SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher says Pres. Barack Obama addressed several issues in education in his 2013 State of the Union Address Tuesday night that dovetail with SUNY goals.

Obama discussed the importance of access to high quality education to create and support a workforce capable of competing in a high-tech economy.

Obama also discussed the need for high quality pre-school for all children. SUNY recently launched the New York Cradle to Career Strategic Alliance to provide support and training for a community-wide, collaborative approach to education at all levels, according to Zimpher.

In addition, Obama proposed a new “Race to the Top” to reward schools that partner with business and higher education to prepare students with skills in science, technology, engineering and math. Zimpher says that SUNY will “now focus intently on assisting more high schools and school districts across New York State to compete for these resources.”

Obama also proposed changing the Higher Education Act to include affordability and value as a criterion in distributing federal aid.

SUNY will work with President Obama to move forward on these initiatives and improve the education system.