Clarkson University is forgoing tuition from some students, in exchange for shares in their start-ups. Kevin Tampone reports at the Business Journal of Central New York that one student has already taken advantage of the deal, offering the school shares in his web design and hosting firm.
UB medical school
The University at Buffalo's new president wants to "fast track" a move for the school's medical school, reports Jay Rey at the Buffalo News. The move would get a boost from funds announced Monday by the governor for economic development at the four big SUNY schools:
"We want to move the medical school, and we want to do that in the next three or four years," [UB president Satish] Tripathi said Tuesday. Many unknowns remain. While Tripathi talked confidently about making this move sooner rather than later, UB still is trying to figure out where the new medical school would go and how the university would pay for 90 percent of the project. Tripathi indicated the university is eyeing a few sites on the medical campus, near the 10-story heart-vascular center being built by UB and Kaleida Health abutting Buffalo General Hospital at Ellicott and Goodrich streets.
Cornell and Ithaca’s economy
Ithaca has been upstate's success story over the past decade, reports Greg David at Crain's. While jobs have been lost across the state since their peaks in 2000, Ithaca has been booming:
Virtually untouched by the recession, Ithaca has added jobs almost every year since 2000. That area's most important industry? Higher education as it is the home of prestigious Cornell University and the well regarded Ithaca College. The job numbers should be center stage in Albany because they show how higher education is the key to reviving the upstate economy. On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw his support behind a plan to unleash the key SUNY campus from micromanaging by Albany--including deciding on their own tuition--so they can marshal the revenues to realize their potential. (A compelling case for the proposal is available on the Citizens Budget Commission website.)
Ithaca still faces challenges though - the Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs detailed them in her excellent series about what it will take for the region to gain the critical mass it needs to compete with the Bostons and Austins of the world.
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