BINGHAMTON, NY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced a $1.6 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration to Binghamton University to develop the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator’s Soft Landing Program to attract international companies interested in locating to the U.S. and establishing operations in the Southern Tier and throughout Upstate New York. A key partner to Binghamton will be the Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.
“Binghamton University is a cornerstone of the Southern Tier, and this funding will help to attract new employers, create over 300 good-paying jobs and jumpstart the region’s economic development as we continue to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to have fought for and secured this $1.6 million federal grant for Binghamton University to attract new business investment to Upstate New York. Now, many more will see what I’ve long-known: that the Southern Tier and broader Upstate New York region are on the rise. I will continue to fight tooth and nail to deliver the resources needed to grow the Southern Tier economy and further make Upstate New York a top location for employers to invest and create new jobs.”
“The Southern Tier Soft Landing Program at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator will build on the momentum of the Southern Tier of New York as a hotspot for the development and manufacturing of clean energy technologies by attracting and assisting international companies providing products and services that can help the US meet the administration’s climate goals as well as create jobs,” said Per Stromhaug, associate vice president of innovation and economic development at Binghamton University.
Senator Schumer has a long history of supporting job-creating investment for Binghamton University and the Southern Tier. Most recently, Schumer announced that following his direct advocacy the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration selected the Binghamton University-led New Energy New York battery manufacturing project as a Phase 1 awardee and finalist for investment through the American Rescue Plan’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. Schumer said that as a Phase 1 awardee, the project will receive $500,000 in technical assistance funds to develop its proposal to compete for a Phase 2 implementation grant, worth up to $100 million, to expand research, development, testing, and workforce assets to meet the demand of the emerging battery manufacturing industry in the Southern Tier and Upstate NY.
“We, at Cornell, jumped at the opportunity to collaborate on the Southern Tier Soft Landing Program with our partners at Binghamton University and its Center for International Business Advancement,” said Andrew Karolyi, Cornell’s principal investigator on the grant and dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University. “It’s about forging real-life, engaged learning opportunities for our students in which they roll up their sleeves and get to work with the foreign companies attracted to the region to help build out their clean energy technologies.”
“CIBA is proud to be part of the exceptional team that will develop the Southern Tier Soft Landing Program to attract international companies interested in investing in the U.S., and establishing operations in the Southern Tier and throughout Upstate New York,” said Elena Iankova, founding director of the Center for International Business Advancement at Binghamton University. In addition to Iankova, the CIBA team for this project includes two economic development specialists, Jim Held and Ed Kowalewski, who will bring considerable expertise in international business development, economic research and lead generation.