[Important Information for Students] SUNY Chancellor Honors Black History Month

[Office of the President]

Dear Campus Community,

As we begin Black History Month, I join the Chancellor and the SUNY Board
of Trustees in recognizing the profound and enduring contributions of
African Americans to our nation’s history, culture, and civic life.

Black history is American history. It is a history marked by resilience and
leadership, by injustice and progress, and by the ongoing pursuit of
freedom, equity, and opportunity. As a public university, SUNY Plattsburgh
carries a responsibility not only to educate, but to ensure that access,
inclusion, and academic excellence remain central to our mission.

I encourage you to read the statement below from Chancellor King and the
SUNY Board of Trustees, which speaks to these values and to the role of
higher education in advancing a more just and equitable society.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexander Enyedi
President

*******************************************************


<http://www.suny.edu/>_ <http://www.twitter.com/suny>_
<http://www.facebook.com/generationsuny>_[image: blog.png]
<http://blog.suny.edu/>



*Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees Statement on Black History
Month*



*For Immediate Release: Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024*

Contact: Holly Liapis, Holly.Liapis at suny.edu, (518) 477-0757; or Conall
Smith, Conall.Smith at suny.edu, (518) 565-9580



“This Black History Month, we celebrate the theme of ‘African Americans and
the Arts,’ and pay homage to the significant contributions Black creators
have made to the arts since, and even before, our nation’s founding. For
Black college students, the arts serve as a powerful medium for cultural
expression, affirmation of identity, and a means to voice their unique
experiences and challenges. They provide therapeutic benefits, fostering
mental well-being and creating spaces of community and belonging amidst
often predominantly white institutions. Additionally, the arts act as a
vehicle for activism and social change, enabling Black students to advocate
for equity, justice, and visibility within and beyond the academic
environment. And most of all, they bring us joy, bring us together, bring
peace of mind when it is called for, lay out pleas for justice, assuage
pain, and expose truths.



“At SUNY, we think of the trailblazing novelist and former University at
Albany faculty member Toni Morrison, the immensely talented, up-and-coming,
Grammy Award winning jazz singer, and Purchase College alumna, Samara Joy,
as well as the accomplished actor/producer and University at Buffalo
alumnus, Winston Duke, to name just a few members of the SUNY family who
have truly made an artistic and cultural impact on our nation.



“Thanks to the diversity that has been at SUNY’s core for all of its 75
years, we’ve been surrounded by artists and art. We will continue to foster
an environment that allows great creative talent to flourish without
limits, as evidenced by the success of our alumni and the promise of our
students.



“While there are those who wish to undo the significant progress made to
advance racial inclusivity and equality, we as the nation’s largest
comprehensive system of public higher education will always make clear that
there is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker. We will not waver in our
mission to provide an educational environment where diversity, equity, and
inclusivity thrive. While we understand there is more work to do to right
the wrongs of the past, we are proud of the steps we have already taken and
will continue to take to ensure that SUNY is a welcoming place for all.”



###
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ls.plattsburgh.edu/pipermail/critical-students/attachments/20260202/7b591bb1/attachment.htm>