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MCC Daily Tribune

Chancellor King Joins Genesee Community College to Celebrate Healthcare Workforce Funding

Funding Will Support a New Health Care Programs Recruitment Specialist Position, Increase Health Care Program Capacity, and Enhance Nursing Student Mentorship 

Highlights Importance of Governor Hochul’s Proposal for Free Community College for Adult Learners to Earn an Associate Degree in High-Demand Fields 

Batavia, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today met with Genesee Community College President Craig Lamb, SUNY Board Trustee and Genesee Community College Professor Candice Vacin, and students, faculty and staff to celebrate the college's expanded healthcare workforce training and investments in mental health resources for students on campus made possible by $8 million in additional operating funding for community colleges included by Governor Hochul and the legislature in the 2024-25 enacted State budget.  

During his campus visit, Chancellor King emphasized the importance of mental health care, SUNY’s role in addressing the shortage of health care professionals, particularly nurses, and Governor Hochul’s free community college proposal to help New Yorkers ages 25 to 55 receive a high-quality education in nursing and other in-demand fields. The Governor proposed $28 million in funding to support the free tuition program this week. 

“Our community colleges are extraordinary engines of upward mobility,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “Governor Hochul and the legislature invested $8 million to expand community college health care programs and improve student support last year, and this year’s Executive Budget proposal to make community college free for adult learners to earn an associate degree in a high-demand fields builds on that success and will literally transform the lives of New Yorkers.”  

SUNY Board Trustee Robert Duffy said, “The program expansions at Genesee Community College are a testament to the power of our SUNY campuses and how quickly they return an investment for students and community members. We greatly appreciate the generous funding allocated by Governor Hochul and the State Legislature, and we are thrilled with the Governor’s proposal for free college tuition to help even more students.” 

SUNY Board Trustee Candice Vacin said, “I am proud of SUNY Genesee’s efforts to create a vibrant and robust curriculum that addresses our real-world challenges as well as expand efforts to ensure every student has access to the care they need to succeed. The investment is already paying off to secure students with good paying jobs in the medical field and will better the lives of not only the students but everyday New Yorkers in Genesee County.” 

Genesee Community College President Craig Lamb said “The College is grateful to New York State and SUNY for these additional investments in support of our students. This funding not only helps us prepare more students to enter our regional workforce in high-demand fields but further enables us to provide enhanced mental health services to continually meet the evolving needs of our students." 

As part of New York State's 2024/25 Enacted State Budget, SUNY’s 30 Community Colleges received $8 million in additional Direct State Tax Support, the first increase in such funding in almost ten years. From this funding, Genesee Community College has received a $310,000 investment that will be used to hire a new Health Care Programs Recruitment Specialist, hire four new adjunct professors for the Physical Therapist Assistant and Respiratory Care programs, enhance first-year nursing student mentorship, and purchase equipment for respiratory care simulation education. To expand mental health services, Genesee will hire a new Assistant Director of Counseling Services, invest in graduate counselor interns, offer new tele-health crisis support services to students, and increase programming efforts to destigmatize seeking mental health support. 

Genesee Community College will also invest in simulation training for nursing faculty and create a new nursing faculty Simulation Coordinator role. In May of 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation permitting nursing students to complete up to one-third of their clinical training through simulation experiences.  

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 www.suny.edu. 

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Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
01/24/2025