SUNY Chancellor announces grand opening of Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center at SUNY Broome

State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson on Oct. 16 announced the opening of the Paul and Mary Calice and Mildred Barton Advanced Manufacturing Center at SUNY Broome, a $12.7 million renovation project housing classrooms and laboratories with the latest technology to prepare students for jobs in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and other growth sectors.

The approximately 43,000-square foot facility was funded by $4.3 million from the State University Construction Fund; $2.8 million from NYSUNY 2020 funding; $905,688 from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; $925,000 from Broome County; and $330,000 from Empire State Development and the Regional Economic Development Council. The AMETEK Foundation donated $10,000.

In addition, the Broome Community College Foundation contributed $3.4 million. This funding was made due to the historic $11 million estate gift in 2014 from the late Emil Calice, who stipulated that any building that received funding from his estate would bear the names of his parents, Paul and Mary Calice, as well as Mildred Barton.

“I am honored to have my first visit to SUNY Broome coincide with the opening of the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center. This investment is a testimony to SUNY’s dedication to providing high quality academic spaces to our students, faculty, and other campus visitors,” said Chancellor Johnson. “The learning that will take place within the walls of this center will prepare our students for jobs in fields such as clean energy and sustainability. This model facility will ultimately drive innovation, job creation, and lower energy costs. Thank you to Governor Cuomo and all our statewide partners who helped to make this center possible. We are particularly grateful for Mr. Calice’s legacy of generosity to education.”

“The engineers, entrepreneurs, technicians and scientists of the future need both classrooms and equipment of the future. The Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center provides both,” said SUNY Broome President Kevin E. Drumm. “Green energy, food science, advanced hard-product manufacturing, and more: It’s all here, courtesy of partnerships with an array of critical stakeholders and funding partners.”

“Investing in workforce development is crucial to training New Yorkers for 21st century jobs and the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center on the SUNY Broome campus will do just that, educating the next generation of entrepreneurs to support and spur economic growth throughout the Southern Tier and New York State,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky.

“Congratulations to SUNY Broome on the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center’s grand opening and continued commitment to responsible, sustainable growth strategies that reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, lower operating costs, and help build a 21st century workforce,”

said Alicia Barton, President and CEO of NYSERDA. “Governor Cuomo has put a focus on colleges and universities throughout New York shrinking their carbon footprint while offering hands-on learning opportunities that help prepare our next generation of clean energy workers for success as part of this growing statewide economy.”

State-of-the-art classroom and laboratory space includes:

• 

  SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson speaks during the opening of the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center on Oct. 16, 2018.

  A high-tech soldering lab funded by Empire State Development and equipped by the AMETEK Foundation.

• Renovated drafting, surveying, soil mechanics, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics laboratories, as well as materials and metrology and welding labs.
  

  SUNY Broome alumni during the opening of the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center on Oct. 17, 2018.

• An advanced manufacturing lab with its own computer control room.
• A clean room funded by NYSUNY 2020 with its own gowning room and air lock.
• New fermentation and food processing laboratories, geared toward the Southern Tier’s role as the state’s food hub.
• A green-energy geothermal system that will heat and cool the building, along with solar collectors funded by NYSERDA. In addition to heating and cooling the building, this system also will
  

  The contractors and funders who made the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center possible.

  provide education opportunities for students through a sustainable energy learning lab and control room.

  

  SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson speaks with SUNY Broome Engineering Science students in the Calice Center’s green energy classroom, the Sustainability Sandbox, on Oct. 16, 2018.

“Unless you attended class or taught here, you might not know how much of an improvement this project represents. It’s not just a renovation to the old Mechanical Building,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Francis Battisti. “It’s really a completely new building – an Advanced Manufacturing Center with the laboratories, classroom, and equipment our students need to master challenging skills and concepts.”

Italian immigrants, Paul and Mary Calice ran a corner store in Binghamton. Mildred Barton, Emil Calice’s companion of many years, was a passionate naturalist and gardener, as well as a philanthropist. Emil Calice, who served during World War II with his brothers, spent his career with IBM. He never attended SUNY Broome himself, although several of his and Barton’s relatives went on to graduate from the college.

“Emil Calice has been a true friend of the college, and his incredible gift has played such a critical role in the success of our students,” said Margaret Turna, chair of the BCC Foundation. “Not only did his gift help create the Paul and Mary Calice and Mildred Barton Advanced Manufacturing Center, it funds scholarships for 80 students every single year. We continue to be deeply appreciative of his profound legacy.”

Work on the Calice Center began in the summer of 2017. The building opened for classes at the start of the Fall 2018 semester.

The architect behind the project is Passero Associates of Rochester, while McFarland Johnson of Binghamton is the engineer and LeChase Construction Services of Binghamton the construction management firm. Streeter Associates Inc. of Elmira is the general contractor, while Postler & Jaeckle of Endicott is the HVAC contractor, Petcosky & Sons Plumbing & Heating of Vestal is the plumbing contractor, and Nelcorp Electrical Contracting of Endwell the electrical contractor.

About The State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school, and business in the state. As of Fall 2017, more than 430,000 students were enrolled in a degree program at a SUNY campus. In total, SUNY served nearly 1.4 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and

community outreach programs in the 2016-17 academic year. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in $1 billion of externally sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.