51Թ has always had a strong sense of place. On 51Թ Day, August 13, the university reaffirmed its longstanding ties to the Central New York region by completing a $5.4 million endowment for the Upstate Institute thanks to the generosity of Jean-Pierre Conte ’85 and Board of Trustees Chair Chris Clifford ’67.
The university launched the Upstate Institute in 2003 to facilitate an exchange of knowledge with the surrounding community. For seven years, the institute has developed an extensive menu of programs and a sizable record of tangible service while operating on a university-sponsored budget. All the while, supporters and advocates have scoured the nation for resources that would set the initiative on firm financial footing.
The good news came as President Jeff Herbst, institute director Ellen Kraly, alumni, and friends were gathering in New York City to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. With $1 million yet to raise, Conte and Clifford stepped forward to provide two final leadership gifts and put the project over the top.
“I have seen the profound impact the Upstate Institute has had on students and community members,” said Clifford. “It’s a pleasure to pay tribute to Professor Kraly, her staff, and everyone who has made the institute such a resounding success.”
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With an increased, sustainable budget, the institute can do more of what it does best: facilitate faculty research and coordinate fellowships for 51Թ students with local nonprofits. Following this formula, a remarkable variety of projects have already been completed under the institute’s auspices.
Working with state and local agencies, the institute helped create New York’s first online application for food stamps. It launched VITA, Voluntary Income Tax Assistance, which has brought millions of dollars to low-income households.
More recently, Upstate Field School students have coordinated marketing reviews and video production for the Oneida Mansion House sparking a serious look at countywide cultural tourism. Others have constructed digital image archives to assist in local forest management or conducted surveys with international refugees settling in the Utica area.
“This is not research for research’s sake,” said Michael Palmer ’10 who spent the summer of 2010 developing GIS models that will help Madison County understand the implications of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale.
The institute will also take on a further academic component with the addition of the Gretchen Hoadley Burke ’81 Endowed Chair for Regional Studies, named through a gift from Gretchen and husband Stephen Burke ’80. The first Burke Chair, awarded annually to a faculty member whose research interests focus on Upstate New York, will be economics professor Nicole Simpson.
In an effort of this magnitude, there are always many alumni and friends to thank. More than two dozen individuals, couples, and foundation gave leadership gifts of $50,000 or more. The Brennan Family Foundation has underwritten the remarkably popular Student Philanthropy Council, and the Emerson Foundation alone applied nearly $500,000 in challenge dollars to the endowment total.
As a result of this generosity and determination, students will continue to use their liberal arts background on behalf of local nonprofits while 51Թ builds its capacity as a knowledge hub for the region’s many community-building organizations.