Binghamton hosts regional SUNY showcase

The “power of SUNY” was on display in the Mandela Room on March 14, as Binghamton University played host to a regional showcase for State University of New York schools.

The Southern Tier SUNY Showcase featured displays of programs and innovations from Binghamton University, Broome Community College, Cornell University’s statutory campus, Corning Community College, SUNY Delhi and Empire State College.

“I’m very, very proud of Binghamton University, SUNY and the campuses that are here,” President Harvey Stenger said. “We pulled together a great event with several hundred people in the room and dozens of displays.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher attended the event and introduced representatives from the various schools, including Stenger; Kevin Drumm, Broome Community College president; Kate Douglas, Corning Community College president; John Nader, SUNY Delhi provost; and Ron Seeber, Cornell senior vice provost for land grant affairs.

The regional showcase was the eighth to be held since October 2011. The last two events will be held at the College at Brockport on April 26 (Finger Lakes region) and Buffalo State on May 1 (western New York region).

“We’ve carved these showcases out of the 10 regional economic development districts that Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo has championed over the past year,” Zimpher said. “We really want to show the regions – the talent, the skills and the success of our campuses in these regions.”

Stenger praised Zimpher’s dedication to the “power of SUNY.”

“When I came in (to the Mandela Room), I started looking for Binghamton University’s displays and I noticed that they were spread out,” he said. “They were spread out in a way to represent the power of SUNY. Each location has a theme associated with it. That’s a great way to show system-ness to this event.”

Each school highlighted its programs and innovations through one of the themes in “SUNY’s Six Big Ideas”: The Entrepreneurial Century; The Seamless Education Pipeline; A Healthier New York; An Energy Smart New York; The Vibrant Community; and The World.

Binghamton University’s displays and demonstrations included a new touchscreen exhibit from the Public Archeology Facility; works from the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera; Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging Center (S3IP) projects such as a multi-directional hearing aid and a greener data center; and simulation equipment from the Decker School of Nursing.

“She’s not looking well,” Stenger said of the simulator patient, drawing laughter from the audience.

Stenger and Drumm also signed a memorandum of understanding with Zimpher for the Binghamton Advantage. The program forms a partnership between Binghamton University and BCC in which students at the community college are able to live on the Vestal campus before transferring to the University before their sophomore and junior years.

Zimpher said the regional showcases have highlighted what has been a “terrific” year for SUNY. Initiatives such as NYSUNY2020 will continue to “shine a bright light” on Binghamton and other campuses, she said.

“It’s a really cool time to be the State University of New York,” Zimpher said.