NYS Lawmakers Urge Hochul to Make UAlbany a Flagship Institution
By Zachary Robinson | February 7, 2022
Photo Credit: Wiki Commons
NYS capital region lawmakers expressed their concerns for the proposal of University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University being named flagship schools because it can put University at Albany at a disadvantage.
They expressed that UAlbant could receive less funding and research opportunities, resulting in lower enrollment, compared to flagship institutions.
Assembly members Patricia Fahy, John McDonald III, and state Sen. Neil Breslin sent a letter to the governor proposing a new idea of making Binghamton University and University at Albany flagship institutions, increasing the number of flagship institutions to four.
Times Union reported that all four schools are named R1 schools, the highest level of research classification under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (CCIHE), but Stony Brook University and University at Buffalo are recognized as leading research institutions according to the association of American Universities.
Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to strengthen SUNY schools by reuniting SUNY Polytechnic Institute's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) with University at Albany. This plan has been encouraged by lawmakers and the University at Albany as it will help bring new research opportunities. The two universities recently partnered to allow students to take classes at either school as visiting students.