Syracuse Center of Excellence history

The University, with the vision and financial support of noted industrialist Lyman Cornelius Smith, established a college dedicated solely to teaching various areas of applied science in 1901.

Across the street was the New York Central railroad station built in 1936.

A master’s program in engineering administration (engineering management) was established in 1957.

Beginning in the early 20th century, the site changed from residential to commercial with the L.C. Smith & Bros. typewriter factory, which occupied the area until 1960.

The site also served as the first home to Onondaga Community College in 1962 when the old Smith typewriter factory reopened as Midtown Plaza.

The undergraduate program in bioengineering grew out of this community and was officially established in 1971.

In 1985, manufacturing engineering and engineering physics programs were established.

In 1992, the College of Engineering and the School of Computer and Information Science were united to form the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Also in 2001, the College received a $3 million grant from NASA and the State of New York to establish the Advanced Interactive Discovery Environment for Engineering Education, a state-of-the-art virtual learning environment.

In 2005, The Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science merged to form the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in 2005.

Link Hall was expanded in 2008 with “Link+,” a five-story, interdisciplinary wing built onto the north side of the building.

The College continued to expand its resources in 2010 with the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute (SBI), focusing on research in biomaterials, smart medical devices, and biological/tissue-engineered constructs.

In 2015, the College once again gained new leadership as Teresa A. Dahlberg was selected as the new Dean of the College.