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Dutchess County’s world-class colleges and universities, including Marist College, Vassar College, Bard College, and the Culinary Institute of America, draw students and visitors from around the world. With cutting-edge innovation in cloud computing, health care, and agriculture, these schools are educating the next- generation workforce, providing the skills needed to thrive in the evolving 21st-century business landscape.
BUSINESS INCUBATION TAKES OFF
A national leader in innovation, Marist College is dedicated to bringing jobs and economic impact to Dutchess County.
“We believe the college serves not only the students through the primary elements of our directed focus, but also the community in which we live,” says Geo rey Brackett, executive vice president of Marist College. “Marist is a place that is actively engaged and understands deeply the needs of economic development.”
Marist, which has an annual local economic impact of more than $500 million, is developing a hotbed for business incubation at its Fulton Technology CrossRoad, a tech park growing on its east campus.
The heart of CrossRoad is the Marist Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will provide o ce space and advanced technologies for small- and medium-size businesses thanks in part to Marist’s Cloud Computing and Analytics Center.
Leveraging its 30-year partnership with IBM, the Cloud Computing and Analytics Center o ers big data and analytics to clients. Also, for up to three years, start-up businesses can use the center for o ce space, training,
marketing support, and referrals to nancing resources. Clients include Lenovo, Plexxi, ADVA, and Brocade.
BlackRidge Technology, a Nevada- based cybersecurity company, sought the center’s help for incubation and to move its engineering operations to New York. Students at the Center helped BlackRidge develop new technologies and training, and the company now has ve employees in Dutchess County.
“We don’t take our eyes o the prize,” says William Thirsk, vice president and chief information o cer of Marist College. “Is this, in the end, going to create a revenue stream into our county that is bene cial for our economic growth? If we can nd a way to prove to ourselves that this will be an economic bene t to the county, we’ll see it through.”
Local organizations such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and Walkway Over the Hudson also use the Cloud Computing and Analytics Center to host databases and websites. These partnerships ensure that Dutchess County’s cultural institutions and organizations can adapt to 21st-century needs while keeping business at home.
Also part of CrossRoad is the recently opened Science and Allied Health Building, a $33 million center that will house Marist’s physician assistants’ program, with 120 students over two
Marist College's ambitious new plan is the Fulton Technology CrossRoad, designed to be an incubator for small businesses.
“Marist brought me to Dutchess County as an undergraduate and kept me here as a professional. Today, I live and work in a community that I believe in, along with a group of leaders
who understand the importance of community engagement.”
— Freddie Garcia, Presidential Fellow,
Marist College ‘09/’14M
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Higher Education