SUNY Board of Trustees and Chancellor King Statement on the Passing of Dr. Hazel Dukes
March 1, 2025
“Today, SUNY lost one of New York State’s strongest champions of public education and civil rights with the passing of Dr. Hazel Dukes. When she walked into a room, like she did so many times across SUNY, Dr. Dukes was a presence of strength and honor—using every moment to lift people up and fight for equity and upward mobility for all. In partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul, SUNY was privileged to recognize Dr. Dukes with the Black Leadership Institute’s Dr. Hazel Dukes Fellowship and to commission a portrait in her honor through the SUNY Portrait Competition, which is now on display at the H. Carl McCall SUNY Building in Albany. Our hearts are with Dr. Dukes’ family and friends today, and for every person forever changed by her legacy of action.”
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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Holly Liapis
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