News and views for the UB community
Published November 1, 2016 This content is archived.
UB’s Office of Economic Development was selected to receive the first “Excellence in Tech-Based Economic Development” award presented by the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC).
The award was presented to Karen Utz, director of program administration, at NYSEDC’s 2016 Annual Tech-Based Economic Development Conference held recently in Corning, New York.
The award recognizes UB’s success in attracting businesses to its campus through the START-UP NY program. Since the inception of the program, 77 companies have been approved through UB sponsorship. These companies have projected investments totaling $50 million and creating more than 1,600 jobs in the next five years.
Several nominations were evaluated based on the following criteria:
“The University at Buffalo has shown how successful the START-UP NY program can be in facilitating university and business engagement,” said Brian McMahon, executive director of NYSEDC. “In the coming months, NYSEDC will work with the University at Buffalo to share its expertise with other colleges and universities in an effort to generate similar results in other regions of the state.”
SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher noted that UB has been a leader within SUNY in implementing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s vision for START-UP NY. “The relationships that the university has cultivated with companies in the program are benefiting the Western New York economy and providing tremendous new opportunities for students, graduates and faculty researchers,” Zimpher said.
START-UP NY stands for SUNY Tax-free Areas to Revitalize and Transform Upstate New York. The program aims to spur economic development by enabling universities to identify areas where new and expanding businesses can operate for 10 years without paying New York State business, corporate, income, sales or property taxes, or franchise fees.
“Karen Utz has provided exceptional leadership for START-UP NY at UB,” said Christina Orsi, associate vice president for economic development. “Through this program, UB is helping the governor achieve his vision of retaining more of our talented students in the region.
“START-UP NY companies have reported hiring well over 100 UB graduates, and they provide a pipeline of opportunities for UB students, from internships to full-time employment in software, engineering, marketing and more,” Orsi continued. “UB, as a research university, has also partnered with START-UP NY companies in licensing UB technology and in conducting joint research and development projects, enabling the companies to benefit from the cutting-edge research at UB.”