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Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Monday that he will bring Savion Pollard – a Syracuse University student and the first intern hired for Micron’s semiconductor fabrication facility set to be built in central New York – to President Biden’s Tuesday State of the Union address.

Micron officials first announced Pollard as its first hire for the Clay, NY facility at Biden’s October address welcoming the company to the Syracuse area at Onondaga Community College. Micron’s up to $100 billion investment in the region is projected to bring approximately 9,000 jobs directly, as well as inflate the local workforce by around 50,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

Pollard, a U.S. Navy veteran who serves as treasurer for the university’s Student Veteran Organization, is in his second year studying electrical engineering and computer science at SU. Micron hired Pollard as an equipment engineer intern, a role in which he will work to troubleshoot and maintain facility equipment, according to Schumer’s Monday press release.

“I am hopeful for the future of Micron and the Central New York region. The historic investment will bring about a lot of opportunity in the area. I feel blessed that my military and engineering backgrounds have led me to be able to take advantage of this opportunity,” Pollard said in the release.

Micron has a partnership with the D’Aniello Institute for Veteran and Military Families at SU, and plans to hire over 1,500 veterans at the new facility, according to the release.

Schumer is also putting emphasis on New York state’s growth in the chip manufacturing industry with his second guest for this year’s address, NY CREATES president David Anderson,
The organization works to foster innovation and grow the role of technology in the economy via workforce development. Schumer’s CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed in August, puts $280 billion toward revitalizing the manufacturing industry in the United States.

During his October visit to Syracuse, Biden emphasized how recent victories in developing industry in central New York and new legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act are moving to establish international leadership by the U.S. in semiconductor manufacturing.

“Making these chips in America is going to help lower the costs for families looking to buy a car, replace (their) washing machine and get a new cell phone,” Biden said at his OCC address in October. “It also helps companies out-compete the rest of the world.”

Schumer also pushed for the Green CHIPS Act in New York state, which provides up to $10 billion in incentives for projects related to semiconductor manufacturing. Among investments in incentives for Micron’s new plant are up to $5.5 billion in tax credits from Empire State Development and a $10 billion joint investment by Onondaga County and SU to create a semiconductor research and development initiative.

Following long negotiations and the passage of legislation furthering the chip manufacturing industry in 2022, Schumer said during the October event with Biden that the precedent Micron sets with its investment in central New York and its workforce will have widespread impact in communities around the U.S.

“The future will be made in Syracuse, in Upstate New York, and I am proud to have Savion as my guest as one of the first people who will be helping lay the foundation to have the future be built here in America,” Schumer wrote in the release.

Published on February 6, 2023 at 11:23 pm

Contact Jana: jlseal@syr.edu | @JanaLoSeal