Chancellor John B. King, Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees Celebrate Earth Day
April 22, 2024
"As spring ushers in a season of new life for the natural world around us, it's important to take a step back and reflect on how vital it is to protect our environment for future generations. Sustainability and addressing the impacts of climate change are important to our students, faculty, and staff, and, to SUNY, and the global transition to clean energy will create many opportunities for our graduates. That's why SUNY continues to make great strides to become a leader in sustainability and climate action across our system.
"From Stony Brook University being selected as an anchor institution for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island; to SUNY Oneonta powering Alumni Hall with geothermal energy; to Farmingdale State College, SUNY Maritime, and SUNY Morrisville, among others, training the next generation of offshore wind workers, SUNY is focused on protecting the planet. Our campuses are also the training ground for SUNY students starting their environmental careers by signing up for Climate Corps internships to work for state agencies this summer. And, there are so many more examples across our 64 colleges and universities.
"In March, SUNY announced a universal policy phasing out the use of single-use plastics that will further SUNY's mission to accelerate our leadership on sustainability and climate action. Each of these steps are examples of how SUNY continue to work towards meeting Governor Kathy Hochul's ambitious, nation-leading climate agenda while educating and training the green workforce of tomorrow.
"In addition, under the leadership of Carter Strickland, SUNY's first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Director of Climate Action, SUNY's Sustainability Advisory Council is bringing together over 50 campus leaders, faculty, and students from across the system to help develop an accelerated climate and sustainability action plan.
"Across SUNY today, our campuses are hosting several Earth Day events to acknowledge the need to do more to protect our environment. The future is green, and SUNY will lead the way through studying and implementing solutions, teaching students, conducting ground-breaking research, and preparing the workforce. At SUNY, every day is Earth Day."
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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