Jul 24 2013
Galvanizing support for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s innovation-driven educational and economic development blueprint for New York and providing further momentum to the Governor’s innovative Start-Up NY program and the “Power of SUNY” initiative, the Faculty & Staff Council of SUNY’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has voted unanimously to fully support the resolution adopted by the SUNY Board of Trustees to establish CNSE as a separate degree-granting institution.
“On behalf of the CNSE Faculty & Staff Council, we enthusiastically applaud and commend Chairman Carl McCall, the SUNY Board of Trustees, and Chancellor Nancy Zimpher for their belief in, and support of, the acceleration of CNSE’s 21st century academic mission, which is in line with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s high-tech strategy for New York State and the Power of SUNY initiative,” said Dr. Alain Diebold, CNSE Empire Innovation Professor of Nanoscale Science and Chair of the CNSE Faculty & Staff Council. “We are excited to move forward under this new structure that will serve the best interests of SUNY, CNSE, UAlbany and New York State. We are eager to continue to break new ground in providing a world-class academic experience and preparing a highly trained workforce to sustain and grow the state’s nanotechnology-driven economy.”
In supporting the action by the SUNY Board of Trustees, the CNSE Faculty & Staff Council noted that the new structure at CNSE is the next logical and necessary step in CNSE’s evolution as a SUNY flagship education, research, outreach, and economic development enterprise. It establishes CNSE as an unrivaled SUNY platform for next-generation academic, workforce, and educational pipeline programs that are vital in the global competition to attract the best and brightest students.
The CNSE Faculty & Staff Council also views the transition as a platform to help advance a new era of innovation and educational excellence at the University at Albany, with CNSE pledging its support and partnership in helping UAlbany to exploit new academic and research opportunities across the arts and sciences and to develop new cutting-edge advancements in such burgeoning areas as biomedical sciences.
Concurrently, the transition extends and expands SUNY’s global leadership in science, engineering, and technology, and further cements SUNY’s position as a transformational innovator and international leader in emerging science and engineering disciplines, affording New York students with academic and workforce training opportunities that are the envy of the world.
And, the new structure promises to create significant opportunities to drive economic development and growth. It positions both CNSE and the University at Albany to leverage Governor Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program, which harnesses the educational and research excellence of the SUNY system to drive economic growth across the state. It also provides an opportunity to double federal funding for education and research, with both entities applying for numerous federal programs, including many run by the National Science Foundation, without the limitations and restrictions of being part of the same university.
The resolution adopted on July 16 by the SUNY Board of Trustees provides for CNSE to become part of a separate degree-granting institution with the SUNY system by the 2014-15 academic year. The resolution notes, in part, that, “The present success of CNSE, attributable in large part to its administrative leadership and outstanding faculty and students, can be leveraged to achieve its full potential by creating a new structure that enables further growth and broader impact by enhancing its ability to move quickly and nimbly to take advantage of the many emerging opportunities across the System and throughout the State of New York, in partnership with SUNY Administration and the SUNY RF, while ensuring full accountability and complete transparency.”