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Chancellor King Highlights Student Success Supports During Visit to SUNY Potsdam

SUNY Potsdam Lauded for Robust Basic Needs Support for Transportation, Food Security and Housing

Potsdam, NY (03/31/2026) — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today highlighted basic needs support during a visit to SUNY Potsdam. During his visit, Chancellor King joined SUNY Potsdam President Suzanne Smith, as well as students, faculty, and staff, to showcase the robust student success supports available at the campus. In the last few years alone, SUNY Potsdam has expanded its student support resources in transportation, food security, and housing through new State investments and fundraising from the campus community.

Under the direction of the SUNY Board of Trustees and Chancellor King, SUNY has committed to expanding basic needs resources for its students to support their success, including through investing in food pantries and other food supports on State-operated campuses, the appointment of homelessness liaisons on every SUNY campus, expanding SNAP support, and including voluntary basic need statements in syllabi.

"At SUNY, student success drives everything we do, and we are committed to providing our students with the resources they need to achieve academic excellence," said SUNY Chancellor King. "SUNY Potsdam is a leader in ensuring students have access to vital supports, so they can reach their full potential. I applaud the faculty and staff at SUNY Potsdam who are dedicated to supporting our students both in and out of the classroom."

SUNY Trustee Camille Joseph Varlack, Chair of the Student Success Committee, said, "Through the steadfast support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, SUNY has been able to invest in vital programs and initiatives to help support our students as they work to achieve academic excellence. We commend SUNY Potsdam for its leadership in supporting our students by increasing access to vital resources, so they can succeed."

Over the last three years, SUNY Potsdam has received more than $4.65 million in additional State funding allocated by the SUNY Board of Trustees, representing a nearly 43 percent increase in Direct State Tax Support. These funds have supported the campus's academic programs and faculty salaries, as well as providing targeted resources to address food insecurity, expand internships, increase mental health services, and support students with disabilities.

SUNY Potsdam President Suzanne R. Smith said, "When we remove barriers, students flourish. SUNY Potsdam is proud to offer the wraparound supports that help our students stay on track, achieve their goals and build bright futures. Thanks to strong support from SUNY and New York State, we've been able to expand essential services that meet students' basic needs and allow them to focus on their future. Combined with generous philanthropic support from our donors, we are creating an environment where all students have the opportunity to succeed."

State Senator Dan Stec said, "It's vital that the state uphold its commitment to the SUNY system and our students. SUNY Potsdam is an example of how a university can ensure basic needs are being met, facilitating the necessary conditions for student success, growth, and development. I'm pleased Chancellor King could see firsthand the shining example SUNY Potsdam has become for higher education."

SUNY Potsdam has robust student success supports in place, including free transportation for students through its Bear Shuttle, made possible in part through a $50,000 SUNY grant. The campus also offers food assistance resources for all members of the campus community through the Prometheus Alumni Food Pantry and the Crane Food Pantry, and was an early participant in SUNY's food locker program, as well as a Professional Clothes Closet to offer free professional clothing to all students for job interviews, practicum, and student teaching experiences. SUNY Potsdam also hosts a fully licensed child care facility on campus that serves the children of faculty, staff, and students, as well as the larger community.

"It was an absolute pleasure meeting with Chancellor King and his team to talk about our campus food pantry, the transportation pilot, and our college in prison program. He was very receptive to our student support initiatives, and he and his office have been huge supporters of ours with the funding they have provided us for these programs. Without that funding, many of these support services wouldn't have been possible. It was exciting to be able to share with and show him how that support has impacted our students, and with the hope of continued funding, the ways in which we can sustain and/or expand these services in the future. We are grateful for the time his team took to come spend time with us today, and look forward to future collaborations," said April Fullerton, who serves as the Bear CARE Program clinical case manager, Prometheus Alumni Food Pantry manager, homelessness liaison and SNAP liaison at SUNY Potsdam.

"We were honored to welcome Chancellor King to our exercise science and future physical education learning spaces this afternoon. Our students had an amazing opportunity to interact with him and tell him their SUNY Potsdam stories. We're deeply appreciative of the time he spent with us," said Tanya Hewitt, exercise science program coordinator and clinical faculty member for the Department of Kinesiology and Human Performance.

In addition, SUNY Potsdam was also one of the initial 25 SUNY campuses to implement the Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) program in 2024. Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP), which supports students pursuing associate degrees, and ACE, which supports baccalaureate students, are the nation's leading college retention and completion models. The programs help students gain and maintain academic momentum so they can graduate on time. Eligible students have access to a wide array of resources and support to help them overcome barriers that can prevent them from obtaining a degree, including funding to cover textbooks, groceries, transportation, and other costs of attendance, as well as personalized advisement academic support, and career development activities.

To further support student success, SUNY announced awards from the Mental Health First Aid Grant Program to strengthen campus-wide approaches to student mental health and well-being across the SUNY System. SUNY launched the emergency aid pilot program in 2017 at seven campuses, supported by an over $600,000 grant from the Gertsner Family Foundation and the Heckscher Foundation for Children. Student emergency aid was expanded in November 2025 at 10 SUNY community colleges through a $350,000 grant from the Gates Foundation, and Governor Hochul's 2026-27 Executive Budget includes $600,000 in dedicated state support for SUNY to expand campus emergency aid grant programs. In November 2025, Governor Hochul announced $550,000 in emergency assistance for SUNY's community college food pantries to combat the food insecurity crisis. SUNY also offers the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which provides access, academic support, and supplemental financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. Fact sheets outlining SUNY's commitment to basic needs can be found here and here.

About the State University of New York:

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country's oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges -- and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.

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Media Attachments

From left, SUNY Potsdam students Sadie Brown ’26, Davida Owusu-Achiaa ’27, SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., SUNY Potsdam President Suzanne R. Smith and SUNY Trustee Bruce Simon take part in a roundtable focused on student support on March 31.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. visited an exercise science class to discuss applied learning opportunities as part of a visit to SUNY Potsdam on March 31.

Gregory Moore ’26 shows Chancellor John B. King Jr. the food lockers available through the Prometheus Alumni Food Pantry at SUNY Potsdam. The lockers were made possible thanks to SUNY funding, supporting students experiencing food insecurity on campus.

Exercise science major Eli Doughart-Wood ’27, a member of the Potsdam Bears Men’s Hockey Team, spoke with Chancellor John B. King Jr. during a visit focused on student support at SUNY Potsdam.

Davida Owusu-Achiaa '27 speaks with SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. during a visit to SUNY Potsdam on March 31. She is a business administration major and a member of the Educational Opportunity Program, originally from the Bronx, N.Y.

Director of Accommodative Services Jessica Burnett shows Chancellor John B. King Jr. the accommodative services exam center at SUNY Potsdam during a visit highlighting student support.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. visited SUNY Potsdam on March 31 to learn about student support and applied learning opportunities.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. led a roundtable discussion with SUNY Potsdam students to cap off a visit to the campus on March 31, joined by SUNY Trustee Bruce Simon and President Suzanne R. Smith.

SUNY Potsdam students posed for a photo after a roundtable discussion with Chancellor John B. King Jr., President Suzanne R. Smith and SUNY Trustee Bruce Simon.

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