By WBFO Newsroom
Albany, NY – The long-awaited UB 2020 Summit in Albany was held Tuesday morning in Albany with Governor Andrew Cuomo.
University at Buffalo president Satish Tripathi presented his proposal to the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program in support of a $375 million plan to help revitalize Buffalo's economy by relocating UB's medical school to downtown Buffalo.
Under the proposal, UB will implement the next phase of the UB 2020 plan for academic excellence.
The University is calling on the state to approve yearly tuition hikes of 8%.
UB is separately asking for funding to construct the medical school in downtown Buffalo. Tripathi tells WBFO News the tuition increase would only be used to hire faculty across the University. It would not be used to construct the new medical school building.
The University said the tuition increase would be a $200 per semester tuition increase.
UB said a financial-aid program financed by the tuition revenues will guarantee minimal increases in tuition for students and families making less than $75,000 per year:
-- Tuition would not increase for families with annual incomes up to $40,000
-- Tuition would increase $30 per semester for families with annual incomes between $40,000 and $60,000
-- Tuition would increase $70 per semester for families with annual incomes between $60,000 and $70,000
-- Tuition would increase $100 per semester for families with annual incomes between $70,000 and $75,000
UB said its tuition remains one of the lowest among 60 U.S. research universities that make up the Association of American Universities.
UB's proposal also was praised by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher who, with Gov. Cuomo, developed the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program to increase the economic impact of SUNY's four university centers and strengthen educational opportunities for students. "I am impressed by the significant planning and analysis performed by the University at Buffalo to show how it will leverage this challenge grant to benefit students and the Western New York economy," Zimpher said. "UB and all of SUNY's university centers have tremendous potential to be even greater economic drivers in New York State. My hope is this challenge grant will give them the opportunity to do so immediately."
UB says moving the medical school would generate 3,000 jobs by 2018 under the proposal, the university estimates the following:
This includes 1,325 new jobs at UB (410 faculty and 915 staff to support clinical care, service, teaching and research)
1,740 new jobs resulting from UB's research growth (based on U.S. Department of Commerce estimates)
200 jobs in 10 start-up companies developed from university research and partnerships
In addition, more than 1,600 construction jobs would be created to build a new medical school for the university in downtown Buffalo
The $375 million UB proposal, to be implemented over the next seven years, will be financed by
-- $35 million from the governor's challenge grant
-- $50 million to be raised in private gifts to the UB medical school
-- $50 million from private partnerships
-- $40 million in research grants
-- $100 million from UB capital and other sources and
-- $100 million from medical school program fee
The medical school project will serve as catalyst for additional development with Kaleida Health and other private and public entities.
The Governor's office issued the following statement from Cuomo on the UB 2020 Summit and plan to construct the medicalcampus in downtown Buffalo:
"Today, the representatives of the University of Buffalo and key stakeholders in the region presented their UB 2020 proposal. It is a transformative plan that has the potential to revitalize Western New York. I wholeheartedly support it and will do everything I can to see that it becomes a reality. UB's proposal is exactly the type of plan that state government should be supporting in Western New York and across the state. It will create jobs, breathe new life into the City of Buffalo, and help its namesake university become one of the nation's leading public research institutions.
"One of the reasons why the UB 2020 proposal is so exciting is because it has such broad and deep support across the region. From the academic and research community, to business and labor, to elected and community leaders, key stakeholders across the Western New York region have come together to back this plan. This is the model my Administration will seek to replicate across the state."
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher praises the UB proposal. Zimpher along with Gov. Cuomo, developed the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program to increase the economic impact of SUNY's four university centers.
"I am impressed by the significant planning and analysis performed by the University at Buffalo to show how it will leverage this challenge grant to benefit students and the Western New York economy," Zimpher said. "UB and all of SUNY's university centers have tremendous potential to be even greater economic drivers in New York State. My hope is this challenge grant will give them the opportunity to do so immediately."
UB President Satish K. Tripathi said, "This proposal will enable UB to pursue its plan for academic excellence and contribute more significantly to Buffalo's emerging biomedical economy. It will create jobs in our community and greatly expand educational opportunities for our students.
"Our tuition proposal will give UB the means to pursue academic excellence while protecting students' access to high-quality education, especially for the state's neediest students, Tripathi added.
Michael Cain, MD, dean of UB's medical school, said "We have seen post-industrial cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and St. Louis achieve dramatic economic turnarounds by aligning university medical centers with community hospitals to build thriving biomedical industries that improve patient care."
James R. Kaskie, president and CEO of Kaleida Health, said the momentum created by UB and Kaleida Health's expansion in downtown Buffalo would make the region a national hub for patient care and medical research. "We have an unprecedented opportunity before us to transform our region's economy and pioneer new treatments and innovative health care," Kaskie said.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, "the entire Western New York community has embraced UB's plans as our region's priority. UB's expansion into downtown Buffalo will create new jobs and open up new opportunities that can revitalize neighborhoods and improve quality of life throughout Buffalo's urban core."