Chancellor King Visits SUNY Niagara as Part of the SUNY Reconnect Tour

August 13, 2025

Governor Hochul's SUNY Reconnect Provides Free Community College Tuition, Fees, Books, and Supplies for Eligible Adult Learners in High-Demand Fields 

Visit Highlights SUNY Niagara's Welding Technology Program; Photos Available Here 


Sanborn, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today visited SUNY Niagara as part of the SUNY Reconnect Tour. Chancellor King is visiting SUNY community colleges throughout the state to promote New York's free community college program for adult learners, which will begin in Fall 2025. Under Governor Kathy Hochul's SUNY Reconnect initiative, New York State will provide free tuition, fees, books, and supplies for adults ages 25-55 who don't already have a college degree, to help them pursue an associate degree in a high-demand field.

During his visit, Chancellor King highlighted SUNY Niagara's Welding Technology associate degree, which is eligible for the SUNY Reconnect program, and which provides students with the basic knowledge required for entry level careers in manufacturing welding. The program prepares students for several certifications including shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, or gas tungsten arc welding.

"Community colleges are engines of student success and upward mobility, and SUNY Niagara serves as an essential launching pad for students to pursue high-demand fields like welding technology," said SUNY Chancellor King. "I am thrilled to have met with SUNY Niagara's President Dr. Holmes, faculty, and students to hear about the impact these programs have on residents of Niagara County. Thanks to Governor Hochul's SUNY Reconnect program more New Yorkers will have the opportunity to enroll in these degrees and enter high-demand fields."

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "With the support of Governor Hochul and state leaders, the entire SUNY system, including SUNY Niagara, is able to help empower adult learners to earn degrees and secure good jobs in high-demand fields. We have been proud to support SUNY community colleges, and the SUNY Reconnect program is part of our ongoing efforts to empower these essential educational institutions that help uplift New Yorkers and power our economy."

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, "Whether changing careers or re-joining the workforce, free community college for adult learners can be a game changer. By providing educational opportunities for New Yorkers, we are ensuring that we have skilled and knowledgeable workers in high-demand fields including computer science, education, and welding technology. I thank Governor Hochul for advancing workforce development initiatives through SUNY that set students up for success and make New York State an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family."

SUNY Niagara President Dr. Lloyd A. Holmes said, "SUNY Reconnect is a unique investment in the state's workforce. The program offers unprecedented support for adults across the Niagara region and beyond to develop new skills leading to careers in growing industries. We are excited to welcome our first class of SUNY Reconnect students at SUNY Niagara and ready to stand beside them all the way to graduation."

NYSUT President Melinda Person said, "At SUNY Niagara, the welding program shows how we are connecting education to opportunity. Students here aren't just learning a trade, they're building a future. With SUNY Reconnect, we're opening doors for adult learners to return to school, pick up a skilled craft, and enter high-demand fields that power our local economies. Programs like this are how we build New York's workforce and give families across our state a path to stability and success."

State Assemblymember Bill Conrad said, "As a former high school teacher and now as Chair of the Assembly Commission on Skills Development and Career Education, I am a vocal proponent of CTE programs and community colleges as some of the most vital components of our workforce pipeline. I was thrilled this year to learn of, and to later support the implementation of, Governor Hochul's SUNY Reconnect program, which I believe now serves as an exemplar of a guided pathway to steady employment and upward mobility. Second-act careers in high-demand fields can be transformative, not just for individuals and their families, but for regional economies. I thank Chancellor King, President Holmes, and the whole SUNY Niagara community for this invitation to celebrate and discover the tremendous promise of SUNY Reconnect to change lives and grow New York State."

SUNY Reconnect will fund degrees in high-demand fields including:

  • Advanced manufacturing
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Engineering
  • Technology
  • Nursing and allied health fields
  • Green and renewable energy
  • Pathways to Teaching in shortage areas

To support the launch of SUNY Reconnect, SUNY has:

  • Allocated $4 million to community colleges to support SUNY Reconnect programmatic implementation through advising, enrollment, outreach, award of credit for prior learning, and other student services, supports, and campus operations.
  • Provided an additional $1 million to cover equipment, materials, supplies, and other one-time needs to increase student enrollment capacity in high-demand programs that are part of SUNY Reconnect.
  • Announced $1.1 million in grant funding for the SUNY Adult Learner Leadership Initiative to help community colleges increase access and ensure degree completion for adult learners.

In addition to SUNY Reconnect, the FY25-26 Enacted State Budget provides $8 million in increased operating aid to community colleges – the first back-to-back operating aid increases in decades for these institutions – and maintains the 100 percent community college funding floor, which protects community colleges from $75 million in lost direct state tax support.

The budget also provides significant funding toward New York's longstanding Educational Opportunity Program, which has served more than 85,000 students, and increased support for ASAP|ACE, which will make these proven retention and completion programs permanent at SUNY and allow for a significant expansion.

To learn more about the SUNY Reconnect degree programs available at SUNY Niagara, visit sunyniagara.edu/freecc.

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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