In a Wednesday statement, Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-119, Marcy noted that herself, Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-47, Rome, and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul to discuss the importance of Wolfspeed’s Mohawk Valley Fab and SUNY Polytechnic’s Marcy campus to the Mohawk Valley’s future. 

The letter also reiterated Buttenschon’s request to forge a formal relationship between the advanced manufacturer and the SUNY school, added information from the Assemblywoman’s office.

The issue 

It has long been touted that Wolfspeed — the semiconductor fabrication plant located next to SUNY Poly’s Marcy campus — would be one of many options to open the door for groundbreaking research and future
recruitment opportunities for students. 

Hochul has met with outcry in recent months after she floated an idea in her beginning of the year state of the state address that would potentially reunify SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering with the University at Albany.

In 2014, the SUNY Board of Trustees approved a merger of CNSE in Albany and SUNY Poly (then SUNY Institute of Technology).

At a late-April ceremonial grand-opening of the under-construction Wolfspeed — a $1 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility that is the centerpiece of the Marcy Nanocenter at SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s 434-acre greenfield campus developed for semiconductor and advanced technology manufacturing facilities — Hochul told reporters that no decisions had been made regarding the idea.

“The recently opened Wolfspeed factory represents a significant investment in the future of our Mohawk Valley communities, creating good-paying jobs and further cementing our region’s positions as a leader in advanced manufacturing,” said Buttenschon in her Wednesday statement. 

She continued, “I was pleased that Gov. Hochul joined us for the grand opening, but we must do more to develop public-private partnerships between companies like Wolfspeed and our local colleges and universities. I look forward to having further discussions with the governor, elected leaders and local stakeholders to craft a long-term strategy for our communities’ success.”

Last week, the Daily Sentinel reached out to SUNY Polytechnic for comment relating to the status of partnerships forged between the SUNY Poly’s Marcy Nanocenter site and the community.

In a statement, a SUNY Polytechnic spokesperson noted, “SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s legacy of strong innovation-based academic-industrial partnerships continues in the Mohawk Valley with companies like Wolfspeed and others, such as the Air Force Research Laboratory, complemented by active efforts to attract additional partners to SUNY Poly’s Marcy Nanocenter site.”

“Concurrently, SUNY Poly’s partnerships extend to both campuses, and SUNY Poly’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), located in Albany, boasts faculty and staff collaborations with Mohawk Valley partners, in addition to the numerous globally recognized corporations based on SUNY Poly’s Albany campus. We have not received details about any potential plan to split SUNY Poly’s CNSE from SUNY Poly, but this institution aims to continue to act as a high-tech catalyst for high-tech research and experiential academic and career opportunities across both campuses, in Utica and Albany, to support New York State’s vibrant semiconductor-centered ecosystem as well as the vision outlined by SUNY and the Governor,” it added.