The project will replace the university’s aging North Hall with a facility built for mechatronics and other applied technology programs. The majority of the funding will come from the SUNY Construction Fund, established by the governor’s office in 1962, with the remaining $8 million coming from a state fund for economic development, which will cover demolition, environmental remediation and renovations, according to the release.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, manufacturing jobs took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions of positions will need filling by 2030. SUNY Delhi President Mary Bonderoff said the new programs are aimed at filling this need, and some SUNY applied technology programs see 100 percent job placement rates for graduates. The school’s connection to internship opportunities with companies like IBM, Tesla and cable-manufacturing company Corning Inc. have helped on this front, she said, and the new mechatronics program will follow this example.
Bonderoff said the college is planning online and hybrid pathways to make the program accessible to working students, potentially including short microcredentials that can build toward a degree. The program will include bachelor’s and associate degree options.
“We would love to see folks who are interested in workforce development,” she said. “Maybe they weren’t able to go to college or are working in the field and really want to advance.”
SUNY Delhi’s existing partnership with the New York State Department of Labor on its turf grass management program is a model for this, she said, with students completing most academic work remotely and coming to campus for hands-on sessions. Bonderoff said similar short, in-person training blocks could become a part of the mechatronics structure, allowing students to work with machinery that can’t be taught online.
“What the students and the employers love about our programs is the experience students get on our campus, in those labs,” she said. “They are doing the work.”
To ensure curriculum aligns with industry needs, SUNY includes private-sector partners in the curriculum design process, Bonderoff said. Advisory councils made up of employers review coursework annually, meet with students and provide feedback on the skills they expect graduates to have. Bonderoff said the private-sector advice will be important for keeping up with industry changes as the building is constructed and curriculum is built over the next five years.
“You don't want to open a building that's dated before you even have the ribbon cutting,” she said.
Much of the existing machinery on campus is growing outdated too, she said, and the new facility will feature industry-standard equipment.
SUNY Delhi’s applied technology enrollment has grown in recent years. Bonderoff said the college has added more than 100 students in these programs since she took office, a significant number at a school with a student population of 3,000. The additional space and updated equipment are intended to increase the number of graduates the college can train each year, responding to regional workforce shortages, according to the news release.
“We can't keep up with industry need,” Bonderoff said. “So, we keep trying to grow and make more room.”
