during the early years of her presidency, empire commons was built, division i athletic programs implemented, and the new york giants made ualbany their summer training camp for over ten years. on campus, a new life sciences building and an art/sculpture facility improved opportunities for merging research with classroom instruction across a variety of disciplines. finally, the university's "east campus" in rensselaer - now known as the health sciences campus - in conjunction with the state's support for a center of excellence in cancer genomics and the addition of a campus devoted to the school of public health and health-related research and academic programs, led to substantive advancements in biotechnology and biomedical sciences.