Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that Corning Community College has received a Rural Development Loan totaling $8,635,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The terms of the loan are 25 years at 3.5 percent, and the funds will be used to expand and renovate the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library, the Student Commons building, and the school gymnasium.
“Supporting our rural community colleges with funding for new campus infrastructure is pivotal for those students, and for the communities in which they live because many of the local residents make use of campus resources,” said Senator Schumer. “Students at Corning Community College were already excited at the opening of their new residence hall this year, but now students and residents alike have a slew of new opportunities to look forward to at Corning CC thanks to this federal loan.”
“This is an important investment for Corning Community College and the surrounding area,” said Senator Gillibrand, New York’s first member of the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly four decades. “These federal resources to upgrade Corning CC’s facilities will help attract students and provide facilities that can be enjoyed by the local community. Investing in this kind of critical infrastructure can help attract new businesses to the region and support new jobs to help strengthen our local economy. And when these investments are made at the federal level, that helps hold the line on property taxes.”
Corning Community College was founded in 1956 by the Corning-Painted Post School District. Today it is a proud member of the SUNY system with a 550-acre main campus. The college also provides services at several off-campus locations throughout Steuben, Chemung and Schuyler Counties. Since its founding, Corning Community College has become an integral part of the Southern Tier. The aforementioned funding will allow the College to expand its main campus at Spencer Hill and continue its prolific and productive growth.
The funding is part of the USDA Rural Development annual budget. USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth in homeownership, finances business development, and supports the creation of necessary community and technology infrastructure.