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The State University of New York (SUNY /ˈsuːni/ SOO-nee) is a system of public colleges and universities in New York State. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 424,051 students, plus 2,195,082 adult education students, spanning 64 campuses across the state. Led by interim chancellor Deborah F. Stanley, the SUNY system has 91,182 employees, including 32,496 faculty members, and some 7,660 degree and certificate programs overall and a $13.08 billion budget.
The SUNY system has two flagship universities: Stony Brook University (1957) and the University at Buffalo (1846). The two flagships, along with Binghamton University (1946) and the University at Albany (1844), make up the four comprehensive doctoral-granting universities designated as "university centers" by SUNY.
SUNY's administrative offices are in Albany, the state's capital, with satellite offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. With 25,000 acres of land, SUNY's largest campus is SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which neighbors the State University of New York Upstate Medical University - the largest employer in the SUNY system with over 10,959 employees.
The State University of New York was established in 1948 by Governor Thomas E. Dewey, through legislative implementation of recommendations made by the Temporary Commission on the Need for a State University (1946–1948). The commission was chaired by Owen D. Young, who was at the time Chairman of General Electric. The system was greatly expanded during the administration of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who took a personal interest in design and construction of new SUNY facilities across the state.
Apart from units of the unrelated City University of New York (CUNY), SUNY comprises all state-supported institutions of higher education.