Statement from Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees on Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget Proposal

January 21, 2025

“SUNY is on the move, and we are thankful to Governor Hochul for her steadfast commitment and historic investments in SUNY's students and extraordinary faculty and staff.

“Governor Hochul is again proposing a significant operating aid investment in SUNY, following on the heels of two years of back-to-back historic increases including $277 million to our State-operated campuses, direct financial aid to our students, dedicated funding to our hospitals, and investment and support for our Community Colleges.

“The $114 million proposed operating increase for our State-operated campuses will ensure we continue to support our students and attract and retain top faculty and staff as we deliver on our promise of academic excellence and affordability.  

“We are also grateful to Governor Hochul for her groundbreaking proposal to help more New Yorkers earn a Community College associate degree in high-demand fields with the proposed $28 million to provide free tuition, fees, books, and supplies for adult learners without a college degree in the coming academic year. This increase comes on top of the $8 million Community College operating increase enacted in the FY 2025 budget – the first in nine years – and the proposed continuation of the 100 percent Community College Funding Floor, which protects the Community Colleges from approximately $76 million in lost State operating aid.

“Governor Hochul's 2025 State of the State agenda calls for the expansion of ASAP and ACE, the nation's leading student success initiatives that are already improving retention and credit attainment across 25 SUNY campuses. We are thrilled that the Executive Budget includes $12 million for SUNY to sustain and begin growing the program from 4,200 slots today on the path to 10,000 slots within the next two years.

“The Executive Budget also includes the $200 million New York State Innovation Fund for capital investments in cutting-edge laboratory facilities and research activities that will help attract additional outstanding faculty and catalyze groundbreaking research as SUNY works to achieve Governor Hochul's ambitious goal to double research. In addition, we are excited that Governor Hochul's budget expands research capacity through the Empire AI research center for the public good, housed at the University at Buffalo. In addition, the Governor has proposed a $25 million SUNY Green Energy Loan Fund that will help transform SUNY's buildings to be more energy efficient.

"SUNY proudly cares for the health and well-being of New Yorkers through our hospitals and medical centers. Building on Governor Hochul's historic $300 million investment in SUNY Downstate last year and the establishment of the Downstate Community Advisory Board, the FY 2026 Executive Budget provides the additional $450 million to support the Advisory Board's recommendations to develop a sustainable future for SUNY Downstate's hospital. The budget also allocates $100 million to cover SUNY Downstate hospital's operating deficit for a second year during this transition. For Upstate Medical, the Governor has committed $200 million to start design, planning, and construction to deliver needed services to the region by expanding Upstate's emergency department, modernizing and upgrading the burn unit, and adding operating room capacity.

"We are fortunate to have in Governor Hochul a leader who believes in the value of public higher education for the upward mobility of all New Yorkers and as a key component of our state's economic future. We are also grateful for the support of our legislature, and we look forward to working with them throughout the budget process."

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.


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