Category Archives: Business News

Creating Our Future: The Campaign for Skidmore has raised a record-setting $229.4 million from 27,193 donors to support innovative opportunities and liberal arts experience for students, while continuing to build resources for the future, school officials said.

The seven-year campaign, launched in October 2013 and concluded on Dec. 31, 2020, was marked by major milestones for Skidmore and meaningful acts of generosity from alumni, parents, friends, retirees, students, faculty and staff.

“Strengthening a creative, collaborative and community-centered future for Skidmore has always been at the core of Creating Our Future,” said President Marc Conner. “Our commitment to this vision for the future remains steadfast.”

Officials said gifts raised through the campaign are strengthening every aspect of the Skidmore experience. Donations are helping to fund construction of the new Center for Integrated Sciences (CIS); support critical priorities through the Skidmore Fund; bolster scholarships and financial aid; enhance athletics, health and wellness initiatives; fund innovative exhibitions and programming at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery; and increase career development opportunities.

The first phase of Skidmore’s Center for Integrated Sciences, the largest academic initiative in the college’s history, opened in fall 2020 with the completion of the 58,000-square-foot North Wing, home of the departments of computer science and mathematics and statistics.

SUNY Empire State College is celebrating 50 years of academic achievements and excellence throughout 2021.

Founded in 1971, SUNY Empire State began as a bold re-imagining of higher education, one focused on increasing accessibility and opportunities for students.

Officials said that for the past five decades, SUNY Empire has transformed the face of student-centered, accessible, equitable education, ushering in a world of possibilities for busy adult learners. The college began utilizing mail-in correspondence and satellite feeds in the 1970s and was one of the first to move to internet-based and blended coursework in the mid-1990s.

Since then, SUNY Empire has been at the forefront of distance and online education and continues to explore new pathways for students of all ages to pursue their educational and career aspirations.

SUNY Empire’s mission aligns with that of the State University of New York’s, which aims to provide students with accessibility to the highest quality academic, professional, and vocational programs, officials said.

Plug Power Inc., which has a manufacturing plant in  Clifton Park, will build $125 million Innovation Center in Rochester, creating 377 new jobs.

The center, located in the town of Henrietta, Monroe County, will be the first world’s first Gigafactory for Proton Exchange Membrane technology, according to the company.

The company will use this facility to manufacture hydrogen fuel cell stacks and electrolyzers. The fuel cell stacks are used in its ProGen hydrogen fuel cell engines, which are used to power a variety of electric vehicles including material handling equipment, on-road commercial fleet vehicles, and drones. The electrolyzers are utilized in the generation of green hydrogen from renewable electricity. 

Renovation work on the facility will begin in the first quarter of 2021 with manufacturing expected to begin in mid-2021.The company’s decision to expand operations and continued investment and job creation in New York is supported by Empire State Development, which is providing $13 million in Excelsior Tax Credits for this major project. Monroe County, Rochester Gas and Electric and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also assisting with the project.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

It has been a little over a month since LayerEight, formerly PrimeLink Managed Services division, has reintroduced itself to the business community as a new subsidiary of the 118-year -old Champlain Telephone Co.

In keeping with the telephone company philosophy, LayerEight officials said it will focus on personalized customer service by specializing in IT, cybersecurity  and construction services for telecommunications infrastructure.

The company is based out of Plattsburgh, however Vicki A. Marking, its sales and marketing director, said there are a number of well established clients as far reaching as Saratoga County, with the ability to serve satellite offices across New York State.

“The demographic in the Glens Falls and Saratoga area really match with what we have in the Plattsburgh area. We have a sweet spot for certain size businesses who are looking for personalized, local IT support,” said Marking.

The Belmont Child Care Association says its new childcare center serving families and children of the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to open this summer.

The 4,300-square-foot center will be located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch. Funded by Michael and Lee Dubb, the facility will be named Faith’s House in honor of Faith Dubb, mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb.

Faith’s House will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. The center will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of backstretch workers and horsemen.

“All working parents deserve to know that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and enriching environment during the workday,” said Dubb, who is a prominent thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “We are thrilled to extend this important program to the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch community, who provide a vital service to the racing community.”

Saratoga Hospital has taken the next step toward developing a medical office center on Morgan Street in Saratoga Springs, by submitting a sketch plan application for review by the city Planning Board.

The property is located on land behind Saratoga Hospital, which is at 211 Church St.

The hospital presented preliminary sketches to the Planning Board to get feedback from board members and the community.

The preliminary plans include a medical office center that would allow Saratoga Hospital to bring physicians from offices throughout the city to a single location, where they could more easily collaborate on patient care, officials said.

Equally important, because of the site’s proximity to the hospital, in emergency situations surgeons and other physicians could get to Saratoga Hospital in minutes, according to hospital officials.