BSU joins semiconductor group

BOISE — Boise State University President Marlene Tromp announced the school is now part of an international semiconductor training and research initiative, which was finalized at the recent Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Tromp, who returned from Japan on Monday, spoke about the initiative during her State of the University address Tuesday, presented by the Boise Metro Chamber at the Stueckle Sky Center.

The new collaboration, called UPWARDS Network, brings together other universities in the U.S. and Japan as well as Micron and Tokyo Electron Limited. The aim of the initiative is to advance the U.S. in the semiconductor industry by developing the next generation of the workforce and pursuing research in the industry.

“I think this is just incredible, and you should be proud of your hometown university being a part of this extraordinary effort with some of the greatest public universities in the country,” Tromp told the crowd.

The memorandum of understanding creating the network was signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka.

Tromp said in an interview that, pending approval by the Idaho State Board of Education, the university plans to implement a “semiconductor for all” certificate, which could be earned by students in any degree program.

The certificate program would work similarly to the university’s Certificate in Cyber for All, which is an online certificate that can be added to any degree after completing the needed cybersecurity courses.

There will also be new opportunities for faculty and student exchanges among the other universities involved in the U.S. and Japan, Tromp said. The other schools in the network include Purdue University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Washington and Virginia Tech.

The initiative is being led by Micron, and Tromp said she was contacted directly by the Boise-based semiconductor company’s CEO Sanjay Mehrotra about the new partnership.

President Joe Biden recognized the agreement at the G7 Summit and said it would help “shift the balance of global power and global industry,” Tromp said.

“It’s one of the most exciting things that I’ve ever seen happen my career,” she said of the network. “I really think it will change the future of this university and this state.”

During her presentation, Tromp also touted the university’s accomplishments over the last few years. There’s been a 44% increase in the four-year graduation rate and 29% increase in the six-year graduation rate. Over the past five years, BSU has seen a 21% increase in research awards and 79% increase in online enrollment, she said.

“We’ve broken a philanthropy record, we’ve broken a research record, and we’ve broken a student graduation record,” she said. “In fact, we didn’t just break these records, we shattered them.”

The state’s largest university is now serving more than 32,000 and averaging more than 5,500 degrees per year.

After enrollment declines during the pandemic, BSU’s incoming class of Idaho students grew by 20% this year. Tromp noted that students are increasingly shouldering the burden of costs as states across the nation are decreasing their investment in higher education. Tromp highlighted that Idaho has the seventh-lowest statewide average tuition in the country.

Last week, the state’s universities all asked for 5% increases in tuition and fees in the first increase in three years. BSU’s yearly tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students will be $8,782.

To try to help ease that financial burden, Tromp highlighted the increasing scholarship opportunities for Idaho students. In 2016, the school awarded $400,000 in True Blue Endowed Scholarships for in-state students. The university is projected $1.8 million will be provided in these scholarships during the next few years. Tromp developed the endowment for this scholarship when she arrived as president.

Most in-state students who get a degree in Idaho stay in Idaho, she said. The State Board of Education this week released a report showing that 76% of resident students who received a bachelor’s degree from BSU were employed in Idaho after graduation — the most of any public four-year institution.

Tromp, who hails from the small city of Green River, Wyo. emphasized the difference a college education can make in the trajectory of one’s life.

“What I want every young person in Idaho to know, is that you can come from anywhere, and you get a college education, you can end up at a G7 Summit,” she said.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.