Statement from SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher on Boycott of Israel
December 27, 2013
"As a leader in higher education, SUNY opposes academic boycotts — and we strongly oppose the boycott of Israel.
Boycotts are the antithesis of the very notion of academic freedom — where you don't erect barriers to learning, collaboration and knowledge, you break those barriers down.
At SUNY, we believe strongly in the power of collaboration, and we seek every day to open new doors of opportunity for our students, faculty, and staff to learn from and contribute to the work of their peers and colleagues around the globe. SUNY's support of their academic freedoms throughout SUNY's history has been an important factor in their widespread success, and we will continue to support their collaborations here in the U.S. and globally, without interruption.
Individuals at SUNY may embrace the boycott or attempt to find other solutions and that is their choice. We, however, fully support the Association of American Universities, a consortium of higher education institutions nationwide including the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University, in opposition to the boycotts."
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, 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 2022, 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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