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Student Association is forming a Student Advisory Council to facilitate relationships between SU students and semiconductor manufacturer Micron.

As part of its planned manufacturing plant in Clay, Micron has announced several investment partnerships with Syracuse University. SA leaders decided to create a formal system to foster student relations with the semiconductor company after a meeting in early March with J. Cole Smith, the dean of SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The advisory council will be composed of SA members, and is open to all graduate and undergraduate students at SU and SUNY ESF. SA President David Bruen said SA hopes to make the council accessible to students of all majors for future job opportunities.

“Beyond all of the educational development and economic development that Micron will be participating in, they want to do some community service and efforts that will really lead to positive impacts in the community and for Micron and for the university,” Bruen said. “But it might take a while to recognize those impacts.”

Bruen said he and other SA members wanted to cultivate a partnership early, as Micron will play a significant role in central New York’s future with its $100 billion investment in the new facility.

On Feb. 17, SA met with Robert Simmons III, Micron Foundation’s head of social impact and STEM programs, to discuss collaborations between SU and Micron. Bruen said SA hopes the relationship will benefit the university and the Syracuse community in general.

Vice President Adia Santos said during SA’s March 6 meeting that the advisory council will also bring student job resources and opportunities.

“This advisory council is going to be really important, because it’s supposed to be something that’s long lasting and is going to be here well past all of us actually attending here,” Santos said in the meeting. “Eventually, this is probably going to be something that we use to follow things for student resources, even like job applications or talking about how to get involved with Micron.”

Bruen said students with majors such as STEM, social work, political science and citizenship & civic engagement would be well-positioned for jobs at Micron.

“Micron needs lawyers and they need HR people, so if people ultimately want to get jobs too out of it, it’ll be an opportunity for people even outside of engineering,” Bruen said.

The advisory council will also work with Micron on its community service and outreach efforts, including expanding access to STEM programs for marginalized communities, food scarcity and environmental sustainability, Santos said at the March 6 meeting.

One of the council’s primary goals, Bruen said, will be to work with Micron on initiatives to encourage more women STEM teachers in Syracuse schools.

“It’s these sorts of things that will ultimately be a net positive to the community at large, but will also sort of produce, in the long term, benefits for Micron and all the other business that will be created because of their investment,” Bruen said.

Bruen said he hopes to eventually expand the advisory board to include all colleges in the region, including Le Moyne College, SUNY Upstate Medical University and Onondaga Community College. These students would be “on the front lines” in the relationship between the universities and Micron, Bruen said.

“If you want to be a leader and set yourself on a path early to eventually work with Micron and work in the semiconductor space, this is a great way to do it,” Bruen said.

Published on March 19, 2023 at 10:47 pm

Contact Kendall: kaluther@syr.edu