New York University says it is investing $1 billion in its flagship engineering school in Brooklyn as it seeks to improve its ranking among competitors and raise New York City’s profile in the technology sector.
The New York Times reports that the university will revamp labs and student spaces at Tandon School of Engineering as it expands its focus on cybersecurity, wireless technology and artificial intelligence. Officials are also planning to hire 40 tenure-track faculty members.
The investment includes $600 million that was already slated for N.Y.U. Tandon, and an additional $400 million in new funds.
As part of the expansion the university has bought 3 MetroTech Center, a 10-story, 350,000 square-feet building in Brooklyn adjacent to the engineering school.
N.Y.U. Tandon is a product of a merger in the early 1970s between the N.Y.U. College of Engineering and the Polytechnic Institute of New York. At the time, both institutions were struggling in the midst of the city’s financial crisis.
Polytechnic first absorbed N.Y.U.’s engineering faculty and programs, and then, in 2008, the two institutions formed an affiliation. In 2014, the two institutions merged.
