New York, state, United States: Government, Politics, and Higher Education

Government, Politics, and Higher Education

Under its present constitution (adopted 1894), New York is run by a governor, who is elected to a four-year term and may be reelected, and by a bicameral legislature made up of a 61-member senate and a 150-member assembly. Members of both branches of the legislature are elected to two-year terms. The state has 2 U.S. senators and 27 representatives and has 29 electoral votes in national presidential elections (a significant drop from its 41 votes in 1970). While Republicans controlled the governorship from 1942-74, the Democrats regained control for the next five decades with the exception of George Pataki's three terms (1995-2006).

Apart from New York City (see separate articles for educational and cultural institutions in New York City and its boroughs), institutions of higher education in the state include Alfred Univ., Bard College, Colgate Univ., Cornell, Hobart College, Iona Univ., Long Island Univ., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, Skidmore College, Syracuse Univ., the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, Univ. of Rochester, Vassar College, and Wells College. The State Univ. of New York has major campuses at Stony Brook, Albany, Binghamton, and Buffalo.

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