John B. King, Jr.
John B. King, Jr. is the 15th Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the United States. As Chancellor, King and the SUNY Board of Trustees have established four pillars to guide SUNY's progress: student success; research and scholarship; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and economic development and upward mobility. Under Chancellor King’s leadership, SUNY has seen its largest operating aid increase in five decades, including double-digit percentage increases for every state-operated campus, the first operating aid increase for community colleges in nearly a decade, and dedicated recurring annual funding for expanding mental health services, services for students with disabilities, paid internships, and research, as well as addressing food insecurity. To advance SUNY's goal of an internship experience for every undergraduate and civic mission, Chancellor King has overseen the launch of the Chancellor's Summer Research Excellence Internship Fund, the NYS FAFSA Completion Corps, the Climate Corps Internship Program, the Veterans' Enrollment and Support Internship Program, and the Empire State Service Corps (providing 500 SUNY undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in paid public service work for 300 hours over the course of a year). In fall of 2023, the System saw its first overall enrollment increase in a decade and hired approximately 700 faculty members across all disciplines at SUNY’s State-operated campuses.
Before being appointed SUNY Chancellor, King served as president of The Education Trust, a national civil rights nonprofit, and Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland College Park. Prior to this, Chancellor King served in President Barack Obama's cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Upon tapping him to lead the U.S. Department of Education, President Obama called Chancellor King "an exceptionally talented educator," citing his commitment to "preparing every child for success," and his lifelong dedication to public education as a teacher, principal, and leader of schools and school systems.
His service in Washington, D.C. followed Chancellor King's tenure as New York State's first African American and first Puerto Rican Education Commissioner, a role in which he oversaw all elementary and secondary schools, as well as public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities, professional licensure, libraries, museums, and numerous other educational institutions.
Chancellor King holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, as well as both a Master of Arts in the teaching of social studies and a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University.