By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart
Members of SUNY Broome’s academic community gathered at Binghamton University’s Innovative Technologies Complex to celebrate the official announcement that the New Energy New York coalition has been awarded just over $63 million dollars as a winner of the Economic Development Administration’s “$1 Billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge.” The State of New York has pledged an additional $50 million dollars to enhance the EDA’s funding. In total, the New Energy New York team has been awarded $113 million dollars to fund the development of the Southern Tier of New York into a lithium-based battery manufacturing hub. SUNY Broome Proudly Celebrates Collaborative Effort to Help Reinvigorate the Region’s Economy
Dr. Penny Kelly, Vice President for Academic Affairs, attended the announcement celebration and waited alongside President Kevin Drumm and partners from across the region to hear President Biden highlight the New Energy New York team as among the 21 awardees, out of an original group of over 500 applicants.
We are thrilled to have been included in this exciting program from its infancy and we are honored to play our part in bringing this plan to fruition. We wholeheartedly believe that this initiative will help to continue to transform our community’s economic vitality and will provide abundant job opportunities for the area,” said Dr. Kelly.
President Drumm joins partners from across the region to represent the New Energy New York coalition. Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers
The New Energy New York coalition was spearheaded by Binghamton University and is comprised of a dozen partners from academia, the nonprofit sector, government agencies, and private industry. SUNY Broome’s contribution entails developing educational pathways and workforce development to ensure that the new lithium-ion giga factory will have a skilled and competent workforce to meet the clean energy demands of not just our region, but the nation.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between SUNY Broome’s Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the STEM division, SUNY Broome has developed core, non-credit classes that align with the clean energy needs for the New Energy New York initiative through the Mechatronics Certificate. Additionally, SUNY Broome has designed an intentional pathway for students to stack non-credit continuing education classes into a mechatronics certification, and into a full degree, all while working in local industry.
Director of Workforce Development, Danielle Britton, is ready to assist students as they connect the pieces of their tech retooling.
“We have creatively built the framework for curricula at the various levels and job classifications and are honored to be included in developing and delivering a clean energy educational system for the community. There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but this transformative project is a huge win for our region,” shared Britton.
In addition to developing clean energy curricula via in-person, virtual synchronous, and virtual asynchronous instructional formats, SUNY Broome will provide additional support for employers to create high quality work-based learning opportunities such as co-ops, internships, apprenticeships and internal training programs.
President Joe Biden was genuinely delighted to share in the celebrations with the 21 finalists and particularly praised the critical relationship between large universities and their community college partners.
“Project winners brought together employers, labor unions and worker organizations, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and community-based organizations for their applications and will work together on implementing projects. With this funding, projects will create jobs directly in their community that offer supporting wages and career stability.,” enthusiastically shared President Biden.
Are you wondering if there is a place for you in this new, technology- driven economy? There is…and SUNY Broome will be with you each step of the way as we train you to become part of this skilled workforce. If you are interested in being part of the Southern Tier’s groundbreaking history as a lithium-based battery manufacturing epicenter, consider joining SUNY Broome’s Mechatronics Certificate. cohort.
Mechatronics is the key combination of interdisciplinary engineering sciences and skill sets that perfectly align with the manufacturing of batteries and other high-tech products. SUNY Broome’s Mechatronics Certificate is a hands-on blend of courses in manufacturing, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Students will develop the skills necessary to work with modern machinery and systems in a clean and efficient way.
For more information, please contact SUNY Broome’s Admissions Office at admissions@sunybroome.edu or +1 (607) 778-5001.
We congratulate all of our NENY partners and especially Binghamton University for this historic milestone in the history of our region’s economy.
President Kevin Drumm (SUNY Broome) and President Harvey Stenger (Binghamton University) visit after the announcement ceremony. United States President Joe Biden particularly praised the critical relationship between large universities and their community college partners. Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers
