U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the full Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the FY11 Appropriations Bill which includes $250,000 for Fulton-Montgomery Community College. The funding will be used to expand the Center for Engineering and Technology (CET) to include an alternative and renewable energy curriculum. Schumer worked closely with members of the Appropriations Committee to include funding for the project in this year’s appropriations bill.
“Fulton-Montgomery Community College has built a reputation as a leader in clean energy education and this funding will help to solidify that reputation,” Schumer said. “This funding will enable our students to receive the necessary education to help them compete for jobs in the region’s booming Tech Valley. I will fight to see this funding through the full appropriations process.”
“Developing new, clean, homegrown sources of energy is a vital part of our economic recovery,” Senator Gillibrand said. “This great investment for the Mohawk Valley will help train our students and local workforce to develop and manufacture clean energy that’s made right here in New York – helping to protect our environment, cut energy costs for businesses and families, create good paying jobs right here at home, and free us from foreign oil.”
The CET at Fulton-Montgomery Community College hopes to attract and retain students in the Science and Technology fields by providing state-of-the-art tools and hands-on education that will prepare students for careers in high technology. The current proposal for the CET program includes funding for lab concentrations in Biofuels, Solar Energy, and Alternative Energy with demonstration models in Fuel Cell, Wind Turbine and Hybrid Engine technologies.
The CET is oriented toward developing the skills and knowledge necessary to support workforce development in the western part of New York State’s Tech Valley Region. CET serves as a resource for programs in Engineering Science, Electrical Technology, Computer Technology, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems and General Science.
Now that the bill has been approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, it will be sent to full Senate. Then the bill will move towards Conference with the House and then to the President for signature. Last week Schumer announced the funding had passed the Appropriations subcommittee.