New York Institute of Technology Launches Public Sector Scholarship

Pictured from left: Brookville Mayor Daniel Serota; Imran Ansari, Governor Cuomo’s representative for Long Island/Nassau County; New York State Senator Jim Gaughran; New York State Senator Anna Kaplan; President Foley; New York State Senator Kevin Thomas; U.S. Congressman Thomas Suozzi; and New York State Senator Philip Boyle.

New York Institute of Technology President Hank Foley, Ph.D., today announced a new public sector scholarship to honor the commitment and dedication of police officers, firefighters, EMT personnel, and K-12 teachers throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The new scholarship provides children of these public servants up to 50 percent tuition discount on any of the university’s 50+ full-time undergraduate programs, beginning in the 2019 fall semester.

The Children of Police Officers, Firefighters, EMT, and K-12 Teachers Award is designed to acknowledge New York Institute of Technology students whose parents or legal guardians are active and fully employed (non-volunteer) in these public service professions. Nearly 98 percent of first-time full-time degree-seeking New York Institute of Technology students receive some form of financial aid. Details and requirements for this and other scholarships are available online.

“A college education is one of the best investments you can make in your future. It’s also one of the biggest. True to New York Tech’s mission to provide access to opportunity to all qualified students, we are committed to being one of the most affordable private not-for-profit universities in New York, and to ensuring that the children of those serving our communities are able to become the makers, doers, and innovators of the next generation,” Foley said.

During an event to announce the scholarship program, Thomas R. Suozzi, representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, said, “This is great gift that will change people’s lives,” especially in light of stagnated wages. He added that this is a “wonderful idea that is great for public servants throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the whole tristate area.”

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Several other elected officials attended the announcement event. Excerpts of their brief remarks follow, in order of appearance:

• Daniel H. Serota, Mayor, Village of Brookville: I want to commend Dr. Foley and the Board of Trustees for initiating this program and putting your money where your mouth is.

• Phillip M. Boyle, Senator for the 4th District of the New York Senate: I want to thank New York Institute of Technology for this tremendous program and for its visionary foresight to bring this about. I also want to thank our first responders and teachers who do so much for our communities. This is a great program and I am so excited to hear about it. 

• Anna Kaplan, Senator for the 7th District of the New York Senate: I commend you on this big initiative—it is a great way to take care of those who take care of us every day.

• Kevin Thomas, Senator for the 6th District of the New York Senate (and former NYPD officer): I commend New York Institute of Technology for its efforts to reduce the student debt. I’m the chair of the Consumer Protection Committee and I have seen the student debt crisis rise in this state and in this country. To see NYIT lead in this sphere to try and reduce the debt by offering this program to emergency service members—to the police officers, to the teachers, to the firefighters—I applaud their efforts to try to mitigate the student debt crisis in this country.   

• James Gaughran, Senator for the 5th District of New York Senate: Living on Long Island is very, very tough. The salary of teachers, police, and first responders often makes it more difficult for them to be able to send their kids to these great colleges, and so that’s why I think this is such a vital new program.

New York Institute of Technology also offers discounted tuition to actively employed corrections officers, police and auxiliary police officers, and sheriffs. For 2019, NYIT was once again named among Best Colleges for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report.

See local media coverage:

• Innovate LI
• The Island Now
• Patch – New York City
• Patch – Port Washington