SUNY Chancellor King Announces Nominations Open for Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership
August 24, 2026
Third Annual Scholarship Recognizing LGBTQ+ Rights Champion and State University of New York at Albany Alumnus
Scholarship Highlights Graduate and Undergraduate Achievements in LGBTQ+ Advocacy for Inclusivity
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the opening of nominations for the third annual Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership. The scholarship honors the State University of New York at Albany's class of 1951 alumnus and LGBTQ+ rights champion Harvey Milk. In its third year, the award is open to all SUNY full-time students and recognizes one upper-level undergraduate student and one graduate student for their dedication to improving LGBTQ+ inclusivity on campus.
"SUNY is proud to honor our alumnus Harvey Milk and recognize those who uphold his legacy through incredible work that promotes inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community on campus and beyond," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Harvey Milk was an avid champion of LGBTQ+ rights whose leadership continues to inspire others to advance the cause of building welcoming communities. I commend everyone who continues this vital work."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "We are pleased to celebrate SUNY alumnus Harvey Milk's life and career that made an indelible impact on the human rights movement. Through the Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership, we are recognizing and supporting students as they continue to follow in his footsteps upholding justice, equality, and acceptance for all."
Harvey Milk’s nephew and Executive Chair of the Harvey Milk Foundation Stuart Milk said, "My uncle’s years attending Albany sparked his strong and prevailing interest in social and political causes, filling him with the idea that our voices, individually and collectively, could make a difference. The SUNY Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership has become one of the most vital elements of Harvey’s enduring legacy, his example of leadership and the light he left behind for us all.
The Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership is open to all SUNY full-time students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability status, or any other protected class. The selected awardees will receive a one-time $1,500 non-tuition scholarship award. Other nominees will receive a certificate of recognition for their leadership and commitment to improving campus culture for the LGBTQ+ community.
Nominations from campus presidents, or self-nominations by students, will be accepted until September 16, 2026.
Eligibility criteria for student nomination, including self-nomination, can be found below:
- Full-time, upper-class (sophomore, junior, and senior) students and graduate students;
- Students must be in good academic standing (a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher);
- Demonstrate a commitment to advancing an inclusive campus community to enhance LGBTQ+ members' sense of belonging and experiences;
- Demonstrate leadership experiences that have had a significant and positive impact on campus or local communities in relation to the LGBTQ+ population, including but not limited to removing barriers that affect LGBTQ+ experiences, advocating for policy changes, or implementing campus-wide events/celebrations;
- Nomination is required, which includes self-nomination, and must include a one-page essay to support the nominee's candidacy that demonstrates their involvement and leadership experiences as described in the scholarship eligibility and requirements. All nominations must include one letter of recommendation;
- Student(s) who would like to self-nominate themselves should contact the vice president for student affairs on their campus.
Additional information about the Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership is available here.
Last year's recipient of the Harvey Milk Award for Student Leadership was SUNY Upstate Medical University alumna Lianne De La Cruz. She was nominated for her work to create trauma-informed and identity-affirming mental health care for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Across multiple roles on and off campus, De La Cruz strengthened mental health advocacy and equity.
The inaugural winner was State University of New York at Cortland alum Vinny Aquino, a native of Uniondale, NY. His nearly three years as SUNY Cortland’s Pride Club president included the direction of many meaningful efforts, from Pride Homecoming events to a New York City trip visiting the historic landmark, the Stonewall Inn.
About Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk, a State University of New York at Albany alumnus (then called the New York State College for Teachers at Albany), was a visionary civil and human rights leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk's unprecedented and unapologetic proclamation of his authenticity as an openly gay candidate for public office and his subsequent election gave never-before experienced hope to LGBTQIA+ people everywhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. His remarkable career was tragically cut short when he was assassinated nearly a year after taking office.
About the Harvey Milk Foundation
The Harvey Milk Foundation was established by Harvey's nephew Stuart Milk and Harvey's campaign manager, Anne Kronenberg. Stuart, like Harvey, has chosen to speak out as an openly gay advocate for not only the LGBTQIA+ community but also the collective communities of people who remain marginalized or diminished by inequality in the law as well as societal inequality. Harvey Milk believed broad public education and dialogue were paramount to his life's work as a civil rights leader and, as if riding on Harvey's shoulders, the Milk Foundation seeks to inspire individuals, communities and organizations to carry on his values in a timeless vision for a better world.
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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