This article was originally published by Gretchen Parsons in BoiseDev.
The Micron Foundation is giving more than $1 million in grants to Boise State and the University of Idaho.
The chipmaker made the announcement this morning and said the money will benefit both the colleges of engineering at both schools. The funding will be spent on recruiting and retaining a diverse group of students in engineering and computer science majors, and helping students complete their degrees.
Specifically, at Boise State, the investment will be used as seed money to establish and support the College of Engineering’s Student Success Center. The SSC will be a centralized resource for internships, mentoring, and ensuring students develop face-to-face connections with their professional peers.
“We are so pleased and grateful for the Micron Foundation’s support, which will help us ensure that this diversity is fully represented in our graduates by increasing student success,” Dr. Marlene Tromp, president of Boise State, said. “This will allow us to better serve our students, our industry partners, and our state.”
UI’s Micron Student Center launched in 2018 and the new grant money will provide scholarships, expand existing mentorship and increase access to outreach programs.
“We appreciate the Micron Foundation’s continued investment in our students’ access to quality education and fulfilling careers. We know our state and world need more engineers ready to tackle society’s greatest challenges, who are equipped with the professional and technical skills demanded by our industry partners,” UI president C.Scott Green said.
Micron says that this investment is part of the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion effort to increase representation and reinforce partnerships between academia and businesses.
“As a technology leader founded and headquartered in Idaho, we want to share our resources to empower students in our local communities to succeed as future engineers,” Micron Chief People Officer and Micron Foundation President April Arnzen said.
