SUNY Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Academic Conference

Albany – Sixty years ago, New York State Governor Thomas E. Dewey and the state Legislature combined 32 unrelated public institutions with 27,000 students into a single entity, the State University of New York.

Today, SUNY is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the nation, with nearly 440,000 students enrolled at 64 campuses.

Current and past Chancellors, Board Chairs and Distinguished Scholars will gather at the University at Albany campus, April 3-5, for SUNY & the Promise of Public Higher Education in America: A Scholarly Conference on SUNY's 60th Anniversary.

Keynote addresses by former SUNY Board Chair and Ambassador Donald Blinken and former Chancellors Clifton R. Wharton Jr. and D. Bruce Johnstone will provide historical insight and perspective while emphasizing the current national challenges facing public higher education.

Distinguished scholars from across the country and SUNY will lead discussions on such topics as “The Creation of SUNY-The State and National Context;” “Accessibility & Quality Education in SUNY;” “The Changing Face of SUNY: Diversity and Educational Equity;” to “Creating Human Capital: SUNY in the New York State Economy.”

Following the conference--which concludes on the 60th anniversary of the day in 1949 when campus leaders first gathered in Albany to launch the University-- a book will be generated that will highlight SUNY’s 60-year history. The book will be published by the SUNY Press.

“As the largest single system of higher education in the country with campuses of national and international reputation, we often forget that SUNY is a relatively young system. On this 60th anniversary, we can look back on Governor Rockefeller's vision and appreciate its wisdom and its scale," said Governor Paterson. "Thanks to SUNY, the citizens of the State of New York have a reliably high quality and affordable option to attend college in every corner of the state. As today's ideas are tomorrow's jobs, the role that SUNY plays is more important than ever. I look forward to another 60 years of achievement from SUNY, from its faculty and staff, and most importantly from its students.”

“SUNY is the youngest and largest public education system in the United States.  Despite its relative youth, SUNY has already moved to the front rank of American public universities,” said SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Carl T. Hayden. “It is recognized around the country for the strength and breadth of its offerings, for the quality of its faculty and students, and for its unwavering commitment to the twin goals of access and excellence.  This conference will celebrate SUNY's contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of New York and the nation.”

“It will be a pleasure to engage in this important process with some of SUNY’s brightest minds,” said conference organizer and former Interim Chancellor John B. Clark.  “Thorough and rigorous scholarship of the history of SUNY will lead to a deeper understanding of public higher education’s role in New York state.”

Additional information about the conference is available by clicking on this link.

In addition, the Rockefeller Institute, the public policy arm of SUNY will host a book signing with Ambassador Blinken and his wife Vera, who co-authored the book, “Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return” on Friday April 3.  The book chronicles their life together as they worked to advance America’s interests in Eastern Europe.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 440,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu 

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