State University of New York, Empire State University

Former name	Empire State College
Type	Public university
Established	1971; 55 years ago (1971)
Parent institution	State University of New York
President	Lisa Vollendorf
Academic staff	160 full time and 490 part time
Students	11,404 (fall 2025)[1]
Undergraduates	9,039 (fall 2025)
Postgraduates	2,365 (fall 2025)
Location	Saratoga Springs, New York , U.S.
Colors	Orange, blue, black      [2]
Nickname	Bluebirds[2]
Mascot	Blue the Bluebird[2]
Website	sunyempire.edu

The State University of New York, Empire State University^[3] (also referred to as Empire State University or SUNY Empire) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

Empire State University is a multi-site institution offering associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well as distance degrees through the Center for Distance Learning. The university has approximately 12,000 undergraduate students and has an acceptance rate of 51%.^[4][5] The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.^[6]

History

Empire State College was designed by then SUNY Chancellor Ernest Boyer in a document titled "Prospectus for a New University College."^[7] In 1971, Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the State University of New York, conceived a new college for the state's public university: a college dedicated to adult student-centered education. Empire State College was designed removing impediments to access such as time, location, institutional processes, and curricular customs. In this design, students would individually define their academic needs, purposes, and efforts. The college would be flexible in supporting them through its faculty, policies, and procedures, to achieve college-level learning.^{[citation needed]}

Academics

The university offers undergraduate and graduate distance education, extensive transfers of credits from other universities, prior-learning assessment for knowledge gained through independent studies, standardized evaluations, and the opportunity to design one's own degree with an academic advisor or mentor.^[14]

Notable alumni

• Stephen Chan (American politician), NY State Senator
• Amy Arbus (2003), photographer^[17]
• Ita Aber, artist and curator^[18]
• Kenny Barron (1978), jazz pianist^[19]
• Ginny Brown-Waite (1976), former member U.S. House of Representatives^[20]
• Herman Benson (1975), Union Reformer^[21]
• Dawoud Bey (1990), photographer^[22]
• Frank Enea (1993), musician and composer
• Alice Fulton (1978), English professor, winner of the 1991 MacArthur Fellows Program Award, commonly referred to as the "genius" award, for poetry^[23]
• Susan Gibney, actress^[24]
• Deborah Gregory (1986), author of Cheetah Girls^[25]
• Karl Grossman (1976), professor of journalism SUNY Old Westbury, author, TV program host
• Bob Herbert (1988), The New York Times columnist^[26]
• Rich Hickey (1992), creator of Clojure programming language^[27]
• Erick Johnson, American contemporary artist^[28]
• Bernard Kerik (2002), former Commissioner of the New York Police Department^[29]
• James J. LeCleir (1974), U.S. Air Force Major General^[30]
• Steven McLaughlin, member of the New York State Assembly, County Executive of Rensselaer County, New York^[31]
• Kathy Muehlemann (1978), abstract painter & professor^[32]
• Elliott Murphy (1988), singer-songwriter & author^[33]
• Mae Ngai (1992) historian, Columbia University^[34]
• Alan Rachins (1974), television actor^[35]
• Mark J.F. Schroeder (1982), New York Commissioner of Motor Vehicles^[36]
• Norman Seabrook, former president Of New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association (1995–2016), convicted on corruption charges^[37]
• James M. Sheppard (1999), chief of the Rochester Police Department and member of the Monroe County Legislature^[38]
• Randall Terry (2006), anti-abortion activist and Constitution Party nominee for the 2024 United States presidential election
• Melba Tolliver (1998), journalist, reporter, and news anchor^[39]
• Herb Trimpe (1997), artist on "The Incredible Hulk" comic series^[40]
• Bob Watson (1999), major league baseball player and executive^[41]
• Reggie Witherspoon (1995), college basketball coach^[42]

See also

• University of New York, Tirana
• University of New York, Prague
• SUNY Learning Network
• Non-traditional student

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Empire State University.

• Official website

43°04′40″N 73°46′57″W / 43.0777°N 73.7826°W / 43.0777; -73.7826