Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus | Clinical, Research, and Academic Excellence

Bank of America will donate $250,000 for life sciences at UB

By Jonathan D. Epstein
The Buffalo News
08/21/2007

Flexing its charitable muscles, Bank of America Corp. will announce today that it is donating $250,000 to the University at Buffalo to create a training program for entry-level and mid-level workers in life sciences.

The gift by the nation’s No. 2 bank is designed to provide start-up funding and initial support for the Career Pathways in the Life Sciences Program. The goal is to create a trained technical work force to attract and support biotechnology and life sciences companies.

Supporters hope to create a biotechnology cluster to revitalize the economy, downtown Buffalo, and the neighborhoods around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Officials will announce the gift at 11 a.m., at the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.

“This new program will address the critical skills and talent needs required to fill the growing jobs in the region’s high-tech industry,” said Thomas P. Stewart, president and chief operating officer of Gaymar Industries and president of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s Life Science Industry Council.

Economic development and community leaders are focusing efforts on life sciences as the future of the regional economy. In recent years, state and local governments, together with UB and the private sector, have poured millions of dollars into creating the foundations, including the construction of several new buildings on the medical campus and formation of the Center of Excellence.

Already, there are about 130 life sciences firms in Western New York, but officials also have their eye on new businesses starting up here or relocating from elsewhere. Roswell Park Cancer Institute alone is responsible for five firms.

But while the area has scientists and researchers, officials said there’s a shortage of the nonprofessional technical staff the companies need.

Stewart said prospective companies considering the region always ask about the availability of a trained work force, and firms here, including his own, “sometimes have difficulty filling some technical positions.”

“We want to make sure that the businesses that are already here remain successful and grow,” Stewart said. “So it’s critical to both start-ups and existing companies that they have this readily trained work force available.”

At the same time, officials see opportunities to help those who are unemployed, underemployed or who will be laid off.

“That’s the beauty of all this, that there really is an opportunity in life sciences,” said Marnie LaVigne, director of business development for the Center of Excellence. “We’ve all been really excited about the Center of Excellence, but we haven’t quite made it real for the average worker.”

The pilot program, to be offered by UB’s Educational Opportunity Center in downtown Buffalo, will train 200 people using a curriculum being developed by the Center for Excellence.

Plans call for officials to first survey the life sciences companies about their work force needs and determine what kind of positions to train people for. Targeted jobs are likely to include technicians, but officials aren’t sure yet what else.

UB and the Center also hope to create “career ladders” in various sectors, so that workers would know what their future growth opportunities are for each field. Then the partners would reach out to communities to recruit participants.

The two-year program will culminate in certificates and academic credit. However, the training can lead either directly to full-time jobs or to further academic study for two-year or even four-year degrees. The first students are expected to enter in the fall of 2008.

“As we build this new knowledge- based economy in Western New York, we need all levels of capacity to support that,” said Marsha S. Henderson, UB vice president for external affairs. “This gift allows us to focus on the additional kinds of training needs to support our life sciences and biotech industries.”

Officials agree that it’s only the start. “It’s very progressive on Bank of America’s part to work with UB on identifying this kind of need,” Henderson said. “This is the sort of investment that we need to see in Western New York if we’re going to turn around our economy.”

The pledge by Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, represents part of the bank’s 10-year national commitment to give $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations seeking to improve the quality and vitality of their neighborhoods. The goal was announced following the 2004 acquisition of Boston-based FleetBoston Financial Corp.

Last year, it doled out $200 million, making it one of the largest corporate donors. It plans to match that in 2007, putting it on track to exceed its goal.

In each community, the bank’s market leader works with colleagues as well as outside organizations to determine local funding priorities, based on the region’s needs, with the bulk of grants going to those targeted areas. For Buffalo, the focus has been on health and human services, as well as work force development, so the training is an ideal match, officials said.

“It hit on a number of important criteria for us,” said Kevin Murphy, Buffalo market president. “This was a great way to help bridge the transition from core manufacturing to the engine of the future, which is the whole medicine and bioinformatics sector. Ultimately, if this is successful, the entire economy benefits.”