Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees Statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
January 27, 2026
"The United Nations established International Holocaust Remembrance Day—on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration and extermination camp—as a somber opportunity to reflect on how we each can do our part to uphold the pledge: Never Again.
"As the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the country, we recommit ourselves to making sure students learn the lessons of the Holocaust, and the uncomfortable truths about times throughout history when ignorance and prejudice led to dehumanization, oppression, and murder.
"We grieve for the six million Jews, and for all victims of the Holocaust, who were murdered simply for seeking to live according to their faith and customs. We pledge SUNY will always serve as a beacon of knowledge and an institution that works tirelessly to ensure all students are welcomed and appreciated.
"We must ensure that every generation is taught the lessons of the past and not simply to tolerate different views and backgrounds, but to value them. That's the work of public higher education and work we do today and every day at SUNY."
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, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its 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 $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
Share this:
Holly Liapis
518-320-1311
Email the Office of Communications
