Cuomo supports Binghamton University's pharmacy school

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to include $10 million in his 2014-2015 executive budget proposal for Binghamton University to commence site acquisition and design work for a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy.



"We all have been talking about a School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy and Harvey, the governor and I have had a number of conversations about moving forward and accelerating it," State Sen. Thomas W. Libous said. "The governor has reached out to me that he will be putting $10 million into his budget proposal on Tuesday, part of an overall $60 million investment. We see this as a couple-year process, but we believe that with the governor's support we're on a fast track. He made it very clear to me that this is the real deal."



The school will most likely be built in Johnson City, N.Y., Libous added. Upon completion, the building is expected to be about 70,000 gross sq. ft.



"Our current plan is to have 300 students when we're fully enrolled — 240 DPharm students and another 60 PhD students when we're up and running," Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger said. "We'll initially hire about 12 clinical and 12 research faculty, and with the additional graduate students, it will make a nice community, create jobs and attract research dollars."



Binghamton submitted a Letter of Intent to SUNY to establish the school back in September 2013. A full proposal will be submitted this spring. The approval will allow Binghamton to develop the second public school of pharmacy in the state of New York.