The Graduate Diversity Fellowship Program is a SUNY-wide initiative that offers fellowships to students who have been admitted to graduate or professional study. This program is intended to assist in the recruitment, enrollment and retention of students in doctoral and master’s level programs who can demonstrate that they contribute to the diversity of the student body, especially those who can show that they have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education.
For the 2017-2018 year, ODEI distributed $8,764,564 to 25 campuses that awarded fellowships to 416 graduate students: 122 African-American recipients (29%); 121 Latino recipients (24%); 18 White recipients (16%); 7 Native American recipients (2%); and 26 Asian recipients (6%). Sixty-two percent (259) of the awards went to women, thirty-eight percent (157) went to men.
The Empire State Diversity Honors Scholarship Program is a state-wide undergraduate scholarship program for students from a broad range of background who will contribute to the diversity of the student body in their campus or academic program. Eligible students must be enrolled in a degree program and have demonstrated high academic achievement characteristic of an honors program. For the 2017-2018 academic year, ODEI awarded scholarships averaging at $1,842 to 854 undergraduates at 45 institutions.
The Native American Initiative is part of a consortium of post-secondary institutions in the North Country and western part of New York State that have come together to provide programs that address the specific educational needs of Native American students.
SUNY’s support of the Native American Initiative funds programming at two campus locations (Fredonia and Potsdam). SUNY Fredonia is home to the Native American SUNY: Western Consortium, which includes liaisons from the Seneca Nation of Indians (Cattaraugus and Alleghany Territories), the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, the Tuscarora Nation, the Cayuga Nation and the Onondaga Nation. A member of the Northern Consortium, SUNY Potsdam serves the members of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation at Akwesasne (U.S. and Canada).
The overall goal of these two programs focuses on recruitment, access, retention and graduation of Native American students in higher education. There are a variety of student support services and activities associated with these two programs. More specifically, these activities revolve around campus and community involvement, student development, counseling, networking, information sharing, cultural events and academic support.