![\"uupdate](\"http:\/\/uupinfo.org\/images\/frontpageslider\/16\/TechSector2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Edward Perri, a fisheries and aquaculture major at SUNY Cobleskill, is used to professionals he encounters at conferences and environmental agencies assuming he\u2019s a graduate student, because the projects he\u2019s tackling as an undergraduate are so advanced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learn from the best,\u201d said Perri, third from left, a senior who has just completed a study of the Hudson River\u2019s diverse fish population. In the photo above, Perri listens as Cobleskill Chapter Officer for Contingents Kevin Moore, right, asks for more funding for tech sector campuses during a March 9 meeting in the office of Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Sunnyside).<\/p>\n
Perri was one of more than 60 students and UUP members who turned out for the union\u2019s Technology Sector Advocacy Day March 9. The event highlighted the hands-on expertise and top-notch career preparation available at SUNY\u2019s five technology sector campuses, at Alfred, Canton, Cobleskill, Delhi and Morrisville.<\/p>\n
Students and campus representatives set up displays, some of them interactive, in the Empire State Plaza concourse to promote their programs.<\/p>\n
![\"uupdate](\"http:\/\/uupinfo.org\/images\/frontpageslider\/16\/TechSector3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Led by UUP VP for Academics Jamie Dangler, above, center, the delegation fanned out through the halls of the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building, where once again the combination of students telling their stories alongside faculty and staff resonated, as it has throughout UUP\u2019s advocacy efforts this budget season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work that you\u2019re doing today is incredibly important,\u201d UUP President Fred Kowal told the advocates before they started. \u201cMost legislators don\u2019t really know what goes on at SUNY. We need to educate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
One initiative that UUP hopes will become a reality at tech sector campuses is a new green energy technology program that would partner educational programs with local businesses specializing in this field. UUP first proposed the idea in December as part of its legislative agenda; Gov. Andrew Cuomo signaled his approval for the plan by putting $15 million into his executive proposal.<\/p>\n
![\"uupdate](\"http:\/\/uupinfo.org\/images\/frontpageslider\/16\/TechSector5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a good step, but that\u2019s just a start,\u201d Kowal, above, told members and students. He reminded them that for all the good they do, too many tech sector programs are using outdated equipment, and too many faculty are paid significantly less than their counterparts at other colleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually took a pay cut to come to Cobleskill because I\u2019m very passionate about teaching,\u201d said Julie Casper Roth, an assistant professor of communications, whose comments reflect the dedication that faculty feel about teaching. Professors like Casper Roth could command much higher salaries in the public sector than those they earn at SUNY.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the tech sector campuses play a far-reaching and vital role in the economy of upstate New York. Alfred has an annual economic impact of $111 million, more than 10 times the total annual state allocation for the college. Cobleskill is the major employer and cultural center of Schoharie County.<\/p>\n
Nearly 80 percent of Delhi\u2019s faculty and staff live in Delaware County, where they shop, contribute to the housing market and support numerous service businesses. Canton’s economic impact in the North Country region totaled more than $175 million.<\/p>\n
Or, as Joan Nicholson, an associate professor and director of the dietetic technician program at Morrisville noted. \u201cWe employ upstate New Yorkers in places where there is not a lot of employment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Edward Perri, a fisheries and aquaculture major at SUNY Cobleskill, is used to professionals he encounters at conferences and environmental agencies assuming he\u2019s a graduate student, because the projects he\u2019s tackling as an undergraduate are so advanced. \u201cWe learn from the best,\u201d said Perri, third from left, a senior who has just completed a study […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1305,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuphost.org\/cobleskill\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}