Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities Names New York a Leader in Economic Engagement
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the State University of New York was recognized by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) with a prestigious national award for its economic engagement efforts, including START-UP NY. SUNY was one of four institutions of higher education presented with APLU’s inaugural Innovation and Economic Prosperity Award in Washington, D.C.
“From START-UP NY to SUNY Nano Tech, New York State is using our university system to innovate, develop new industries to grow the upstate economy, and most of all, create jobs,” Governor Cuomo said. “This prestigious award from APLU is a testament to our economic engagement efforts, and I congratulate Chancellor Zimpher and all of SUNY for this recognition. We will continue to use our world-class SUNY system as an innovative asset to attract private partnerships and investments, grow local economies across the state, and create jobs in New York State.”
SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher accepted the award at the APLU annual meeting in Washington, D.C., where she delivered a keynote address on the importance of higher education in front of more than 2,000 people.
“Universities – and especially university systems – have a profound capacity to move the dials on economic development and quality of life by forging partnerships with business, industry, and government entities,” said Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. “Through our continued partnership with Governor Cuomo, SUNY and New York State have become a national leader in economic engagement and innovation. We are thankful for this recognition from APLU, and for the organization’s leadership and support as it fosters collaboration among public higher education nationally so that we can have a greater collective impact on the populations we all serve.”
“SUNY is truly unique in its scope, scale and diversity,” said Dr. Tim Killeen, president of The Research Foundation for SUNY (RF) and SUNY’s vice chancellor for research. “This award salutes the combined capacity of SUNY faculty, students and RF staff to develop programs, tools and services that encourage collaboration with key partners and creatively and effectively drive innovation and economic opportunity across New York State.”
Of the four winners, APLU President Peter McPherson said, “These institutions demonstrate the critical role that public universities play in taking cutting edge research and translating it into new opportunities for economic growth with businesses in their state. All of the schools that participated in this award process illustrated a core responsibility of public universities – giving back to their communities and state in ways that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for residents of that state.”
According to APLU, economic engagement efforts include universities working with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through a variety of activities—innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and community development. SUNY was specifically recognized for “demonstrating outstanding work in technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and business development.”
Among the comprehensive suite of economic development programs, tools, and services developed by SUNY and the RF, which span research and discovery; technology and business development; growth and expansion and strategic partnerships, are:
- STARTUP NY, which is transforming SUNY campuses and university communities across the state into tax-free communities – including no income tax for employees, and no sales, property, or business tax for 10 years. Initiated by Governor Cuomo this year, START-UP NY will attract new business and investments from across the nation and around the globe to New York by offering an opportunity to operate completely tax-free while partnering with world-class institutions of higher education, research and innovation.
- The SUNY Networks of Excellence support increased research collaborations between SUNY and industry partners in order to spur commercialization. The networks focus on societal challenges in energy, the environment, economics, and education.
- The SUNY Research Collaboration Fund, which capitalizes on the power of SUNY systemness by encouraging new and existing inter-campus collaborations and supports their development into long term partnerships with sustained growth.
- Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF), designed to assist the SUNY community by providing funding for select technologies to accelerate their development and commercialization.
- The Innovation Keystone, a centralized repository of information including forms, templates, agreements, best practices and other information relevant to technology commercialization and business incubation.
- SUNY Insure, which reduces the administrative burden and costs associated with obtaining requisite insurance policies for new start-ups affiliated with SUNY programs and facilities.
- The SUNY Entrepreneur in Residence, which leverages SUNY alumni and other regional business people to serve as writers of business plans for startups and mentors to entrepreneurial faculty and students.
- Innovation Community Chest, a collection of best-in-class products and services for use by SUNY commercialization professionals across the system.
- SUNY Innovation Showcase, created to connect New York venture capital with select companies and provide companies with the opportunity to engage with additional sources of seed and venture funding.