DAN QUAGLIANA
Staff Writer
On March 6, SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. visited Fredonia as part of his state-wide tour of all SUNY colleges and universities. Since being appointed Chancellor in December 2022, King has been traveling in order to visit every SUNY campus before the end of the spring semester.
“During my visits, I’ve spoken with students, faculty, staff and employer partners. I enjoy talking with students about why they chose their particular school and what their future holds,” King said. “At each visit, one question I always ask is, ‘What can we do better?’ There are always ways to improve and enhance the experience for our students and faculty.”
As part of his visit to Fredonia, King explored campus with a group of student ambassadors. This included touring almost every academic building, having lunch with President Kolison’s Student Cabinet and even “adjusting his schedule to extend his time here,” Kolison said. “I thought that was very, very kind.”
King began his career as Chancellor in January of this year, when the SUNY Board of Trustees selected him for the position after a nationwide search.
For his part, King was drawn to the role by “Governor Kathy Hochul and the SUNY Board of Trustees’ vision to ensure SUNY is the best system of public higher education in the nation.”
Before being appointed to his current position, King served as the Education Commissioner of New York from 2011 to 2015 and as the 10th United States Secretary of Education from 2016 to 2017, under President Barack Obama’s Administration.
King believes that his past experience has helped prepare him for his current role.
“From starting out as a high school social studies teacher to serving as U.S. Secretary of Education, I have dedicated my career to ensuring every student has access to the same kind of supportive academic opportunities New York City public school educators provided me [with].”
Having “identified core priorities for SUNY” with the Board of Trustees, King hopes to use his experience to make those priorities a reality.
“[One of my goals] is student success,” King explained. “Everything we do at SUNY, we do for our students. We must continue to invest in proven student support programs to ensure students not only start college, but finish with meaningful degrees and credentials. And we must address long-standing equity gaps.”
This sentiment is shared not only by the Chancellor, but also with campus leadership.
“[This] aligns with me, personally,” Kolison remarked. “It’s really pleasing for him to come in and share that vision with the campus.”
Kolison took time to emphasize that he believes King will be a fantastic chancellor. “One of the things I admire about [King] is that he is very committed to giving students access to a high-quality education,” Kolison said.
King said, “One of our biggest issues is enrollment. We need to make sure more New York State students and their families recognize the incredible value proposition – quality, affordability, wonderful faculty, a wide range of academic and extracurricular offerings – that places like SUNY Fredonia provide.”
Fredonia, more so than other SUNY colleges, is currently managing budget problems. According to Kolison, King is “pushing hard for a better budget … and the last time I checked, the discussions were coming along very well. I’m very confident that the system as a whole will come out better than in previous years.”
The faculty on campus were also very impressed by the Chancellor. Dr. Bruce Simon, the chairman of the University Senate, said that he is “optimistic that Governor Hochul and Chancellor King, working with the New York State legislature, will take significant steps to sustainably and equitably support and advance Fredonia’s core academic mission … and will make it a priority to fund SUNY like the public good it is for years to come.”