Photo c/o governor.ny.gov.
It has been a month and a half since Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan for New York to build the nation’s first college focused specifically on training leaders for emergency management and many still wonder what the next step in the plan is, as $15 million has been allocated in the state budget without any public concrete plans for the school.
“There are colleges that offer courses in the area, but we’re going to establish the nation’s first college dedicated solely to emergency preparedness and homeland security, because I believe that this is a field that’s only going to grow,” ” the Governor said in the January 8 speech. ” Unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse. And we want this college, right here in the State of New York, training our people and training others from around the country.”
Now in February, leaders around the state want some more information as the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Democratic Assemblyman Albert Stirpe, who is part of the higher-education committee, stated, “We don’t know what the $15 million is there for. Is it to build a building? To put a program together?” he said, adding: “I don’t know that we have to a create a university.”
Mr. Cuomo first brought the plan up publicly during a presentation for Vice President Joe Biden in January, saying there would be “a need” for it. In his state of the state address, Mr. Cuomo said that Raymond Kelly, the former New York Police Department commissioner, would be a “special adviser” to the school.”
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