New York University

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The State University of New York was established in 1948 by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, through legislative implementation of recommendations made by the Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University (1946–1948). The commission was chaired by Owen D. Young, who was at the time Chairman of General Electric. The system was greatly expanded during the administration of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state. Since 1978, its primary administrative offices have been located at SUNY Plaza in Albany with satellite offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. Apart from units of the institutionally separate City University of New York (CUNY), SUNY comprises all New York state-supported institutions of higher education. In addition, SUNY has four contracted colleges/school operating concurrently with Cornell University, and graduates from these four contracted colleges/school have alumni status from both institutions.

Reader's Guide

New York was one of the last US states to set up a state college and university system. The oldest college that is part of the SUNY System is SUNY Potsdam, established in 1816 as the St. Lawrence Academy. On May 7, 1844, the New York General Assembly voted to establish Normal School in Albany as the first college for teacher education. In 1865, the privately endowed Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the nation, was designated as New York's land grant college. Between 1889 and 1903, Cornell operated the New York State College of Forestry, until the governor vetoed its annual appropriation. The school was moved to Syracuse University in Syracuse in 1911, where it is now the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. On October 8, 1953, SUNY took a historic step of banning all national fraternities and sororities from its 33 campuses, a ban that lasted until 1977. The resolution was passed as an attempt to combat discrimination based on race or religion in many national organizations at the time. In 1986, L. Eudora Pettigrew became the first African-American college president in the SUNY system when she was named president of SUNY Old Westbury.

Did You Know?

• SUNY was one of the last US states to set up a state college and university system, established in 1948.
• The oldest college in the SUNY system is SUNY Potsdam, established in 1816 as the St. Lawrence Academy.
• On October 8, 1953, SUNY banned all national fraternities and sororities from its 33 campuses, a ban that lasted until 1977.
• L. Eudora Pettigrew became the first African-American college president in the SUNY system in 1986 at SUNY Old Westbury.
• SUNY has four contracted colleges operating concurrently with Cornell University, and graduates from these colleges have alumni status from both institutions.

Legislative Birth and the Case for Public Access

The State University of New York did not emerge from a single moment of inspiration but from a deliberate institutional reckoning. Between 1946 and 1948, a temporary commission led by Owen D. Young—then chairman of General Electric—examined the landscape of higher education in the state. Their findings were pointed: New York's private institutions of higher education were highly discriminatory and failed to provide for many New Yorkers. The commission's recommendation became law in 1948, when Governor Thomas E. Dewey signed legislation creating SUNY on the foundation of the teacher-training schools established in the 19th century. Many of those predecessor institutions had long since evolved beyond their original mission, offering curricula similar to those found at four-year liberal arts schools, and had even become known as "Colleges for Teachers" rather than "Teachers' Colleges." New York was, by its own admission, one of the last states in the nation to formalize a public university system, yet the decision to act in 1948 set the stage for everything that followed.

The Rockefeller Expansion and Flagship Identity

SUNY's transformation from a modest collection of teacher-training schools into a sprawling statewide network was driven largely by two figures: Chancellor Samuel B. Gould and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. Rockefeller took a personal, hands-on interest in the architectural design and physical construction of new facilities across the state, treating the system's growth as a matter of personal conviction rather than mere policy. His most consequential institutional move was championing the acquisition of the private University of Buffalo into the SUNY system, rebranding it as the public State University of New York at Buffalo. Today, that institution stands alongside Stony Brook University on Long Island as one of SUNY's two flagship universities, with Binghamton University and the University at Albany serving as additional research university centers. The system's physical footprint is enormous—25,000 acres of land, with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry occupying the largest single campus, situated next to Upstate Medical University, which employs over 10,959 people and is the system's largest single employer.

Governance, Scale, and the Cornell Connection

SUNY is governed by the State University of New York Board of Trustees, which consists of eighteen members, fifteen of whom are appointed by the Governor, with consent of the New York State Senate. The sixteenth member is the president of The State University of New York Student Assembly. The last two members are the presidents of the University Faculty Senate and Faculty Council of Community Colleges, both of whom are non-voting. The board of trustees appoints the chancellor who serves as SUNY Chief Executive Officer. Students arrive not only from within New York but from 171 foreign countries, though out-of-state and international students pay higher tuition. Perhaps most uniquely, SUNY maintains four contracted colleges operating concurrently within Cornell University—Agriculture and Life Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Human Ecology, and Industrial and Labor Relations. Graduates of those four schools hold alumni standing at both institutions, a dual affiliation that blurs the line between the state system and one of the Ivy League's most prominent private universities.

Defining Moments and a Legacy of Inclusion

SUNY's history is punctuated by decisions that reflected the state's evolving values. On October 8, 1953, the system banned all national fraternities and sororities across its thirty-three campuses, a prohibition that endured until 1977. The stated purpose was to combat racial and religious discrimination embedded in many national organizations' bylaws. Several groups challenged the ban in court, arguing it unfairly swept in organizations without discriminatory clauses, but the resolution was upheld as within the state's authority to govern its educational institutions. In 1986, L. Eudora Pettigrew became the first African-American to serve as a SUNY college president when she was named to lead Old Westbury. The system's roots stretch back even further: SUNY Potsdam traces its origins to 1816 as the St. Lawrence Academy, making it the oldest college within the system. Cornell's State College of Forestry, operated between 1889 and 1903 before a gubernatorial veto ended its funding, eventually found a permanent home in Syracuse, where it continues as the College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

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