NYSTAR Center of Excellence and EOP Enhancements Pass NYS Budget

While funding for the future home of the CEAS was not included in this year’s NYS budget, the University laid a very strong foundation of support for this project, engaging a wide range of stakeholders in the community and the region.

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 12, 2016) — Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature recently finalized the 2016-17 State Budget, which included funding for initiatives critical to the mission of the University. Throughout the budget season, President Jones and his executive team advocated on behalf of the University’s key legislative priorities, making many visits to the State Capitol and working closely with our legislative delegation.

The enacted budget restores $250,000 in funding for the NYSTAR Center of Excellence in Atmospheric and Environmental Prediction and Innovation. This Center is home to the largest concentration of atmospheric, climate, and environmental researchers in New York State and one of the largest in the country. In its first year, the Center has been working with eight companies, and is on track to realize $2 million in economic impact.

In addition, SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) received a 20 percent funding increase, which the University hopes will enable it to expand our highly successful EOP. The budget includes funding for 50 scholarships targeted toward cybersecurity studies, providing a great opportunity for students at our College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.

Building a Strong Foundation for CEAS

The University’s number one capital priority this year was a $20 million request for the first phase of renovations for the former Albany High School building on the Downtown Campus — the future home of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. While this funding was not included in this budget, a very strong foundation of support for this project was laid, engaging a wide range of stakeholders in the community and the region.

In conjunction with the University’s local legislative delegation, the City of Albany, leaders from the corporate, nonprofit, and faith-based sectors and neighborhood associations, our campus will continue to build momentum in support of our public engineering option and the transformative impact this will have on our local and regional economies.

SUNY 2020

UAlbany also advocated with SUNY System to extend NYSUNY 2020. Since its enactment in 2011, this campus and the entire SUNY system have realized tremendous benefits from this visionary financial strategy. SUNY 2020 allowed UAlbany to increase faculty hiring, enhance academic offerings, and offer predictable tuition that helped our students and the University plan for the future.

SUNY 2020 also made possible UAlbany’s signature 2020 capital project, the Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (E-TEC), to be located on 12 acres of the Harriman Campus that will be transferred to UAlbany.

This budget only partially extends NYSUNY 2020. It ends the predictable tuition provision, which is disappointing since predictable tuition and the maintenance of state support have gone a long way in moving UAlbany forward.

The budget does includes $55 million for Round VI of the NYSUNY 2020 capital funding competition, for which UAlbany is in the process of developing a proposal for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. State lawmakers will consider extending NYSUNY 2020 next year.

From now until the end of the legislative session, our campus will continue to work closely with SUNY on ways to increase support for UAlbany’s students, faculty, staff, programs, and critical initiatives.

If you would like more information on the Enacted Budget or the University’s legislative initiatives for this fiscal year, please contact our Government and Community Relations Office at (518) 956-8163 or visit the website here.

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds