This letter urges your legislators to co-sponsor and advocate for the passage of legislation to reform the appointment process for the State University of New York’s Board of Trustees.

Legislation introduced by Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblymember Monica Wallace (S.8645/A.6430-a) would provide the Temporary President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly the ability to appoint members to the board.

Passage of this legislation is warranted, as the current appointment process places too much authority with the governor. The governor now appoints 15 out of 18 Trustees and 15 of the 16 Trustees who are voting members.

Providing both houses of the Legislature with appointments to the Board of Trustees will help curtail any undue influence the governor has over the Trustees, the governing body for SUNY.  

In recent years, the Board of Trustees has failed to protect all campuses in the SUNY system. Currently, 19 SUNY state-operated campuses have financial deficits totaling $146 million. Over the last two budget cycles, SUNY has received more than enough state funding from the Legislature to address these deficits.

Thank you for your support!