The State University of New York ( Acronym '''SUNY'''; usually pronounced "SOO-nee") is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York , United States . It is the largest comprehensive system of Universities , Colleges , and Community College s in the United States , with a total enrollment of 410,000 students, plus 1.1 million Continuing Education students spanning 64 campuses across the state. This also makes SUNY the largest university system in the United States in terms of population. The SUNY system has 28,000 faculty members and some 6,650 degree and certificate programs overall.
The State University of New York was established in 1948 by then-Governor of New York, 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 , then-Chairman of the General Electric Company .
SUNY comprises all institutions of higher education statewide that are state-supported, with the exception of the institutions that are units of the City University Of New York (CUNY).
ORGANIZATION
SUNY is governed by a Board of Trustees, which consists of sixteen members, fifteen of whom are appointed by the Governor , with consent of the New York State Senate .
The state of New York assists in financing the SUNY system, which, along with CUNY, provides lower-cost college-level education to residents of the state. SUNY students also come from out-of-state and 171 foreign countries, though tuition is higher for these students.
There are a large variety of colleges in the SUNY system with some overlap in specialties from site to site. SUNY divides its campuses into four distinct categories: university centers/doctoral-granting institutions, university colleges, technology colleges, and community colleges.
SUNY and the City University of New York are entirely different university systems, despite the fact that both are public institutions which receive funding from New York State. Also, SUNY is not to be confused with the University Of The State Of New York (USNY), which is the governmental umbrella organization for most education-related institutions and many education-related personnel (both public and private) in New York State, and which includes, as a component, the New York State Education Department.
