(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - United University Professions (UUP), the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, hosted State University of New York (SUNY) students, Union Members and Public Higher Education Advocates for an Advocacy Day in Albany to highlight the importance of SUNY Opportunity Programs.

SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Equal Opportunity Centers (EOC) serve thousands of students across the State every year and provide crucial support for access to Public Higher Education. 

The UUP event brought together panelists who urged the State to fully fund New York’s EOP, EOC and newly-formed Medical Educational Opportunity Program (MEOP), which is intended to support students throughout the pre-med and medical education process.

This year, UUP is also calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and Lawmakers to create a new $4 million Mental Health Educational Opportunity Program (MHEOP) to expand New York’s Mental Health Workforce and increase diversity among Mental Health Providers. 

UUP President Frederick E. Kowal said: “SUNY’s Opportunity Programs support some of our most vulnerable students.  Each year, these programs make SUNY accessible for hundreds of students from under-resourced, under-represented communities.  The Opportunity Programs are tremendously successful, with a track record of delivering results for students and New York alike - and it is crucial that the State boost funding to sustain and expand the program.  Over the past few years, it has become clear that the mental health needs of students, Faculty and all New Yorkers are dramatically underserved and we must do much more to address this crisis.  We can close the gap in resources through empowering our students to enter the mental health field, creating a workforce that meets the State’s diverse needs.” 

In its 2023 Legislative Agenda, UUP called on New York to reverse the proposed cut included in the Executive Budget and allocate an additional $4.5 million this year for SUNY’s EOP, which serves more than 78,000 students, as well as $5 million to expand the MEOP. 

For more than 50 years, SUNY’s Opportunity Programs have made it possible for students who have limited financial resources and are academically underprepared to attend a SUNY School, earn a degree and achieve their life goals.

These programs provide eligible first-time, full-time freshmen with a pre-freshman Summer experience, extensive academic support services, supplemental instruction, one-on-one advisement, and modest financial assistance for non-tuition related expenses such as books and supplies. 

UUP represents more than 42,000 Academic and Professional Faculty and Retirees who work at 29 New York State-operated campuses, including SUNY’s Public Teaching Hospitals and Health Science Centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse.

UUP is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO.  

For more information on UUP’s legislative agenda, visit: https://uupinfo.org/legislation/pdf/UUP23StateLegAgenda.pdf.