Poly has Flown the Coup! Now What?

 

By now it should be clear that it was a huge mistake by our local leaders to latch onto the high tech "shiny object" and combine what was becoming a pretty solid local institution focused on Utica/Mohawk Valley's higher-education needs, SUNY Institute of Technology, with Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to create a 2 campus "SUNY Poly." 

Simply, you cannot serve two masters. 

Since Albany is the seat of government with the political clout that comes with it, it was inevitable that the Utica campus, at some point, would get short shrift. 

There needs to be a complete split between these two campuses -- faculties, councils, foundations, etc. -- to recreate the separate institutions that they were before the merger. 

Until there is a complete split, there will always be those running the Utica campus who would want to close it entirely and send all its resources to Albany. That would waste literally DECADES of local efforts to expand higher education opportunities locally. 

Only After a complete split is done should the Utica institution plot its new direction. 

My opinion: Utica/Mohawk Valley needs high tech programs more than ever to support and retain Danfoss and Wolfspeed as developing businesses here  -- otherwise decades of local efforts and taxpayer investments would be threatened. An Independent Poly Utica should develop these programs on its own -- even to the point of competing with Albany if necessary -- which is why a complete split with SUNY Albany is essential.