[Important Information for Employees] Governor Hochul Announces SUNY Chosen Name and Pronoun Policy

[Office of the President]

Dear Campus,


Today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced
<https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-suny-chosen-name-and-pronoun-policy-create-more-open-and-accepting>
that the SUNY Board of Trustees has directed all 64 SUNY campuses to update
their policies regarding the use of a chosen name and pronouns.


This comes as part of a statewide effort to ensure that all student
identities are fully reflected and represented in campus systems. It is
imperative that all students, faculty and staff are able to work, live, and
study in an environment where they are safe and respected, and where they
are able to express their personal identities. I am proud that SUNY
Plattsburgh has already implemented many of today’s proposed policy changes
to better acknowledge our diversity and make our campus as inclusive as
possible.

In 2016, the college implemented the Preferred First Name Policy
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/offices-divisions/administration-finance/management-services/campus-handbook/section-ii-affirmative-action-equal-opportunity/chosen-name-policy.html>,
which “allows students and employees to officially notify the college of
their chosen names and personal pronouns, and have this change reflected in
on-campus communication systems.” This SUNY Plattsburgh policy applies to
all students, faculty and staff who use a chosen name other than their
legal/primary first name on a daily basis, it is consistent with current
Title IX federal law protecting students and employees against
discrimination based on gender identity and expression, and is a best
practice for supporting transgender and gender non-conforming members of
college communities.



“This historic change by the SUNY system is a victory in our ongoing fight
to ensure that New York is a place of love and belonging," said Governor
Hochul, and I am personally grateful that she has directed this SUNY-wide
policy change, to better align with current statewide demographics.



In order to truly prioritize equity and inclusion, we must fully recognize,
and accurately and respectfully identify all on our campus as they wish to
be identified. And we must acknowledge that, like gender and gender
expression, those individual identities may evolve and change over time.



Most of all, we must accept that this is a basic human right.



Please join me in celebrating this bold decision during Pride month that
brings us all one step closer to creating a truly equitable, inclusive
world that not only recognizes, but fully embraces our diversity.

Thank you.

-- 
ALEXANDER ENYEDI, President
(He, Him, His)

159 Hawkins Hall
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
(o) 518-564-2010 <+1-518-564-2010>
plattsburgh.edu <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/>
[image: SUNY Plattsburgh Logo]
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