Washington – September 09, 2026 -- Arizona State University has been named one of eight universities to lead the Foundry School, a U.S. Department of State initiative run in partnership with the Department of Labor to train the next generation of American manufacturing workers.
Vice President Vance unveils national manufacturing education program
The Foundry School was announced by Vice President J.D. Vance in Washington, D.C., alongside Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg and university presidents, including ASU President Michael Crow. Students from ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering were invited to the announcement.
"This is about universities and industry working together to accelerate all things associated with enhancing workforce preparation, enhancement and competitiveness," said Crow.
Program pairs eight universities with 17 sessions taught by global manufacturing executives
Across the eight participating universities, the Foundry School will run 17 sessions taught by founders and CEOs of advanced manufacturing enterprises. Instructors will be drawn from the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan and India, covering materials, precision production, automation, supply chains, factory economics and industrial leadership.
Beyond ASU, the initiative includes Stanford University, The Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, Penn State, Georgia Tech and the University of Kansas. Stanford played a lead role in creating the program, contributing expertise in fabrication facilities, robotics research and policy.
ASU leverages Fulton Schools infrastructure and federal manufacturing programs
ASU's contribution centers on the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, housed in the 173,000-square-foot ISTB12 facility on its Polytechnic campus. The school trains students with skills transferable across aerospace, microelectronics, medical devices and energy sectors, and its facilities anchor several federally funded manufacturing programs.
"Decisions made early in a design show up much later, in tooling, in yield and in whether a product can be manufactured at scale," said Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Fulton Schools' scale positions ASU as a national talent pipeline
The Fulton Schools is the largest engineering school in the country, enrolling nearly 33,000 students. ASU ranks No. 2 among U.S. public universities for graduate employability, according to the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey, with employers citing practical skills and job readiness among its graduates.