GUEST COLUMNIST: Building a Brighter Future for Oswego County

By Peter Nwosu, Ph.D.

President Peter O. Nwosu and other university leaders recently visited the Micron plant in Boise, Idaho, as well as the College of Western Idaho and Boise State University to learn more about ongoing partnerships with Micron. Taking part in a tour of the Micron plant are, from left, Jeff Binford, senior director, front end U.S. expansion for Micron; Showna Price, director of talent acquisition for Micron; President Nwosu; Mary Canale, vice president for university advancement, SUNY Oswego; Scott Furlong, provost and vice president for academic affairs, SUNY Oswego; Kristin Croyle, dean of SUNY Oswego’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Carmen Archabal, senior manager of the Northwest University Network; and Shawn Siddoway, senior director business operations and workforce development for Micron.

The Oswego County Micron Strategy Steering Committee (OCMSSC) was officially launched in early 2023 shortly after Micron’s historic announcement to invest $100 billion in Central New York over the next 20 years through the creation of a megafab chip plant to be located just over Oswego County’s border in Clay, New York.

The announcement and OCMSSC formation marked the beginning of a transformative journey for our region.

As president of SUNY Oswego and chair of this committee, I am proud to witness the collective efforts driving social and economic mobility and enhancing prosperity in Oswego County and beyond.

OCMSSC, which comprises more than 85 organizations, represents a unique example of public-private sector collaboration to ready a region for growth and to shape a county’s trajectory for generations.

A Collaborative Effort

SUNY Oswego hosted the inaugural annual summit of the Oswego County Micron Strategy Steering Committee on June 11. SUNY Oswego President Peter O. Nwosu, who chairs the Oswego County Micron Strategy Steering Committee, provides a welcome to the work group chairs and members as well as campus and community leaders in attendance.

The work of our steering committee is divided among nine focused subcommittees, each addressing key areas critical to our county’s readiness and development:

• childcare (chaired by Brandy Koproski, Integrated Community Planning, Oswego County)

• economic development (chaired by Austin Wheelock, Operation Oswego County)

• education (chaired by Brian Heffron, CiTi BOCES)

• healthcare (chaired by Billy Barlow, Oswego Health and Oswego’s former Mayor)

• hotel, restaurant and tourism (chaired by Sara Broadwell, Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce)

• housing (chaired by Tim Stahl, Oswego County)

• public and private infrastructure (chaired by Dave Turner, Oswego County)

• transportation (chaired by Deana Michaels, Healthy Alliance, and Heather Snow, Oswego County Office of Mobility Management)

• workforce development (chaired by Rachel Pierce, Workforce Development, Oswego County)

On June 11 this year, OCMSSC held its first annual summit at SUNY Oswego to highlight the achievements of the past year and plans for the future. The committee’s annual report can be found at Oswego.edu/micron.

Two defining moments over the past few months give me cause for great optimism. The first, came in April with the announcement by President Biden of $6.1 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funding to support Micron’s investment. The second took place in May, with my visit to Micron’s facilities in Boise, Idaho, with some members of my leadership team. We also visited Boise State University and the College of Western Idaho to learn from their partnerships with Micron. Micron’s planned facility in CNY, spanning the size of 40 football fields, will be its largest in North America. It will employ 9,000 people and generate an additional 40,000 jobs indirectly in the region.

SUNY Oswego and other higher education institutions are working with partners to create the talent pipeline to power the workforce needs of Micron, and other existing major employers who continue to expand and report strong prospects for the future. At SUNY Oswego, we launched our Vision 4040 plan to double the number of credentials granted by the university to 40,000 by 2040. As part of this effort, we partnered with Cayuga, Jefferson and Onondaga community colleges through the CNY Transfer Collaboration to create seamless pathways for students to Oswego or to our Syracuse campus.

Our partnership with the Shineman Foundation has established the Shineman Oswego Scholarship program for Oswego County high school graduates. This will provide significant financial support to ensure that local talent can come to SUNY Oswego.

With a strong record in technology education, with the university hosting one of the largest technology conferences in the Northeast each year for the past 84 years; a track record of nearly 100 percent placement of graduates from its nationally accredited STEM programs housed in the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation; and its nationally ranked and accredited business programs, SUNY Oswego is poised to support the growing workforce needs in the region and beyond.

The university is a regional leader in communication education, with over $124 million in renovations to its facilities that include two broadcasting studios, podcasting studio, newsroom, animation lab, virtual reality suite, music performance space and specialized labs and classrooms, world-class facilities that place SUNY Oswego at the forefront of all institutions in the nation with similar programs. The university is home to NPR member station WRVO, founded in 1969, which serves residents of Central and Northern New York, with a satellite studio located at our Syracuse campus.

Energized for the Work Ahead

As I reflect on the work ahead, I am filled with optimism and excitement for the future. The work we are doing today will pave the way for a brighter, more prosperous tomorrow. Our commitment to advancing education, healthcare, economic development, and infrastructure is unwavering. Together, we will build a resilient, inclusive, and thriving region.