Governor Hochul: “If you come into our institutions like SUNY Poly, there is no stopping you. You'll have great, great opportunities, great opportunities to use your talents, but also to support your families on good-sized paychecks, and that's what this is about. So, we've made far reaching investments. My administration has made so many investments, not just in SUNY, but also in trying to attract the talent and the businesses here.”
Hochul: “I want to talk about what SUNY Poly is known for. It's known as one of America's premier public polytech institutions, without a doubt. But we're going to make it even better. We're going to enhance that reputation. And make sure that when people walk into a doctor's office or pharmacy, they'll know that they're getting the highest level of care. Many of their nurses will have been taught right here. Their pharmacists will be taught here. Their doctors will be taught here… It's a vision that I have for Utica and the Mohawk Valley. It's vast, it's expansive, but it is deserving of this area.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul joined the SUNY Polytechnic Institute community and SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. to announce a $44 million State investment in the university, which will expand the current health science wing and update nursing labs in Donovan Hall, as well as create a semiconductor processing lab for workforce development, and a robotics and advanced manufacturing research and education lab. On a path to becoming the State and nation’s premier public polytechnic, this new investment continues SUNY Poly’s evolution as a leader in STEM and the health sciences.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning, everyone. Good morning. What a spectacular day here in Utica. In case you haven't noticed, New York is in the midst of reinventing itself. You know, our state has always done what others said was impossible, like digging an eerie canal 200 years ago to cut across the entire state of New York. We've also had world changing technological innovations, buildings that pierce the sky.
You know, you think about our identity. When so many people dream about things, we achieve great things. And we've also come to adapting to the changing times, to place ourselves at the vanguard of what is driving the latest revolution, and to offer opportunities that no one else can. And that legacy of ambition is not a relic of the past, it’s what we're doing today.
Today, bold ambition is what drives us here, especially when it comes to industries like technology and healthcare. A year and a half ago, on April 25th, 2022, I made a commitment to this region. We are at the groundbreaking of the billion-dollar investment by Wolfspeed. Anybody there? That was a spectacular day.
That was a great day for West, for this area. But I said, when they talked about 600 jobs coming that were never here before, I said, I stand here and commit that I'll ensure that you and every business that follows. We'll have world class talent educated in our institutions right here in the Mohawk Valley. I promise that. And today, we deliver on that promise. Today, we deliver on that promise. A 44 million announcement that is going to be so exciting. And I want to thank so many of the partners who are the driving force behind this. To make sure that we made sure this community was going to be robust and aggressive in our pursuit of not just the students that come here but the jobs that follow when they see the talent here.
Let's give a round of applause to our Chancellor John King, he is leading, spearheading the transformation of SUNY, and that is no small task. Our new president, I think you love your new president, President Winston Soboyejo, I want to thank him for stepping up here. There he goes. I got the feeling he is the most popular guy in the room is what I can tell.
So well played Mr. President. Our Senator and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Joe Griffo has joined us. Senator Griffo, thank you. Marianne Buttenschon, an Assemblymember who's been at all these great announcements as well. You'll be hearing from him in a couple moments. Assemblymember Robert Smullen has joined us. Robert Smullen, we'll give, give him a round of applause. Assemblyman Brian Miller is here as well. Our County Executive, Anthony Picente, I want to welcome him today here as well. RoAnn Destito, the Chair of the SUNY Poly Board, let's give her a round of applause.
And I spent 14 years in local government, so I'm always partial to my local mayors. Let's give a round of applause to Mayor of Utica, Robert Palmieri, and Mayor of Rome, Jacqueline Izzo.
You know, New York, who would have thought just even years ago that we'd become this, this tech hub? Everyone talked about Silicon Valley, right? Well, I declared this to be Silicon Carbide Valley on that day back in April. I said, “We'll bring more businesses here, more opportunities, more jobs.” And today we're the proud home of 470,000 tech jobs already, and they are growing.
And we are diverse as well, and that's what's so important. A lot of other states may have tech jobs, but we lean into our diversity. We have more individuals who are Black and Hispanic, more women in these jobs than ever before. But we can't have one moment of complacency. We must continue reaching into these communities and letting people know that these are the jobs of the future.
If you come into our institutions like SUNY Poly, there is no stopping you. You'll have great, great opportunities, great opportunities to use your talents, but also to support your families on good-sized paychecks, and that's what this is about. So, we've made far reaching investments. My administration has made so many investments, not just in SUNY, but also in trying to attract the talent and the businesses here.
So, we look about what we did with Micron. There are going to be opportunities here as we lean into semiconductor technologies and innovation and the supply chain to help with the 50,000 jobs down the road, but that is on top of what we're doing at Wolfspeed and on top of what we're doing at GlobalFoundries.
We have the foundation here already. Other states are envious of what we're doing here in New York, and we're just getting started. So, this is going to be transformative, and we talk about how much we're spending on our performance grant, as I mentioned, Wolfspeed. We supported that with 5$00 million in performance-based grants. Of course, they have to create the jobs first. There are strings attached. You create the jobs, we'll give you the resources to make sure you know this was the place to come.
We're also investing not just in technology, but in healthcare. We want to have a healthcare revolution right here where we invent new therapies and save people's lives. It's happening here in the Mohawk Valley. We're upgrading our health care centers, augmenting training resources, and we have to attract more people to these jobs after the pandemic. So many people in health care were just so beaten down. It was so hard to go through those two, three years of just constant fear and anxiety about bringing home the illness and disease to your own family.
But they stayed, they persevered, but we did lose a large number of individuals, and we now have to replace them with new people. New people who are just as passionate about saving the lives and bringing good health to communities, especially those that are underserved. Those are the people I want to attract to facilities like this. And we can get that done.
I want to make sure that we can support the workforce at the new Wynn Hospital right here in Utica. We were there October 15th at the wonderful event there to welcome them and support 90,000 patients a year in hospitals that are not from 1895, like the predecessors were. I couldn't get over that. And that was partially funded with $300 million from the State of New York Department of Health as part of our transformation program.
Again, we are making major investments. I mean, these are not small numbers. These are very, very serious. But I also know it's the young people at this institution, at SUNY Poly, who will set the parameters and the new innovations, especially in the AI landscape.
And you'll be hearing in my State of the State, we're going to be talking about some really brilliant ideas on how to make New York State the epicenter of these new technologies and new jobs and new opportunities. We're also not just going to work, as I mentioned, in the tech space, but finding new ways to heal and take care of our people. So, that's what SUNY can do.
And today we're announcing the $44 million, an historic amount of money. All at once, because you don't want this over 10 years, right Chancellor, you want this now? I get it, I get it. Alright, it's coming. Got to get my checkbook out here. But this is how we assert our commitment to the Mohawk Valley and make it real.
These are not just words. These are real dollars that are going to help with this transformation. So let's just talk about a few of those details. First, we'll build a new semiconductor processing lab. As I mentioned, the jobs are coming very quickly. It's time to start catching up here to help a whole new generation of graduates who'll be prepared for those jobs.
Also develop a new robotics and advanced manufacturing research lab. This is what businesses want. They want young people who've already had a taste, they understand what they're getting into. Because it also gives an employer an opportunity to have apprenticeships and opportunities for internships. They can start working with students even before they graduate. Start investing in their future workforce while they're still being educated. But also, let's expand the Health Science Wing in Donovan Hall. Let's make that better. Let's make that worthy of the students that are coming in. And let's update and modernize the nursing labs. There's so many great innovations – state of the art simulators and mannequins, have you seen these mannequins? They are so lifelike. They had me deliver a baby from one of them. I was like, “oh my God.” That's a true story. Very lifelike. Very lifelike. So this is how we give better patient centered care when students leave here. They've already had that experience.
But if you don't have the technology, if you don't have the investments, if you don't have the mannequins and the opportunity and the instructors, you're not going to leave with that experience. So this puts you at advantage when you're out there seeking your next job as well.
But also I want to talk about what SUNY Poly is known for. It's known as one of America's premier public polytech institutions, without a doubt. But we're going to make it even better. We're going to enhance that reputation. And make sure that when people walk into a doctor's office or pharmacy, they'll know that they're getting the highest level of care. Many of their nurses will have been taught right here. Their pharmacists will be taught here. Their doctors will be taught here. Learn some of those basic skills right here. So it's a vision that I have for Utica and the Mohawk Valley. It's vast, it's expansive, but it is deserving of this area. This is an area that has always believed in itself, and there have been some rough decades. Those of you who are a little bit older like I am, you remember that. When all the jobs were leaving, all you heard about was people going, as we closed up the textiles and the manufacturing and everybody going south, or the jobs going overseas. It was a tough, tough time. And I'm seared in the knowledge that we must continue to fight against that. To make the investments now, not later when it's too late.
And that's why I know that we are on the cusp of greatness here, because we have people who believe in this area. You have a State government who understand what it's like to be an upstater and to feel like you're not getting your just due for so many decades. Well, those days are over, my friend. And as SUNY begins to regain its stature under this great leadership, as the preeminent higher education institution it will keep attracting people, not just from New York. But from all over the country and the world, and they'll have the opportunities right here.
Thanks to investments made today and tomorrow in institutions like SUNY Poly. So congratulations to everyone. Great announcement. I want to thank everyone who made this happen. It's a great day for SUNY Poly right here in the Mohawk Valley. Thank you.