Chancellor King Announces Winner of Annual Radley Fellowship Program
April 22, 2026
Dr. Jasmin Thomas of SUNY Downstate Health Services University Selected as 2026 Fellowship Recipient; Photo Available Here
Fellowship Furthers Research and Highlights SUNY Faculty Excellence
Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the winner of the annual Dr. Virginia Radley SUNY Fellowship Program for SUNY faculty members. The winner of this year's Radley Fellowship is Dr. Jasmin Thomas, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at SUNY Downstate Health Services University.
"Throughout the SUNY system, our faculty and students are conducting important historical research that helps us understand New York State's past, so we may prepare for our future," said SUNY Chancellor King. "The Radley Fellowship annually helps provide our dedicated researchers with the tools to fully explore our state's rich history. I applaud Dr. Thomas for earning this distinction, and for her continued excellence, and hard work to position SUNY as a national leader in research."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Thanks to the continued support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, SUNY can invest in fellowship programs and other research opportunities for our faculty across all disciplines. We commend Dr. Jasmin Thomas for earning the Radley SUNY Fellowship and for serving as an example to fellow researchers."
Named in honor of the first woman to be appointed as a SUNY State-operated campus president, the Dr. Virginia Radley SUNY Fellowship Program provides support for a SUNY faculty member with scholarly expertise in history or an associated discipline. The fellowship is an opportunity to discover, celebrate, and elevate the history of women's roles and leadership in New York State, including SUNY's founding, evolution, and more than 75 years of growth, and amplify these narratives to SUNY and broader communities.
Dr. Jasmin Thomas's project, The Black Angels of Seaview Hospital: Women's Leadership in the Transformation of Healthcare in New York State, explores the experiences and contributions of Black nurses who were recruited to care for patients at New York City's tuberculosis sanatorium on Staten Island from the 1930s through the 1960s. Through archival research and oral histories, the project highlights their critical role in patient-centered care and in supporting clinical advancements that helped transform tuberculosis into a treatable condition. Through the Radley Fellowship, Dr. Thomas will develop a scholarly publication, curriculum materials, and broader public-facing scholarship and education that bring visibility to these underrecognized healthcare leaders.
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University President Dr. Wayne J. Riley said, "The Radley Fellowship honors a legacy of leadership that expanded access, advanced equity, and opened doors for women across higher education. That legacy continues through Dr. Jasmin Thomas's work, which brings long-overdue recognition to the Black nurses of Seaview Hospital whose skill, courage, and leadership helped shape public health in New York State. At Downstate, we remain committed to ensuring that contributions like theirs are recognized, studied, and carried forward."
Dr. Jasmin Thomas, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at the School of Health Professions at SUNY Downstate, said, "I am honored to receive the Dr. Virginia Radley Fellowship from SUNY. This recognition reflects SUNY's enduring commitment to advancing scholarship, equity, and leadership in higher education. It also affirms the importance of preserving the legacy of the Black nurses of Seaview Hospital, whose expertise, courage, and commitment advanced care under extraordinary conditions. Their work helped transform the treatment of tuberculosis and expand what was possible in patient-centered care, and it deserves to be recognized, studied, and carried forward."
The Dr. Virginia Radley SUNY Fellowship Program showcases SUNY's commitment to expanding research across all disciplines, and to achieving Governor Hochul's goal of doubling research and innovation throughout the SUNY System. Previous recipients of the Dr. Virginia Radley SUNY Fellowship Program include:
- Elizabeth Garner Masarik, an assistant professor of history at SUNY Brockport, who was the inaugural recipient of the fellowship and used it as an opportunity to research the connections between religion and the Women's Rights Movement in New York State,
- Carolyn Guzski, an associate professor at SUNY Buffalo State University who used the fellowship for her research Unsung Heroine: Caterina Jarboro and the Desegregation of the New York Opera Stage,
- Anne Bailey, an author, speaker, and professor of history at the State University of New York at Binghamton and the founding Director of Binghamton's Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity,
- Elizabeth Mazzolini, an associate professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who used the fellowship for archival research, revising and finalizing her book American Toxic: Love Canal and Women's Stories and Testimonies, and hosting a related academic conference at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
The Radley Fellowship is part of SUNY's efforts to highlight the excellent research taking place throughout the SUNY System. Earlier this month, the SUNY AI Symposium was held at the State University of New York at Stony Brook to highlight AI leaders, SUNY researchers, educators, and partners who are advancing discovery, driving AI innovation, and generating economic growth in New York State. In March, the SUNY Research Expo was held in Albany to showcase the groundbreaking agricultural, environmental, artificial intelligence, and medical research taking place throughout the SUNY system. In February, Chancellor King announced the launch of the SUNY Research Connect Portal to showcase the research profiles of nearly 7,000 SUNY researchers from 26 campuses.
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.
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Holly Liapis
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