Empire State University

Empire State College was designed by then SUNY Chancellor Ernest Boyer in a document titled "Prospectus for a New University College."^[6] 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]}

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.^[12]

• Stephen Chan (American politician), NY State Senator
• Amy Arbus (2003), photographer^[15]
• Ita Aber, artist and curator^[16]
• Kenny Barron (1978), jazz pianist^[17]
• Ginny Brown-Waite (1976), former member U.S. House of Representatives^[18]
• Herman Benson (1975), Union Reformer^[19]
• Dawoud Bey (1990), photographer^[20]
• 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^[21]
• Susan Gibney, actress^[22]
• Deborah Gregory (1986), author of Cheetah Girls^[23]
• Karl Grossman (1976), professor of journalism SUNY Old Westbury, author, TV program host
• Bob Herbert (1988), The New York Times columnist^[24]
• Rich Hickey (1992), creator of Clojure programming language^[25]
• Erick Johnson, American contemporary artist^[26]
• Bernard Kerik (2002), former Commissioner of the New York Police Department^[27]
• James J. LeCleir (1974), U.S. Air Force Major General^[28]
• Steven McLaughlin, member of the New York State Assembly, County Executive of Rensselaer County, New York^[29]
• Kathy Muehlemann (1978), abstract painter & professor^[30]
• Elliott Murphy (1988), singer-songwriter & author^[31]
• Mae Ngai (1992) historian, Columbia University^[32]
• Alan Rachins (1974), television actor^[33]
• Mark J.F. Schroeder (1982), New York Commissioner of Motor Vehicles^[34]
• Norman Seabrook, former president Of New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association (1995-2016), convicted on corruption charges^[35]
• James M. Sheppard (1999), chief of the Rochester Police Department and member of the Monroe County Legislature^[36]
• Melba Tolliver (1998), journalist, reporter, and news anchor^[37]
• Herb Trimpe (1997), artist on "The Incredible Hulk" comic series^[38]
• Bob Watson (1999), major league baseball player and executive^[39]
• Reggie Witherspoon (1995), college basketball coach^[40]

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