Press Release

Gillibrand Announces Key Senate Panel Approves $500,000 For New Science, Engineering And Technology Center At Suny Orange

Jul 30, 2010

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $500,000 for SUNY Orange for the creation of a Center for Science, Engineering and Technology in the FY2011 Appropriations Bill. This project is estimated to help create more than 125 jobs. Senator Gillibrand aggressively lobbied members of the Appropriations Committee to include funding for the project in this year’s spending bill.

“I firmly believe that no other state in the nation is poised to lead in the high-tech economy of the future like New York,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I will continue to fight for investments such as this one, which will help us achieve our state’s full economic potential, by fostering opportunity and innovation at our colleges and universities.”

This funding is part of Senator Gillibrand’s broad agenda to foster innovation and create jobs by investing in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. Click here for more information. An effort to upgrade all Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes, and encourage more students to pursue STEM careers, SUNY Orange’s project would create a Center for Science, Engineering and Technology. This Center would integrate sustainability across the curriculum, and address a national directive to improve STEM learning. The project is estimated to create 125 construction jobs right away and the center will serve to open promising career options for as many as 7,000 students.

The Center will integrate sustainability across the curriculum and quickly adapt to emerging and converging technologies. Furthermore, it will be responsive to the area workforce needs. This new project will employ approximately 125 people including designers, electricians, plumbers, HVAC and maintenance workers. In addition to this, the students enrolled in the program will continue on to join new and emerging fields in the labor market.

The legislation will now head to the floor for a full vote before the Senate. The bill will then proceed to the House-Senate Conference Committee, before final passage in both chambers and then to the President to become law.