Center for Excellence could receive additional funding from federal bill
Students studying environmental issues at Syracuse University and SUNY ESF could have a little extra green to enhance their learning experiences.
The House of Representatives passed a spending bill Tuesday that will help aid environmental programs in Central New York. Representative James Walsh of Onondaga County secured $750,000 for Syracuse University’s Center for Excellence through the local Energy and Water Appropriations bill. This money adds to the $8 million the university already acquired in Environmental Protection Agency funding.
The bill, which the Senate will vote on within the upcoming weeks, would allow students to explore and develop new environmental projects. The bill’s money would allow the Center for Excellence to further enhance students’ learning experiences by getting them involved with work that focuses on environmental systems projects.
Dan Gage, Walsh’s spokesman, feels the bill will allow universities to explore the global economy in a new way.
‘The Center for Excellence is a great concept [to explore] so much native talent,’ Gage said.
Ben Ware, vice president of Research and Computing at SU, said the Center for Excellence will be concentrating on two environmental systems: indoor environmental areas and water sheds.
The bill will greatly affect the SU community because the money is extremely important to environmental projects, Ware said.
Edward Bogucz, executive director of the Center of Excellence and dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, believes this new bill will expand activities in the center to allow more students to work on projects. Walsh has secured money for the university and for Central New York for several years now.
‘This is the sixth award over the last four years that Congressmen Walsh has arranged,’ Bogucz said. ‘Congressman Walsh has been a terrific supporter of the regional initiative, which is known as the Center for Excellence, led by SU, SUNY ESF and Upstate Medical University.’
Walsh is currently in Washington, D.C., working on a conference report with the House to direct federal funding to the state. He will be working through this week and into the next week to figure out for certain how much SU will be given in the EPA budget.
As for the university’s educational system, the Center for Excellence representatives hope to increase funding to maintain important resources for future research projects.
‘We want to establish a reputation internationally for being a leader in education and research in environmental systems,’ Bogucz said.
