News Briefs: June 22, 2025
SUNY Beefs Up Community Colleges
ALBANY—The SUNY Board of Trustees and Chancellor John B. King Jr. approved a suite of updates to the state’s community colleges on Tuesday, June 3. SUNY’s 30 community colleges educate more than 165,000 students in degree programs each year, not counting thousands more in workforce development and certification programs. About 44 percent of main-campus SUNY students start at a community college, making them a key driver of upward mobility and workforce training.
The board appointed three permanent presidents and an acting president from its pilot program pool. It approved the additional $1 million allocated in the state budget for Governor Kathy Hochul’s free tuition initiative, for a total of $5 million. Now entering its second year, the SUNY Reconnect program offers free tuition, fees, books, and supplies to adults ages 25-55 who do not have a college degree and wish to pursue an associate’s degree in a high-demand field. Finally, the board began the final rulemaking and public comment process for a pilot program intended to improve transparency in campus president appointments and contract reviews, created under NYS Education Law 355(1)(c). For more information, visit suny.edu.
County Man Convicted of Sexual Assault
COOPERSTOWN—Otsego County District Attorney John M. Muehl announced that Cory A. Kujawski, 41, was convicted of three counts of predatory sexual assault against a child in Otsego County Court on Friday, June 6. A jury consisting of nine men and three women found Kujawski, of Burlington Flats, guilty of engaging in repeated oral and anal sexual contact with a child over the course of five years, beginning when the child was 6 years old. This class A-II Violent Felony carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday, July 14. Muehl prosecuted the case, which stems from a joint investigation by the New York State Police and the County DA’s office. E. W. Garo Gozigian, of Cooperstown, represented Kujawski.
State Observes Food Safety Day
ALBANY—The New York State Departments of Health and Agriculture and Markets observed World Food Safety Day, June 7, with a week-long education campaign on the state’s inspection and safety efforts. It included information on AGM’s Farm Products Unit, which provides optional third-party grading, certification, and verification audits to fruit and vegetable producers. The state offers or oversees market and shipping point inspections, shell egg voluntary grading, quality control, and audits of Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices procedures. In 2024, AGM’s Division of Food Safety and Inspection conducted more than 22,400 inspections, collected about 2,400 samples, issued 171 recalls that destroyed more than 135,000 pounds of unsafe food, and investigated more than 2,200 consumer complaints. The Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services conducted about 7,000 inspections of dairy farms and processing plants.
In addition to its public health and regulatory roles, the Department of Health issued a reminder on safe consumer practices. New Yorkers should be sure to thoroughly wash their hands and food ingredients, excluding raw meat and poultry, avoid cross contamination, use a food thermometer to ensure that dishes are cooked to the right temperature, and promptly refrigerate all perishable items. Food service inspection data is available at https://health.data.ny.gov/Health/Food-Service-Establishment-Last-Inspection/cnih-y5dw/about_data.
