Governor Kathy Hochul announced last month that CUNY will receive $75 million from the Simons Foundation to improve the computational science programs and incorporate CUNY into the governor’s proposed Empire AI project.
The donation is the largest in CUNY history. The funds will be split with $50 million going toward enhancing the computational science programs and $25 million to establish CUNY as part of Hochul’s plan for an AI computing center upstate, consisting of various local universities in a collaborative research consortium.
“With this funding, we are creating more opportunities for our students while solidifying New York as a leader in technology,” Hochul said in the press release.
Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said it will “guarantee access for our diverse community” of over 10,000 researchers and a student body with 60% first-generation students and over 80% students of color.
It’s unknown how much of the donation will go toward the Computer Science department at Hunter College.
William Sakas, Chair of the Computer Science Department at Hunter, declined to comment because he said he is waiting to learn more details relevant to the Hunter community.
The donation will fund the creation of a new master’s degree program, the hiring of more faculty and increased career opportunities for students and staff, according to the press release.
Despite not knowing if the funding will affect Hunter directly, some students were excited nonetheless.
“There’s a lot of people, and it’s really competitive,” said Joey Huang, a freshman Computer Science major. “It’s great that there are more job pathways opening up because I think right now there’s a lot of insecurity for CS majors who are worried that their degree is going to be useless because of the oversaturation.”
The computer and information technology field is projected to grow faster than most other occupations and add over 300,000 new jobs per year in the coming decade, according to a government report.
“The majority of CS majors currently are looking into cybersecurity and software engineering, and they aren’t really exploring their other options,” said Huang. “So if the funding is going into broadening their horizons, I can understand that.”
The donation will strengthen the degree-to-career pipeline for undergraduates and graduate students by providing research opportunities and will provide tuition subsidies and fellowship stipends for Ph.D. students to become mentors for undergraduate researchers, according to the governor’s press release.
As a new Hunter student, Huang said networking can be challenging in the large introductory computer science courses and wants more opportunities to improve the sense of community within the program.
“It can be super intimidating sometimes,” said Huang. “Even more intimidating sometimes because if you’re a woman, obviously you’re in a sort of male-dominated space.”
Despite the school’s enthusiasm for the large donation, some students said the money should be spent elsewhere, or to address major funding issues at CUNY.
One student brought up Hunter’s notorious failing infrastructure when she heard about the donation, and cited reports of asbestos, bed bugs, exposed electrical wires, and inoperable elevators.
“To hear that they’re putting that money into building up one program rather than sort of holistically improve the whole entire school … that’s pretty alarming to me,” said Journalism major Sydney Sepp.
Other funding issues include recent budget cuts and lay-offs. There were 235 jobs lost resulting from budget cuts that amounted to $155 million in the last fiscal year, according to a comptroller report.
Many Hunter students are also scrambling to find affordable housing due to the imminent demolition of the Brookdale dormitories.
Sepp said the money could be dispersed more broadly to address some of these glaring issues.
“What program needs it the most? I would give it to them,” said Sepp.
