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“With the vision of making Connecticut home to the best-educated, most-skilled and productive workforce, we are investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at our flagship university to assemble a critical mass of scientific personnel, attract the best and brightest students and prepare them for 21st Century jobs, and position UConn as one of the leading research institutions in the nation,” Malloy said.
“This is one of many investments we have made to solidify UConn’s status as a leader in higher education and is already paying off by increasing STEM enrollment and creating new jobs now, and bolstering long-term economic growth and innovation going forward.”
Over the next 10 years, the curricular expansion and focus on STEM is expected to attract $270 million in research dollars, $527 million in new business activity, and will support 4050 permanent jobs. Data shows that from 2000 to 2010, STEM jobs grew three times faster than non-STEM jobs, and unemployment in the STEM fields are 4.4 percent lower than other areas.
Responding to the needs of business, Next Generation Connecticut will increase STEM graduates by 47 percent, turning out a workforce that is trained for real-world jobs.
The funding includes:
- $1.54 billion in bonding to construct new STEM facilities, build out teaching and research labs, upgrade information technology, and renovate and build additional housing and parking
- $137 million in state funds to support a 30 percent increase in enrollment at UConn—adding 6,580 students and 259 faculty to the UConn Storrs and UConn Stamford campuses
- Expansion of the School of Engineering by increasing enrollment by 70 percent
- Addition of 50 STEM doctoral fellowships and the creation of the premier STEM honors program in the U.S.
- Relocation of the Hartford campus to improve accessibility, strengthen collaboration with regional business, and the addition of real-world internships to help students launch careers
- Increase enrollment in the Digital Media and Business degree programs at the Stamford campus by 110% (1,520 student increase) to address workforce shortages
- Investment of $15 million at the Avery Point campus to modernize classroom and lab buildings and transform the dock area and waterfront operations to advance the research mission, educational activities, and public outreach efforts.
In addition to bolstering job creation in high-tech STEM fields and driving innovation, the project will create 30,000 construction jobs through 2024.
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