This Wednesday, as part of State University of New York Phase II strategic planning process, we will hold our

second statewide “conversation” at the University at Buffalo. This is one of seven meetings on issues affecting all New Yorkers taking place over the next few months in different regions of the state.

We have assembled an array of SUNY stakeholders — students, academic and administrative leaders, elected officials, business leaders, community members and national experts— to help us generate strong ideas for moving forward.

In Phase I of the planning process, I spent most of the summer traveling more than 7,500 miles to all 64 SUNY campuses and every corner of the state. In June, I was in Buffalo for six days visiting campuses, getting to know the city and learning about Western New York. I’ve seen first-hand the tremendous economic challenges we face.

Each SUNY conversation is an opportunity to engage in thoughtful debate and inquiry into a particular theme, or challenge, facing our state education system and our state. On Wednesday, our theme will be the education pipeline.

We’ll be asking how we can improve the progress of students from cradle to career so they can make it to each stage of their educational journey with the appropriate skills and proficiencies. At a time when far too many students don’t finish high school, and when far too many arrive at college without the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, this issue is critically important.

In the coming months, we will explore other themes — energy and sustainability, arts and culture, quality of place, diversity and globalization, and health affairs. Next spring, we will deliver a comprehensive strategic plan that addresses these themes and links SUNY’s immense institutional and academic resources to the revitalization of New York State.

In scale and ambition, this process is unprecedented. It is the largest collaborative discussion about public higher education taking place in the world. We also want it to be the best. To do that, we need your help.

Please attend Wednesday’s conversation and make your voices heard. Bring us your ideas. We need engagement from every part of the state to make our plan truly reflective of the breadth and diversity of our system.

SUNY can be the economic lifeblood of New York State, producing highly skilled talent prepared for the workplace of the future, new technologies and resources that create jobs and economic growth, and an abundance of educational, cultural and employment opportunities that enliven our communities and generate vitality and economic resilience. To accomplish all this, we need your contribution.

Together we can transform SUNY and this state into an economic powerhouse that spreads knowledge, talent and opportunity to the nation.

Nancy L. Zimpher is the 12th chancellor of the State University of New York.