John B. King, Jr.

The State University of New York Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of John B. King Jr. as the 15th chancellor of SUNY.

King’s selection was the result of a year-long global search. He replaces Deborah Stanley, former president of SUNY Oswego, who has been serving as interim chancellor since December 2021. Stanley had been serving as interim Chancellor following the resignation of Jim Malatras.

King is currently the President of The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that promotes high academic achievement for all students in early childhood, K-12 education, and higher education. He also served as U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama.

King will begin his new role in January.

Included in the $113 million is $60 million to be distributed across SUNY’s campuses for investing in enrollment, academic programs, student services, and operational efficiencies. Campuses receiving funding must report to SUNY System Administration how the funds will address enrollment issues, address academic program offerings, build on existing operational efficiencies while seeking new opportunities, and provide essential student services. In addition, funds would be utilized to support initiatives such as microcredentialing and other programming for all learners.

The additional $53 million will be used to hire new full-time faculty. Following an analysis that primarily relied on a comparison of SUNY campuses versus other public institutions, over 30 SUNY campuses were selected to receive this funding that will be used to support the salary and benefit costs.

The SUNY Board of Trustees also approved an automatic application fee waiver for any high school student choosing to apply to a SUNY campus from one of the 500 New York State public high schools that have more than 75 percent of their student population eligible for free and reduced-price lunch on a three-year rolling basis. Jamestown High School students would qualify for this fee waiver as the entire district qualifies for the free lunch program.

SUNY will begin promoting the fee waiver to ensure eligible students are aware of the program. The Board also voted to keep all state-operated campus tuition rates and board-based fees flat at 2021-2022 levels.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the policy update regarding the use of a chosen name and pronouns is to ensure that transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary students’ identities are fully reflected and represented in campus systems.

Campuses are required to have all operational systems reflect a student’s chosen name and pronouns in any instance consistent with federal law where a student is comfortable sharing such information.

The student’s chosen name and pronouns will appear in campus portals, class rosters, student email addresses, on College diplomas, and more.

With Governor Hochul’s recent announcement that New Yorkers can select ‘X’ as a gender marker on their driver’s license, SUNY students are additionally able to select ‘X’ when asked to provide gender by the college.

Hochul said, “While I am proud that SUNY students will no longer have their transcripts held hostage, all students deserve the same protections. We must pass legislation to end this unjust practice for all New York students once and for all.”

Each year, about 50% of SUNY students graduate from college debt-free. However, other students graduate with an outstanding balance of about $3,500, on average, and as of 2020 about 19,000 students still owed their SUNY campus. With the Board action, those students may now receive their transcript, thereby enabling them to re-enroll in a campus, transfer credits, complete their degree, and obtain jobs that could help pay down their unpaid balance. CUNY announced a temporary hold on the practice last August.

As part of the resolution, the Board of Trustees also authorized the SUNY Chancellor, or a designee, to review all debt collection practices and make any appropriate policy changes, rulemaking, and other modifications in line with the action. SUNY follows State Finance Law, as well as State Division of the Budget guidance, SUNY Regulations and Policy, and a Memorandum of Understanding between SUNY and the New York Attorney General.

Deborah Stanley

The State University of New York Board of Trustees has appointed SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley as interim chancellor.

Stanley will replace current Chancellor Jim Malatras who has submitted his resignation. Her term begins January 15, 2022.

Calls for Malatras’ resignation began following the release of transcripts from the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The documents show text messages from Malatras mocking one of Cuomo’s accusers, Lindsey Boylan, in 2019.

Stanley brings nearly 45 years of campus leadership to SUNY, having spent 25 of those as President of the State University of New York at Oswego. She earned her baccalaureate degree with honors and juris doctor degree from Syracuse University.

The SUNY Board of Trustees will begin a search for a permanent Chancellor in January 2022.