Molloy University receives $5 million grant for new health care workforce facility

Molloy University, in Rockville Centre, recently received a $5 million state grant to help fund the construction of a new facility for Health Care Workforce Development.

“Molloy University is very grateful to New York state for believing in our mission and our commitment to workforce development on Long Island,” Molloy’s president, James Lentini, said. “We look forward to building this important project and providing health care education for the region for years to come.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Sept. 27 that $63.6 million in capital grants will be given out to 30 private colleges and universities across the state. The Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program will help the colleges fund capital projects such as the construction of new laboratory, research and educational facilities and the purchase of new instructional technology and equipment.

Since it was created in 2005, the grant program has enabled campuses across the state to invest in their infrastructure and equipment while creating construction jobs.

“New York’s colleges and universities are second to none, and thanks to more than $60 million in state capital funding, we are making transformative renovations at top schools across the state so that they can continue to raise the bar,” Hochul stated in a news release. “From the purchase of cutting-edge scientific equipment to overhauling libraries and student centers, these investments will take our institutions to the next level and ensure that students pursuing higher education in New York State have access to the very best resources and facilities.”

Edward Thompson, Molloy’s vice president for advancement, said that the new Health Care Workforce facility will help further the university’s commitment to educating health care professionals.

“We know the health care needs of the region are continuing and growing,” Thompson said. “Especially after the pandemic and the burnout it caused, we need to make sure we have a continued pipeline of professional people going into the field.”

The project, which he said is still in the preliminary phase, will look to expand Molloy’s health care curriculum beyond nursing, and to provide improved facilities and labs to help better prepare the workforce for the next 50 years.

“Over the next year or two, we will have to finalize plans for the funding and location of the new facility,” Thompson said. “Not all of the details are nailed down. We still have to raise some more money.”

Campuses that receive grants are required to invest at least $3 of their own funds for every $1 of state money they are given. In all, more than $250 million will be invested in New York’s higher educational communities.

According to the program’s website, the money is intended for the design, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or equipping of facilities on or near college campuses, including academic facilities as well as economic development, high technology, urban renewal and historical preservation projects that will enhance programmatic offerings or provide economic development benefits to the areas around the campuses.

The grants were awarded last week by the three-member HECap board, after a competitive application process, and were administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Other projects that will be funded by the program include $5 million for the renovation of the McShane Center at Fordham University, in the Bronx; $377,000 for the purchase of equipment for the Adelphi Center, in Manhattan; and just over $1 million for classroom upgrades and renovations at Hofstra University.

Since 2005, the grant program has awarded a total of $336.3 million in funding to 274 colleges and universities across the state.