Syracuse University to Play Key Role in Training Workforce of the Future, Supporting Veterans Initiatives for Micron’s Memory Megafab in Central New York

As part of Micron Technology’s $100 billion plan to transform the Central New York (CNY) community into the nation’s leading producer of semiconductor fabrications, Syracuse University has been tapped to play a key role in building and training the workforce of the future that will power Micron’s leading-edge memory megafab in Clay, New York, the largest facility of its kind in the United States.

Syracuse University Chancellor and President Kent Syverud was among the Central New York leaders who welcomed President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68; federal, state and local officials; and Micron leadership at a community event at Onondaga Community College this afternoon. President Biden, wearing a pin with both the American flag and the Orange block S flag on his suit coat, told a standing room crowd that the Micron investment is one of the most significant ever made in American history.

“This is going to ensure that the future is made in America. This is one of the bright spots around the country, and it should give us a sense of optimism and hope about who we are as a nation. … I’ve never been more optimistic in my life about America’s future. … We have entrepreneurs and people who know what they’re doing to lead us to a whole new era. I hope you feel what I feel standing here today: pride, pride in what we can do when we do it together,” the proud Orange alumnus added.

This unprecedented investment in the Central New York community presents a series of exciting opportunities for Syracuse University to contribute to these efforts to advance American innovation and ensure economic and national security. These initiatives include the following:

• Establishing Syracuse University’s Future-Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium at the College of Professional Studies. Together with the Central New York business community, trade unions, community colleges and other four-year institutions in New York State and beyond, Micron and Syracuse University will implement a multi-dimensional and inclusive approach to workforce development, upskilling and professional retention. The Workforce Innovation Consortium will foster an ecosystem for skills training, academic and partnership programs designed to support Micron’s workforce and talent development strategy.
• Leveraging the intellectual property and thought leadership of Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veteran and Military Families (IVMF) to support Micron’s efforts to hire more than 1,500 veterans in the region over the next two decades. The IVMF will support veteran skill development for advanced manufacturing jobs and transitions into Micron and other industry roles.
• Partnering with Micron to enable Syracuse University to support new, diverse faculty whose research and teaching will train the workforce of the future through its Future Professors Fellowship Program. The program will focus on the quantum and chips cluster at Syracuse University, which is designed to enhance capacity for cutting-edge research in these domains. It will do so by adding world-class faculty, establishing facilities that serve as cutting-edge research labs, enabling experiential learning and attracting a large and diverse set of students at different stages of their educational careers to study engineering and science.
• Creating a Micron internship program designed to prepare students for full-time positions as engineers, scientists and other critical roles in the semiconductor industry. Recruitment will focus heavily on veterans and students from traditionally underrepresented communities. To initiate this program, Micron announced at today’s event that it has selected Savion Pollard ’25 as the first Micron intern hire from the Syracuse veteran community. Pollard is a student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a U.S. Navy veteran.

During an event today, Chancellor Kent Syverud stressed the importance of Syracuse University and the Central New York community coming together to work nimbly and efficiently to help Micron succeed.

Speaking to the audience inside the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College, Chancellor Syverud stressed the importance of Syracuse University and the CNY community coming together to work nimbly and efficiently to help Micron succeed with this investment, promising that the University community will “do our part in this work” to “assure Micron’s success and the growth of this community.”

“In partnership with Micron, our team is rolling up our sleeves and getting to work,” says Chancellor Syverud. “Already, we have several initiatives underway. These include the creation of the Syracuse University Future-Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium, efforts to ramp up Micron’s hiring of veterans and the further investment in the Future Professors Fellowship Program. Individually, these are great opportunities for our university and our community. Combined, they represent transformative and innovative ways to reimagine and reshape how we prepare the next generation of leaders, innovators, and disruptors.”

Micron’s investment will create 50,000 new jobs in this region, including 9,000 high-paying jobs directly with Micron. It involves $500 million in community and workforce development, focusing on assisting traditionally underrepresented and disadvantaged populations while training or retraining workers in our community. Micron’s historic investment was made possible by the passage of New York’s Green CHIPS legislation and the bipartisan federal CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August by President Biden to increase the country’s production of semiconductors while fueling efforts to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.

Site preparation is set to begin next year, with construction starting in 2024 and production in volume beginning after 2025.