Written by Michael Moran on April 15, 2010 – 6:19 am
“State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s effort to revive the state’s economy is getting positive reviews from business leaders,” reports Kevin Harrigan in The Times-Union.
“Zimpher this week has been touting her “Strategic Plan 2010 & Beyond,” first in New York City on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday at a news conference in downtown Albany.
The plan focuses on getting more students to complete their degrees and then to convince them to remain in New York state.
It also emphasizes teacher training in rural areas to help students from schools located there better prepare for college.
But Zimpher’s plan would also capitalize on the innovations that flow from SUNY campus laboratories and research facilities, by more quickly delivering them to the marketplace.”
This plan hinges on the passage of The Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act, which would give SUNY schools more autonomy, including the power to set tuition. The legislature hasn’t yet acted on the measure.
But business leaders like the Zimpher plan.
“We think she’s spot on,” said Margaret Moree, director of federal affairs for The Business Council of New York State in Albany. “There are so many campuses that they really affect the regional economy.”