ESU Receives Federal Funds For Science and Technology Center Programming and Equipment

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Educations Appropriations Subcommittee recently announced $500,000 in federal funding for East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Educations Appropriations Subcommittee recently announced $500,000 in federal funding for East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. The funds are earmarked for programming and laboratory equipment to be used for degree programs in biotechnology and chemical biotechnology in the planned new university Science and Technology Center. The federal funds are separate from the $13.6 million commitment of Commonwealth capital budget funds for the building of the Science and Technology Center. Governor Mark Schweiker announced the release of those funds during his visit to ESU on January 28. The university will be responsible for the balance of the construction funds for the estimated $26 million building through the raising of private, corporate, and federal dollars.

The present design for the Science and Technology Center calls for a 100,000 square foot facility with 66,000 square feet of laboratory, classroom and office space at an estimated cost of $26,000,000. "Preparing students to stand at the forefront of science and technology is an unwavering commitment," said Robert J. Dillman, president of ESU. "ESU is focused on continuing to develop programming initiatives, and providing faculty and students with the tools and state–of–the–art equipment which will be made possible through this funding."

ESU's new Science and Technology Center will provide significant additional space for biology, chemistry, computer science and physics, including the university's new degree programs in Biotechnology, Chemical Biotechnology and Computer/Information Security. These multi–disciplinary degree programs were approved by the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education in the spring of 2000 and are among the first of their kind in the country.