In August 2007, the State University of New York (SUNY) established the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI). The office provides leadership and strategic direction to all of SUNY’s campuses for developing and implementing a portfolio of affirmative action and diversity programs.
SUNY is committed to creating campus communities enriched by a range of perspectives and interests. ODEI promotes equal access, meaningful academic and intellectual inclusion in curriculum, research and service, and holistic integration of our state’s underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations into the academic culture of higher education at all levels.
ODEI aspires to strengthen diversity as an integral component of academic excellence at the State University of New York (SUNY) and, in the process, to establish the university as a national leader in preparing its students for success in a culturally and racially diverse society. ODEI envisions the SUNY of the future as a preeminent public university that is truly representative of the rich array of human and intellectual diversity that is the hallmark of New York State. The principle of engagement through inclusion will be a core value, and this office will promote new partnerships, within the 64-campus SUNY system and beyond, that embrace the inseparable connection between academic excellence and diversity.
ODEI is responsible for devising and implementing a range of programs to promote the diversity of SUNY’s human resources. The office promotes the integration of diversity-related instruction and research into ongoing SUNY system-wide initiatives to enhance academic excellence. ODEI partners with baccalaureate, doctoral granting institutions and community colleges to achieve the holistic integration of New York’s underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations into the academic culture of higher education. Through its various initiatives, ODEI strengthens SUNY’s ability to create a learning environment needed to develop the extraordinary leaders who will succeed in an increasingly culturally diverse and globalized society. The office focuses on SUNY’s goal of providing the highest quality educational experience that is fully representative of the diversity of human difference in New York State.