 In 1948 , the Legislature placed all state @-@ funded higher education into the new State University of New York ( SUNY ) . Cornell 's four statutory colleges ( agriculture , human ecology , labor relations and veterinary medicine ) have been affiliated with SUNY since its inception , but did not have any such state affiliation prior to that time . Statutory college employees legally are employees of Cornell , not employees of SUNY . The State Education Law gives the SUNY Board of Trustees the authority to approve Cornell 's appointment of the deans / unit heads of the statutory colleges , and control of the level of state funding for the statutory colleges . 
