Letter to the Hon. Thomas Guevara, Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce - Supporting the Alfred State College Application for Federal Funding

Letter

Dear Acting Assistant Secretary Guevara:

I am pleased to write in support of the application submitted by Alfred State College to the Economic Development Administration's Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance grant program. Alfred State College will utilize the funding to establish a Biorefinery Development and Commercialization Center (BDCC).

The BDCC will facilitate the growth of the "New Forest Economy" in the United States, while investing a struggling region of New York State at the same time. The BDCC is designed to proliferate new technologies in the private marketplace, while simultaneously acting as a research/development hub and biotechnology incubator. Alfred State College envisions the BDCC as a public-private "launching pad" for commercialization of these new technologies and products -- with the potential to spur economic development in the Upstate New York region. Additionally, the facility is the only in the United States that will manufacture clean, acid-free cellulosic nanomaterial (CNM), among an array of other products.

The Southern Tier, at the northern tip of Appalachia, continues to be one of the most economically distressed areas of the Northeast. The BDCC project offers an opportunity to reverse this trend by combining the region's abundant natural resources with much needed capital. As Western New York's leading technical college, as well as the economic development arm of Allegany County, Alfred State College is uniquely positioned to both leverage the region's workforce and resources to grow private enterprise. I applaud Alfred State College for its foresight, and sincerely hope the application meets with your approval.

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