State investing $44 million in health, high tech at SUNY Poly

This story has been updated from an earlier version.

The state is investing $44 million in the health and advanced manufacturing programs at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy.

The money will go to expand the health science wing, update nursing labs in Donovan Hall, create a semiconductor processing lab for workforce development and add a robotics and advanced manufacturing research and education lab.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the funding at an event on the SUNY Poly campus Friday morning.

“This investment is another massive step to building the best public education institution in the country and cementing New York’s leadership role in the manufacturing industry,” she said in a statement on the matter.  “With these important investments, students can receive an affordable and quality education at SUNY, join New York’s growing manufacturing industry, and build a bright future for themselves and for New York State.” 

Training the workforce of tomorrow

SUNY officials had promised SUNY Poly an important role in training the workforce of tomorrow after the SUNY trustees voted in December to split the college’s Albany campus with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering from SUNY Poly and return it to the University at Albany, where it originated in 2001.

During a visit in March, SUNY Chancellor John King Sr. again stressed the governor’s and SUNY’s commitment to SUNY Poly and the goal of making it the “premier polytechnic in the state.”

SUNY has already pledged $72 million toward renovations on the campus.

And in September, the SUNY Board of Trustees appointed Winston Oluwole Soboyejo as the college’s first permanent president since former president Alain Kaloyeros stepped down in 2016 amid accusations of bid rigging for which he was later convicted.

Local officials had expressed deep concerns about SUNY Poly’s future and about the future of the semiconductor industry and advanced manufacturing in Central New York when news of the nanoscale college’s departure came out.

The state had built and promoted the Marcy Nanocenter and the Computer Chip Commercialization Center, known as Quad-C, on the SUNY Poly campus based on their proximity to the research and job training taking place at SUNY Poly.

That promotion lured Danfoss Silicon Power (now Semikron Danfoss) to Quad C and led to Wolfspeed building the first 200 mm silicon carbide wafer fabrication facility at the nanocenter.

STEM leader

The $44 million investment, officials said, backs up officials’ pledge to move SUNY Poly forward as a STEM leader. 

Local officials have said that they've been pleased by the state's assurances.

"We have always know what an essential asset SUNY Poly is, to not just Oneida County, but to the entire region," Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. said in a statement. "That's why we fought so hard to maintain its status as the premier polytechnic institute in the Northeast and have continued to make investments in all of the areas it supports.

"Oneida County has become a hub for semiconductor processing and advanced manufacturing and this investment by New York State will greatly assist us down that successful path and also strengthen the future of health care."

Here are the projects to be undertaken: 

• The health science wing expansion allows for the establishment of the Center for Healthcare Innovation, which will focus on addressing mental, physical and environment health needs through collaboration by facilitating entrepreneurialism in the health fields; promoting multidisciplinary research, clinical practice and program development; improving applied learning opportunities for students; and cultivating community partnerships and initiatives.

• The new 3,000-square-foot semiconductor processing lab will help prepare more students for jobs in expanding companies such as Wolfspeed, Semikron-Danfoss, Indium Corporation and Global Foundries.

• The nursing laboratory expansions will include 12 clinical stations with manikins and simulators so faculty can teach with modern-day equipment and simulations to better prepare students for jobs in health care.

• The Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Lab will, as the name implies, be used for both education and research in areas such as advanced robotics, sensors and controls, smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 initiatives. It will also be used for students to earn certificate and credit-bearing micro-credentials.   And it can be used to give the regional workforce continuing and professional education opportunities.

"At a time of tremendous growth in the Mohawk Valley," Soboyejo said in a statement, "these capital infrastructure advancements, made by possible by this investment, will allow us to further serve our students, create additional pathways for collaboration with industry and community partners, in addition to continuing to meet the workforce development and upskilling needs of industry in New York State and beyond.”

The funding comes from the State University of New York Capital Construction Funds, the state budget and appropriations secured by Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-Marcy, according to information from Hochul's office.

The $72 million already allocated for renovations will pay for:

• A $45 million renovation of the campus center with a new, centrally located residential life suite, locker room renovations, offices, meeting and classroom spaces, improvements for ADA accessibility and the reduction of carbon emissions.

• Reconstruction of Technology and Residential Drive, at a cost of $5 million.

• The renovation of Kunsela and Donovan Halls to help STEM programs for $22 million, including construction of a Francis A. Wilcox Engineering and Technology Wing in Kunsela Hall, a new STEM Writing and Communications Center and updates to the Interactive Media and Game Design Studio.

This investment in SUNY follows a string of high-tech investments in the Mohawk Valley by the state, Hochul’s administration has pointed out.

These include:

• $14 million, announced earlier this year, to the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency from the state’s Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York, or FAST NY, grant program. FAST NY will continue development of the area on the Marcy Nanocenter site reserved for a semiconductor supply-chain campus

• $976,000 to Mohawk Valley Community College’s Fast Track training program to pull young adults out of poverty with less than one year of training and $996,000 to the Callahan Management Training Center and the Manufacturerers Association of Central New York for pre-apprenticeship training and services for women who want to work in manufacturing.

• The recently completed, state-of-the-art Wynn Hospital, which was made possible initially by $300 million in state funding.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Governor to visit SUNY Poly, pledging $44M for nursing, manufacturing