For Release:         Immediate – March 18, 2016

Contact:                Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations ­

(518) 956-7359 | jgretzinger@sunypoly.edu

First Niagara Awards SUNY Polytechnic Institute $25,000 Grant

Funding to Assist Career Services Center’s Dedication to Mentoring Opportunities

[caption id="attachment_21744" align="alignright" width="292"] Karen Constabile - Vice President Commercial Lending / Senior Relationship Manager, First Niagara Bank and Dr. Robert Geer - Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, SUNY Polytechnic Institute[/caption]

Utica, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute today announced First Niagara is supporting the ongoing mentoring work of SUNY Poly’s Career Services Center with a grant of $25,000 from the bank’s Mentoring Matters program.

“We are honored to have been selected as a recipient of this wonderful grant from First Niagara and applaud their commitment to developing young minds,” said Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, President and CEO of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. “This funding will enable the SUNY Poly Career Services Department to continue providing the exemplary mentoring programs that help launch careers and leave an indelible mark on our students.”

“The relationship between a mentor and a mentee can have a lasting, positive effect on a child both academically and personally,” said David Kavney, First Niagara Central New York Market Executive. “Through our strategic partnerships with organizations like SUNY Poly, we are able to cast a wide net of support to programs and initiatives in the communities where our customers and employees live, work and do business.”

Since launching Mentoring Matters in 2007, First Niagara has provided a total of $850,000 in grants to Central New York mentoring organizations and $7.25 million across the company. The program was created with the goal of supporting organizations that help children improve their grades and school attendance, enhance their self-esteem, avoid the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and have a better opportunity for a brighter future.

The grant funds will go to support the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Career Services Mentoring Program, which helps students gain access to the professional workplace via site visits, informational interviews, and job shadowing.  This grant will also enable opportunities for workshops, panels, career services presentations and assistance with other career services events.

“On behalf of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Foundation, I’d like to extend our genuine appreciation for First Niagara’s support of the student mentoring programs here at SUNY Poly,” said Nick Grimmer, Assistant Vice President of Development for SUNY Poly. “Their tremendous investment will have a significant impact on the resources that we are able to provide to the students who work with our Career Services Office. I am very proud to say that First Niagara Bank is a true philanthropic partner of SUNY Poly and our Foundation."

“We are extremely excited about this opportunity for students to obtain mentoring and leadership development through collaboration with employers as well as alumni,” said Sim Covington, Director of Career Services.

On Tuesday, March 15, as part of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Career and Graduate School Fair, First Niagara was presented with a plaque to commemorate their generosity and commitment to student development.

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit www.sunycnse.com andwww.sunypoly.edu.