ASI Chemicals to operate from Cheyney University
Company is second science-based firm to locate at the school
THORNBURY >> Cheyney University has announced that ASI Chemicals, a start-up company that manufactures chemicals for pharmaceutical products, will soon launch operations at the university’s Science Center. ASI Chemicals will be the second private industry partner to set up operations at Cheyney University, which straddles Chester and Delaware counties.
“We’re eager to meet with the students, see what they’re excited to do, and determine how we can work with them.” — Rich Tyburski, president of ASI Chemicals
“This is the next step in our plan to attract businesses that can provide valuable learning opportunities to our students through internships and generate revenue for the university by utilizing space in our state-of-the-art Science Center,” Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton, said in a press release. “This chemistry-based company also expands the variety of science disciplines to which our students will be exposed.”
ASI’s president, Rich Tyburski, said he knew the Science Center was a good fit the first time he saw it.
“When we visited, we saw it was a beautiful campus with a top-notch facility, and the chance to work with students is something we think is just great for us,” he said in the release. “Before I was hired into my first job, I started as an intern right before my junior year at Villanova University and then that company hired me as an entry-level scientist. I was able to work my way up from there. Getting that realworld experience helped me tremendously. We’re looking to create that pathway for Cheyney students now.”
ASI will be looking for students seeking a science degree to intern with them but there is also potential for students on a business or marketing track.
“We’re eager to meet with the students, see what they’re excited to do, and determine how we can work with them,” Tyburski said. “At small companies, sometimes you just have to find an individual who’s passionate about something and let them run with it. That’s where you can really see some huge growth.”
Tyburski said he and his partners wanted to get back to a small company environment.
“We wanted to be part of a new innovative company, where we can focus on the science. For
us it was about getting back to that small company feel and doing what we do best,” he said. Mosaic Development
Partners — along with the Chester County Economic Development Council — has been helping Cheyney attract corporate partners to locate on campus.
According to Mosaic Partner Leslie SmallwoodLewis, the Science Center practically sells itself.
“When we bring scientists in, they are impressed by the quality of the fully equipped labs,” Smallwood-Lewis said. “The building has extra capacity so why not let some of those labs become hands-on training rooms for students and also produce
income for the university?”
ASI’s arrival follows a similar move last month by Navrogen, a research and development biology-based company. The university is in talks with other potential corporate partners about moving their operations
to the 275-acre campus.
According to Walton, the university started with the Science Center building, because it required no renovations or retrofits.
“We started to create momentum there and now we’ve begun to focus on
other buildings that need to be remodeled to make them appropriate for other uses. Our plan to transform the campus is right on course,” he added.
For more information about Cheyney University visit www.cheyney.edu.