News

SUNY Erie Community College celebrated the Class of 2023 this evening at its 75th annual Commencement with numerous messages of accomplishment, appreciation, hope and inspiration. More than 1,400 total graduates comprise this year’s class; Buffalo attorney, social justice advocate and former felon TheArthur A. Duncan II, Esq., ’06, delivers keynote address.

On May 14, 2022, Retired Buffalo Police Officer Aaron Salter heroically gave his life while working as a security officer during a horrific, racist mass shooting. His actions that day undoubtedly saved many lives. On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the Law Enforcement Training Academy at SUNY Erie honored Officer Salter and placed a plaque in his memory in the Academy’s Wall of Honor display case.

SUNY Erie's Communications & Media Arts students receive hands-on learning in class routinely. “The whole model...is that we learn by making mistakes," says Department Chair Amber Rinehart. "You can talk theory all day long, but you learn video production by actually doing it.”

The Erie Community College Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the return of SUNY Erie Celebrates (formerly ECC Celebrates), an event that honors awardees with the foundation’s Distinguished Alumni Award. The honorees have often triumphed over adversity or made lasting impacts on their community.

TheArthur A. Duncan II, ’06, was born 2,500 miles away. Yet, Buffalo would become his home – for better and for worse – as it shaped, challenged, discouraged and ultimately embraced him. His journey from honors student to convicted felon to successful attorney is inspiring on many levels. Read his story here – including the role ECC played – and get a taste for what he'll share with the Class of 2023 on May 24.