SUNY Chancellor Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With FSC
Chancellor King Joins Roundtable Discussion with FSC Students, Faculty, and Staff
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month 2025, 51吃瓜 (FSC) President Robert S. Prezant, PhD, hosted State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor John B. King, Jr., EdD, for a meaningful roundtable discussion with FSC campus community members.
Twenty attendees, including SUNY Board of Trustees Chair Merryl Tisch, EdD, SUNY officials, FSC faculty, staff, and students, joined President Prezant and Chancellor King for the morning event held in Hale Hall鈥檚 fenestrated conference room.
The dynamic discussion covered a variety of topics including personal experiences, shared heritage, the importance of language, and social media, as well as student support programs, faculty mentorship, scholarship and research opportunities, and aspirations for the future. In addition, several recent SUNY initiatives were highlighted including a new bachelor鈥檚 degree program at SUNY Empire State University taught entirely in Spanish, a new partnership with nonprofit environmental organization Para la Naturaleza, and the expansion of the .
Chancellor King opened by sharing that Hispanic Heritage Month is important to him both personally and professionally and noted that there are more than 62,000 students who identify from Hispanic backgrounds across the SUNY system.
Chancellor King also shared moving details about his mother, who was born in Puerto Rico and went on to become a first-generation college graduate and a guidance counselor in the New York City public school system. 鈥淢y life was made possible by my mother's journey,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd my family鈥檚 story is so much a part of the New York story and really the SUNY story--being an engine of opportunity for so many,鈥� he said.
A science, technology, and society major, Kevin Velasquez, 鈥�28, shared he proudly enrolled in one of FSC鈥檚 student support programs, which has led him to a 鈥渂igger and better pool of opportunity,鈥� including undergraduate research studying molluscan shell regeneration.
鈥淚'm Salvadorian and Honduran and it鈥檚 very rough hearing about my parents鈥� past and how it took them so much just to get [to the United States],鈥� added Velasquez. 鈥淗onestly, hearing their stories does bring a tear to my eyes. It鈥檚 very sad but also a symbol of hope, honor, and drive. For me, personally, that has helped me become the person I am today and I can really say it's been a great honor to be a part of this College and all the experiences I鈥檝e had here.鈥�
Since 2023, FSC has been federally designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), having achieved a full-time undergraduate enrollment of Hispanic students that is more than 25 percent of the student body. FSC has also been designated a Higher Education Excellence and Diversity (HEED) campus, and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), with an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10 percent Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander.
As part of the conversation, Chancellor King asked students to share what institutional investments they would like to see in the future and what advice they would give to a high school student who is considering college.
鈥淚 came to Farmingdale because--it was the diversity,鈥� said David Franco, 鈥�28, an aviation administration major. 鈥淚f you go around this room or around the campus, many different students have many different perspectives and points of view. I can be sitting in a class with a nursing student, a bioscience student, or an applied psychology student. And it's great to see different perspectives because when you're in an environment with everyone that's like-minded like you, and only like-minded like you, then you miss the opportunity to grow. And when I do go back to my high school, that is something that I will share.鈥�
鈥淏eing part of today鈥檚 discussion was an honor,鈥� Bryan Cox, 鈥�26, a dual major in architectural technology and construction management with a minor in economics, said at the event鈥檚 conclusion. 鈥淚 am really grateful for the chance to speak about my background, my heritage, and how proud I am to be here. I鈥檓 glad Farmingdale gave us the opportunity to do this, and I鈥檓 excited for what鈥檚 to come.鈥�
View photos from the Hispanic Heritage Month event on our .
