Le Moyne joins semiconductor workforce development group

SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College says it is now part of a group that will help develop the future workforce for high-tech chip development, such as at the coming Micron plant in northern Onondaga County. The college has joined the Northeast University Semiconductor Network is a partnership involving more than 20 institutions of higher education collectively focused on the development of the next generation of the U.S. semiconductor industry’s workforce. The network was formed in 2023 by Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), the first of three university networks Micron launched and announced last year. Micron is planning to build a semiconductor manufacturing campus in the town of Clay. “We are proud to join this network and partner with Micron and an incredible list of institutions who, like Le Moyne, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to workforce issues, particularly as it relates to access and opportunity for everyone,” Le Moyne President Linda LeMura said in the school’s announcement. “We have been at the forefront of creating pathways to enable underrepresented people to work towards careers in technology since the 2017 founding of our ERIE21 initiative.” The Northeast University Semiconductor Network will expand and prepare the next generation of talent “through a framework centered on collaboration, innovation, and problem solving,” per the announcement. Micron, in partnership with the network institutions, will support efforts to modernize and enhance curriculum by sharing industry-backed technical content, expanding experiential learning programs for greater access to cleanrooms and teaching labs, and bolstering research opportunities for students. In all these efforts, the Northeast University Semiconductor Network will work to reach more underrepresented students, Le Moyne said. Bill Brower, special assistant to the president for strategic partnerships, noted the growing relationship Le Moyne is building with Micron including the school’s service on Micron’s Future Ready Working Force Innovation Consortium and its plan to embed Micron’s Chip Camp in its residential ERIE21 Quantitative Thinking Village, Micron’s first-ever residential chip camp. Le Moyne and Micron also plan to offer two Girls Going Tech programs to Syracuse City School District students on its campus, with one offered in Swahili and one in Arabic. Le Moyne College is joining other regional schools in the network that include Syracuse University, Cornell University, Clarkson University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Rochester. Other partners in the Northeast University Semiconductor Network include the entire State University of New York and City University of New York systems; Brown University; Carnegie Mellon University; Columbia University; Harvard University; Hofstra University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; New York University; Penn State University; Princeton University; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Rochester Institute of Technology; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Pennsylvania; and the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.