In total, the chancellor visited seven SUNY institutions during his trip to the region, stopping first in Niagara County on Wednesday to visit students and faculty from SUNY Niagara’s welding technology curriculum.
The associate’s degree program is part of a high-demand field eligible for Governor Kathy Hochul’s SUNY Reconnect initiative, which provides free tuition and supplies for adults to attend community college within the SUNY system. On Tuesday, Hochul highlighted the popularity of the program.
“Just since a few months ago, when this became the law of New York State, we have over 16,000 people who've already signed up for this,” Hochul said. “These are the lives that we're going to be changed forever.”
While King visited several other community colleges, such as Jamestown Community College, to discuss SUNY Reconnect, the leader made stops at other local institutions. On Thursday, King was present during the opening of SUNY Erie’s new South Campus location in Orchard Park, and on Wednesday, he took part in a roundtable discussion on the future of artificial intelligence at the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, which is located within the University at Buffalo.
“We know there are lots of companies around the country that are putting AI to use, huge companies like Google and Meta, but they're focused on their bottom line, their profit margin,” King said. “For us, we're investing in what will be the most powerful supercomputer on an academic campus in the United States in the service of the public good. This is about helping improve Americans' everyday lives.”
The chancellor wrapped up his tour Friday with a visit to Alfred State, as the campus recently received a six-figure grant to create training programs for electric vehicle technicians.
