MCC Daily Tribune

MCC Takes Center Stage at SUNY Basic Needs Summit

MCC Association Executive Director Virginia (Ginny) Geer-Mentry was among nine honored as a Basic Needs Champion at SUNY’s Basic Needs Summit on Thursday. College presidents chose the honorees through nominations. Ginny helped secure grant funding for both the childcare expansion and free student breakfast initiatives.

Engineering student Connor Klute also participated in a student panel at the summit. SUNY chose Connor based on his Scholars’ Day Project, “PANTRY-PI,” a DWIGHT pantry inventory system.

The press release below provides more detail on the summit and the expansion of basic needs programs.

SUNY Chancellor King Announces Expansion of Student Support Initiatives During Basic Needs Summit

Summit Convenes Campus Members and Community Leaders Dedicated to Improving Student Access to Food, Housing, Child Care, and Transportation Support

A Basic Need Fact Sheet (PDF) and Food Insecurity Fact Sheet (PDF) Outline SUNY’s efforts

Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. on Thursday announced, together with SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Merryl H. Tisch, the expansion of student support initiatives to improve access to food, housing, child care, and transportation during SUNY’s Basic Needs Summit.

As part of SUNY’s ongoing work to ensure student-parents feel welcome and supported, SUNY will launch a mini-grant program for campuses to provide child-friendly lounges, study corrals, and financial aid training so student-parents can maximize the financial assistance they receive. In addition, meal swipe donation programs will be implemented across 11 campuses this Fall to allow unused meal swipes to be donated to a campus bank for students facing food insecurity.

“SUNY has a steadfast commitment to ensuring students have the support they need to thrive throughout their academic journeys and beyond,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “The Basic Needs Summit highlights remarkable individuals who uphold that commitment and continuously champion initiatives like the meal swipe donations program and food pantries that support students as they complete their studies.”

During the Basic Needs Summit, SUNY also recognized Basic Needs Champions among faculty and staff. The champions were nominated by their campus presidents and chosen for their commitment to addressing barriers and supporting access to essential resources for students on their individual campuses.

This year’s Basic Needs Champions include:

April Fullerton, Clinical Case Manager, SUNY Potsdam
Kimbery Fuqua, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Wellbeing and Care, SUNY Oswego
Virginia Geer-Mentry, Executive Director, Monroe Community College Access, Monroe Community College
April Lopez, Assistant Dean of Students, Basic Needs Case Manager, SUNY Oswego
Stephen McAfee, Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Auxiliary Services, SUNY Oswego
Lauren Scagnelli, Director of Counseling and Wellness Services, SUNY Cortland
Carolyn Stephenson, Director of Student Support, the State University of New York at Stony Brook
Michael Wan, Financial Literacy Specialist, the State University of New York at Binghamton
Anna Zoodsma, Basic Needs Coordinator, SUNY Empire

Pearl Strategies Founder and Principal Christina Dukes said, “The SUNY System continues to demonstrate its genuine commitment to student basic needs and well-being through sustained policy and budgetary investments. Pearl is honored to support the many dedicated SUNY campus homeless liaisons and looks forward to seeing how the SUNY System, liaisons, and other campus and community partners will continue working together to give SUNY students the best chance to succeed in higher education and beyond!”

SchoolHouse Connection Executive Director Barbara Duffield said, “For young people who have experienced homelessness, a college degree is one of the most reliable paths to lasting stability and economic security. SUNY is building what these students need to stay enrolled and finish: a designated liaison on every campus, emergency aid, dedicated support for foster and formerly homeless youth, and assistance for campuses to address gap housing. That combination of support is still uncommon in American higher education, and it gives campuses in New York and across the country a practical model they can adapt and use.”

Swipe Out Hunger Director of Programs Gillian Kiernan said, “Time and again, I've seen how a meal swipe donation program can transform basic needs access on campuses across the country. When more programs are available, students have more pathways to access the resources that best serve their specific needs. Adding this program to SUNY's basic needs arsenal further demonstrates their commitment to support food access for all students.”

Trellis Company Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Bryan Ashton said, “Data from our Student Financial Wellness Survey continues to show the interconnectedness between student finances, their basic needs, and their ability to succeed academically. We applaud SUNY’s continued commitment to supporting access to the necessary supports for academic success. This holistic approach should serve as a national example, and we commend the state, system, and campus leaders that are putting this into practice.”

SUNY is committed to expanding access to essential resources for students. Chancellor King announced additional basic needs initiatives, including establishing student emergency aid funds on all 64 SUNY campuses and expanding support for foster and formerly homeless youth. In March, Chancellor King joined students for a roundtable to discuss how emergency aid grants have made the pathway to higher education more accessible. In January, SUNY announced the expansion of basic needs programs including food lockers, projects to address housing security, and programs to fill transportation gaps. SUNY also announced awards from the Mental Health First Aid Grant Program to strengthen campus-wide approaches to student mental health and well-being across the SUNY System. In November 2025, SUNY expanded the student emergency aid grant program at 10 community colleges through a $350,000 grant from the Gates Foundation, and Governor Hochul’s FY2026-27 Executive Budget includes $600,000 in dedicated state support for SUNY to expand campus emergency aid grant programs.

SUNY launched the emergency aid pilot program in 2017 at seven campuses, supported by $600,000 in grants from Gerstner Philanthropies and the Heckscher Foundation for Children. In November 2025, Governor Hochul announced $550,000 in emergency assistance for SUNY’s community college food pantries to combat the food insecurity crisis. SUNY also offers the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which provides access, academic support, and supplemental financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.

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, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its 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 $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum.

Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
09/25/2026