A new business school is now officially open downtown for students wanting an alternative to four years of college.
The Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship held a special ceremony Wednesday morning. About 75 total students are enrolled.
Golisano Institute's Buffalo location — in addition to the location in Rochester — helps increase cohesion between Western New York’s two metropolitan centers, institute president Ian Mortimer said.
“It's really important that today be the beginning of the, essentially the merging of the employment markets, the merging of the entrepreneurial ecosystems," he said. "Individuals from Western New York coming together and unifying as one population and one business community.”
It's the culmination of a $30 million investment and brings new life to the building that formerly housed the Buffalo News at Washington and Scott streets.
The goal is to provide resources that make secondary education more affordable, said Tom Golisano, the founder of Paychex and former Buffalo Sabres owner.
"Education was going in the wrong direction. It was getting to be too expensive, and too much of the curriculum had to be paid for by students or their families," he said. "And it may not have been useful for them, whatever direction they went with their career."
Tuition costs around $9,000 per year. Students have the option to pursue one- or two-year programs. Classes are split into four sections throughout the year, with two-week breaks between each section.
Former Sabres executives and minority owners Dan DiPofi and Larry Quinn joined Golisano at the grand opening for a panel discussion about their time with the hockey team. It was that group which purchased the Sabres in 2003, when the team was in bankruptcy caused by the financial scandal and collapse of the Rigas family and their Adelphia media empire.
43North Foundation Chairman Bill Maggio believes he would have been an ideal candidate for the Golisano Institute. 43North is investing $1.5 million to start an internship fund to help ensure current and future students aren't limited by a lack of resources or connections, he said.
"Introduce them to someone who believes in them, and give them a chance to contribute to something real. That can change a life," Maggio said. "And if we do that for enough young people, connect them to great companies and opportunities right here, I believe it can change Buffalo, too."
