Statement from Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees on Recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month
September 16, 2024
"This month, SUNY is proud to observe Hispanic Heritage Month alongside our faculty, staff, and the approximately 58,000 Hispanic and Latino students currently working towards a bright future across our 64 campuses. At SUNY, we proudly call Hispanic leaders in fields such as healthcare, the arts, science, education, and public service our alumni.
"Under Chancellor King’s leadership, SUNY has achieved its highest percentage of Hispanic students in the system’s history, at 15.8%, up from 5.8% in 2005. The current percentage of Hispanic enrollment represents a 172% increase since Fall 2005 and a 46% increase since Fall 2014.
"The state university system is committed to ensuring students from diverse backgrounds have the tools they need to thrive in the classroom and in life. We are hard at work with our campus leaders to ensure higher education is attainable for all by ensuring our programs are affordable, campuses truly reflect the various cultures of their student body, and paid work experiences are offered to all students so that every student can pursue their field of choice.
"Our university system is honored to be the home of eight Hispanic Service Institutions (HSIs) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education and the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities (HACU). With this recognition this year to Farmingdale State College, Nassau Community College, Purchase College, Rockland Community College, Suffolk County Community College, SUNY Sullivan, SUNY Old Westbury, and Westchester Community College, and SUNY Orange to join the list soon, these campuses are serving Hispanic/Latinx students who make up over a quarter of their student body. It is thanks to the generosity of our government leaders and HACU, that they can also provide additional resources and funding to make sure these students excel.
"We also proudly support the Hispanic Leadership Institute (HLI), which empowers emerging leaders and allies across SUNY through rigorous executive training and a network to grow in their positions. HLI has served as a national model for other organizations who aspire to uplift their leaders and allies. We are proud of HLI’s programs that have allowed countless university leaders to enhance their professional skills—including HLI Fellowship, HLI Director in Residence, and our HLI In-Training Summer Events.
"This Hispanic Heritage Month, as we celebrate the excellence of our Hispanic American community, we must remember our role and responsibility in ensuring the next generation of Hispanic and Latinos have the opportunity to achieve their American Dream."
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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