"I am very pleased to announce that our campus plan is fully approved by the state of New York," college President Deborah F. Stanley said. "Advancing our academic mission while creating jobs for our region is an exciting opportunity for our college, which is already an economic anchor in Central New York and the largest employer in Oswego County."

     Oswego's newly approved plan designates more than 9 acres of land and nearly 10,500 square feet of office space as Start-Up NY tax-free zones for business development.

     Gov. Andrew Cuomo last October launched Start-Up NY, providing major incentives for qualifying businesses to relocate or expand through affiliations with colleges and universities. Businesses have the opportunity to operate free of state and local taxes on or near academic campuses. Their employees will pay no state or local income taxes for 10 years.

     The key qualification: The company must add new jobs, providing an economic lift to the surrounding community without endangering nearby competitors.

     In Oswego, parcels along Route 104 near Romney Field House and near the Lake Ontario shore to the west of the main campus join space in the SUNY Oswego Phoenix Center and the Syracuse Tech Garden in the college's initial efforts to attract new or expanding businesses to strengthen the regional economy and boost opportunities for students and faculty.

     Leveraging academic strong suits at SUNY Oswego, the college plans to target innovation-oriented industry sectors: advanced manufacturing, robotics, information technology, automation control systems, sustainable and green processes, energy-related manufacturing, electronics and computer software, telecommunications and telemedicine.

     "This is much more than a new public-private partnership effort," Pamela Caraccioli, deputy to the president for external partnerships and economic development, said. "Start-Up NY gives us real incentives to leverage our unique human and capital assets in our efforts to advance research and innovation, and education and training of our students and graduates."

     Potential sites

     SUNY Oswego's newly approved Start-Up NY plan also lists a variety of future parcels and office spaces that the college may seek to designate as tax free, including land in Oswego's Intermodal Center and Port Expansion Center, the city's Lake Ontario Industrial Park and the Oswego County Industrial Park in the town of Schroeppel, along with space in Mackin Hall on campus and in office buildings around the city and county.

     Caraccioli said SUNY Oswego aims to integrate Start-Up NY partnerships with the college's longstanding emphasis on experiential educational experiences for students -- internships, collaborative research, cooperative education, and service learning, all of which contribute to deeper learning and career readiness.

     The college's plan establishes a review process for business-college partnership proposals that includes input from students and faculty and staff members. Following approval by President Stanley, the college will submit partnership proposals to Empire State Development, the state's chief economic development agency, for final approval.

     For more information, visit oswego.edu/startupny or startup.ny.gov.