toowonderful, yes of course other states established colleges via the Morrill Land Grant. And other states established public universities using a range of funding methods. I simply listed the 3 that are thought to be among the first public schools as a demonstration for how delayed the SYNY system was.
There were public schools in NY but there was no state system. As noted, there were trade schools. Cornell was intended as a way to educate “industrial” classes and thus was not competing with the private schools but was more similar to the existing public normal and trade schools. Other states also had industrial training schools. NY was not alone in the need to educate a subsection of society to meet industrial and other trade needs.
But most other states also established public educational institutions that were intended to be the very best possible and to provide the very best education that could be offered. These state systems were not inferior, by design, to the private schools. In contrast, the SUNY system was, by design, intended to appeal only to those who could not afford to attend private (primarily liberal arts) colleges. In fact, that was the promise made to the private schools-a condition of approving the founding of SUNY. New York State was the very last state to establish a public school system and it did so (not to offer the very best education available but) to offer one that was merely adequate and that was expressly for students from low income families. This is not my opinion; This is history. And, nobody who knows the history would disagree.
"The state university made its inauspicious beginning in 1949 as a 29-unit creature with 11 teachers college for a back-bone. IN the university's pocket was an agreement with the private institutions: No four-year liberal arts colleges-except Harpur at Binghamton-would be needed for "approximately a decade".
"Griping the university's heart was the persistent feeling that the then 87 private colleges and universities would continue to include the distinguished, the first-rate, the "quality" institutions in the state. The state university would "supplement" them." (quote from Farber's article-see below)
Further, while the original agreement was for 10 years, the constraints, including the prohibition over establishing an endowment, continued far longer. Further, restrictions in funding, partly driven by the legislators who had vested interest in the private schools, ensured a bare bones system. And, yes other states have funding issues but most were not developed with that as a goal.
Read:
M.A. Farber’s article "Education for All by 1974 is goal of state university. In NY Times June 6, 1966 page 1.
Benjamin Fine’s article "Master plan offers prospect of early start on $200 Million State University. New York Times. Jan 22 1950 p139.