Statement From Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher on President Obama's Visit

May 10, 2012

“Today it was my honor to join Governor Andrew Cuomo as SUNY and the Capital District welcomed President Barack Obama to the University at Albany.

“Our College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering served as an ideal backdrop as the President outlined his vision for rebuilding the American economy. SUNY’s role as a leading economic driver has been a beacon for job growth and for the preparation of tomorrow’s highly skilled workforce, helping to position New York as a model for the nation.

“It takes visionary leaders like President Obama and Governor Cuomo, responsible public-private partnerships, an engaged community, and a higher education network that is committed to meeting workforce demands to achieve what we have in New York. It is clear from my ongoing conversations with President Obama and the White House around college cost and preparing America’s next generation of innovators that he aims to bring these values to scale across the country.

“I commend President Obama for his strong leadership on economic development and his determined focus on creating – as we say here in New York – jobs, jobs, jobs.”

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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