Thanks to a matching grant from the state Higher Education Facilities Capital Matching Grants Board, Mount St. Mary will receive slightly more than $1 million toward Aquinas Hall”™s math, science and technology addition, plus equipment.
State Sen. Bill Larkin, R/C-Cornwall on Hudson, announced the grant the day before the college handed out diplomas. “This capital program requires a 3-to-1 matching ratio, so for every dollar the state awards, the college had to raise three dollars. Officials at the college did an excellent job in budgeting and in detailing the merits of the project. That”™s why the college”™s application was approved by the state so quickly.”
Under the program, specifically designed for private colleges in New York state, grants may be used for the design, construction or acquisition of new facilities, rehabilitation and repair of existing ones, or for any projects for targeted priorities.
The 2008-2009 budget included $150 million for the program, which bases the awards on enrollment, degrees granted and student financial need.
Sr. Ann Sakac, who will retire June 30 as the college”™s president, gave out her last diplomas to 435 students on May 17, another feather in her many-feathered cap. The college”™s enrollment has tripled since Sakac took over the presidency in 1977. She was also awarded the faculty”™s annual award at ceremonies to mark her three decades of service to the school.
Mount St. Mary is one of only 33 private colleges statewide to receive the grant. “I am confident the Aquinas Hall math, science and technology addition will further add to the college”™s already outstanding reputation and create even greater opportunities,” said Larkin.
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