The College and University Councils at SUNY state-operated campuses and the local Boards of Trustees at SUNY community colleges are a critical component of shared governance across the SUNY System. Council members and trustees are appointed. Here you will find more information about the appointments process, qualifications, duties, and responsibilities.
Section 356 of the Education Law establishes a College or University Council at each SUNY state-operated institution. Pursuant to Article 121 of the Education Law, the local board of trustees at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry maintains similar responsibilities to such councils.
Each council is composed of ten members, nine appointed by the Governor and one elected by and from the student body.
The election of the student member is conducted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the respective campus student association in accordance with guidelines established by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
The Governor appoints the chair.
If an undergraduate state-operated institution is located adjacent to another higher education institution and students at the respective SUNY institution are taking a substantial portion of their courses at such adjacent institution, then the president of such adjacent institution must be an ex-officio member.
Appointed members serve a term of seven years and the student member serves a term of one year, beginning on July 1 of the year the appointment is made and election is held, respectively.
Vacancies for an unexpired term are filled in the same manner as the original selection.
Appointed members may be removed by the Governor. Student members may be removed by the students in a process conducted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the respective campus student association in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
Councils must meet regularly at least four times a year. Special meetings may be called by the chair or by any five members by petition. Five members constitute a quorum and action can be taken by a majority of the members present at any meeting. Pursuant to SUNY Board of Trustees policies, councils must invite a representative of the faculty and alumni to attend regular meetings.
Council meetings are governed by all provisions of the New York State Open Meetings Law.
Members of the councils receive no compensation for their services, but will be reimbursed for the expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
Pursuant to Section 356 of the Education Law and subject to the general management, supervision, control and approval of, and in accordance with rules established by the SUNY Board of Trustees, the councils exercise the following powers:
Every community college is required by section 6306 of the education law to be administered by a board of trustees.
With certain exceptions, each board of trustees is composed of ten members:
The election of the student member is conducted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the respective campus student association.
The board shall select a chair.
The exceptions to this include the Fashion Institute of Technology, Jamestown Community College, and Corning Community College.
Pursuant to section 6306 of the education law, the Fashion Institute of Technology is composed of sixteen members: eight appointed by the local sponsor, one of whom may be a member of such local sponsor’s governing body; seven appointed by the Governor from residents of the City of New York; and one member elected by and from the student body.
Pursuant to section 6310 of the education law, Jamestown Community College is composed of a fifteen member regional board of trustee: eight members appointed by the local governing bodies of the sponsoring counties and cities of Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County, and the City of Jamestown; six members appointed by the Governor; and one member elected by and from the student body. Membership in the regional board of trustees must be apportioned in accordance with the number of full-time equivalent students attending the community college who are residents of the respective participating counties or city, and in accordance with such further regulations as may be prescribed by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
Corning Community College is composed of fourteen members: seven appointed by the local legislative bodies of the sponsoring counties of Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben; six appointed by the Governor; and one member elected by and from the student body. Membership must be apportioned in accordance with the number of full-time equivalent students attending the community college who are residents of the respective participating counties, and in accordance with such further regulations as may be prescribed by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
With exceptions, appointed members serve a term of seven years and the student member serves a term of one year, beginning on July 1 of the year the appointment is made and election is held, respectively.
Vacancies for an unexpired term are filled in the same manner as the original selection. A student who is no longer a student at the institution must resign.
Terms of office for members of Rockland Community College appointed by the local sponsor shall be five years.
Student members may be removed by the students in a process conducted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the respective campus student association in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
Trustees receive no compensation for their services, but will be reimbursed for the expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
Pursuant to section 6306 of the education law, the board exercises the following powers:
"ACT" is an acronym for the "Association of Council Members and College Trustees of State University of New York." Founded in 1970, ACT exists in accordance with its Bylaws to:
All Council members and college Trustees are automatically members of ACT, as are the officers of the SUNY institutions and the officers and principal staff members of SUNY System Administration.
ACT seeks to promote increased Council effectiveness, constructive government relations and productive advocacy for public higher education through general meetings, an Annual Conference and business meeting, and other member communications, and through a Board of Directors. At the Annual Conference, programs are presented to familiarize members with major issues relating to their responsibilities and to provide a forum for the exchange of information among Councils and their members. Council members can significantly influence the directions and plans of ACT, their statewide organization.
The President of ACT is an official observer at meetings of the SUNY Board of Trustees and ACT is asked to represent Council expertise and interests when needed by the Trustees or their committees.
The Board of Directors consists of 33 members who are elected by the ACT membership for staggered three-year terms. The Board meets as needed to discuss and act upon on-going issues, to provide a focal point for communications between the SUNY Trustees and System Administration and the Councils and their members, and to plan other meetings of ACT.
To ensure effective communications, the Board is required to have at least one member from each state-operated SUNY unit. Board members are expected to:
Board members are reimbursed by ACT for expenses incurred in carrying out their duties. The activities of ACT are funded by annual dues paid by the member institutions.
Learn more in the ACT Handbook.
The New York Community College Trustees (NYCCT) is a voluntary nonprofit consortium of community college trustees established to strengthen the effectiveness of NY community college trustees as an active force in the development and implementation of public policy impacting community colleges.
NYCCT represents the appointed board members who govern the 30 community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
Read more at: https://www.nycctrustees.org.