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MCC Daily Tribune

SUNY Chancellor King Announces Student Emergency Aid Expansion Through Foundation Grant

Ten SUNY Community Colleges to Receive Support to Create or Strengthen Emergency Aid Funds 

SUNY to Develop Best Practices to Ensure Students are Aware of Emergency Aid and Streamline the Application Process Systemwide 

Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced a student emergency aid expansion at 10 community colleges through a $350,000 Gates Foundation grant. Emergency aid funds can be used to assist students with costs associated with unexpected events such as a car breakdown, emergency housing situation, medical crisis, death in the family, or laptop failure, to ensure that these costs do not prevent a student from completing their degree. This grant will help expand student emergency aid programs and bring the total number of campus programs up to 47 SUNY colleges and universities.  

“Emergencies happen, and when they do, SUNY students deserve to know that there are support services and funds available to them,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “Thanks to the Gates Foundation grant to expand student emergency aid services, more SUNY students will be able to access financial aid should they experience an emergency that could negatively impact their academic studies. We will continue to work with SUNY campuses and supportive organizations like the Gates Foundation to ensure that students have the support and assistance necessary to be able to move forward even when emergencies happen.” 

SUNY Trustee Eunice A. Lewin and SUNY Trustee Luca O. Rallis, Co-Chairs of the Student Life Committee, said, “Students should not have to worry about unexpected expenses while they are focusing on their studies and pursuing academic excellence. SUNY has a strong agenda to support students’ basic needs thanks to our Governor and State Legislators, which will be strengthened even further with this funding from the Gates Foundation.” 

Selected campuses will receive $20,000 over a two-year period. SUNY will also work with the campuses on sustainable fundraising plans to help ensure the campuses continue past the grant period. Campuses were selected based on the percentage of Pell-eligible students and demand for additional aid. To support the success of these programs, SUNY will develop best practice procedures that ensure that students are aware of the opportunities for emergency aid, and how to get access and apply for these programs. Participating campuses will work with SUNY to develop a streamlined application process for students.  

Participating campuses include:  

  • Cayuga Community College 
  • Erie Community College 
  • Fulton-Montgomery Community College  
  • Herkimer County Community College 
  • Jamestown Community College  
  • Mohawk Valley Community College  
  • Nassau Community College  
  • North Country Community College  
  • Schenectady County Community College 
  • Tompkins Cortland Community College 

Under the direction of Chancellor King and the Board of Trustees, SUNY has committed to expanding support for student basic needs, including through investing in food pantries and other food supports on State-operated campuses, the appointment of homelessness liaisons on every SUNY campus, expanding SNAP support, and including voluntary basic need statements in syllabi. 

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 amongst its entire 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 the SUNY website. 

Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
11/17/2025