SUNY ESF, St. Lawrence University awarded $5K recycling grants for campus projects

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The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse and St. Lawrence University in Canton will each use $5,000 in grant funding for recycling projects on their respective campuses. The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) and the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) awarded the grants. […]

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The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) and the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) awarded the grants. The grants go to campuses that have projects that focus on source reduction, reuse, recycling,and pollution prevention.

NYSP2I is located at the Rochester Institute of Technology, while NYSAR3 is based in Albany.

Each year, NYSAR3 and NYSP2I provide two $5,000 awards to New York State universities and colleges who are members of the NYSAR3 College Council.

NYSP2I awarded a grant to SUNY ESF for its project titled, “SUNY ESF’s Path to Zero Waste: Integrated Indoor Compost System on a Rural College Campus.” At the same time, NYSAR3 provided funding for the St. Lawrence University project called“Approaching Economic Sustainability at the Barn Good Thrift Store”.

SUNY ESF

The SUNY ESF project involved installing an indoor composting system at its remote Ranger School in Wanakena in St. Lawrence County, which does not have centralized garbage pickup or composting infrastructure. The project will increase the ESF Ranger School’s organic waste diversion rate through formalizing an ongoing compost program, expanding agricultural opportunities on-campus, and engaging local communities with a model for successful end-to-end composting.

The composting system will prevent organic waste from going into the landfill and,instead, recycle it into usable material that will be used on campus as a soil amendment for future edible gardens, and to support current, established pollinator gardens and educational and experiential learning components for students. The project should be complete by the end of 2024.

St. Lawrence University

The St. Lawrence University student club, “Close the Loop,” has been managing the onsite campus thrift store “Barn Good” that is open to community members. The club will use the $5,000 award to pay for upgrades and make targeted purchases of equipment and supplies to bring the business to “economic sustainability,” per the announcement.

The goal of this proposal is to upgrade the thrift–store space to support upcyclingevents, reduce campus waste, increase re-use of clothing and other residential items, and provide low-cost retail items to students and the community.

Le Moyne College athletic complex rendering

Le Moyne College to renovate athletics complex in $45 million project over five years

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Education & Training, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Le Moyne College says its Thomas J. Niland Jr. Athletic Complexwill undergo a $45 million expansion and renovation over the next five years. The college also noted that it will use $12 million in state funding to help pay for the project. The planned expansion comes as the Le Moyne Dolphins just

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CABVI announces new board leader, officers

Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

UTICA — The Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) said goodbye to a longtime leader and named a new chair of the board of directors at its annual meeting held May 14 at Monarch Banquets in Yorkville. At the meeting, Jim Turnbull IV stepped down as board chair, a role he has

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At the meeting, Jim Turnbull IV stepped down as board chair, a role he has filled since 2019. Among his accomplishments are raising $14.7 million toward the construction of CABVI’s Vision Health and Wellness Center and supporting renovations to the agency’s Syracuse Industries location and the Kenneth Thayer Production and Distribution Center in Utica.

He was the second generation of his family to serve in the role. His father James B. Turnbull III also served as chair, as well as treasurer for many years.

“Jim has been a lifelong supporter of CABVI,” agency President/CEO Ed Welsh said in a news release. “Jim brought unique perspective and experience to the board. As chair, he helped lead us through COVID, opened our new Vision Health and Wellness Center, and supported the renovations to both our Dwyer Avenue and Syracuse facilities. Jim has a great passion for Camp Abilities and our kids. I suspect we will see him at the lake this summer on Turnbull Tubing Day. I am grateful for his friendship and leadership. He will always be an important part of the CABVI family.”

At the meeting, George Nehme was voted in as Turnbull’s successor as board chair. He has served in the nonprofit and academic communities for more than 40 years and joined the CABVI board in 2021.

“I’m deeply honored, as a person who is legally blind,” Nehme said. “Just being on the board alone has been an incredible privilege, and now to become the next chair, I’m deeply moved by that and appreciate the trust that all of you have placed in me.”

During the meeting, Ralph Eannace was named first vice chair, Richard Dewar appointed second vice chair, Barry Sinnott named treasurer, and Deborah Kessler designated secretary.

Established in 1929, CABVI is a social enterprise that provides services and employment to people who are blind or visually impaired. The organization serves more than 1,800 people of all ages, generally free of charge, in a 10-county region of Central New York.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp announces CFO changeup

Banks & Credit Unions, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), parent of Berkshire Bank, recently announced the departure of R. David Rosato as chief financial officer (CFO) and the appointment of Brett Brbovic, currently chief accounting officer, to the CFO role effective June 14. Rosato joined Berkshire in February 2023 after working for 15 years at People’s United Financial,

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Rosato joined Berkshire in February 2023 after working for 15 years at People’s United Financial, Inc., including eight years as CFO there. He is stepping down to pursue other interests, but will stay on at Berkshire through June 14 as responsibilities transition to Brbovic.

“We’re grateful for the contributions that David has made in his service as CFO, and we wish him well in his future pursuits,” Berkshire CEO Nitin Mhatre said in a press release announcing the news. “[Rosato] has been instrumental in developing the bench strength for our finance group that has enabled us to transition to a new leadership team, including Brett, who will be assuming the CFO role.”

Brbovic joined Berkshire in 2012 from KPMG LLP and has served as chief accounting officer since 2015. He also served as interim CFO from Oct. 7, 2022, through Feb. 6, 2023.

“Brett is a 12-year Berkshire Bank veteran with a strong track record and deep institutional knowledge,” Mhatre said. “I’m confident in his ability to lead our finance team and build on the changes that David has implemented. Berkshire’s leadership is committed to maintaining recent momentum and our entire team is focused on the goal to be a high-performing, relationship-drive, community-focused bank.”

Boston–based Berkshire announced in March it would sell 10 branches in upstate and eastern New York, including the sale of its East Syracuse branch to Pathfinder Bank. Hudson Valley Credit Union is buying eight branches in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Columbia counties while Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company is purchasing the Whitehall branch.

Berkshire Bank has $12.1 billion in assets and 96 branches across New York state and New England.

SU plans new Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Education & Training, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SYRACUSE — The technology behind modern semiconductor manufacturing is among the most intricate and sophisticated on the planet. That’s how Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor and provost, at Syracuse University (SU) opened her remarks on May 16 as SU announced plans to launch its Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing. SU plans to spend $10 million to

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SYRACUSE — The technology behind modern semiconductor manufacturing is among the most intricate and sophisticated on the planet.

That’s how Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor and provost, at Syracuse University (SU) opened her remarks on May 16 as SU announced plans to launch its Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing.

SU plans to spend $10 million to help pay for the center, and Onondaga County will also provide a $10 million grant.

“It’s awe inspiring. It’s captivating,” Ritter said in reference to the technology. “And thanks to this investment by Onondaga County, we have an opportunity to open exciting, fulfilling, and well-paid jobs in advanced manufacturing to generations of Syracuse students.”

Ritter went on to say that the Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing will “demystify” careers in chip manufacturing for the Syracuse community and “inspire students of all ages to join this rewarding field.”

“Embracing these students is critical, given the palpable regional and national need for a far more robust and diverse STEM workforce,” Ritter said in her remarks. “These students will build today’s chips and design the next generation that will maintain U.S. leadership in semiconductors for decades to come.”

STEM is short for science, technology, engineering, mathematics.

It’s described as a center that will bring together expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, manufacturing processes, optimization, and robotics to “advance the science of semiconductor manufacturing,” per the university.

Syracuse University (SU) Chancellor Kent Syverud on May 16 addressed the gathering at SU’s National Veterans Resource Center announcing the upcoming Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing.
ERIC REINHARDT / CNYBJ

“The state-of-the-art teaching and research facility we’re building as part of this will replicate an autonomous advanced-manufacturing floor; will enable research and design,” Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud said in his remarks. “The center will provide the very definition of hands-on learning and training that students need to meet the needs and meet the moment.”

Officials announced details of the new Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing in an event at the National Veterans Resource Center at 101 Waverly Ave. on the SU campus.

“To support that work, we are going to be hiring many new faculty scholars over the next five years, and, in particular, we expect to grow our student enrollment in the College of Engineering and Computer Science by 50 percent in the next four years,” Syverud said. “And that’s to keep up with the market demands created by Micron and the burgeoning U.S. chips industry. We will be especially focused on recruiting from area high schools, including the new STEAM high school that has had such hard work behind it.”

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) plans to invest up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years on a semiconductor manufacturing campus at the White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay.

The Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing is part of a more than $100 million investment in “strategically transforming” STEM and expanding SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) over the next five years, the university noted.

SU will house the center in its Center of Science and Technology, and it will be situated within ECS. Syracuse University believes the new center will position it and the CNY region as a global leader in research and education on the intelligent manufacturing of semiconductors.

Work on renovating existing space into the new facility is already underway, Syverud told reporters during the announcement event. The center should be completed in two years, Ritter told Syverud in response to a reporter’s question about the construction timeline.

“As we transition from an amazing site-selection process and an amazing planning process to executing, it is critical for us to meet the moment that you’ve heard from the vice chancellor and chancellor that we have all of the tools in the toolbox,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in his remarks. “One of the major tools in recruiting Micron to get here was this facility and what this represents and what this represents specifically for veteran labor and that’s a critical tool.”

Jefferson County hotels see business gains in April

North Country, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

WATERTOWN — Jefferson County hotels registered a more than 1 percent rise in overnight guests in April, while another key business indicator posted a big increase. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the North Country’s largest county edged up 1.1 percent to 49.8 percent in the fourth month of

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Cornell University Martha Pollack retiring

Cornell prepares for leadership transition

Education & Training, Subscriber Only

ITHACA — Cornell University is preparing for a leadership transition with the upcoming retirement of school president Martha Pollack. Pollack, who has served for more than seven years as the university’s 14th president, will retire on June 30. Cornell University Provost Michael Kotlikoff has been selected as interim president, effective July 1, according to a

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ITHACA — Cornell University is preparing for a leadership transition with the upcoming retirement of school president Martha Pollack.

Pollack, who has served for more than seven years as the university’s 14th president, will retire on June 30.

Cornell University Provost Michael Kotlikoff has been selected as interim president, effective July 1, according to a May 9 announcement on the Cornell Chronicle website. At that time, the school’s board of trustees will give Pollack the title of president emerita “in recognition of her contributions and legacy.”

At the request of the board of trustees, Kotlikoff will serve a two-year term as interim president. The board will then form a search committee to select Cornell’s 15th president, about six to nine months before Kotlikoff’s term ends.

In addition to his nine years as provost, Kotlikoff previously served as acting president, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and professor of molecular biology, per Cornell’s announcement.

“Serving as the president of Cornell has been an amazing privilege; there are few roles that afford so much opportunity to make a positive difference in the world,” Pollack said in the announcement. “After seven fruitful and gratifying years as Cornell’s president — capping a career in research and academia spanning five decades — I’m ready for a new chapter in my life. I greatly appreciate the continued support of our Board of Trustees and the many faculty, students, staff and alumni who have shared words of encouragement through my time as president, especially over the past academic year.”

Pollack — a professor of computer science, information science and linguistics — is an expert in artificial intelligence, the university says. Formerly provost and executive VP for academic affairs of the University of Michigan, she succeeded the late Elizabeth Garrett as Cornell’s president in 2017.

Pollack tenure

Under Pollack’s leadership, the university created the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, named the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, launched new programs in areas ranging from sustainability and digital agriculture to artificial intelligence and design and technology, and expanded external research expenditures by nearly
50 percent. She also oversaw upgrades to academic facilities, including the ongoing construction of a new building for Cornell Bowers CIS and the multidisciplinary Atkinson Hall.

Over the course of her tenure, Cornell says Pollack has “significantly expanded the accessibility and affordability” of a Cornell education, from increasing by 1,000 the number of undergraduates receiving grant-based financial aid to creating a debt-free education program at Weill Cornell Medicine, among other measures.

“President Pollack has been a transformational leader of Cornell, and her positive impact on our university will be felt for decades to come,” Kraig Kayser, chair of the Cornell University board of trustees, said in the announcement. “Beyond her achievements in academics, research and affordability, I and my fellow trustees deeply value her intelligence, integrity, candor and warmth, as well as her unwavering commitment to Cornell being a community of belonging.”

Cornell University, founded in 1865, is a privately endowed research university and a partner of the State University of New York. Cornell has more than 16,000 undergraduate students and 10,200 graduate and professional students, according to its website, citing Fall 2023 data. The university has nearly 3,000 faculty members and more than 11,300 total employees, as of Nov. 1, 2023 data.

New York manufacturing index dips, stays negative in May

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped slightly to -15.6 in May, pointing to further deterioration in manufacturing conditions in the state. The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector. Based on firms responding to the survey, the May reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New

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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index slipped slightly to -15.6 in May, pointing to further deterioration in manufacturing conditions in the state.

The general business-conditions index is the monthly gauge on New York’s manufacturing sector.

Based on firms responding to the survey, the May reading indicates business activity “continued to decline” in New York state, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its May 15 report.

A negative reading on the index indicates a decline in the sector, while a positive index number shows expansion or growth in manufacturing activity.

The survey found “new orders declined significantly, while shipments held steady,” the New York Fed said.

It also found optimism on the six-month outlook “remained subdued.”

Survey details

The new-orders index was unchanged at -16.5, pointing to an “ongoing significant decline” in orders, while the shipments index climbed to -1.2, suggesting that shipments “held steady,” the New York Fed said.

Unfilled orders continued to fall modestly. The inventories index came in at 2.0, indicating that inventories were steady, and the delivery-times index inched down to -9.1, suggesting that delivery times shortened.

The index for number of employees came in at -6.4, and the average-workweek index moved up to -5.8, pointing to an “ongoing decline” in employment levels and hours worked.

The prices-paid index retreated 5 points to 28.3, and the prices-received index declined 3 points to 14.1, indicating that price increases moderated slightly.

Optimism about the outlook “remained subdued.” The index for future business conditions dipped
5 points to 16.7, with only 37 percent of respondents expecting conditions to improve in the next six months. The outlook for employment growth “weakened noticeably.”

The capital-spending index fell to 6.7, suggesting that capital-spending plans “remained soft.”

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

NYS awards more than $3 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants

News

ALBANY — New York State has awarded more than $3 million for 64 projects that will protect water quality, prevent farmland conversion, boost public access

Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties announces grants

Nonprofits, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

UTICA — The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties recently announced it awarded more than $2 million in grants during the first quarter to organizations and initiatives across the Mohawk Valley region. The foundation in February invited nonprofits in Herkimer and Oneida counties to apply for its Education, Health, and Sciences Grant Round, with

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The foundation in February invited nonprofits in Herkimer and Oneida counties to apply for its Education, Health, and Sciences Grant Round, with eight organizations receiving more than $87,000 in funding. The recipients are: Clinton Central School District Foundation, Masonic Medical Research Institute, Poland District Public Library, Project Fibonacci Foundation, Rescue Mission of Utica, Thea Bowman House, Upstate Caring Partners, and Utica Rehabilitation and Integrative Services for Everyone.

The Community Foundation’s donor-advised funds awarded 51 grants totaling nearly $500,000 during the quarter to the following nonprofits: Abraham House, Alzheimer’s Association – CNY Chapter, Anita’s Stevens Swan Humane Society, Artis-Naples, Camp Kesem, Catholic Near East Welfare Association, CB Avalanche Center, Cedar Lake United Methodist Church, Center for Constitutional Rights, Charles T. Sitrin Health Care Center, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, Emmanuel Evangelica Lutheran Church, Fountain House, Friends of Notre-Dame De Paris, Fulton Chain of Lakes Performing Arts Council, Gingerbread House Preschool and Child Care Center, Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, GreenUtica, and Gunnison Trails.

Additional recipients include: Herkimer College, Humane Society of Rome, Landmarks Society of Greater Utica, Lewis County Humane Society, Mohawk Valley Health System Foundation, Munson, New York State Animal Protection Federation Education Fund, Old Forge Volunteer Ambulance Corp, Oneida County History Center, Oswego College Foundation, Temple Beth El, The Everglades Foundation, The Gesu School, Thea Bowman House, Town of Webb Historical Association, Trinity by the Cove Episcopal Church, UNRWA USA, USA East Province of the Society of Jesus, Utica Children’s Museum, Utica University, View, Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association, and Waterville Central School District Foundation.

Grants are made possible through donors and organizations that create funds at the foundation.

A number of new funds were recently created including the DiMeo Family Fund, ECR International – Utica Division Scholarship Fund, Midtown Utica Community Center Fund, Olmsted City of Greater Utica Fund, Project Fibonacci Fund, and the Robert and Lynn Angelicola Family Fund.

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