State University of New York Chancellor John B. King announced an ambitious set of initiatives in his recent State of the University Address in Albany.

“Chancellor King announced new initiatives to expand programs to help students succeed, while creating new paths forward to bolster research, attract and retain diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels, and grow SUNY’s role as an economic driver for the state and our students.” That’s the way SUNY’s rather lengthy press release on King’s speech put it.

“At SUNY, we are pressing forward, guided by our values, delivering for our students, our communities, and our state,” King said. “I am filled with optimism that’s grounded in our progress, our results, and our strength, that not only can we meet this moment — we already are.”

King highlighted a series of initiatives by SUNY “to help empower students, invest in communities, and move New York State forward,” according to the press release.

The initiatives include:

— Connecting SUNY’s university centers with regional comprehensive colleges and community colleges to expand ethical AI education and workforce development.

— Continuing to deliver on SUNY’s goal that every undergraduate student will participate in an internship or other quality experiential learning opportunity before they graduate, starting with closing the internship gap for SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students.

— Starting a free community college program for New York State residents ages 25 to 55. SUNY is ready to enroll all eligible New Yorkers and has launched a statewide marketing campaign to make sure eligible adults without a college degree know a SUNY community college education will provide free tuition, fees, books, and supplies toward an associate’s degree. King announced that SUNY will help community colleges with funding to cover equipment and other one-time needs to handle the anticipated increase in enrollment in high-demand, high-cost programs.

— Implementing ASAP|ACE college completion initiatives to reach 7,000 students this fall, up from 4,200, on the path to 10,000 students in two years.

— King announced the expansion of Empire State Service Corps — a paid public service program for SUNY students — to include additional focus areas, including early childhood education and veteran support services. The program is open to 500 SUNY students during the academic year, and 150 students during the summer.

— Consistent with SUNY’s Climate & Sustainability Action Plan, SUNY will launch a System-wide Faculty Fellows program to support faculty in incorporating sustainability into curricula and coursework.

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Deep inside SUNY’s release on King speech, there’s statements about a politically charged educational and social philosophy: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, aka DEI. Championed by progressive academics, DEI has been bitterly opposed by conservatives.

It’s clear that SUNY is moving forward with DEI. Its press release declares: “Under Chancellor King’s leadership, SUNY is committed to ensuring a sense of belonging for all students and has expanded its general education curriculum to provide every undergraduate student with course content that addresses themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to supporting diverse students.”

King said, “At SUNY, DEI is not only one of our pillars; it’s in our DNA. Our enabling statute, written more than 75 years ago, promises that SUNY ‘will provide to the people of New York educational services of the highest quality, with the broadest possible access, fully representative of all segments of the population…'”

The SUNY release states, “King has set guidance to ensure campuses are safe and has made it clear there is no tolerance for antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate and bias. SUNY implemented a system-wide requirement in 2024 that all faculty and staff receive training in Title VI civil rights protections, and every SUNY campus will be required to designate a Title VI Coordinator before the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year.

“Initiatives in the 2025 State of the University agenda include expansion of the Pre-Professional EOP program to incorporate the nursing and teaching fields; extension of mandatory Title VI training on discrimination and harassment to student organization leaders and residential life staff at state-operated campuses; and additional support and training to foster the success of students with disabilities, including neurodiverse students.”