NEW YORK (AP) — Cornell University said Friday it had received a $350 million gift from an anonymous donor for its vision of an applied sciences campus in the city as a major rival in the competition to build a world-class graduate institution bowed out.
California's Stanford University withdrew from the competition because it had failed to find a way to ensure the success of its proposed campus in its talks with the city, the school's president said in a statement.
"We were looking forward to an innovative partnership with the city of New York, and we are sorry that together we could not find a way to realize our mutual goals," John Hennessy said in the statement.
Hours after Stanford announced its decision to withdraw from the competition, Cornell's president said it had received what it called the largest gift in the university's history to build its proposed campus.
"Our vision is to build a truly twenty-first century campus that will fuel the city's growing tech sector and spur the creation of new businesses and new industries for decades to come," Cornell University President David J. Skorton said in a statement.
Cornell has partnered with Technion — Israel Institute of Technology for a proposal to open a campus in 2012, initially in existing space and then later on Roosevelt Island. At first, the school would likely offer degrees in computer science, electrical and computer engineering and information science.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in October seven universities and consortiums had submitted bids to build a science campus on city-owned land, promoting it as a potential generator of jobs and a vehicle for diversifying the urban economy.
A winner will be announced soon, with the expectation that the project will break ground early next year.
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