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 319,011 (Fall 2022)[2] |
| Postgraduates | 44,601 (Fall 2022)[2] |
| Location | , United States |
| Campus | 64 campuses[2] |
| Colors | Blue and Gray |
| Website | suny |
 | |
TheState University of New York (SUNY,/ˈsuːni/,SOO-nee) is a system ofpublic colleges and universities in theState of New York. It is one of thelargest comprehensive systems of universities, colleges, andcommunity colleges in the United States.[3] Led by chancellorJohn B. King, the SUNY system has 91,182 employees, including 32,496 faculty members, and some 7,660 degree and certificate programs overall and a $13.37 billion budget.[4][1] Itsflagship universities areSUNY Stony Brook on Long Island in southeastern New York andSUNY Buffalo in the west. Itsresearch university centers also includeSUNY Binghamton andSUNY Albany.[5]
SUNY's administrative offices are inAlbany, the state's capital, with satellite offices inManhattan andWashington, D.C. With 25,000 acres of land, SUNY's largest campus isSUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which neighbors theState University of New York Upstate Medical University—the largest employer in the SUNY system with over 10,959 employees.[6][7]
The State University of New York was established in 1948 by GovernorThomas E. Dewey, through legislative implementation of recommendations made by the Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University (1946–1948). The commission was chaired byOwen D. Young, who was at the time Chairman ofGeneral Electric. The system was greatly expanded during the administration of GovernorNelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state.
Apart from units of the institutionally separateCity University of New York (CUNY), SUNY comprises all New York state-supported institutions of higher education.
New York was one of the last US states to set up a state college and university system. The first colleges were established privately, with some arising from local seminaries, and New York State had a long history of supporting higher education before the creation of the SUNY system. The oldest college that is part of the SUNY System isSUNY Potsdam, established in 1816 as the St. Lawrence Academy.
In 1835, the State Legislature acted to establish stronger programs for public school teacher preparation and designated one academy in each senatorial district to receive money for a special teacher-training department. St. Lawrence Academy received this distinction, and it later designated Potsdam as the site of theNormal School in 1867.[8]
On May 7, 1844, theNew York General Assembly voted to establishNormal School inAlbany as the first college for teacher education. In 1865, the privately endowedCornell University, one of eightIvy League universities in the nation, was designated as New York'sland grant college. In 1894, the state began direct financial support of four of Cornell's colleges.
Between 1889 and 1903, Cornell operated theNew York State College of Forestry, until thegovernor vetoed its annual appropriation. The school was moved toSyracuse University inSyracuse in 1911, where it is now theState University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. In 1908, the State legislature began the New York State College of Agriculture atAlfred University.
Between 1946 and 1948, the Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University, chaired by Owen D. Young, chairman ofGeneral Electric Company, studied New York's existing higher education institutions. It was known New York's private institutions of higher education were highly discriminatory and failed to provide for many New Yorkers.[9] Noting this need, the commission recommended the creation of a public state university system. In 1948, legislation was passed establishing SUNY on the foundation of the teacher-training schools established in the 19th century. Most of them had already developed curricula similar to those found at four-year liberal arts schools long before the creation of SUNY, as evidenced by the fact they had become known as "Colleges for Teachers" rather than "Teachers' Colleges".
On October 8, 1953, SUNY took a historic step of banning all nationalfraternities andsororities from its 33 campuses, a ban that lasted until 1977.[10] The resolution was passed as an attempt to combatdiscrimination based on race or religion in many national organizations at the time.[11] Various fraternities challenged this rule in court since it did not distinguish between those with discriminatory clauses in their by-laws and those who did not.[12] The SUNY resolution was upheld in court as being within a state's authority to supervise and control its educational institutions.[13]
In 1986,L. Eudora Pettigrew became the firstAfrican-American college president in the SUNY system when she was named president ofSUNY Old Westbury.[14]
Despite being one of the last states in the nation to establish a state university, the system was quickly expanded during the chancellorship ofSamuel B. Gould and the administration of GovernorNelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in the design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state.[15][16] Rockefeller championed the acquisition of the private University of Buffalo into the SUNY system, making the public State University of New York at Buffalo.[17]
SUNY is governed by a State University of New York Board of Trustees, which consists of eighteen members, fifteen of whom are appointed by theGovernor, with consent of theNew York State Senate. The sixteenth member is the president ofThe State University of New York Student Assembly. The last two members are the presidents of the University Faculty Senate andFaculty Council of Community Colleges, both of whom are non-voting. The board of trustees appoints the chancellor who serves as SUNY Chief Executive Officer.
The state of New York assists in financing the SUNY system, which, along withCUNY, provides lower-cost college-level education to residents of the state. SUNY students also come from out-of-state and 171 foreign countries, though tuition is higher for these students. Although tuition is higher for these non-resident students, their tuition is subsidized by New York State taxpayers.[citation needed]
There is a large variety of colleges in the SUNY system with some overlap in specialties between sites. SUNY divides its campuses into four distinct categories: university centers/doctoral-granting institutions, comprehensive colleges, technology colleges, and community colleges. SUNY also includesstatutory colleges, state-funded colleges within other institutions such asCornell University andAlfred University. Students at the statutory colleges who are residents of New York state receive the benefit of state-subsidized tuition while enjoying all of the campus life amenities of the host institutions.
SUNY and the City University of New York (CUNY) are different university systems, both receiving funding from New York State. Also, SUNY is not to be confused with theUniversity of the State of New York (USNY), which is the governmental umbrella organization for most education-related institutions and many education-related personnel (both public and private) in New York State, and which includes, as components, theNew York State Education Department and theNew York State University Police.
The following persons have led the State University of New York:[18]
| No. | Image | Executive | Title | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alvin C. Eurich | President | January 1, 1949 – August 31, 1951 | ||
| – | Charles Garside | Acting President | September 1, 1951 – March 31, 1952 | ||
| 2 | William S. Carlson | President | April 1, 1952 – September, 1958 | ||
| 3 | Thomas H. Hamilton | President | August 1, 1959 – December 31, 1962 | ||
| – | J. Lawrence Murray | Acting Chief Administrative Officer | January 1, 1963 – August 31, 1964 | ||
| 4 | Samuel B. Gould | President | September 1, 1964 – January 11, 1967 | ||
| Chancellor | January 12, 1967 – August 30, 1970 | ||||
| 5 | Ernest L. Boyer | Chancellor | September 1, 1970 – March 31, 1977 | ||
| – | James F. Kelly | Acting Chancellor | April 1, 1977 – January 24, 1978 | ||
| 6 |  | Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. | Chancellor | January 25, 1978 – January 31, 1987 | |
| – | Jerome B. Komisar | Acting Chancellor | February 1, 1987 – July 31, 1988 | ||
| 7 | D. Bruce Johnstone | Chancellor | August 1, 1988 – February 28, 1994 | ||
| – | Joseph C. Burke | Interim Chancellor | March 1, 1994 – November 30, 1994 | ||
| 8 | Thomas A. Bartlett | Chancellor | December 1, 1994 – June 30, 1996 | ||
| – | John W. Ryan | Interim Chancellor | July 1, 1996 – April 20, 1997 | ||
| 9 | Chancellor | April 21, 1997 – December 31, 1999 | |||
| 10 | .jpg) | Robert L. King | Chancellor | January 1, 2000 – May 31, 2005 | [19] |
| – |  | John R. Ryan | Acting Chancellor | June 1, 2005 – December 19, 2005 | [20] |
| 11 | Chancellor | December 20, 2005 – May 31, 2007 | [21][22] | ||
| – | John B. Clark | Interim Chancellor | June 1, 2007 – December, 2008 | [23] | |
| – | John J. O'Connor | Officer-in-Charge | December 22, 2008 – May 31, 2009 | [24] | |
| 12 | Nancy L. Zimpher | Chancellor | June 1, 2009 – September 4, 2017 | [25][26] | |
| 13 |  | Kristina M. Johnson | Chancellor | September 5, 2017 – August 31, 2020 | [27][28] |
| 14 |  | Jim Malatras | Chancellor | August 31, 2020 – January 14, 2022 | [29][30] |
| – | Deborah F. Stanley | Interim Chancellor | January 15, 2022 – January 9, 2023 | [31] | |
| 15 |  | John King Jr. | Chancellor | January 9, 2023 – Present | [32][33] |
The SUNY Board of Trustees has a voting student member on the board. The student trustee serves a dual role as the President of theStudent Assembly of the State University of New York (SUNYSA). SUNYSA is the recognized student government of the SUNY system.
In the 1970s, students pressed for voting representation on the governing board of SUNY colleges. In 1971, the State Legislature added five student voting members to Cornell's board of trustees. However, at that time, all members of a board must be over the age of 21 for a corporation to hold a liquor license, so to allow Cornell to retain its license, the legislature had to go back to amend NYS Alcoholic Beverage Control Law § 126(4) to require half the board must be 21.
In 1975, the legislature added a non-voting student seat to the boards of all SUNY units. Two Attorney General of the State of New York opinion letters[34] reduced the parliamentary rights of the student members to participate at meetings and indicated they were not in fact Public Officers, and arguably subject to personal liability from lawsuits. In 1977, another statutory amendment made student members of SUNY councils and boards subject to the NYS Public Officers Law or NYS General Municipal Law and granted student representatives parliamentary powers of moving or seconding motions and of placing items on the agendas of the bodies. Finally, the legislature gave full voting rights to the student members in 1979, resulting in the students of all SUNY units having voting representatives, except for the NYSCollege of Environmental Science and Forestry. Finally, in 1986, the legislature gave the student representative of that college voting rights as well.[35]
The SUNY Libraries Consortium (SLC) is an independent organization which supports its members,[36] the libraries of SUNY.[37]
.jpg)
Red: University centers;
Black: Other doctoral-granting institutions;
Yellow: Comprehensive colleges;
Green: Technology colleges;
Blue: Community colleges.All SUNY colleges are in New York State, except for one extension center of Jamestown Community College and SUNY Korea.
Jamestown Community College operates its Warren Center inPennsylvania under a contract with the Warren-Forest Higher Education Council and the center is licensed by thePennsylvania Department of Education. The Warren Center is 25 miles south ofJamestown, New York on the grounds ofWarren State Hospital, inNorth Warren, Pennsylvania.[38]
SUNY Korea was opened by the government of South Korea inIncheon, South Korea in 2012, in conjunction with SUNY.[39] As of 2023, it offers undergraduate and graduate programs, with faculty from Stony Brook University and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
SUNY's sole law school is theUniversity at Buffalo School of Law.[40]
The State University of New York operates three comprehensiveacademic medical centers, which integrate a medical school with a university hospital:[41]
A fourth medical school, theJacobs School of Medicine inBuffalo, does not have its own hospital, and instead affiliates with several Buffalo-area hospitals.The SUNY system is also home to theCollege of Optometry in New York City, which maintains its own eye clinic.[41]
Each medical center serves as the primaryteaching site for that campus'smedical school. SUNY medical programs have consistently ranked in the top 90 in both research and primary care categories, according to annual rankings published byU.S. News & World Report.[42] The teaching hospitals affiliated with each school are also highly regarded and in 2022 all three medical centers generated US$3.86 billion through patient care accounting for 29% of total SUNY revenue.[43]
In the latter half of the 20th century, the SUNY hospitals became the cores of full-fledged regional health systems; they were gradually supplemented by many outpatient clinics, offices, and institutes. SUNY medical centers currently play a major role in providing healthcare to the most-needy and marginalized populations and serve large numbers of patients who are uninsured, under-insured or covered byMedicare andMedicaid programs.[1]In 2020, medical school applications increased by 20.4% at SUNY medical schools systemwide,[44] with schools receiving over 24,118 applications from students for only 685 seats.[44][45]
With rising interest in medicine, former SUNY ChancellorJim Malatras announced the first statewide initiative, the Pre-Med Opportunity Program, to help more EOP students get accepted into SUNY's medical schools in February 2021.[46] Later in the year in May, 25 college students in junior/senior standing from 10 SUNY schools were selected to receive academic guidance at theNorton College of Medicine while pursuing their medical degrees.[47][48] The SUNY system will cover all costs for the summer academic enrichment program and the program will expand over the next few years.[47]
SUNY medical, health professions and nursing schools graduate more than 11,000 health professionals annually, including one of threephysicians (1 in 33 in the United States),[45] nearly one of threenurses and one of fourdentists in the state.[46][47]
New York's largest public university by enrollment is the State University of New York at Buffalo, which was founded by U.S President and Vice PresidentMillard Fillmore. Buffalo has an enrollment total of approximately 32,000 students and receives the most applications out of all SUNY schools.[49][50][51]
| Campus | Acreage | Founded | Enrollment[52] | Endowment[53] | Operations | Acceptance Rate[52] | USNWR Rank (2024)[54] | Athletics Nickname | Athletics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 586 | 1844 | 17,544 | US$77.7 million | $0.54 billion | 53% | 133 | Great Danes | NCAA Div IAmerica East |
| Binghamton | 930 | 1946 | 18,124 | US$117.8 million | $0.45 billion | 41% | 73 | Bearcats | NCAA Div IAmerica East |
| Buffalo | 1,346 | 1846 | 31,923 | US$788.9 million | $3.53 billion | 60% | 76 | Bulls | NCAA Div I Mid-American |
| Stony Brook | 1,454 | 1957 | 26,814 | US$360.2 million | $2.09 billion | 44% | 58 | Seawolves | NCAA Div ICAA |
For the 2017–2018 academic year, tuition costs at SUNY schools for an undergraduate degree are less than two-thirds the cost of most public colleges in the United States. For example, tuition at theUniversity at Buffalo for an undergraduate degree is $9,828 per semester or $27,068 per year for non-resident students.[55] Undergraduate tuition for non-resident students at theUniversity of Maryland is $35,216 per year.[56] Non-resident tuition and fees atUniversity of Oregon are $32,535 per year.[57]
New York State also offers free tuition for all public college and universities for families who have an income of lower than $125,000 and are residents of the state. Other requirements to qualify for free SUNY education include full-time enrollment and staying in the state for a number of years after graduating.[58][59] In the 2017-2018 award year, 70,694 SUNY students received the Federal Pell Grant.[60]
For the 2019–2020 academic year, medical school tuition costs at theNorton College of Medicine for theM.D. program were: $43,670 (in-state) and $65,160 (out-of-state). Tuition costs across all SUNY medical schools are similar to those at Norton and the cost is less than the average cost of medical schools in the United States.[61]
| School | NSF Funding Rank | Funding Dollars (USD)[62] |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 56 | $387,863,000 |
| Stony Brook | 97 | $225,712,000 |
| Albany | 134 | $137,759,000 |
| Binghamton | 161 | $76,005,000 |
| Downstate | 211 | $39,354,000 |
| Upstate | 222 | $34,286,000 |
| ESF | 259 | $21,239,000 |
| Optometry | 428 | $3,637,000 |
| Farmingdale | 441 | $3,213,000 |
| Buffalo State | 515 | $2,106,000 |
| Purchase | 567 | $1,433,000 |
| Brockport | 577 | $1,321,000 |
| Geneseo | 592 | $1,201,000 |
| Cobleskill | 625 | $908,000 |
| Cortland | 629 | $819,000 |
| Oswego | 632 | $725,000 |
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Every school within the SUNY system manages its own athletics program, which greatly varies the level of competition at each institution.
The most prominent intra-SUNY rivalry is between theAlbany Great Danes andBinghamton Bearcats. The two belong to theAmerica East Conference. Frequently referred to as theI-88 Rivalry, Binghamton and Albany sit at either end ofInterstate 88 (roughly 2.5 hours apart). Both teams are known to post the highest visitor attendance at either school's athletic events. Both schools also have less intense rivalries with a former America East member, the Stony Brook Seawolves. In football, a sport not sponsored by the America East, Albany and Stony Brook have a rivalry in theCoastal Athletic Association, and play each other annually in theBattle for the Golden Apple.
The University at Buffalo tends to have a rivalry in basketball with two private colleges in the same geographical area.Canisius College and Buffalo's South Campus are 2.5 miles apart on Main St. inBuffalo. Their other rival isNiagara University inLewiston, NY. All three share rivalries withSaint Bonaventure University, another private college 70 miles south of Buffalo.
SUNY Oswego and SUNY Plattsburgh also share a notable rivalry in Division III hockey, with that game almost always having the SUNYAC regular season title up for grabs.
SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Delhi rivalry focuses on basketball, cross country, and previously track, although Cobleskill track and field started competing at the NCAA Division III level in spring 2009. The SUNY Delhi 2003-2004 basketball season was canceled after a basketball game was called with 48 seconds left after several SUNY Delhi basketball players nearly started a brawl in the Ioro Gymnasium at SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday February 4, 2004.
SUNY Oneonta has developed a rivalry in almost every sport with SUNY Cortland. They share the red dragon as a team nickname, and their matchups are known as the "Battle of the Red Dragons".
There is an unusual sports rivalry betweenSUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry andFinger Lakes Community College, with both campuses sponsoring nationally ranked teams inwoodsman competitions.
The SUNY Chancellor's Awards for Excellence are conferred to acknowledge and provide recognition for superior achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of academic excellence.
The SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence acknowledges students for outstanding achievements and is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the University. The faculty-staff awards include the Chancellor's Award for Excellence, Distinguished Faculty ranks, Conversations in the Disciplines, the Shared Governance Award, and the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching.[65]
TheNew York State University Police (NYSUP) is thelaw enforcement agency of theState University of New York (SUNY) system. Approximately 600 uniformed officers and investigators, as well as sixty-four chiefs, serve the 29state college and universitycampuses throughout thestate.[66]
University Police Officers (UPO) are charged with crime detection and prevention, in addition to the enforcement ofstate andlocal laws, rules, and regulations. As part of the unit's prevention activities, officers speak on topics such assexual assault,drugs,crime prevention andtraffic safety. Officers are responsible for developing and maintaining a positive relationship with students, faculty, and staff in order to ensure safety and facilitate cooperation within the campus community.
During the mid-1960s, unrest on campuses includingDemonstrations and protests against the Vietnam War, growing drug use, questioning authority and various political movements and demonstrations prompted the creation of a unified SUNY public safety program. The SUNY Security Force was founded on September 20, 1968. The firstcivil service exam for the position of Campus Security Officer was given in 1971. The SUNY Security Force was initially part of the Education Law, but was moved to the Penal Law in 1980.
In 1974, theUniversity at Albany security force became the first to be armed.
Several incidents during the 1990s created calls for the security force to be converted into full-fledged police agencies. These included a hostage-taking in aUniversity at Albany lecture hall by a deranged gunman,[67] the "Bike Path Rapist" who killed a female student at theUniversity at Buffalo and the suspicious circumstances regarding the disappearance of a University at Albany student while on campus.
On July 22, 1998, the SUNY Police bill was signed by GovernorGeorge Pataki. This bill provided for the creation of the New York State University Police. One clause requires each campus president to enter into a "mutual aid" agreement with adjoining police agencies.
The security forces became the NY State University Police on January 1, 1999.
NYSUP union President James McCartney testified in 2007 before the state Senate Higher Education Committee and, again in 2008, to the SUNY Board of Trustees. His testimony discussed what he claimed to be a dysfunctional, decentralized command system and ongoing staffing, equipment, and training deficiencies. McCartney also expressed concern about the "top-heavy" UPD Chief staff, noting its sixty-five management positions, compared to a combined total of twenty-four across other state law enforcement agencies.
A 2007 investigative audit by theNew York State Comptroller found that the majority of SUNY campuses had, in violation of the FederalClery Act, underreported crimes and failed to disclose required safety and security policies. Following the arrest in 2009 of three SUNY Geneseo students in relation to the death of a nineteen-year-old student,[68] it was revealed that theNew York State Inspector General was investigating the incident. Investigators appeared to be focusing the accuracy of crime reporting and on allegations that the police administration was not notifying neighboring agencies of students engaging in off-campus criminal activity. The audit of SUNY compliance with the Clery act was appealed because of complaints that "accounting tricks" were used to find fault with Annual Security Reports (ASR) by the Office of the State Comptroller. After much discussion and negotiation, OSC issued a formal letter that stated that any discrepancies reported in an earlier audit had been corrected by SUNY, and that campuses were substantially in compliance.
In 2010, the New York State University Police at Stony Brook University became the second in the New York State University Police system to become anaccredited law enforcement agency by the New York State Department of Criminal Justice services. The accreditation shows that the department exceeds the standards required to be a law enforcement agency in the state of New York. Fewer than half of the law enforcement agencies in New York meet accreditation requirements.
In December 2015, New York State passed a bill enabling University Police Officers (UPO) to retire after 25 years. Prior to 2015, the New York State University Police was the only state law enforcement agency requiring employees to work to age 63 to earn pension eligibility. This had led to instability and a "train and transfer" cycle, where young officers would quickly leave to join law enforcement agencies with more attractive pension plans.[69]
Chancellor Zimpher will step down from her current role at SUNY at the end of August
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