First Black education commissioner in New York named SUNY chancellor

The first Black education commissioner in New York is now taking over America’s largest public university system after being named the State University of New York chancellor. 

According to Politico, John King, a native of Brooklyn and the state’s first Black and Puerto Rican chancellor, was named Monday after the unanimous approval of SUNY’s board of trustees. He will take office in January and succeed acting SUNY Chancellor Deborah Stanley.

King headed the Empire State’s Department of Education from 2011 through 2015, before being appointed, during President Barack Obama’s tenure, to serve as U.S. secretary of education from 2016 until 2017. Last year, he unsuccessfully campaigned for governor of Maryland.

He expressed excitement in addressing SUNY’s 10-year enrollment decrease, notably at its community colleges. Additionally, he aims to raise awareness of community development initiatives and funding for the state’s workforce initiatives.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to advance access, affordability and completion and to make SUNY the strongest possible driver of economic development and economic mobility for the state,” King told Politico. “I’m very excited, and having served at every level of the education system, from classroom teacher to principal, to leading schools and school systems … to bring all of those experiences to bear in this work.”

SUNY, which has 64 campuses, is a major economic presence in most of upstate New York, but it has seen a drop in enrollment, partly due to the declining population. Under Stanley, the administration strengthened its activities and campaigns to boost enrollment, which has resulted in encouraging increases in fall applicant numbers.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who oversees SUNY’s budget, in collaboration with the state legislature, expressed her satisfaction with King’s selection. She said that as a native of the state, he benefits from having a thorough understanding of New York’s educational system.

“We are looking for a transformational figure,” Hochul shared, according to Politico, “someone that will come here and reestablish the preeminence that I always thought SUNY should have.”

King resigned as New York’s commissioner of education amid controversy over the Common Core curriculum requirements that the state attempted to impose on school districts in response to new federal standards. In 2014, New York State United Teachers OK’d a vote of no confidence in him, its members urging his firing by the state Board of Regents.

King’s rocky tenure as education commissioner left some parents and advocates opposed to his SUNY nomination, but Toby Ann Stavisky, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, said those opponents shouldn’t view that as a hindrance now.

Set to receive an annual salary of $750,000, King promised to collaborate closely with state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa — the first Latina to hold the position — and others among the diverse group of officials in charge of the state’s educational system to support the 1.3 million students who attend SUNY classes.

King asserted that, for him, developing a varied staff for the state’s public school system is especially important.

“It makes me happy to see the progress that the state and the country have made, but I would also say there’s work to do,” King said, Politico reported. “We have real opportunity gaps that we have to close as a country … I want to make sure that SUNY is the national leader in diversity, equity and inclusion.”

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