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A $2 million grant from New York state will fund several infrastructure projects in Syracuse University’s Center for Science and Technology.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in March that New York would award $57.2 million in grants for infrastructure projects at 35 colleges and universities across the state. The funds are intended to help colleges rebuild their infrastructure amid the pandemic, according to a press release.

SU will receive about $2 million for projects within the Center for Science and Technology. Having operated for more than 30 years, the building is in urgent need of an update, said Karin Ruhlandt, dean of SU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“The Center of Science and Technology is critical in providing laboratory space for experiments requiring good ventilation in the form of fume hoods,” Ruhlandt said. The center supports research being performed by undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral associates, she said.

The funding will help SU improve air flow systems in its Center for Science and Technology and modernize control systems for fume hoods within the building, said Cole Smith, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

SU will also use the money to support diverse and extensive research, education and administrative activities within the center, Smith said.

“There’s labs, classrooms and department administration in that building, and the quality of those spaces will be improved thanks to the infrastructure improvements,” Smith said in an email.

The grants are funded by the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program, which provides private institutions matching grants for infrastructure-related projects. The program has been providing grants to private universities in New York since 2005, according to the state’s website.

In 2016, SU was not among 29 private colleges and universities in New York state that received a total of $35.3 million in grants.

“Every dollar invested in our higher education facilities to training our next generation of health care professionals will benefit New Yorkers, providing them with the resources they need to succeed,” said Reuben McDaniel, the president and CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, in a press release.

The Dormitory Authority, which also deals with infrastructure-related endeavors for private institutions, administers the capital matching program.

“As New York builds back, these investments are targeted to help attract and train people for the health sciences jobs that New York needs as we continue to reopen and reimagine our economy and to strengthen and enhance our world-leading institutions of higher education,” Cuomo said in the release.

Published on April 4, 2021 at 9:49 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan