Governor Hochul Announces $10 Million Investment for SUNY Nursing Simulation Hub at the State University of New York at Binghamton

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that a new State University of New York (SUNY) Systemwide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence will be established at the State University of New York at Binghamton as part of her signature legislation to expand simulation-based education in SUNY nursing programs. The $10 million investment includes $5 million in direct SUNY capital funding, with the remaining funds contributed by a $5 million campus match.

"Nurses are the backbone of New York State's healthcare system, and SUNY is a key part of New York State's solution to the nursing shortage," Governor Hochul said. "The nursing simulation center at the State University of New York at Binghamton will strengthen the pipeline of excellent aspiring healthcare professionals across our state and help expand the workforce we all rely on."

The $10 million investment builds on the landmark $62 million investment announced in 2025, which established new SUNY Nursing Simulation Centers on three SUNY campuses. With the addition of the State University of New York at Binghamton, SUNY's statewide nursing simulation network will now include four centers across the System: Systemwide Centers of Excellence at the State University of New York at Binghamton University and the State University of New York at Buffalo, as well as Regional Nursing Simulation Centers at SUNY Canton and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, "SUNY is at the forefront of utilizing innovative, simulation-based nursing education to prepare the next generation of New York State's healthcare workforce. We are committed to accomplishing Governor Hochul's goal of increasing the number of highly skilled healthcare workers in the state, and this investment in the State University of New York at Binghamton will help us accelerate our abilities to train more nurses. We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her landmark nursing simulation legislation and continued investment to ensure our students receive a world-class education and training so they can thrive in their future careers."

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "By establishing a Nursing Center for Excellence at the State University of New York at Binghamton, Governor Hochul is ensuring SUNY is better equipped to help address the critical healthcare workforce shortage. SUNY is proud of our progress in providing our students opportunities to receive a high-quality education that prepares them to enter New York State's healthcare workforce, and we thank Governor Hochul for her continued investment and support of SUNY."

The Center of Excellence at the State University of New York at Binghamton will strengthen New York's healthcare educator pipeline by preparing faculty and clinicians with expertise in simulation-based education. The Center will offer flexible pathways for professionals to develop skills in simulation education, clinical education, simulation operations and simulation center management through new simulation-focused microcredentials and a new fully online master's program designed to prepare graduates for careers as nursing faculty. Together, these programs are expected to enroll more than 150 students annually at full implementation.

SUNY Binghamton President Anne D'Alleva said, "I am grateful to Governor Hochul, Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees for choosing to invest in the Innovative Simulation and Practice Center at Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences as a SUNY Center of Excellence. The experiences students gain in the ISPC are an invaluable part of their education and prepare them for real-world scenarios. Binghamton's nursing students graduate with confidence and skills that enable them to stand out among their peers and make a difference in their patients' lives. I'm also appreciative of the efforts of Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, whose legislation on expanding clinical simulation programs has greatly benefitted the University in teaching the next generation of nurses."

This investment advances Governor Hochul's signature legislation signed in May of 2023 permitting nursing students to complete up to one-third of their clinical training through high-quality simulation experiences. The investment will also expand SUNY's capacity to support the growth of healthcare education across the State University of New York at Binghamton and the SUNY System.

Enhanced, high fidelity, interprofessional simulation environments will support nursing education alongside training in other critical health professions, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and more. By bringing students and educators from multiple health professions together in shared simulation experiences, the Center will expand opportunities for team-based, interprofessional learning and help prepare the healthcare workforce for collaborative models of care that define modern healthcare delivery.

This announcement builds on Governor Hochul's efforts to expand and enhance SUNY nursing education through simulation-based learning. In May, Chancellor King announced the official launch of the new SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library, developed by the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship, a key initiative to further advance the integration of simulation into SUNY nursing programs. Additionally, SUNY has invested more than $4.4 million through its High Needs Nursing Fund to further advance simulation-based education across 40 of SUNY's nursing programs. Over three consecutive years, the SUNY High Needs Nursing Fund has equipped SUNY campuses with the necessary tools, training and resources to modernize and expand simulation experiences for students.

SUNY's efforts to fully leverage nursing simulation aligns with recommendations from the SUNY Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force, convened to help address New York's critical healthcare workforce shortage. In its findings, the task force identified fully leveraging nursing simulation as one of its four priority areas for short-term action and investment. The $10 million investment at the State University of New York at Binghamton, together with the $62 million investment announced in 2025, will expand nursing education capacity while strengthening the pipeline of healthcare educators, directly advancing Governor Hochul's goal of growing New York's healthcare workforce by 20 percent.

About The State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country's oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.