Glad you're here with us for the Town Hall.
A special edition here on this Wednesday,
and we're going to begin with the future
of SUNY schools and why the discussion
is important for so many New Yorkers.
Remember, more than 95% of people in this
state live within 30 miles of a SUNY campus,
with 1.4 million students totaln
top of some 90,000 staff member.
Well, today the University Systs
Chancellor gave his state of SUNY address.
Some of the questions in focus tonight Will
SUNY schools house migrants this summer?
What can students expect to
pay for tuition next year?
Looking at all the funding?
Also, how much money will the SY
system get as part of the state budget,
You can tell Chancellor Doctor n
King has his work cut out for h.
He was appointed in December,
started the job in January,
and since then he has toured
all 64 SUNY campuses.
And tonight, he is joining us live here on
the town hall hours after giving that speech.
Chancellor King, we appreciate
you taking some time for us her.
I just wanted to give those nums
off the top because everyone watching
is impacted by the Sunni system.
It's also so important to the
economy of New York State.
I do want to start with what's a
little bit in the news right now
and this idea from the governorn
terms of using some Sunni campus
as temporary housing for migran.
What can you tell us about how t
has progressed and how you and and your
colleagues within SUNY are prepg
for that possibility this summe?
Well, thanks for the opportunity to join you.
Of course, SUNY plays a a vital
role in the state and and we are
committed to surveying the stat.
Well, Governor Hochul asked Alle
agencies to identify any assetsr
resources they could bring to bear to help
address the real humanitarian crisis that.
We are facing with the asylees
and at SUNY we've done that,
we've we've we've shared information with the
Governor's office that they're reviewing.
They have not made any determinn
yet on their plans moving forward, but.
We understand we have a responsibility
at SUNY to be a part of solvinge
biggest challenges facing the s,
whether that's tackling climate change,
preparing the healthcare workfoe
we need or helping to address
this humanitarian crisis.
Chancellor King, I spent some te
today with our producer looking
through the state budget that
passed a little while back and I
believe the numbers are right h.
It's about $163 million more for
SUNY this year compared to last
year in terms of operating expe.
So that's a nice bump.
Also 1.6 billion for SUNY capital projects.
It is a lot of money.
When you and I talked to
Buff State this spring,
you said one of your biggest challenges
and something you're really focused on
is dealing with declining enrollment.
How do you use that additional funding?
To help you address that.
And what else should we know abt
how that money is going to be u,
especially keeping in mind tuition prices?
Yeah, look, we are very gratefuo
Governor Hokel and the legislate
for this real vote of confidencn
Sunni and this commitment to the role
that Sunni can play in the stat.
The additional operating aid wil
allow us to grow the programs tt
are aligned to areas of economic
development in the state.
More programs to prepare folks
for the semiconductor industry.
More programs to prepare folks r
green jobs and wind and solar.
More resources to train the nurs
and other healthcare workers we need.
They'll also be resources,
a $75 million transformation
fund that will help us improve
student success initiatives,
helping more of the students who
start finish because ultimatelye
want our students to leave witha
meaningful degree or credential.
The capital investments will allow us
to do things like build new labt
University of Buffalo that will help us.
Drive the kind of research thatl
attract federal research dollars
to the state and grow our econo.
So we're excited about this investment.
It's really the the best budget for SUNY,
arguably in 20 years and we're
excited to use these resources o
invest in our students.
I want to pick up on what you
just said about the University
of Buffalo about UB's campus.
The governor has said that she s
it to be a top 25 public resear.
University in the entire countr.
It's a lofty goal.
What can you tell us about whats
what's happening behind the sces
to make that a reality one day?
Well, the great thing is the
governor has been willing to put
resources behind that commitmen.
So there's $100 million in the
state budget for labs at UB.
There's the creation of a $1.5 billion
endowment matching fund that wil
help us raise philanthropy at U,
at Stony Brook,
at Binghamton and at U Albany.
Those philanthropic dollars
matched with state funds,
will allow us to recruit the faculty,
invest in the graduate students
that are vital to the success
of the research endeavor,
and the additional operating aid
actually covers what the governr
had originally proposed as
differential tuition or additiol
tuition at the university cente.
To support research.
So we really have now the resous
we need to grow the research
capacity at at UB and really hep
you be become a school that's
mentioned it in the same breath
as UC Berkeley or UNC Chapel Hi.
Yeah. And we know how importantt
is to Western New York's econom,
to to all that we do here
in this part of the state.
Doctor John King is the 15th
chancellor of the State Universy
of New York, the SUNY system.
Thanks for taking some time for somewhat.
I know what was a big day as you
gave that speech.
Thank you, Sir. Thank you.