College campuses are key contributors to community investment and impact. Supporting our local campus communities helps drive and build regional vibrancy statewide. Like our campuses across the state, SUNY System is equally engaged in New York’s capital city of Albany.
A few decades ago, downtown Albany’s State Street was an area rich with politicians, lobbyists, bankers, lawyers and businessmen walking and working between the Capitol, large scale hotels, and some glamorous restaurants. Today, in an effort to return to that vibrancy, downtown Albany has been constructing new apartments and condos, seeking out new business ventures, and beginning the construction of a new convention center that will have easy access to the Empire State Plaza with its outdoor skating rink, theaters and state museum.
In the middle of this renaissance is SUNY Plaza, at the former D&H Railroad Building at the foot of State Street, which Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, “with an urban sensibility and planning skills” has worked to beautify and reconnect to the city. Chancellor Zimpher has breathed new life into SUNY Plaza, opening its front lawn to the public and creating connections with other buildings downtown like the Kiernan Plaza, where SUNY Polytechnic Institute houses it’s Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SciTI) Center.
This summer, the Fresh Connect Farmers Market was established at SUNY Plaza in an effort to support the state’s agriculture industry through increased sales of local goods and services. The farmer’s market – now open year-round – is an extension of SUNY’s strategic planning efforts to contribute to the vibrancy of New York’s communities.
And it’s not just System Administration and SUNY Poly that have footprints in the downtown area. The Research Foundation for SUNY, located right across the street from System Administration, helps invest in and manage programs that maximize the collective impact of SUNY research statewide, like the Networks of Excellence, Technology Accelerator Fund, and Start-Up NY.
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, just up the hill, researches and publishes studies on nationwide public policy issues to educate the public on state fiscal issues, education, federalism, intergovernmental relations, urban issues, health care reform and social welfare policies in order to enhance the understanding of how state and local governments work and improve the operations of government.
From the center of our capital, we see how Chancellor Zimpher and the State University of New York team are contributing to the vibrancy of the Albany community and all of New York State as well.
