MCC Daily Tribune

SUNY Chancellor King Celebrates "Building Bridges" Civic Engagement Student Leadership Grant Winners

Program Provides Grants to SUNY Student Groups Leading Projects that Promote Civic Engagement, Community Connections, and Collaboration

Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the first round of awards from the “Building Bridges” civic engagement student leadership awards. The initiative, which was announced in Chancellor King’s 2025 State of the University Agenda, provides grants to groups of students working to build bridges across differences on their respective campuses in areas such as civil discourse, anti-hate and bias, and fostering constructive dialogue for students.

“Public higher education is uniquely able to bring students together and provide opportunities for them to learn from and with one another,” SUNY Chancellor King said. “Empowering our students to participate in constructive conversations and engage with all members of their campus communities is vital to SUNY’s commitment to civic engagement and academic excellence. This grant program demonstrates how SUNY students are leading the way to foster connection on their campuses and engage in civic engagement and civil discourse.”

SUNY Trustee Eunice A. Lewin and SUNY Trustee Luca O. Rallis, Co-Chairs of the Student Life Committee, said, “SUNY is proud of our extraordinary students who are developing the skills to lead the way in civil discourse and civic engagement as they pursue academic excellence for themselves and their colleagues. Thank you to Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for their continued support of SUNY, and our students.”

Five SUNY campus groups were each awarded grants of $5,000 to lead student-design projects that strengthen their communities and build connections across lines of difference. Campus groups awarded funding through the grant program include:

The State University of New York at Binghamton’s Student Association’s project, Leading Constructive Conversations, will bring together 20-30 students for an in-depth three-hour workshop, with the goal to empower student leaders to lead constructive conversations. Conversations will be facilitated by the Center for Civic Engagement’s Civil Dialogue Project.
The State University of New York at Buffalo’s Chapter of the Friends Committee on National Legislation will convene student groups and local elected officials to participate in a day of service and purposeful reflection. Service projects will focus on migration justice and will benefit organizations that support immigrant communities in the region.
Empire State University’s Peer Mediation Student Organization’s project, Bridging Perspectives: A Peer-to-Peer Cohort-Based Initiative for Culturally Aware Conflict Resolution, will convene representatives from a range of student groups to create a semester-long community of practice. The goal of the project is to foster intergroup connections, reduce bullying and discrimination, and support constructive dialogue, while using diversity, equity, and inclusion as a framework for discussions.
SUNY Oneonta’s Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council’s project, Dialogue for Dinner, will host monthly dinners that engage student groups across campus in dialogue during a dinner event, covering topics of interest to the campus community. Conversations will be supported by advisors from the Institute for Civil Society and Democracy, the Center for Racial Justice and Inclusive Excellence, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center.
Rockland Community College’s Model UN Club’s project, Bridges and Binders: Affinity Group Dialogue Series, will convene at least five cultural groups on campus to participate in ongoing conversations with the goal of creating three campus policy resolutions and a “Model UN Campus Dialogue Playbook” designed to promote pathways for civil discourse, negotiation, and conflict resolution to improve culture in the domains of academic, professional, and civic life.

The Building Bridges civic engagement student leadership grants expand on SUNY’s efforts to invest in outstanding students, faculty, and staff and support initiatives throughout the SUNY System. To further support SUNY campus initiatives, SUNY has awarded funding through the Mental Health First Aid Grant Program to strengthen campus-wide approaches to student mental health and well-being, launched the Outdoors for All program to provide campuses with grants to facilitate year-round outdoor opportunities, and allocated more than $125,000 in grants in 2024 to furnish or enhance interfaith prayer and reflection spaces at 22 SUNY campuses to help promote inclusivity and a welcoming environment for all students.

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, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 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 $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, 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 suny.edu.

Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
01/30/2026