SUNY Chancellor John King is pictured during a visit to SUNY Fredonia in March 2023.

As State University of New York campuses prepare for the fall semester, Chancellor John B. King Jr. will be visiting Western New York campuses between Wednesday and Friday. This is part of King’s SUNY Reconnect Tour, as well as an opportunity to speak with students, faculty, and staff before the fall semester begins later this month. King will use each campus visit to highlight SUNY’s affordability, excellence, and alignment with regional economic and workforce needs.

King is expected to visit both Fredonia and Jamestown Community College.

“SUNY is on the move and our Western New York campuses are helping to lead the way with great programs, exciting courses, and cutting-edge research and technology,” King said. “Thanks to the support from Gov. Kathy Hochul and state leaders, SUNY is in an even stronger position as we are getting ready to go into the 2025-2026 academic year. This is an exciting moment in SUNY’s history, and I am pleased to join campus leadership and our students, faculty, and staff ahead of the start of the fall semester.”

SUNY Trustee Eunice A. Lewin, Co-Chair of the Student Life Committee, said, “SUNY is heading into the Fall semester with strong support from Governor Hochul and our state leaders so campuses may do what they do best in giving our students a well-rounded education and resources to succeed. Western New York SUNY campuses, and schools throughout our comprehensive statewide public higher education system, offer New Yorkers a world-class education and help prepare them, and our entire state, for a brighter future. I look forward to joining Chancellor King as we visit SUNY campuses throughout Western New York.”

As part of King’s visits throughout the region, the chancellor is highlighting the strong financial support Hochul and state leaders provide to Western New York SUNY institutions. Over the last three years, SUNY’s State-operated campuses in the region – Alfred State, University at Buffalo, Buffalo State, and SUNY Fredonia – have received a combined increase of nearly $80 million, with each campus benefiting from at least a 45% increase in Direct State Tax Support. These investments address the increased costs of recent collective bargaining agreements for faculty and staff, support student and faculty research at SUNY’s most research-intensive campuses, and provide dedicated funding for internships, mental health support, programming for students with disabilities, and assistance to address food insecurity.

In addition, the 2025-26 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 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. In Western New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo State, and SUNY Erie campuses participate in ASAP and ACE.

King will visit the region’s community colleges as part of the SUNY Reconnect Tour to promote New York’s free community college program for adult learners. Chancellor King will visit SUNY Erie, SUNY Niagara, and Jamestown Community College and highlight unique programs that each school offers that will qualify as high-demand fields for SUNY Reconnect students starting in Fall 2025. Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s SUNY Reconnect initiative, which begins in Fall 2025, New York State will provide free tuition, fees, books, and supplies, after applicable financial aid, for adults ages 25-55 who don’t already have a college degree and pursue an associate degree in a high-demand field.

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.