[Important Information for Students] Fwd: News Release: SUNY Chancellor King Commemorates International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Launch of the SUNY Disability Support Leadership Institute

Thu Dec 4 13:55:50 UTC 2025

Dear Campus Community,

Please see the announcement below from SUNY regarding the launch of the new
Disability Support Leadership Institute, which strengthens system wide
efforts to advance accessibility and support students with disabilities.

SUNY Plattsburgh is already strongly aligned with these priorities through
several initiatives currently underway on our campus, including:

   -

   Accessibility Day on Monday, January 12, 2026, will bring faculty and
   staff together for a full day of events focused on strengthening
   accessibility in teaching, learning, and student support. Registration
   <https://facweb.plattsburgh.edu/workshops/> is open through January 5.
   -

   Our new Center for Instructional and Program Innovation (CIAPI)
   integrates instructional support and course development services to help
   ensure accessible, high-quality learning experiences across all modalities.
   -

   The ongoing work of our Access & Opportunity Programs
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/student-support/index.html>
   (AOP) and student support units continues to expand academic resources and
   mentoring for students from historically underrepresented and marginalized
   backgrounds, including many students with disabilities.

These and many other efforts, programs and resources across campus position
our campus well as SUNY continues to elevate accessibility and inclusive
learning across the system. Thank you to the many faculty and staff whose
work contributes to these important initiatives.

Dr. Alexander Enyedi, President

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: SUNY Communications <communications at suny.edu>
Date: Wed, Dec 3, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Subject: News Release: SUNY Chancellor King Commemorates International Day
of Persons with Disabilities with Launch of the SUNY Disability Support
Leadership Institute
To: <SUNYPIO-L at ls.sysadm.suny.edu>

*For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 3, 2025*

Contact: Holly Liapis, Holly.Liapis at suny.edu, (518) 477-0757

*SUNY Chancellor King Commemorates International Day of Persons with
Disabilities with Launch of the SUNY Disability Support Leadership
Institute*

*SUNY’s Disability Support Leadership Institute Will Bolster the Success of
Emerging Campus Leaders in Supporting Students with Disabilities*

*Lauren Rodriguez Named as Inaugural Executive Director*

*Albany, NY — *State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr.
today announced the launch of the Disability Support Leadership Institute
and named Dr. Lauren Rodriguez as executive director. The Disability
Support Leadership Institute, included in the 2025 State of the University
<https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/chancellor/SUNY-State-of-the-University-PolicyAgenda-2025.pdf#page=[30]>
agenda, will help foster the success of emerging campus leaders in
supporting students with disabilities.

“There is a place at SUNY for everyone, and we are committed to providing a
welcoming and inclusive environment at all of our campuses,”* SUNY
Chancellor King said. *“The launch of the SUNY Disability Support
Leadership Institute will help our faculty and staff committed to
accessibility develop their leadership skills and ensure our students with
disabilities have the necessary tools to thrive during their educational
journeys. I am excited to name Lauren Rodriguez the executive director of
the Disability Support Leadership Institute and look forward to working
with her to continue to expand accessibility at SUNY.”

*SUNY Trustee Camille Joseph Varlack and SUNY Trustee Marcos Crespo,
Co-Chairs of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, said, *“Ensuring
that all students feel supported and represented is an important part of
SUNY’s commitment to student success. The Disability Support Leadership
Institute will play a key role in guaranteeing SUNY continues to provide a
welcoming and accessible environment for our students with disabilities.
Thank you to Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for their continued
support of accessibility and inclusivity at SUNY.”

In January, Chancellor King announced the inaugural class of SUNY
Accessibility Advocates and Allies (AAA) Faculty Fellowship Program
<https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press-releases/1-25/1-9-25/udl-fellows.html>.
A total of 11 fellows from across the SUNY system were chosen to work to
expand digital accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) across
their campuses. Currently, SUNY serves more than 41,000 students with
disabilities — and the largest group of these students report having a
neurodevelopmental disability. The launch of the Disability Support
Leadership Institute builds on SUNY’s actions to increase supports for
students with disabilities. Chancellor King will be announcing the next
cohort of SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellows to
continue the work undertaken by the initial SUNY AAA fellow cohort.

SUNY has also invested $10 million in annual recurring State funding
<https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/news/Students-Disabilities-10M-fact-sheet.pdf>
to support State-operated campuses in increasing support for students with
disabilities. SUNY campuses have utilized their portion of the state
investment to expand services for students with disabilities in a variety
of ways, including hiring staff to mitigate barriers and support students
with disabilities, purchase new accessibility technology equipment for
student and faculty use, and make physical space improvements to increase
accessibility.

Lauren Rodriguez brings 15 years of dedicated experience to her new
position as Executive Director of SUNY's Disability Support Leadership
Institute. Since 2021, Dr. Rodriguez has served as the SUNY Director of
Resources for Students with Disabilities. Chancellor King selected Dr.
Rodriguez to serve as the first executive director of the newly launched
Disability Support Leadership Institute because of her deep understanding
of higher education operations, her focus on collaborative leadership, and
her experience in supporting and serving individuals with disabilities. The
SUNY Disability Support Leadership Institute will be a part of the SUNY
Leads initiative <https://www.suny.edu/leads/>, which was established by
Chancellor King and is designed to empower individuals to become
influential leaders within their campuses, the SUNY System, and across the
higher education sector.

*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,
and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY
serves about 1.4 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 $1.16
billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from
students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni
worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY
alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

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