Establishes a Black Leadership Institute within the state university of New York as an initiative for Black leaders in higher education with a mission to retain and grow from within SUNY a greater proportion of Black professionals at SUNY campuses; creates an eight member advisory council.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2286
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. WEBB, BROUK, CLEARE, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a Black
Leadership Institute within the State University of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The State University of New York
2 ("SUNY") has committed to becoming the most inclusive university system
3 in the country, where all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome and
4 supported. To meet this goal, SUNY must employ, in addition to faculty
5 and staff, leaders at the highest levels who share common experiences
6 and culture with those who comprise the fastest-growing segment of its
7 student population: diverse students who will become the nation's next
8 generation of leaders.
9 SUNY has seen a steady increase of Black students in recent years,
10 reaching nearly 11 percent, or over 42,000 students, in the 2019-2020
11 academic year. While SUNY continues its efforts to ensure that campus
12 leadership and faculty reflect the students they serve by hiring faculty
13 who are more representative of the diverse student population at SUNY
14 campuses, the diversity within executive leadership teams on many
15 campuses can be expanded further with support from the legislature.
16 It is, therefore, the intention of the legislature to create a Black
17 Leadership Institute ("the Institute") as an initiative for Black lead-
18 ers in higher education with a mission to retain and grow from within
19 SUNY a greater proportion of Black professionals at SUNY campuses. The
20 Institute shall offer support and foster professional development for
21 candidates for senior leadership roles on SUNY campuses, which will, in
22 turn, create a more diverse SUNY culture that represents New York state
23 and the SUNY student population.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01859-01-5
S. 2286 2
1 The legislature further intends that the Institute would be designed
2 to open doors to executive-level positions and strengthen the Universi-
3 ty's pool of Black leaders. The Institute will identify, develop, and
4 recruit, and ultimately support, retain, and foster the success of Black
5 leaders across the SUNY system.
6 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 362 to read
7 as follows:
8 § 362. Black leadership institute. 1. Subject to an appropriation for
9 this purpose, the chancellor of the state university of New York, in
10 consultation with the board of trustees of the state university of New
11 York, shall create a Black Leadership Institute within the state univer-
12 sity of New York to foster the success of Black leaders at the universi-
13 ty president and president's cabinet level. Such institute shall develop
14 candidate identification and recruitment efforts, search committee
15 training, professional development and individualized support measures
16 for institute participants, professional assistance programming,
17 services, research and resource identification activities, and any other
18 programs deemed necessary to effectuate the intent of this institute.
19 2. The chancellor shall appoint an executive director and an eight
20 member advisory council, to provide guidance and advice to further the
21 development and growth of the institute. The director and the members of
22 the advisory council shall serve for three-year terms, with the director
23 and three advisory council members appointed in the first year of the
24 institute's existence, three other members appointed in the second year,
25 and two members appointed in the third year. The director and advisory
26 council members may be reappointed at the end of each term in the manner
27 of the original appointment. The director and advisory council shall
28 receive no compensation for their work in conjunction with the insti-
29 tute.
30 3. In considering measures and programming for effectuating the
31 purpose of the institute, the institute shall consider such factors as
32 program cost-effectiveness; the ability of such programs to offer
33 programmatically appropriate, long-term, training, and support services;
34 the ability of such programs to enable individuals to participate in the
35 institute to receive rewarding training, services, and supports; and
36 current and projected employment data at campuses within the state
37 university system.
38 4. The executive director shall prepare and present to the governor,
39 the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader of the senate at
40 the beginning of each regular session of the legislature a separate
41 report covering, in summary, and in detail, all phases of activity of
42 the institute for the immediately preceding fiscal year.
43 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
44 the date on which it shall have become a law.
