In 2017, I sat down with John B. King Jr. just as he was transitioning from his role as President Obama’s Secretary of Education to lead The Education Trust. At that moment, the nation was bracing for a massive shift in educational policy. Today, in 2025—with King now serving as the Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY)—his 2017 blueprint for equity isn’t just a professional goal; it’s a lived reality for the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the country.
Looking back, King’s message was never about a single administration; it was about the “guardrails” of democracy.
Education as a Life-Saving Sanctuary
One of the most moving parts of our Scoop B Radio session was King’s personal testimony. Having lost both parents by the age of 12, he spoke of the classroom not just as a place of learning, but as a place of survival.
“I’m only here today, I’m only alive today because educators did that for me—they gave me opportunity,” King told me. “New York City public school teachers quite literally saved my life. When I lost both parents at an early age, teachers gave me a safe haven.”
In 2025, as Chancellor of SUNY, King has scaled this philosophy. He has implemented a system-wide “Civics and Service Agenda,” ensuring that the 64 campuses under his leadership provide that same sense of belonging and “safe haven” for the next generation of New Yorkers.
The “Guardrails” of Civil Rights
In 2017, King was sounding the alarm on the importance of federal and state “guardrails” to protect vulnerable students.He viewed the Department of Education as a civil rights agency first and foremost.
“That responsibility continues no matter who occupies this office. That is not a matter of who’s president, what party is in charge. That is a fundamental responsibility of this agency as a civil rights agency.”
Reflecting on this today, King has carried that “vigilance” into the SUNY system. He has established four non-negotiable pillars: student success, research and scholarship, diversity/equity/inclusion, and economic upward mobility. His 2017 insistence that civil rights shouldn’t be “dependent on the president or the party” is now the operational standard for New York’s higher education.
Investment vs. Distraction: The Early Learning Mandate
During our discussion, King was critical of “distractions” like vouchers, urging the country to double down on the high-return investment of early childhood education.
“One of the highest return investments we know we can make as a country is in early learning… fundmentally, we haven’t made the commitment as a country to ensuring equitable opportunity for low-income students and students of color.”
In 2025, King is putting his money where his mouth is. Under his leadership, SUNY has seen its largest operating aid increase in five decades. He is leading the “SUNY Reconnect” initiative, providing free community college for adults ages 25–55 who lack a degree—a direct extension of his 2017 plea to prioritize “equitable opportunity.”
The Legacy of the “Second Chance”
John B. King Jr. often reminds audiences that he was the first U.S. Secretary of Education to have been expelled from high school. He uses his story to advocate for a “career of humanity.”
“People were willing to give me a second chance. People were willing to see me as more than the sum of my mistakes. They were willing to see potential and possibility.”
Looking back at our 2017 session, it’s clear that King’s tenure at The Education Trust and now at SUNY is a mission to ensure that “potential and possibility” aren’t reserved for the lucky few. He remains a buttoned-up advocate for the idea that a strong public education system is the only way to build a “country worthy of our boundless promise.”
