Eleanor Berkhoudt

EV charging station located on campus.

Electric vehicle (EV) owners on Utica University’s campus will not have to travel far for a charge. Fourteen EV charging stations are being installed on campus. 

The stations are utilized through quick response (QR) codes that users can scan through the app EVoke. Users pay for the service through the app, which includes a base fee and a charge for the amount of power the vehicle consumes. There is an additional fee if the user does not unplug their vehicle within 30 minutes after it is finished charging.

Utica University Vice President for Facilities and Emergency Management Shad Crowe said the charging stations are available to EV owners on campus as well as those in the surrounding area.

Phase one of two consisted of installing two EV charging stands, each with two ports, in Parking Lot A behind the Welcome Center. 

Phase two is currently in progress where five more EV charging stands are being installed in Parking Lot B across from F. Eugene Romano Hall.

Crowe said the project began a few years ago and the decision to install EV charging stations was prompted by an increase in electric vehicles on campus in recent years. Approval came after New York State and National Grid offered incentives to install the stations and then make them available to the general public.

Utica carefully selected the location of the EV charging stations based on safety, accessibility and convenience. The university considered traffic patterns as well as the availability of a power supply and the presence of light sources. The Welcome Center lent itself as a direct power source for the EV charging stations in Parking Lot A. For safety purposes, another light post will be added in Parking Lot B during phase two of the installation process to make the area better lit. 

The university faced some challenges regarding the software used to access the charging stations but the program is now working properly after faculty and staff with EVs tested the software and helped work out the initial glitches. 

Professor of Geology Adam Schoonmaker said the EVoke app works better than other charging station apps he used in the past. He also uses the charging stations every day since they were installed, allowing him to recharge the battery of his plug-in hybrid so that he can commute to work and back without using any gas.

“I have a plug-in hybrid so the batteries only hold about 50 miles worth,” Schoonmaker said. “I live about 35 miles away, so when I drive here I’ve mostly used them and in three hours I can charge them back up to full, which gets me back home again so it works perfectly.” 

Crowe said the university is always pushing the envelope to be “greener with every opportunity.” 

“We’re looking at solar right now and different applications for solar use on campus,” Crowe said. “It’s just a matter of trying to figure out from a fiscally responsible standpoint, but also an energy responsible standpoint, what can we do to push our campus to become more and more green.”