SUNY Oswego in Partnership for Environmental Health Institute

“Technology has tremendous potential to open the door to better public health and, at the same time, to create new, high-paying jobs in Central New York—which our colleges and universities will train students to fill.” — President Deborah F. Stanley

Four Central New York SUNY institutions—the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), SUNY Oswego, SUNY Upstate Medical University and Onondaga Community College—have won $15 million in a competitive grant program to create the SUNY Institute of Environmental Health and Environmental Medicine. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the project’s approval June 3.

The funding comes from the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program, in which SUNY campuses developed and submitted collaborative economic development projects for funding.

Oswego’s contribution to the Institute of Environmental Health and Environmental Medicine will be the Center for Innovation in Wireless Technology, to be established in Syracuse.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State University of New York established the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program in 2011 to make SUNY a leading catalyst for job growth throughout the state.

“Thanks to the vision of Gov. Cuomo in partnership with SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, the power of SUNY is being harnessed to revitalize the economy of Upstate New York. SUNY Oswego is honored to partner with our sister campuses in the Syracuse region in this round of NYSUNY 2020 funding,” says President Deborah F. Stanley.

“We are elated at the approval of this grand collaboration, which aims to improve health care in New York and beyond by applying the concentration of resources in education and medicine that distinguishes our region,” Stanley says. “Technology has tremendous potential to open the door to better public health and, at the same time, to create new, high-paying jobs in Central New York—which our colleges and universities will train students to fill.”

The institute will address issues of global health and expand new research, provide academic and industry collaborations, and offer associate through doctorate degrees with a focus on improving health through understanding the environment’s impact on health and medicine.

Conceived by Oswego’s Engineering Advisory Board, the Center for Innovation in Wireless Technology will be the research, product development and testing arm of the Wireless Solutions Lab, opening soon in the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation.

Wireless applications in health care have the potential to vastly improve the mobility and comfort of patients as well as expand access to health services and lower the cost of care. The center will help conduct the research and development to assist industry partners in bringing new medical devices to market.

—Office of Public Affairs