Utica College Receives Grant to Improve Safety and Security

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Utica College Receives Grant to Improve Safety and Security

NYS HECap Awards Grant for New Technology to Keep Campus Safe

Utica College received a grant for $312,711 from the Higher Education Capital (HECap) Matching Grant Program for new technologies to improve safety and security on campus, said college President Laura Casamento.

The money awarded to Utica College through this grant will be used for new equipment including access control (card swipe readers) for academic and administrative buildings and a new cybersecurity firewall to aid in the installation of call recording and mass notification systems. Students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus will be notified of emergencies when they are inside and outside campus buildings.

“A safe learning environment is essential for students of all ages. Without it, students are unable to focus on the educational program needed for their future success,” said Shad Crowe, director of emergency management. “Utica College is committed to improving our campus facilities so that all our community members - students, faculty, staff and visitors - feel safe and secure when they are on our campus.”

“This project provides a comprehensive suite of capital improvements that will make our campus even safer,” Crowe said.

The HECap Matching Grant Program provides grants to private, nonprofit colleges and universities for projects that create construction jobs and drive investment in communities across the state. The program also awards matching capital grants to colleges for the design, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or equipping of a facility on or near a college campus within the state, including critical academic facilities, economic development and/or high technology projects and urban renewal and/or historical preservation projects that would enhance the programmatic offerings or the student life at the college or provide economic development benefits to the area.