Chancellor King Announces Expansion of SUNY and City Year Partnership to Advance Service and Educational Opportunities for College Students in New York State
March 1, 2025
Through a $5 Million Investment from Einhorn Collaborative, SUNY and City Year Will be Able to Support More New Yorkers Committed to Public Service
More SUNY Students Will Be Able to Earn College Credit for Service Experience; Partnership also Expands City Year Part-Time Service Positions that Allow Individuals to Pursue a Degree from SUNY While Serving the Local Community
Syracuse, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the expansion of a strategic partnership between SUNY and City Year to advance service and educational opportunities for college students across New York State. The announcement was made at the Empire State Service Corps Service & Civics Summit in Syracuse.
Thanks to a significant multiyear investment from Einhorn Collaborative, a New York City-based foundation dedicated to advancing the science and practice of social connection and social cohesion in America, this work will increase service opportunities throughout New York State.
The partnership will benefit SUNY students in two ways:
- Credit for prior learning for service experience: SUNY is committed to expanding the award of credit for prior learning, which enables students to earn college credit for experience outside the classroom. SUNY will receive support to develop approved credit for prior learning pathways for service experience at SUNY campuses. The project will begin with an initial collaboration with SUNY Erie Community College, where students are eligible to receive college credit for their service.
- Student Success Coaches: Student Success Coaches are near-peer tutors, mentors, and role models who serve in schools to build positive relationships with students to help them stay on track to graduate from high school and develop the skills they need to be prepared for college and career. City Year will create a part-time Student Success Coach role that enables SUNY students in the Empire State Service Corps to take on this important position in their communities. This partnership will expand City Year positions that allow individuals to pursue a degree from SUNY while serving in AmeriCorps.
"At SUNY, we are committed to ensuring that the work of students serving in the Empire State Service Corps is meaningful and that their contributions are recognized. New York State aims to be a model for young people to learn, earn, and serve, and they can achieve that right here at SUNY,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “My life was directly impacted by my own service experiences, and I would like to thank City Year for partnering with us and Einhorn Collaborative for graciously providing the funding needed to make this initiative possible to expand service opportunities for students.”
SUNY Board Trustee Giovanni “Gio” Harvey said, “SUNY students are answering the call to public service, and the Governor’s Empire State Service Corps opens the door to paid opportunities, mentorship, and community engagement. Today’s announcement bolsters that program further with support and higher education pathways for more students, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”
City Year CEO Jim Balfanz said, “Our partnership with SUNY allows us both to leverage the strength of our collective networks to ensure meaningful service and academic experiences for young people throughout the state. By creating more opportunities for economic development and upward mobility, we’re giving students the tools they need to thrive in school and young people the durable skills that are most valued in higher education and the workforce.”
Executive Director of Einhorn Collaborative Jennifer Hoos Rothberg said, “The SUNY and City Year partnership will not only narrow the education gap in some of the most under-resourced schools in New York State. it will also prepare the next generation to be empathetic leaders and citizens who have the motivation and skills to build relationships across differences, solve problems collaboratively, and make enduring positive changes that benefit every member of their communities. We are eager to see national service flourish in upstate and downstate under this partnership and for New York to be an exemplar for the rest of the country to follow.”
The Einhorn Collaborative funding will also create pathways for young people from City Year to SUNY and vice versa.
The Empire State Service Corps was launched in 2024 as part of Governor Hochul and Chancellor King's commitment to increasing service opportunities for students across the State. In addition to the Empire State Service Corps, SUNY has launched additional programming for civic education, civil discourse, and civic awareness across campuses. 515 students were selected to serve from SUNY campuses statewide to participate in paid public service opportunities. During its first application cycle, almost 2,000 SUNY students submitted applications for the program, which provides assignments in high need areas such as K-12 tutoring, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and basic needs outreach, peer mental health, sustainability, anti-hate and anti-bias prevention, nonpartisan civic engagement, and Free Application for Federal Student Aid completion.
About City Year
City Year is a trailblazing, youth-powered organization that strives to create conditions that enable young people to meet their full potential, build leadership skills, and contribute to vibrant communities through national service. Research shows the more time a student spends with a City Year student success coach, the better the student outcomes—academically, interpersonally and in terms of attendance. A public-private partnership, City Year operates in 29 U.S. cities with international affiliates in the U.K. and South Africa. Today, 40,000 alums continue to lead and serve where they live and work. Learn more about City Year’s six areas of impact: www.cityyear.org, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
About Einhorn Collaborative
Einhorn Collaborative is a foundation dedicated to advancing the science and practice of social connection and social cohesion to address America’s growing crisis of distrust and divisions. We work with a wide range of cultural influencers, researchers, community leaders, and funders to help Americans build stronger relationships, embrace our differences, and rediscover our shared humanity — so we can solve our most urgent challenges together. Learn more about Einhorn Collaborative at einhorncollaborative.org.
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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