The Barnes family’s latest gift will support the creation of The Barnes Center at The Arch. As a result, the Archbold/Flanagan Gymnasium will be transformed into a holistic health, wellness and recreation complex.

Steve and Deborah Barnes cite University’s transformative, student-centric vision as motivation for gift

A new state-of-the-art, health, wellness and recreation complex, which until now has been a conceptual component in the draft Campus Framework, is now one step closer to becoming a reality thanks to the vision and generosity of Board of Trustees Chairman Steven W. Barnes ’82 and his wife, Deborah.

For many years, the Barnes family has supported the University—both in service and in philanthropy. The Barnes family recently made a $5 million gift to support what they call Syracuse University’s “transformative, student-centric” vision contained within the Academic Strategic Plan and Campus Framework.

Citing the University’s commitment to advancing academic excellence, enhancing the student experience—inside and outside the classroom—and building a more vibrant and connected campus community, Barnes says he is eager to see the elements contained within the Academic Strategic Plan and the Campus Framework coming to life.

“Significant time, energy and effort have been dedicated to conceptualizing and crafting two critically important roadmaps that will help guide the University’s academic and physical future,” says Barnes. “That these two efforts have been done concurrently is proof positive that Syracuse University is building on its strong legacy and that continued growth and success is in its future.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud says future generations of Syracuse University students, faculty and staff are the beneficiaries of the Barnes family’s continued philanthropy and leadership.

“Steve has been a great partner, advisor and leader during the strategic planning process,” says Chancellor Syverud. “His confidence in the goals and recommendations of the Academic Strategic Plan and Campus Framework, and his dedication to seeing them come to fruition, are a testament to his unwavering support of Syracuse University. I am grateful for his leadership and extend my heartfelt gratitude to him and Debbie for their great generosity.”

In making the gift, Barnes noted that today’s college students are seeking a complete living and learning experience.

Steven W. Barnes

“They want excellent academics; extracurricular activities that ignite their passion; and health and wellness opportunities that help balance the rigor and demands of higher education. This new health, wellness and recreation complex will empower the University to continue its focus on supporting students beyond the academic realm,” says Barnes.

The family’s latest gift will support the creation of The Barnes Center at The Arch. As a result, the Archbold/Flanagan Gymnasium will be transformed into a holistic health, wellness and recreation complex. It will house all of the campus health and wellness services—including the Counseling Center, the Office of Health Promotion, Health Services, Recreation Services and the Office of Student Assistance—in one central and convenient location, just off the Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle. The new complex will also feature a modern multi-floor fitness center, a world-class rock climbing wall, a multi-activity sports court and fully accessible locker rooms and restrooms.

“The Campus Framework really seeks to elevate the entire student experience and the creation of this new complex is a testament to the University’s commitment to enhancing student life,” says Joyce LaLonde ’17, former vice president of the Student Association. “I am so excited for the future generations of students who will have the opportunity to see and experience the campus transformation. I’ll definitely look forward to returning as an alum.”

Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president of the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience, says this is an exciting time to be at Syracuse University, noting prospective students and their families are enthusiastic about forthcoming renovations and facilities updates.

“The Barnes Center will serve to better coordinate all student health and wellness services, both organizationally and physically, and assure full accessibility,” says Evanovich. “The Barnes Center will further our mission of providing a seamless and robust approach to the learning, advising, counseling, engagement and development of the whole student. All of these efforts, of course, are designed to make Syracuse University an even better place to live, learn and flourish.”

Barnes’ generosity predates his leadership role on the Board of Trustees. In 2010, Barnes endowed, as part of a gift, the Barnes Family Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities at the Whitman School. His gift also created the Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School, which is held by Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie. Barnes is a founding investor in the Orange Value Fund, a $4.1 million student-run portfolio. The Barnes family has also provided substantial financial support to the Remembrance Scholarship Fund and to the McLane Legacy Fund, which supports disability initiatives and the Office of Disability Services.

Barnes also previously served as the co-chairman of the University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families and is a longtime member of the Whitman School of Management Advisory Council and the Boston Regional Council. As chairman of the Board of Trustees, Barnes has supported Chancellor Syverud’s efforts to align the University’s academic vision and mission with its physical presence and infrastructure.

The Barnes family gift represents the second seven-figure gift in a major fundraising effort by the University to raise funds to support the many projects contained within the draft Campus Framework. Last fall, University Trustee Steven L. ’64, G’67 and his wife, Sherry ’65 Einhorn, gave $1 million in support of one of the first projects to be realized in the Campus Framework. As a result of the Einhorn family gift, the space previously known as University Place is now the Einhorn Family Walk.

For those interested in being a part of history and helping to transform the University’s footprint, there are many giving opportunities. The University is seeking donations, including naming gifts, for all initiatives contained within the draft Campus Framework. To make a gift, contact Matt Ter Molen, senior vice president and chief advancement officer, via email at termolen@syr.edu or by phone at 315.443.9161.

To learn more about the draft Campus Framework and to provide real-time feedback, visit .

Dara J. Royer

Royer currently serves as chief development and marketing officer at Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian organization with an annual operating budget of $460 million and 5,000 employees working in 42 countries around the world. Royer, Mercy Corps’ first-ever chief marketing officer, provides counsel to the chief executive officer to advance the organization’s vision and strategic plan; oversees international fundraising and marketing operations; and leads an 80-person, high-performing, analytics-driven marketing and communications team. Under Royer’s leadership, Mercy Corps experienced two record-breaking years of profile elevation and fundraising growth, delivering a 25 percent increase in year-end fundraising and boosting unrestricted giving by $1.5 million over goal.

“The depth and breadth of Dara’s knowledge, experience and skillset is unparalleled,” says Chancellor Syverud. “Her ability to reimagine marketing and communications departments and evolve them into high-performing teams that advance the vision, mission and reputation of an organization will help Syracuse University achieve our global vision and reach. I am confident under her leadership we will see greater alignment among all of Syracuse University’s marketing and communications functions.”

In December 2016, Chancellor Syverud announced his plan to identify a new senior leader responsible for creating an operational structure that consolidates and strengthens all of the University’s communications functions, including branding, web and social media, and internal and external communications.

Director of Athletics John Wildhack—who along with Rochelle Ford, chair of the Department of Public Relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, co-chaired the search committee—says Royer stood out instantly among an extraordinarily talented pool of candidates.

“Dara is perfectly suited for this critical position,” says Wildhack. “She possesses a vast array of integrated communications and marketing experiences that will allow her to make immediate impact once she begins in this role. I look forward to working with her—both in my capacity as athletics director and in my role on the executive team—to help the University more effectively tell its story to its many diverse audiences.”

Ford echoes Wildhack’s sentiment, calling this appointment a strategic opportunity for Syracuse University. “As the University continues to implement its Academic Strategic Plan and Campus Framework, it’s mission critical that we have a seasoned, poised and forward-thinking communications leader at the helm. Dara is all of those things and more. Not only will she help enhance Syracuse University’s global positioning, she will also use her leadership experience to strengthen and better integrate our campus’ communications and marketing professionals.”

In her new role, Royer will report directly to Chancellor Syverud and work with the Executive Team and the Chancellor’s Council to shape, define and execute a strategic, holistic and data-driven marketing communications plan.

Royer says although she will miss the important work and her great team at Mercy Corps, she is honored to join the Syracuse University community and is eager to hit the ground running.

“I look forward to working with the leadership team—and with students, faculty and staff—at Syracuse University, which has an extraordinary opportunity to build upon a storied legacy,” says Royer. “The Orange story is constantly evolving with innovative academic programs, cutting-edge research and scholarship, and the impressive performance of students, faculty and alumni—stories that should be told far and wide to enhance the University community and its reputation worldwide.”

Prior to joining Mercy Corps, Royer spent five years serving as vice president for brand marketing at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. There, she developed and implemented integrated, multichannel national marketing strategies that generated greater awareness for the hospital and raised more than $850 million in philanthropic giving. Before that, Royer was senior vice president for corporate and community affairs at Cook Children’s Healthcare System in Fort Worth, Texas, where she built a new integrated model aligning business development, community health outreach, community relations, and marketing and communications departments.

Royer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Indiana University, Bloomington, began her career in television news. The Emmy Award-winning producer worked in Traverse City, Michigan, and later in Las Vegas.

Named one of PR News’ 2017 Top Women in Public Relations, Royer is also the recipient of the CMO Club’s 2016 Officers Award and was named Senior Marketer of the Year at the 2016 Max Awards, hosted by the Portland Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Daniel D’Aniello

Daniel A. D’Aniello ’68, chair and co-founder of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful investment firms, is the new co-chair of the Institute of Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) Advisory Board. He shares the position with Matt Zames, chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. D’Aniello succeeds Steven Barnes, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and one of the IVMF Advisory Board’s founding co-chairs.

In September, D’Aniello was awarded the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation’s Lone Sailor Award. He received the award for drawing upon his Sea Service experience to achieve success in his personal and professional life, while exemplifying the core values of honor, courage and commitment.

“Dan’s service to our country and to Syracuse University uniquely positions him to positively impact IVMF and all of those served by the Institute,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Dan understands what it is like to run a successful organization with a keen eye on results. I look forward to seeing great things happen under Dan and Matt’s leadership.”

“Dan is a true advocate for the University and for our nation’s service members, veterans and their families,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation. “As a veteran and entrepreneur, he has tremendous insight into the marketplace and how veterans bring in-demand skills to companies. I am honored to have him as part of the IVMF leadership team.”

“I am humbled and honored to serve as co-chair of the IVMF Advisory Board,” says D’Aniello. “The Navy instilled values in me that are part of my business today—integrity, professionalism and trust. As a veteran myself, I understand that the mission of the institute is critical to providing needed programs and services to the men and women who have worn the uniform of this country. I have watched the growth of the IVMF over the past five years and I am excited to serve during this time of continued growth and opportunity.”

D’Aniello hopes to build on the success of his predecessor. Under Barnes’ leadership, the advisory board helped grow the IVMF from an operation of four employees to one with more than 70 team members across eight states. Today, the IVMF annually serves thousands of U.S. service members, veterans and their families around the globe.

“The IVMF has benefited tremendously from Steve’s leadership,” says Chancellor Syverud. “I am grateful for his vision and his early and ongoing support of the IVMF. Syracuse University is fortunate to have Steve’s continued leadership of the University’s Board of Trustees.”

Prior to forming Carlyle in 1987, D’Aniello was vice president for finance and development at Marriott Corp., where he oversaw the valuation of all major mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, debt and equity offerings and project financings. Before that, he was a financial officer at PepsiCo and Trans World Airlines.

In addition to serving on Syracuse’s Board of Trustees, D’Aniello is a member of the Chancellor’s Council and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management Advisory Board. He is a longtime supporter of the University, having contributed generously to scholarship funds, student experiential learning, the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, the D’Aniello Lecture Series, the IVMF and the Whitman School.

D’Aniello is a member of the Council for the United States and Italy, the John Templeton Foundation, the Lumen Institute and the U.S.-China CEO and Former Senior Officials’ Dialogue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is vice chair of the board of trustees of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Research and chair of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He also has overseen various public and private companies in which Carlyle has or has had significant investment interests.

Matt Ter Molen, senior vice president and chief advancement officer, has named Sean Scanlon, a 16-year veteran fundraiser and development strategist, vice president for development. He will assume his new role on Monday, Oct. 17.

Sean Scanlon

In his new position, Scanlon will oversee all central giving teams, including the Office of Annual Giving, Office of Planned Giving, Office of Family Giving, the Regional Major Gifts Office and the New York Regional Major Gifts Office, as well as the fundraising efforts for Athletics and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Ter Molen says Scanlon is joining the University at an exciting time and is a welcome addition to the Division of Advancement and External Affairs.

“Sean is a dynamic fundraiser, a gifted development strategist and a respected leader. We are fortunate to have him joining our team and I look forward to seeing the great things he and the team will accomplish in the months and years ahead.”

In addition to overseeing and ensuring the growth and success of all of Syracuse’s central giving teams, Scanlon will provide creative leadership to the process of identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors, both within the internal community of faculty, staff and alumni and its external constituents and friends.

“I am honored to be joining the Syracuse University community and am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such an incredibly passionate alumni network to advance the mission and vision of this great institution,” says Scanlon. “Syracuse University’s global reputation; its commitment to academic and research excellence; its dynamic new leadership, including Chancellor Kent Syverud, Provost Michele Wheatly, Matt and the deans at the University’s schools and colleges; its spirited students, faculty, staff and alumni are just a handful of the many reasons I feel privileged to be joining this team.”

Scanlon currently serves as associate dean for alumni affairs, development and corporate relations at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. In this role, Scanlon was instrumental in completing the Johnson Campaign, during which he and his team raised $193 million against a $168 million goal. He also helped grow new gifts and commitments from $22.5 million in FY15 to $35.7 million in 2016, the highest total in Johnson School history. Scanlon leads a team of 16, which includes staff—both on and off the Ithaca campus—from alumni affairs, corporate relations, annual fund, and leadership and major gifts.

Prior to his role at the Johnson School, Scanlon was senior director of development and philanthropy at Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology, a role he held from 2008 to 2014. Scanlon’s accomplishments in this leadership position include increasing annual rate of new gifts and commitments to the lab from $6 million to $14 million; helping to create, brand and lead the $125 million Discover Campaign, which raised $163 million; and creating and implementing the lab’s national direct response program, which helped grow the lab’s donor base from 27,000 to more than 80,000.

Before joining Cornell University, Scanlon held development positions at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, where he helped the zoo exceed its $125 million campaign goal. He also served in leadership roles at two grassroots Chicago-area nonprofit organizations.

Scanlon earned a master’s degree and finished as ABD on his Ph.D. in cultural and intellectual history at the University of Illinois, Urbana. He also has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. He held fellowships at Yale University, the Weston Theological Seminary and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His wife Lisa (Taylor) Scanlon grew up in Marcellus, New York, in a family full of Syracuse fans and is looking forward to introducing their children to Otto.

“Aligning the University’s physical presence with the goals and vision articulated in the new Academic Strategic Plan is critical to ensuring the long-term growth and success of the University,” says Sala. “Joe and Mark are not only essential members of the CPDC team, they are key leaders who work tirelessly to provide the Syracuse University community with an optimal environment for living, learning and working.”

Joseph Alfieri

In his new role, Alfieri will, among other important functions, oversee the day to day operations of CPDC; develop and foster a culture of continuous improvement, transparency and fiduciary responsibility in the stewardship of the University’s physical assets; support the alignment of capital investments, functional improvements and utility system master planning; manage the Capital Project planning process and prioritization of projects; conduct an assessment of University assets; and collaborate with project planning and development to ensure alignment of capital and functional improvement resources in conjunction with division heads.

Alfieri joined the University more than eight years ago after completing his services as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Most recently, he served as associate director for CPDC and prior to that, he was lead project manager for the steam station, utility projects, large site improvements and mechanically intensive renovation projects. Alfieri earned a master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School and a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture from the U.S. Naval Academy.

“This is an exciting time to be a member of the CPDC team,” says Alfieri. “With so many critical projects currently underway and with such a bold vision outlined in the draft Campus Framework, I am proud to be taking on a more central leadership role in CPDC. I look forward to working with students, faculty and staff to enhance the Syracuse University experience.”

Mark Hance

Hance, a member of the CPDC staff since 2008, will take on a number of new roles and responsibilities in his new position. In addition to supervising all project management staff, he will shepherd projects through the development and implementation phases in an efficient and effective method. He will also maintain all project schedules and provide budgetary oversight through proactive communication with project managers and CPDC leadership, while ensuring that decisions are made in a timely manner to maintain project progress. Hance will also develop and implement a process for identifying, vetting and selecting consultants, construction managers and contractors.

“During the last eight years, there has been tremendous growth and progress at Syracuse University,” says Hance. “It’s been a rewarding experience to assist in transforming the campus, and I’m grateful for this new leadership opportunity during this crucial period in implementing the many facets of the Campus Framework.”

An alumnus of Clarkson University, Hance earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. The lead project manager for the Dineen Hall construction project, Hance has served as senior project manager for the last eight years. Prior to joining the University, Hance served as pre-construction engineer at Widewaters Group, a Syracuse-based real estate development and management company. Before that, he worked for the City of Charlotte (North Carolina) in a number of key roles, including project design engineer, project manager and program manager. Hance also held positions with Mecklenburg County and Clough, Harbor and Associates.

John Wildhack

Wildhack, a native of Upstate New York and a 1980 alumnus of the , was selected following a national search. He was recommended to the Chancellor by the Director of Athletics Search Committee.

“John is an entrepreneurial, outside-the-box leader who brings an unparalleled set of skills and experiences to the director of athletics position,” says Chancellor Syverud. “As a leader at ESPN, he has demonstrated a keen ability to identify and implement strategies aimed at elevating the entire organization. That record of success, combined with his extensive history of building and inspiring teams, will allow him to immediately and positively impact the lives of our student-athletes. This is a new day in the life of the Department of Athletics. I look forward to watching John, in collaboration with our talented coaches and staff, bring his bold vision for the department to life.”

“To say this is a dream job would be a significant understatement,” says Wildhack. “Syracuse University played a profound role in my life’s trajectory and I’m confident I wouldn’t be where I am without the education and opportunities this institution afforded me. To help my alma mater, in particular Syracuse student-athletes, continue to excel and grow, especially in light of the enormous investments being made, and that have been made in its facilities, is a tremendous responsibility and one I don’t take lightly. I am honored to have been selected and I look forward to collaborating with the amazing coaches and staff as we work to develop the whole student-athlete—inside and outside the classroom.”

During his distinguished career at ESPN, Wildhack held a number of critical leadership roles and has been responsible for a number of firsts at the network. Those firsts include producing ESPN’s first live regular-season college football game in September 1984 and its first live NFL game in August 1987. See an infographic about him here.

“John doesn’t shy away from taking risks, and he’s always pushing his teams to be the first and the best,” says Dino Babers, head football coach. “I expect John to be a catalyst for much growth and success in the future. I’m eager to welcome someone of his caliber to the Syracuse Athletics team and I am certain we will accomplish great things—both on and off the field.”

“I am confident that John’s business acumen positions him to be an excellent athletics director,” says��Bob��Bowlsby, Big 12 Conference commissioner, “and know that he will be as successful in the AD chair as he has been in his executive role at ESPN. I wish him the very best of luck as he starts this new chapter in his career; and congratulate Syracuse University on the hire, and its student-athletes, coaches and staff, who will no doubt benefit greatly from John’s leadership.”

In his role as executive vice president for programming and production, Wildhack oversees all ESPN production efforts, as well as programming acquisitions, rights holder relationship management and scheduling. He managed all league and conference relationships and negotiated all live sport television rights; renegotiated a nine-year deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA), extending the existing contract through 2023; renegotiated a new 20-year agreement with the Southeastern Conference that will extend the existing media rights deal through 2034; helped secure long-term multiplatform agreements with the NBA, Major League Baseball, College Football Playoffs, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, U.S. Open Tennis, the Rose and Sugar Bowls, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the American Athletic Conference and the Mountain West Conference; and won more than 30 Emmy Awards.

“John is a special kind of leader and Syracuse University is fortunate to have someone of his stature taking the helm of Syracuse Athletics,” says NBC Sports’ Michael Tirico ’88, Trustee and a longtime ESPN colleague. “I applaud Chancellor Syverud and the search committee for approaching this search with an open mind and for selecting someone who is so widely known for his exceptional record of success. As someone who has spent a lot of time around Power Five athletics directors, I couldn’t have picked a better director of athletics myself. I look forward to seeing the department, coaches, staff and our student-athletes thrive under John’s leadership.”

Previously, Wildhack served as executive vice president for production from 2012 to 2014, during which time he was responsible for all ESPN and ABC game, event and studio production work for domestic and international television and radio networks. Prior to that, he was ESPN’s executive vice president for programming and acquisitions from 2007 until 2012. During that time, he oversaw all rights negotiations and managing relationships with rights holders for all ESPN entities. These include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN International, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN3, ESPN Mobile Properties, print and more. In 2009, he began leading strategic program planning for all the ESPN television networks, ESPN on ABC and ESPN’s digital platforms.

“John really stood out in the competitive pool of candidates we interviewed,” says Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick, deputy athletics director and senior women’s administrator. “His experience negotiating high-profile contracts with some of the world’s largest athletics organizations, as well as his extensive background leading large, diverse groups of people are just two of the reasons he’s the right person for this job. He may not come from a traditional intercollegiate athletics environment, but there’s no doubt his professional experience and leadership prowess will allow him to be among the best leaders our department has ever had.”

Wildhack, who was born and raised in Buffalo, first joined ESPN as a production assistant in 1980. He served in a number of production positions prior to taking on a leadership role, including production assistant, associate producer, senior associate producer, producer, coordinating producer and director of event productions. Wildhack, an active Syracuse alumnus, sits on the Advisory Board for the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and was an honoree at the “Newhouse at 40” Gala.

Wildhack with his family

Rick Burton, the David B. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management in and the University’s faculty athletic representative to the ACC and NCAA, says Wildhack appreciates what it takes to be a successful student-athlete at Syracuse University. “He recognizes that we must foster an environment where our student-athletes’ success isn’t just measured on the playing fields, but in the classroom as well. His commitment to their academics, to their stewardship of the University and to their activities in the community will allow him to build a championship program steeped in hard work, humility and respect.”

Wildhack will be formally introduced to the Syracuse University and Central New York communities at an event on campus next Tuesday, July 12. His arrival on campus will mark the conclusion of Daniel J. French’s tenure as acting director of athletics. French, senior vice president and the University’s General Counsel, assumed the acting duties on May 19 and will continue in this role until Wildhack assumes the role in mid-August.

“Dan is an integral member of University leadership and I am grateful to him for stepping up during a time of transition and leading Syracuse Athletics in the interim,” says Chancellor Syverud. “I am confident Dan and Senior Deputy Athletics Director Herman Frazier will help make John’s arrival on campus a smooth and successful one.”

Chancellor Syverud also acknowledged and thanked his fellow search committee members for their swift and thorough work on behalf of the University. The search committee included:

• Kent Syverud, Chancellor (Chair)
• Dino Babers, head football coach
• Rick Burton, Falk Professor of Sport Management and faculty athletics representative
• Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick, deputy athletics director and senior women’s administrator
• Robert Miron, University Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees’ Athletics Committee
• Brittney Sykes, women’s basketball student-athlete

The University is investing $9 million this summer in renovations and technology upgrades to academic spaces. This classroom in Eggers Hall 032 was updated with new technology for teaching and new furniture. Photos by Amy Manley

The classrooms of today need to be interactive, flexible and ready for collaboration—the latest in audiovisual equipment, teaching aids and high-speed networks all enhance learning and the classroom experience.

As part of the Campus Framework, the University will make an extensive slate of renovations to a variety of academic spaces on campus. This summer alone, the University will invest more than $9 million to make that happen.

A variety of technology upgrade projects are underway in classrooms, study spaces and teaching laboratories this summer. Combined, the Division of Information Technology Services (ITS) and Campus Planning, Design and Construction (CPDC) are working to update technology and academic spaces in more than a dozen buildings on campus, including Carnegie Library, the Center for Science and Technology, Crouse Hinds Hall, Eggers Hall, Flint Hall, Hall of Languages, Haven Hall, Heroy Geology Building, Link Hall, Lyman Hall, MacNaughton Hall, the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, the Physics Building, the Shaffer Art Building, Slocum Hall and White Hall.

The Division of Information Technology Servicesand Campus Planning, Design and Construction are working to update technology and academic spaces in more than a dozen buildings on campus. This includes spaces in Eggers Hall where new technology is being employed.

“Every summer, Syracuse University dedicates tremendous resources—in dollars and personnel—updating the campus in anticipation of the arrival of returning and new students and faculty. This year is no exception,” says Michele G. Wheatly, vice chancellor and provost. “Providing a high-caliber environment that fosters learning, teaching and innovation is not only consistent with our Academic Strategic Plan, it’s also critical to attracting and retaining high-achieving students and world-class faculty scholars. The work being done this summer by ITS and CPDC will enhance the student experience, elevate classroom learning and teaching, and generate new opportunity for student and faculty researchers.”

The work includes Americans with Disabilities Act improvements; audio and visual system upgrades; the installation of new smart teaching stations; complete technology overhauls; classroom and auditorium renovations; furniture replacements; classroom seating replacements; and the creation of new seminar rooms, meeting rooms and classrooms.

New smart teaching stations allow faculty members to present materials in a variety of ways, with the use of such equipment and technology as smartboards, projection screens, speakers and USB ports. The possibilities provide new ways to engage with students and more ways for students to interact and participate in classroom learning.

“Our campus is swiftly implementing some of the academic space, accessibility and technology changes our Campus Framework group proposed,” says Cathryn Newton, dean emerita of the College of Arts and Sciences, who is the University’s only professor of interdisciplinary sciences, a Provost’s Faculty Fellow and a member of the Campus Framework Advisory Group. “These current academic investments can increase our undergraduate and graduate caliber and��elevate our research capacity. Such strong responses to the proposals of this group of students, faculty and staff provide a clear signal of institutional support.”

Pete Sala, vice president and chief facilities officer, says many of the projects he and his team are working on this summer will help the University enhance its academic and research excellence.

For example, CPDC is currently constructing a new space in the Heroy Geology Building that will house the new National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) Program. The Education Model Program on Water-Energy Research, also known as EMPOWER, is the result of a $3 million NSF grant received in April 2015. EMPOWER, an interdisciplinary initiative, involves faculty from the Department of Earth Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering and Computer Science; the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Other instructional space improvements include:

• Center for Science and Technology 4-201 — seating replacement
• Eggers Hall 032 — full renovation
• Eggers Hall 060 — control systems upgrade
• Falk Complex 100, 101, 104, 175 — AV system upgrade
• Hall of Languages 102, 105, 114, 115, 202, 205, 211, 214, 215 — furniture replacement
• Link 105 — finishes, lighting, ADA improvements and full AV system upgrade
• Lyman 126, 227, 229A, 229B — new classrooms
• Slocum 214 — AV system upgrade
• Watson Theater — AV system upgrade
• Whitman School of Management 007, 110, 404, 411 — system component upgrades

Campus projects this summer include the installation of Falk College’s new commercial and experiential kitchens in White Hall.

“The work we’re doing this summer will have a direct and tangible impact on our students, faculty and staff,” says Sala. “When our students and faculty return to campus in August, I am confident they will be pleased with the progress made inside and outside the classroom. To continue enhancing our academic offerings, it is critical that we constantly assess our spaces and evolve to meet the changing needs of our students and research faculty.”

Samuel J. Scozzafava Jr., vice president for information technology and chief information officer, says ITS’s collaboration with CPDC is allowing the University to execute an ambitious slate of improvements, upgrades and enhancements. He says ITS is especially focused on bringing new classroom spaces online, improving current academic spaces and upgrading network technology throughout campus.

The University makes significant investments to provide accessible technologies and services that energize teaching and learning,” says Scozzafava. “Investments this summer include the design and construction of classrooms and new instructional spaces with cutting-edge equipment and capabilities for instruction and collaboration, and the development and deployment of multiple applications and services for academic success and operational excellence.”

A large-screen television and cameras are included in the technology upgrades in Eggers 032.

Scozzafava says positioning faculty to pursue pioneering research, such as the Department of Physics’ recent involvement in the discovery of gravitational waves, requires a particularly advanced and savvy information technology system.

For example, the University’s 300 tera-FLOP supercomputer played an important role for the researchers involved with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Co-funded by NSF and Syracuse’s Information Technology and Services and housed in the Green Data Center on South Campus, the computer is used for detecting space-time ripples in Advanced LIGO data and for modeling sources of gravitational waves.

“The University’s assertive support of advancing technology expertise and innovation among students, faculty and staff empowers research excellence with a dynamic portfolio of computing capabilities and resources,” says Scozzafava. “It’s no coincidence that the University’s reputation and standing as a top-tier research institution have blossomed in the presence of its sizable investment in robust, highly available, leading-edge information technology and infrastructure.”

Upgrades on campus include new furniture in classrooms, including several classrooms in the Hall of Languages.

Classrooms receiving technology upgrades—some of which are also receiving space upgrades—include the following:

• Crouse 407 — new mobile display
• Falk Complex 100, 101, 104, 175 — complete technology upgrade
• Falk Complex 520 (café), 530A (experimental kitchen) — new systems
• Link 105 — complete technology upgrade
• Lyman 115, 126, 227, 229A, 229B — new classrooms
• Shaffer 201 — new mobile display
• Sims 227 — new seminar/meeting room
• Slocum 214 — room technology upgrade
• Watson Theater — room technology upgrade
• Whitman School 110 — room technology upgrade

Other projects involving the Network Master Plan include the following buildings:

• MacNaughton and White halls
• 1320 Jamesville Ave.
• Carnegie Library
• Child Care Center
• Crouse Hinds Hall
• Sims Hall

Haven and Flint halls will also receive upgrades involving ResNet, the University’s high-speed Ethernet connection.

Construction projects this summer, including new experiential kitchens in the Falk College complex, are enhancing the academic experience on campus.

The NVRC will build upon and advance Syracuse University’s already strong national leadership in the veterans’ community, and serve as a class-leading exemplar of academic, government and community collaboration.

Today, Syracuse University announced the launch of an international design competition aimed at identifying a world-class partner to conceptualize, design and construct the new (NVRC). The NVRC will be a first-of-its kind facility in the United States and will leverage a public-private sector partnership model to advance academic research, programming, and community-connected innovation serving the social, economic, and wellness concerns of the nation’s veterans and families. The NVRC will build upon and advance Syracuse University’s already strong national leadership in the veterans’ community, and serve as a class-leading exemplar of academic, government and community collaboration.

The NVRC is a key pillar of the Central New York (CNY) Regional Economic Development Council’s winning proposal titled “Central New York: Rising from the Ground Up.” The CNY proposal was one of three selected to receive $500 million as part of Gov. Cuomo’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI). Under the Governor’s leadership, this initiative has made an unprecedented level of funding available to Central New York and regions across upstate to create new jobs and new opportunity.

Chancellor Kent Syverud, who serves as co-chair of the CNY Regional Economic Development Council, says the URI award will revolutionize the region’s economic trajectory.

“I want to extend my deep gratitude to Governor Cuomo for his confidence in the proposal we submitted and for his ongoing partnership in supporting veterans and their families,” says Chancellor Syverud. “The NVRC will serve as the center of veteran life on the campus of Syracuse University, in the local community, and across Central New York. We look forward to receiving proposals from architecture firms who share our vision for the future of this facility and collaborating with the winning firm to bring this idea to life.”

To facilitate the design competition, Syracuse University has asked Martha Thorne, dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, to lead the search for the University’s design partner.

Thorne, who also serves as the executive director of the Pritzker Prize—the architecture equivalent to the Nobel Prize—will collaborate with the NVRC Design Selection Committee, to invite 30 of the world’s leading architecture firms to submit their qualifications to be considered for the architectural, landscape, and engineering design of the NVRC.

To ensure all perspectives are represented, the selection committee is comprised of faculty, staff, students, and design professionals. The members of the committee are Andria Costello Staniec, associate provost for academic programs; Julia E. Czerniak, associate dean of the ; Steven L. Einhorn ’64, ’67, Syracuse University Trustee and School of Architecture Advisory Board Member; Jared Grace, graduate student in the School of Architecture and Army ROTC Cadet Battalion Commander; J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor, Veterans and Military Affairs and executive director, (IVMF); Breagin K. Riley, assistant professor of marketing in the ; Peter Sala, vice president and chief campus facilities officer; and Michael A. Speaks, dean, School of Architecture.

“By using this type of selection process, Syracuse University will be better able to select the most appropriate firm for this commission, based on both the strength of the firm and their design approach for this exciting new facility,” says Thorne. “I am privileged to have been invited by the University to facilitate this process.”

The NVRC, a truly multi-use facility will serve as the enduring home of IVMF, the nation’s leading academic institute focused on the concerns of America’s 22.8 million veterans and families. Additionally, the NVRC will house state-of-the-art vocational and educational programs designed to advance the economic opportunity of the nation’s veterans and military families, as well as seed the conditions for future growth and new employment opportunities for the region and the more than 206,000 veterans and military-connected families who call CNY home.

“The NVRC will represent yet another chapter in the long-running story of Syracuse University’s commitment to serve, support and empower those men and women who have served the nation in uniform,” says Vice Chancellor Haynie. “This new facility will serve as both a practical means by which Syracuse University can contribute its expertise and intellectual capacity to serve America’s veterans and their families, and at the same time represent a means to honor the historical legacy of Syracuse University and its WWII Chancellor William Tolley—who welcomed more than 10,000 post-WWII veterans to campus, and by doing so transformed the University into the dynamic, national research institution we know today.”

“Not only will the NVRC play a transformative role in providing educational access to veterans and their families, but its strategic location will play a pivotal and transformative campus planning role in achieving Syracuse University’s master planning goal of creating and reinforcing a dynamic campus-city community,” says Einhorn.

The NVRC is tentatively planned for the western portion of the Waverly block on the Syracuse University campus. It will also house the Syracuse University and Regional Student Veteran Resource Center; the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps; the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vet-Success on Campus; the National Center of Excellence for Veteran Business Ownership; Veteran Business Outreach Center and Accelerator; and Syracuse University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs. The NVRC will include classroom spaces to accommodate local and national veteran-focused programming, along with a conference center and 1,000-seat auditorium suitable to host community activities, lectures and national convening events and conferences.

“The NVRC is an innovative building complex that will help to distinguish Syracuse University as a national leader on veterans issues,” says Speaks. “As such, the NVRC will set a new standard on and off our campus and will require the talents of the very best architects working in the world today. I am confident that Martha will guide our selection committee through an evaluation process that will enable us to select the best architects to design and build this one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime building project.”

The facility is also expected to include gallery space exhibiting the University’s storied legacy of serving America’s veterans. The gallery will also serve as a venue to highlight present-day exhibitions of art, culture and performance relevant to the veterans’ community. Designed as a LEED-certified facility and constructed in accordance with Universal Design practices, the NVRC will be an inclusive facility that welcomes and accommodates veterans and visitors with disabilities.

“I applaud Syracuse University and Gov. Cuomo for their commitment to supporting our nation’s current veterans and transitioning service members as they embark on the next phase of their lives,” says Gen. David D. McKiernan, (Ret.) “Providing education, opportunity and a place where our nation’s warfighters can build upon the skills they received during service is critical to sustaining our all-volunteer force. I look forward to monitoring the progress of the National Veterans Resource Complex as it reaches fruition.”

Upon receiving qualifications from the 30 firms, the selection committee will invite a smaller group of firms to submit design proposals. The first round of firms will be selected and notified by mid-January 2016.

Finalists will then be invited to visit the site and speak with campus representatives about the history, goals, vision and timeline for the new facility. On April 11, the finalists will hand in materials related to their basic design for the project. They will appear on campus to present their proposals to the selection committee in late April. The winning proposal and firm will be announced in May.

For more information on the project, to submit ideas and to ask questions, visit . Ongoing updates regarding the project’s progress will be posted there regularly throughout the design competition process.

The Upstate Revitalization Initiative is expected to create nearly 6,000 jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity.

Earlier today, Central New York was one of three Upstate regions awarded $500 million as part of Governor Cuomo’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The winning proposal titled “Central New York: Rising from the Ground Up” is expected to create nearly 6,000 jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new economic activity. As a result of the award, the University will ready the launch of an international design competition aimed at identifying a world-class partner to conceptualize, design and construct the new National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC).

“This is an extraordinary moment in time for this region; Central New York is truly on the rise,” said CNY Regional Economic Development Council co-chairs Kent Syverud, chancellor of Syracuse University and Robert M. Simpson, president of CenterState CEO. “Through this investment, we now have the opportunity to revolutionize our economic trajectory. Today’s award is a validation of our data-driven process and affirms our belief that a community-created vision for transformational growth will have the greatest potential impact.

The proposal, which was submitted in October, focuses on the following six core components: next generation technology; veterans; agriculture; transportation; government modernization; and economic opportunity and inclusion.

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud (just right of center) poses with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials after today’s announcement.

“On behalf of the entire Central New York Regional Economic Development Council, we are grateful to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the selection committee for this award,” added Chancellor Syverud and Simpson. “We also thank our fellow council members, the dozens of community partners and hundreds of community stakeholders for their dedication, support and participation throughout the process.”

The NVRC, a key part of the council’s proposal as it relates to veterans, will be a multi-use facility that will serve as the enduring home of the University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), which has served more than 48,000 veterans and military families. The NVRC will offer state-of-the-art vocational and educational programs designed to advance the economic success of the region’s and the nation’s veterans and military families.

“Today is a great day for Syracuse University and for the veteran population who will significantly benefit from the state’s infusion of funds in the CNY region,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor and executive director of the IVMF. “The NVRC will build upon and solidify the region’s ongoing effort to position CNY as the nation’s leader in research and programming connected to the veteran and military sectors. Not only will the NVRC serve as the center of veteran life on the Syracuse University campus, it will serve as the hub of veteran initiatives in the local community, in New York, and across the country.”

The roughly 74,000-square foot facility will also house the Syracuse University and Regional Student Veteran Resource Center; Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs “Vet-Success on Campus”; National Center of Excellence for Veteran Business Ownership; Veteran Business Outreach Center and Accelerator; and Syracuse University Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.

The economic implications of the NVRC are substantial. Not only will it lead to the direct creation of 300 permanent jobs, it will also indirectly generate and retain thousands of new jobs (more than 5,000), fostering new opportunities for construction, support and administrative professionals.

The University has asked renowned architect Martha Thorne, dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, to lead the search for the University’s design partner. Thorne also serves as the executive director of the Pritzker Prize, the highest award in the field of architecture, which is given to living architect/s for significant achievement, a role she’s held for a decade. More details on the design competition will follow in the days ahead.

Visit the to read the winning proposal in its entirety.

Pa’lo Monte

Free and open to the public, the performance is sponsored by the Departments of Art and Music Histories (AMH) and African American Studies, as well as the Latino-Latin American Studies Program, all of which are housed in the .

Pa’lo Monte fuses the traditional African-rooted rhythms of the Dominican Republic and Haiti with contemporary musical styles, creating a unique and original sound.

Event organizer Sydney Hutchinson, assistant professor of ethnomusicology in AMH, says the Syracuse University community is in for a one-of-a-kind musical experience.

“Pa’lo Monte has transformed from a musical ensemble into an institution for the teaching and preservation of African and Indigenous cultural traditions from the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The group presents lectures and skill-building workshops in diverse venues from elementary schools to the United Nations. I encourage students, faculty and staff to take advantage of this rare opportunity,” says Hutchinson.

Hutchinson says Pa’lo Monte’s work is particularly relevant in light of the current human rights situation in the Dominican Republic, in which basic rights have denied to tens of thousands of Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

For more information, contact Hutchinson at sjhutchi@syr.edu.

Hendricks Chapel is lit up in green as part of the “Greenlight a Vet” campaign. The chapel will remain lit in green all week in honor of veterans.

In anticipation of Veterans Day, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) has announced it is among a handful of organizations nationwide teaming up with Walmart for its new “Greenlight a Vet” campaign. An 18-month national effort, the “Greenlight a Vet” campaign aims to shine a light on the impact transitioning veterans make in and out of uniform in communities across the country.

“IVMF is proud to be a part of Walmart’s campaign to ‘Greenlight A Vet’ in support of those who have served in the military and their families,” says Mike Haynie, vice chancellor and executive director of the IVMF. “Participating in a national movement, designed to recognize those who have worn our nation’s uniform as valued, contributing members of our communities, is our way of encouraging all Americans to meaningfully engage with veterans and their families and by so doing, appreciate them as respected civic assets.”

Other organizations involved in the initiative include: Team Red, White and Blue; Team Rubicon; Hire Heroes USA; and Blue Star Families. They, along with IVMF, have aligned with Walmart to help create visible and actionable national support for America’s veterans and their families.

Chancellor Kent Syverud, who in his April 2014 inaugural address said Syracuse University must once again become the best place for veterans, says he is pleased to see IVMF playing such an integral role in fostering an environment that positions the nation’s veterans for success.

“This partnership is a testament to the hard work of the IVMF team and the Institute’s innovative philosophy,” says Chancellor Syverud. “The contributions of our nation’s veterans and their involvement, as well as their families, in our communities are vital to our nation’s success and prosperity. I congratulate IVMF on this accomplishment and look forward to seeing how this partnership positively impacts the nearly 23 million veterans in the United States.”

University College lights its lobby in green to support the “Greenlight a Vet” campaign.

There are a number of ways members of the Syracuse University interested in showing their support for veterans through a visible symbol can “Greenlight A Vet”:

• Hire one today. Or help a veteran find a job.
• Volunteer and serve with veterans groups in your local community.
• Start a mentor/mentee relationship with a returning veteran.
• Raise awareness on social media.
• Or simply signal support by changing your porch light to green.

To learn more about the “Greenlight a Vet” campaign, and in particular, how IVMF is leveraging the intellectual, human and social capital of higher education, in service to America’s veterans and their families, visit .

Vice President Biden spoke at Commencement Ceremonies in 2009.

As part of the “It’s On Us” campaign’s National Week of Action, Syracuse University will host Vice President of the United States Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68 on Thursday, Nov. 12, in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center.

“Syracuse University has been working hard to raise awareness about and to put an end to sexual and relationship violence,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “All of this hard work will be nationally recognized next week when Vice President Biden, who has been one of the nation’s leading advocates for this cause, visits our campus.”

Syracuse University students can pick up tickets from the Schine Student Center Box Office, Tuesday, Nov. 10 and Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Students must have a valid student identification card to present at time of pick-up. [Editor’s update: At this time, all tickets have been distributed.]

As this is a student-focused event, there will be a limited quantity of tickets available for faculty, staff, and the general public. Tickets for this group are also available at the Schine Student Center Box Office, Tuesday, Nov. 10 and Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Faculty, staff, and the general public will need to present a valid form of identification at time of pick-up.

Space for this event is extremely limited, and doors will open at 9:30 a.m. This ticket is complimentary and not for sale or re-sale. All attendees will go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. A bag and coat check will be available in Room 228B. Cameras are permitted.

The vice president’s visit comes just months after Chancellor Syverud appointed 30 members of the University community to a standing Task Force on Sexual and Relationship Violence, acting on a recommendation made by the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Sexual Violence Prevention, Education and Advocacy. That task force is charged with looking critically at the University’s sexual assault and relationship violence services, policies and programs every semester.

Co-chaired by Professor and Dean of the School of Education Joanna Masingila and Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, the task force is working closely with Samantha Skaller ’17, a student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and one of only 17 students nationwide to be selected to serve on the national “It’s On Us” Student Advisory Committee, which has been tasked with playing a key role in delivering the “It’s On Us” message to campuses across the country.

The task force has a number of activities planned for next week’s National Week of Action, including a film screening, panel discussions and other awareness initiatives. Skaller says the University’s efforts have been noticed by her counterparts in Washington.

“Our community has been working tirelessly to raise awareness and put an end to sexual assault and relationship violence once and for all,” says Skaller. “I am confident that is why Vice President Biden has selected our campus for one of his visits. I hope my fellow students will join me next week in taking the pledge and making a personal commitment to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault.”

For a complete listing of events scheduled for the National Week of Action can be found here.

Students in the Paris Noir 2015 program at the Elysee Palace

The program, which will celebrate its 16^th anniversary in summer 2016, is a six-credit, five-week program sponsored by the and . It is designed for students who are interested in learning about the influence and dynamics of black culture, literature and experience in Paris, both past and present.

“There are no walls around this classroom: the city of Paris and the surrounding areas transform the student’s learning experience,” says Mayes. “Panel discussions, music, open-mic poetry, visits to museums and artists’ studios, and African markets are just some of the public culture texts and spaces or public culture lessons students will explore while in Paris. It’s an incredible opportunity and I look forward to traveling to Paris next summer with a new cohort of students.”

Nearly 200 students have participated in Paris Noir over the years; many say the experience changed their lives in unimaginable ways.

“When I say Paris Noir changed my life, I mean it quite literally,” says Kishauna Soljour, a former Paris Noir student. “Now I’m getting my Ph.D. in history and my research focuses on the African migration to France after World War II.”

Paris Noir is open to all Syracuse University students, undergraduate and graduate. Like other SU Abroad programs, this experience is also open to students from other colleges and universities.

Space is limited; need-based grants are available to interested students. The deadline to apply is Saturday, Feb. 20; all deposits ($550) and Conditions of Participation forms are due on that date. Students are responsible for the cost of their airfare as well as most of their meals.

Students interested in applying to Paris Noir should visit the . If they have questions, they should contact Marie Kulikowsky by email at mkulikow@syr.edu or Caitlin Jarvis at cajarvis@syr.edu.

Marta Effinger-Crichlow

Marta Effinger-Crichlow, associate professor and chair of African American studies at CUNY’s New York City College of Technology, will guest-lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons (Room 114) in Bird Library. Her presentation, which is free and open to the public, is part of the AAS 2015-16 Colloquium Series.

Discounted parking is available in Booth Garage for $4. For more information, contact Regina Cole at recole@syr.edu or 315-443-4302.

Effinger-Crichlow is expected to draw from her latest book, “Staging Migrations Toward an American West: From Ida B. Wells to Rhodessa Jones” (University Press of Colorado, 2014), which explores how black women imagined and experienced their migration westward in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“Professor Effinger-Crichlow provides a rare glimpse into the geographic and symbolic journeys that black women have taken in pursuit of unconstrained movement and full citizenship in the United States,” says James Gordon Williams, assistant professor of AAS and one of the event’s co-organizers. “Anyone studying American or African American history, women’s and gender studies, literature, theater or performance theory will have an interest in this little-known area of scholarship.”

A prolific teacher-scholar, Effinger-Crichlow has written extensively about black women’s literary and dramatic narratives, as well as African American migration experiences. Her articles have appeared in African American Lives, Theatre Journal, African American Review, Footsteps: Children’s Magazine, Journal of Black Studies and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. In 2014, she was selected by the Network Journal as one of its “25 Influential Black Women in Business.”

Effinger-Crichlow has lectured all over the world—from the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan, to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities Summer Institute in Eugene, Ore., to Xiamen University in China. She also has served as project director of City Tech’s first NEH Faculty Development Initiative grant project, titled “Retentions and Transfigurations: The Technological Evolution and Social History of Five New York City Neighborhoods.” In November, she will address TEDxCUNY.

An accomplished dramaturg and playwright, Effinger-Crichlow earned a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Mark Wheeler

Today’s announcement comes after a comprehensive nationwide search. Wheeler, who most recently served as director of compliance at Boise State University in Idaho, succeeds Erlease Wagner, who departed the University earlier this month to pursue a new career opportunity. Wheeler assumed his new role on Thursday, Oct. 15.

“Mark’s legal background, combined with his experience in athletic compliance at Boise State and The Ohio State University [OSU], positions him to be an immediate asset to Syracuse University,” says Daniel J. French, interim University General Counsel. “Mark is keenly aware of the importance of fully developing our student-athletes, on and off the field. I look forward to working with him to ensure that the athletics department and our student-athletes receive comprehensive guidance in an increasingly complicated regulatory environment. I’m confident that Mark will continue to help ensure we get it right.”

In his new role, Wheeler will be tasked with directing the University’s compliance program, managing the day-to-day operation of the Office of Athletic Compliance and supervising the office’s team of compliance coordinators.

“Syracuse University is among the premier athletics programs in the country, and it is an honor to be selected to play a role in its future,” Wheeler says. “When I think about Syracuse, I think of academic excellence, elite student-athletes, and renowned coaches and coaching staffs. I am eager to partner with all of Athletics’ constituencies in the weeks and months ahead to continue enhancing the University’s reputation as a leader in developing high-caliber student-athletes.”

While at Boise State, Wheeler oversaw all compliance activities, including providing rules interpretations to coaches, staff and student-athletes; tracking, analyzing and communicating all new NCAA proposals and legislations; and collaborating with the University’s Registrar’s Office to review academic certification for all student-athletes prior to the start of each semester. He was also instrumental in developing the athletics department’s policy for permanent and total disability insurance and loss-of-value coverage, and athletic equipment. Wheeler also spearheaded an effort to institute new policies and monitoring processes in a variety of areas, such as outside competition and prize money, and complimentary admissions.

Prior to joining the Boise State Office of Compliance, Wheeler was assistant director of compliance at OSU and, before that, held compliance positions at Pepperdine University and Brigham Young University (BYU).

Wheeler earned a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in management from BYU’s Marriott School of Management.

Kenneth Baynes

Baynes, also a political science professor in the , says the book explores Habermas’ career up until the present—from his early analyses of the place of the public sphere in liberal society to his support for the European Union and post-national democracy.

“Habermas is perhaps best known for his defense of the Enlightenment values of freedom and equality against their truncated realization in contemporary capitalist societies and their outright rejection by some post-modern critics,” says Baynes, an expert in social and political philosophy.

The book also provides a critical assessment of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, which Baynes considers an “influential alternative” to Max Weber’s account of social action and discourse morality.

This is Baynes’ second book. His first, “The Normative Grounds of Social Criticism” (State University of New York Press, 1991), provides a comparative study of philosophers Immanuel Kant, John Rawls and Habermas.

Hugh Baxter, professor of law and philosophy at Boston University, considers the book an “exceptionally valuable introduction and guide” to Habermas’ career. “[He] links Habermas’ work to debates in recent American analytic philosophy, as well as to those of prominent European thinkers,” Baxter says. “It informs professional philosophical discussion, and serves as an accessible and reliable guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses.”

Baynes, who joined the Syracuse faculty in 2003, earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University, where, in addition to Stony Brook University, he has previously taught.

Chancellor Kent D. Syverud

Perhaps the most welcome news during the Chancellor’s address involved his comments on the University’s fiscal health, which continues to improve, largely due to what he called “fiscal discipline” and “smart execution” of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP).

“Fiscal Year 15, which ended June 30, involved disciplined attention to our finances in every unit, academic and auxiliary. Tough choices were made, resulting in not only the balancing of our $1.2 billion budget, but the addition of more than $4 million to our reserves,” he said.

In addition to fiscal discipline, the VSIP program was deemed a success by Chancellor Syverud and his leadership team. VSIP, which was implemented last summer as an alternative to proposed layoffs, was part of the Operational Excellence initiative and allowed the University to identify areas of improvement and efficiency, aligning Syracuse with its peer institutions.

“The plan was successful in the number of participants and the resulting vacancies, allowing the deans and other unit leaders to have the flexibility in making decisions about appropriate staffing levels,” he added. “As a result, extensive workforce planning decisions have taken place over the past month, without resulting in involuntary staff terminations. I feel strongly that, with the success of this program and careful stewardship of the reorganization of our work force, we do not anticipate institutional involuntary terminations this year.”

The Chancellor added that academic and auxiliary units have begun the process of implementing staffing changes and filling those positions identified by unit leaders as priorities.

“We recognize that it is not easy to make changes in the way that we operate by reducing staff. I greatly appreciate the challenging decisions made by all the university’s leaders. I also appreciate the continued positive attitude of the faculty and staff as we implement the individual reorganizations,” he said.

Citing his leadership team’s recent three-day retreat, focusing on creating a more inclusive campus environment, Chancellor Syverud highlighted the new University-wide Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion. Nominations for the workgroup have closed; new members are expected to be announced soon.

“The mission of the new Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion will be to develop solutions on how to further create a more diverse and inclusive environment at the University,” he said. “The workgroup will create an institutional diversity strategy, and align it with the vision and mission in the new Academic Strategic Plan.”

Chancellor Syverud also used his address to note transitions and several key administrative appointments: Mark Coyle, director of athletics; Candace Campbell Jackson, vice president and chief of staff; Teresa Dahlberg, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science; and David Seaman, University librarian and dean of Syracuse University Libraries.

On a related note, the Chancellor updated the Senate on several executive-level searches, most of which are underway. They include searches to fill the positions of vice chancellor and provost; executive chief information officer; dean of Hendricks Chapel; senior vice president for student affairs; vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School; and deans of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Law.

Acknowledging the high volume of activity on campus, Chancellor Syverud praised committees and workgroups for their progress on the Academic Strategic Plan, which has moved into the implementation phase. According to the Chancellor, the teams are focusing on six areas—student experience, discovery, internationalization, commitment to veterans, innovation and “One University”—and are “deepening their understanding of the goals for their particular theme.”

“The teams will work together, seeking more input as needed, to decide how these goals can be reached, prioritize actions, set timelines, decide on metrics of success and determine resources needed to achieve the goals,” he added.

Made up of students, faculty and staff, the Oversight Committee will coordinate the efforts of all six teams, as well as those of the individual schools and colleges, each of which is charged with developing its own strategic plan.

The Chancellor also touched on the progress of the Campus Framework (formerly known as Campus Master Plan) Leadership Group. Since April 2015, a subset of the Campus Framework Leadership Group has worked with Sasaki Associates to draft a Campus Framework and an Executive Summary. The drafts continue to evolve, based on feedback from University constituencies, and are being distributed to the Board of Trustees, as well as the Trustees’ Facilities Committee, for review at their November meeting.

“The Framework is meant to guide future campus development and to be flexible,” he said. “Decisions to pursue specific projects will be based on accommodating University priorities, and will require discussion with and approval by the Board of Trustees. That process will commence with the November Board meetings, and more information will be shared with the campus later this semester.”

A topic of particular interest to the Senate was the University’s new travel policy. In response to a faculty petition handed to him before his address, the Chancellor recognized the concerns about the new travel policy, saying that the University must identify and implement a sound solution to control travel costs.

“In response to [faculty] feedback, I have asked Doug Freeman, director of purchasing and real estate and head of the Fast Forward Travel Initiative Team, to reconvene the team members to explore areas where the online system needs to better serve our travelers,” he said. “Doug and his team have already contacted BTI and Concur [travel and expense management companies] with a request to review incoming calls and agent responses, since the program’s inception. I’m asking Doug to add several concerned faculty members to his group to get an idea of the challenges and help us find solutions.”

Chancellor Syverud added that feedback—about this issue—is not only welcome, but encouraged. Faculty or staff with feedback or concerns should contact Freeman at dhfreema@syr.edu.

The Chancellor also announced that Family Weekend 2015, which was held Sept. 25-27, experienced a 17-percent spike in attendance over last year. The event was attended by nearly 4,800 family members from 37 states and dozens of countries, including England, Peru, India, Switzerland, China and Canada. Approximately 80 percent of the attendees were related to first-year students.

Upon the conclusion of the Chancellor’s official business, he shared several brief, but important updates, all of which were well received. They included the following:

• The University’s Office of Advancement and External Affairs has had a positive year, pulling in more than $103 million, a 42-percent increase over last year.
• All types of enrollment–undergraduate, graduate, professional and online—continue to improve. The Chancellor announced that the median SAT scores of the incoming undergraduate class improved significantly.
• Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo challenged seven Upstate New York regions—through his Upstate Revitalization Initiative competition—to compete for three $500 million awards, designed to develop plans and projects that transform the regional economy. Last week, the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council (which the Chancellor co-chairs) submitted its proposal. Titled “Central New York: Rising from the Ground Up,” the plan focuses on six core areas that stand to create nearly 6,000 jobs, and result in hundreds of millions of dollars in new economic activity. The six areas are as follows:
  • Next generation technology
  • Veterans
  • Agriculture
  • Transportation
  • Government modernization
  • Economic opportunity and inclusion.
• While still in early discussions, the University, with its regional partners, continues to explore the value and feasibility of a college of medicine. The University has established a faculty advisory committee to explore the concept; retained counsel to conduct in-depth analysis; and participated in collaborative talks with regional stakeholders.

To share your thoughts or submit an idea to help improve Syracuse University, email chancellor@syr.edu.

Arnab Chakrabarty

Two of today’s leading exponents of Indian classical music, sarodist Arnab Chakrabarty and tablist Shahbaz Hussain, will perform on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. in Setnor Auditorium in Crouse College.

The concert is free and open to the public; however, donations of $5 from students (with I.D.) and $10 from the public are accepted.

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Free parking is available in the Quad 1 lot, by Crouse College.

The concert is organized by the student chapter of , a nationwide movement designed to promote Indian classical music and culture, in conjunction with the in the and the University’s . For more information, contact Abhiram Sishtla at asishtla@syr.edu.

Shahbaz Hussain

Chakrabarty plays a lute-like stringed instrument called the sarod. He was trained by Kalyan Mukherjea, who, in turn, was a disciple of Radhika Mohan Maitra, the legendary custodian of the Shahjahanpur tradition of sarod music. Chakrabarty, whose instrument is believed to be 110-130 years old, has headlined concerts and festivals around the world, including the Masters of Indian Music festival at the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest (Hungary) and the Silk Road Festival in Damascus (Syria). He also is heard on the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning documentary “Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red-Light Kids” (2004).

Hussain is a highly regarded tabla player, involving a membranophone percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music. He has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious “Son of Lahore” Award from the Pakistani government. Hussain began his career at an early age, studying under his father, singer Mumtaz Hussain, before moving on to tablists Faiyaz Khan, Shaukat Hussain Khan, and Allah Rakha Khan. He has performed in many of the world’s leading venues, including Lincoln Center in New York City; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; and Royal Albert Hall in London.

Carlos Castañeda is among the team of scientists organizing the event.

Syracuse University, the and are teaming up to present the 14th annual Upstate New York Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Symposium on Monday, Oct. 19, and the first annual Upstate Structural Biology Symposium, the following day.

Free and open to the public, the symposia will be held at SUNY ESF’s Gateway Center (1 Forestry Drive). To view a detailed agenda and to register, visit . Registration is required. For more information, contact co-organizer , assistant professor of chemistry and biology in Syracuse’s College of Arts and Sciences, at cacastan@syr.edu.

The NMR and Structural Biology symposia begin on Monday, Oct. 19, and Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 8 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. Breakfast and lunch is available to all registrants. There will be a poster session on both days of the conference.

The NMR symposium will feature oral student and faculty presentations on NMR spectroscopy. Gaetano T. Montelione, the Jerome and Lorraine Aresty Chair and Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Rutgers University, will deliver the keynote address at 1:30 p.m. titled “Hybrid Approaches for Protein Structure Determination Combining Computational Modeling with Sparse NMR Restraints.”

The structural biological symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 20, will include student and faculty presentations. Eaton Lattman, principal research scientist, chief executive officer, and executive director emeritus of Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, will deliver the 1:30 p.m. keynote on “Biology with X-Ray Lasers.”

Michael Marciano

Helping law enforcement with sexual assault cases is the subject of a new study at the (FNSSI) in .

FNSSI has been awarded a $155,000 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant to investigate the use of an applied dielectrophoretic force-field to support DNA forensics techniques. It is FNSSI second NIJ award in two years.

Members of FNSSI say the 12-month study will help them to develop more reliable methods for identifying spermatozoa (male reproductive cells); collecting sperm and epithelial cell fractions that impact downstream analysis; and gathering low-template samples without the need for DNA quantification.

According to FNSSI Senior Scientist , such studies traditionally focus on processing DNA evidence. Not this one. The emphasis here, he says, is on improving the way body fluids are analyzed, so as to impact efficiency and enhance downstream DNA analysis.

“Current methodologies, such as light microscopy, laser capture microdissection and subsequent differential extraction, are generally accepted by the scientific community and are considered highly reliable,” he says. “But they can be laborious, and many times fail to adequately separate human spermatozoa from epithelial cells, leading to the need for DNA mixture interpretation.”

As part of the study, FNSSI will use the DEPArray system—generously provided by Silicon Biosystems, one of FNSSI’s corporate partners—to identify, isolate and recover individual cells from a variety of samples. Historically, this system has been used in cancer research to isolate and separate circulating tumor cells from white blood cells.

“The DEParray has enabled unprecedented levels of detection in cancer diagnostics,” says Marciano. “We plan to apply these novel capabilities to forensically relevant problem sets.”

Marciano adds that there is an ongoing need to improve analysis techniques involving low template number and inhibitor-containing samples. This represents another area the DEParray could be applied.

Kevin Sweder

In addition to Marciano, the study involves , FNSSI professor and director of research and operations; Kathleen Corrado, director of laboratories for the Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences; and a group of graduate and undergraduate students.

“We are proud to be a part of projects that will positively impact public safety and may touch so many individuals and families in such a direct and immediate manner,” adds Marciano.

FNSSI provides broad, interdisciplinary scientific research and theory to real-world legal and national security issues. In addition to multiple graduate and undergraduate opportunities, FNSSI is home to a new state-of-the-art laboratory suite, dedicated to the study of bioforensics and combustible materials.

Lennard J. Davis

Lennard J. Davis, an internationally renowned disability scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), will discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on Monday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. in Room 004 of Bird Library. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact , director of the Honors Program and a professor of disability studies in the at sakuusis@syr.edu.

Davis’ presentation coincides with the 25th anniversary of the ADA, a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. His lecture is co-sponsored by the Consortium for Culture and Medicine, a cooperative program involving Syracuse, and .

“We are thrilled to host Lennard Davis, a pioneer in the field of disability studies who is intrigued by the notion of normalcy and how it has evolved in our culture,” says Kuusisto. “Davis has been a pioneer advancing the cultural study of disability. He also is an ardent champion for disability rights, raising awareness of the history, contributions and issues still facing people with disabilities, in hopes of developing our next generation of advocates.”

Davis holds multiple titles at UIC, where he serves as a Distinguished Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as a professor in both the colleges of Medicine and Applied Health Sciences. He also is a visiting professor at the University of Westminster in London, with ties to the Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture and to the Department of English, Linguistics and Cultural Studies.

A prolific teacher-scholar, Davis is the author or editor of more than 15 books, including the newly published “ (Beacon Press, 2015). He has co-edited several scholarly journals, in addition to publishing hundreds of book chapters, essays, articles and reviews. Davis is also a highly sought-after speaker, having given invited, keynote and plenary addresses all over the world.

Kuusisto says much of the program will draw from Davis’ new book—a little-known account of how leftist hippies from the University of California, Berkeley, formed an uneasy alliance with conservative Republicans to bring about the ADA in 1990. “It is truly a bipartisan bill, and has become a model for most civil rights laws everywhere,” Kuusisto adds. “Davis’ lecture will examine how the ADA has affected civil rights in the United States and the world, and where society must go next to next to fully embrace and empower people with disabilities.”

A scholar of English and comparative literature, Davis earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University. But growing up in a deaf family kindled his interest in disability studies. Davis has since thrown himself into disability education, advocacy and litigation, using his role as a teacher-scholar to impact change. He serves on numerous advisory boards, and, since 2003, has directed UIC’s Project Biocultures.

ASL interpretation and CART will be provided. For questions about accessible parking or additional accommodations, please contact Kate Hanson at khanso01@syr.edu or 315.443.2759.

Free and open to Syracuse students, the event is co-organized by Romita Ray, associate professor of art history in AMH, and Anupama Charavartii, assistant director of admissions at SIA. For more information, email at Charavartii at��a.chakravartti@sia.edu.

“The University is thrilled to partner with the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, which has trained many of our students, who, in turn, have gone on to successful teaching and curatorial careers,” Ray says. “That they initially contacted��us��about doing an information session has been viewed as both an honor and an opportunity.”

For almost half a century, SIA has provided graduate and undergraduate education for art world professionals, with campuses in London, New York and Los Angeles.

Cedric Nunn

As part of his visit, Nunn will discuss his book—and the effects of Apartheid, in general—on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m. in Bird Library’s Peter Graham Scholarly Commons. The lecture is free and open to the public, and is followed by a Q&A session, moderated by , associate professor of English at SUNY-Oswego.

In “Unsettled,” Nunn draws on his photography to capture the effects of the 100-Year War of Resistance, South Africa’s longest and most complex anti-colonial confrontation, which took place from 1779 to 1879. Most of his photos were shot in the African province of the Eastern Cape.

The magnitude of Nunn’s visit to campus is not lost on its organizers. “This is a unique opportunity for our students to learn about a profound moment in human history—conveyed through the lens of one of the world’s most renowned photographers,” says Romita Ray, associate professor of art history and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Art and Music Histories.

Jayawardane, who has collaborated with Nunn in the past, describes “Unsettled” as an “invocation of exiled, silent and silenced memory,” and a call to engage with a history not meant to be remembered. “’Unsettled’ is an important document, and serves as a first step in recognizing the importance of the Xhosa resistance to the history of the Eastern Cape and South Africa. Nunn, as the photographer, becomes the narrator, generating and validating a collective memory, though it is largely absent or erased from official history,” she adds.

Born in South Africa in 1957, Nunn is one of the primary documenters of the resistance to Apartheid rule. He was one of the founders of the photography movement “Afrapix,” and later shot South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994 for the Independent Electoral Commission. Nunn currently teaches and mentors photography students, and is a board member of the Bensusan Museum of Photography in Johannesburg.

His visit is cosponsored by SUNY-Oswego; the����and the��, both housed in the��;���ٳ���� in the��; and the .��For more information, contact��neelika.jayawardane@oswego.edu.

Dineen Hall

The five-day initiative, which runs from Monday, Sept. 28, to Friday, Oct. 2, will consist of more than half a dozen events, aimed at helping Syracuse undergraduates prepare to apply to and enroll in law school.

“Applying to law school can be overwhelming to say the least,” says Kandice Salomone, associate dean of advising and career services in Arts and Sciences. “We hope our programming will help quell students’ fears about the process and prepare them to successfully apply to and enroll in the law school of their choice.”

The schedule is as follows:

Monday, Sept. 28
Career Conversation with Samantha Wilder ’10 (Wilder will discuss her experience applying to law school and share insight about life as a law student.)
320 Hall of Languages
1 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 29
SU College of Law Visit (Observe a course, tour Dineen Hall, and talk with admissions/financial aid.)
Dineen Hall
11:50 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 30
Cracking the LSAT with Test Masters (Learn more about the LSAT and preparation strategies.)
232 Schine Student Center
1-2 p.m. or 2-3 p.m. (Pick either session)

Wednesday, Sept. 30
Career Conversation with Jeff Rich ’67 (Rich will provide mentorship to participating students.)
320 Hall of Languages
4 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 1
Mock Admissions Panel (Law school representatives will walk through the decision-making process while looking at REAL law school applications.)
320 Hall of Languages
3-4 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 1
Law School Fair (More than 60 law schools will be in attendance and representatives will answer your questions.)
Panasci Lounge, Schine Student Center
5-7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 2
Alumni Panel (Panel discussion will help you discover the realities of law school and practicing law.)
Dineen Hall
1-2 p.m.

All students interested in applying to law school are welcome to attend any (or all) of the aforementioned events, but must first register via OrangeLink. For more information, contact Advising and Career Services at casadvising@syr.edu��or by phone at 443.3150.

Laura Lautz

Before EMPOWER gets underway, the University will host a two-day meeting with an External Advisory Committee (EAC) to discuss the program’s design and implementation.

EAC consists of some of the biggest names in energy, advocacy, government research, environmental consulting and STEM education. They are Kevin Bohacs, a senior research scientist at ExxonMobil; Gillian Daly, a risk assessor at Golder Associates Ltd.; Steven Hamburg, a chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund; William Kappel, a hydrogeologist emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey; and Aisha Morris, director of the Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students, an internship program managed by UNAVCO, a nonprofit university-governed consortium.

Committee members arrive on Monday, Sept. 21, to participate in a variety of roundtable conversations, where they will discuss how EMPOWER can help graduate students succeed in STEM. They also will be involved with a graduate student-led panel discussion on career pathways in science and engineering.

Principal investigator Laura Lautz G’05, associate professor of Earth sciences in the , calls the meeting the “official kick-off” of the project.

“We are honored to host this impressive array of teachers, scientists and scholars,” says Lautz, also an adjunct assistant professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “I am confident that we will walk away from the meeting with a headful of ideas and strategies that will help us successfully implement the program.”

In addition to Arts and Sciences, EMPOWER involves faculty from the (ECS), the and the . They are Charles Driscoll, University Professor of Environmental Systems and a Distinguished Professor in ECS; Chris Johnson, professor of civil and environmental engineering in ECS; Christopher Junium, assistant professor of Earth sciences in Arts and Sciences; Tara Kahan, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts and Sciences; Christopher Scholz, professor of Earth sciences in Arts and Sciences; Donald Siegel, chair and professor of Earth sciences, as well as the Jessie Page Heroy and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor in Arts and Sciences; Donald Torrance, associate professor and director of science communications in the Newhouse School; and Peter Wilcoxen, associate professor of public administration & international affairs and director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration in the Maxwell School.

EMPOWER is the latest in a string of successes for Syracuse’s Water Science and Engineering Initiative, jointly funded by the Office of the Provost, Arts and Sciences, and ECS. The team’s proposal was one of only eight funded, from an application pool of nearly 260.

The grant award provides a one-year, $32,000 stipend for up to 46 students. It also underwrites the development of various domestic and international field courses, including one in Rwanda, and a seed-grant training program.

Joseph Francisco

Both events are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the in the . For more information, call Beth Molloy at 315.443.2851.

Francisco’s lecture, “Structure and Reactivity of Radical-Molecule Complexes: New Frontiers in Atmospheric Chemistry,” will shed light on traditional chemical reactions, as well as on novel mechanisms involved with radical‐molecule complexes in the atmosphere. The influence these complexes have on both the mechanisms and kinetics of atmospheric reactions will also be explored.

Francisco is highly regarded in the field, having served as president of both the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers and the American Chemical Society (ACS). He also is a fellow of the ACS, the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Francisco’s research combines spectroscopy and theory to better understand the photochemistry and kinetics of atmospheric species. He earned a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The lectureship is named for the Syracuse chemistry professor who died in a 1974 boating accident at the age of 45. He was a beloved teacher and dedicated researcher, as evidenced by his publication of more than 90 scholarly articles.

Jerry Evensky

A Reader’s Guide is the follow-up to Evensky’s first book, “ (Cambridge University Press, 2005), which outlines Smith’s full moral philosophical vision.

Smith was an 18^th-century Scottish philosopher, as well as the author of “The Wealth of Nations,” considered the first book to fully analyze a free market economy.

“What people need to remember is that Adam Smith was not an economist; he was a moral philosopher,” says Evensky. “This book walks the reader through “The Wealth of Nations,” explaining the elements and flow of Smith’s economic analysis, highlighting how that analysis was integrated into his larger moral philosophical vision.”

Smith considered economic analysis to be but one dimension in the exploration of the human condition. For economic analysis to be fully fruitful, Evensky says, Smith felt it should be complemented by analyses of social and political dimensions.

“Adam Smith believed that the best context for exploring the nexus of these dimensions of the human condition was rich, textured historical analysis,” says Evensky, whose expertise extends into ethics and liberal society, as well as economic education. “The lesson he took from history was that a liberal, free market society will only be as successful as the ethical standards of that society are just and broadly shared.��Justice is the foundation of a community of trust, and trust is key to constructive free human intercourse.”

Evensky says that if there is a hero in Smith’s analysis, it is not the capitalist, but the “ethical citizen.”

Already, Evensky’s book has drawn praise from critics and colleagues alike. , professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, calls “A Reader’s Guide” a “straightforward and lively commentary” that introduces people to many central themes of Adam Smith’s great book.

, associate professor of political science at Marquette University, considers it an “indispensable guide” to a foundational text in modern economics and the liberal tradition, offering an “engaging, accessible and systematic review” of Smith’s book.

Evensky is gratified by the positive reception: “It is incredibly rewarding to hold a book you’ve completed in your hands, and to know that it will be in libraries around the world for others to consider for years to come.”

William Deresiewicz

Titled “The Value of a Liberal Arts Education,” Deresiewicz’s presentation will take place Monday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) in Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium. He is expected to draw heavily from his acclaimed book “Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life” (Free Press, 2014).

The Milton Lecture is part of the college’s First-Year Experience, and is open only to first-year and transfer students in Arts and Sciences, as well as their First-Year Forum leaders. For more information, call the Office for Curriculum, Instruction and Programs at 315-443-1414.

The lecture is funded by the Laura Hanhausen Milton Freshman Lecture Endowment.

Deresiewicz says that, while teaching English at Yale University, he found that many of his students—“some of the nation’s brightest minds,” in his words—had difficulty thinking critically and creatively and finding a sense of purpose.

“As schools shift focus from the liberal arts to ‘practical’ subjects, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways,” he says. “College should be a time for self-discovery, when students can establish their own values and measures of success, so they can forge their own path.”

, the college’s senior associate dean, says that, given mounting interest in the value of a liberal arts degree, Deresiewicz’s visit is timely and relevant.

“A liberal arts degree, particularly from Syracuse University, can position students for a lifetime of professional and personal success,” says Greenberg, adding that Deresiewicz is a proponent of “intellectual cross-training.” “William Deresiewicz is a powerful steward of the liberal arts, and I know our students will walk away from his lecture with a greater understanding of how to apply a liberal education to their lives.”

Deresiewicz’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The New Republic, Slate, Bookforum, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New Yorker and The London Review of Books. He also is a contributing writer to The Nation and a contributing editor to The American Scholar. His other books are “A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter” (Penguin Books, 2011) and “Jane Austen and the Romantic Poets” (Columbia University Press, 2004).

As a professor, Deresiewicz has taught courses in modern British fiction, the “Great Books,” Indian fiction and writing. Deresiewicz earned a Ph.D. from Columbia, where he also received three master’s degrees, including one in journalism.

The Milton First-Year Lecture is named for Laura Hanhausen Milton ’51, a member of the College’s who, along with her late husband, Jack ’51, has been a long-time supporter of the University. The lecture is part of a series of programs designed to facilitate students’ transition to college life. Past speakers have included such luminaries as Neil Shubin, Jane Goodall, Henry Louis Gates and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Mark Nerenhausen

Case in point: , founding director and professor of practice of the Janklow Program, is crisscrossing the country, speaking at some of the industry’s premier events. One of them is the Americans for the Arts’ prestigious leadership roundtable, whose theme this year is “The Arts and Tourism: Transforming America’s Communities.” It is currently under way in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Nerenhausen and other tastemakers—including leaders of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—will converge on the popular resort city to examine the relationship between arts and tourism at the local, state and national levels.

“Cultural content can and should be used for economic development,” says Nerenhausen, who has served as president and CEO of both the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Nowhere is this more apparent than in cultural and heritage tourism, which no longer is a niche market, but is a thriving industry with a highly complex infrastructure.”

Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization that, for nearly half a century, has advanced the arts in the United States. With offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, Americans for the Arts represents and serves local communities, including some 150,000 organizational and individual members and stakeholders.

The organization’s annual roundtable brings together artists, philanthropists and corporate leaders for a proactive dialogue about how the arts may be utilized as a positive force for change.

“For the University to have a seat at the table—no pun intended—is both an honor and a responsibility I don’t take lightly,” Nerenhausen adds. “Being invited is a clear indicator that the Janklow Program is moving in the right direction, and that our mission and values are in line with our nation’s cultural, civic and economic priorities.”

The roundtable is expected to examine strategic partnerships between the arts and tourism industries, in hopes of stimulating economic development. In addition to sharing best practices, participants will brainstorm ways traditional artists and nonprofit institutions can interface with large economic sectors, such as entertainment, publishing and broadcasting, to drive cultural tourism to new heights.

Stephen Maisto

, professor of psychology, is the recipient of a five-year, $2.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant award. Along with co-principal investigators Tibor Palfai Jr. and Jeff Simons, psychology professors at Boston University (BU) and the University of South Dakota (USD), respectively, Maisto will use the award to study the effects of alcohol consumption and cognitive factors on decision making among HIV-negative men who engage in sexual relations with other men.

Maisto hopes that his team’s research will advance the understanding of how contextual, cognitive and personal characteristics (e.g., impulsivity) affect the decision-making process. Receiving the NIH’s support also underscores the relevancy of such work, he adds.

“On a personal level, I am thrilled to continue pursuing this part of my research program,” Maisto says. “Professionally, it’s my belief that this kind of work ultimately improves the effectiveness of HIV primary prevention programs.”

Maisto says the funding will enable graduate and undergraduate students at Syracuse, BU and USD to assist in the data collection process.

“From an educational perspective, this grant allows my colleagues and me to expose our students to research that has the potential to produce tangible and applicable results,” he adds.

In addition to his role at Syracuse, Maisto is senior leadership and research consultant of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ Center for Integrated Healthcare. He also holds a faculty position at SUNY Upstate Medical University and is an affiliated training faculty member at the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo.

“Steve has established himself and the University as a leader in complex, forward-looking research,” says , professor and chair of psychology. “His investigations into the causes and consequences of alcohol use and abuse, as well innovative research to reduce harmful alcohol consumption, continues to garner academic and mainstream headlines.”

Maisto, who earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and completed a postdoctoral respecialization in clinical psychology at George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, joined the Syracuse faculty in 1994.

Breanna Caires at the awards ceremony for the Alfred J. Seaman Award with her professor, Theo Cateforis. Photo credit: Maryanne Russell Photography

Breanna Caires ’15, who recently earned a degree in public relations, has received the Alfred J. Seaman Award for “Best Undergraduate Essay on Advertising and Society” by the Advertising Educational Foundation. The essay, “Music, Place and Politics: Examining the Link Between Music and Imagery in Political Advertising,” was one that she produced for a graduate-level course on “Music, Space and Place,” taught by , associate professor and chair of AMH.

“This is a tremendous national honor,” says Cateforis, who was on hand for Caires’ awards ceremony in New York City. “She exemplifies our ‘One University’ approach by combining the liberal arts with a professional education.”

Prior to graduation, Caires was awarded AMH’s annual Abraham Veinus Prize for “Best Undergraduate Paper in Music History and Cultures” for her essay on the role of sex in country music, titled “The Raunchy Music of Cowboys,” which she wrote for a course on country music with Carole & Alvin I. Schragis Faculty Fellow .

Caires credits the University for providing her with a wide range of courses, which have made her well-rounded and better prepared for life after graduation. “Syracuse gave me the skills and knowledge I need to succeed in a highly competitive industry,” says Caires, who, in addition to music history and cultures, earned minor degrees in music industry and marketing from the and the , respectively. “I couldn’t imagine getting a more comprehensive education anywhere else.”

Caires is already putting her University degree to good use, as evidenced by her new job at Gupta Media, a Boston-based digital media agency. As one of the firm’s media coordinators, she will be responsible for media planning, digital marketing and social media strategies for major record labels, performing artists and music festivals. A part-time musician, she describes the job as a “perfect fit.”

“I’ve never been so excited to sign my name on something, as I was when I accepted Gupta’s offer,” she recalls. “I’m grateful to be in Boston, which is close to home, and to launch my career in the music business.”

At Syracuse, Caires was a member of the leadership team for the SU Marching Band, for which she also developed and implemented a social media strategy her junior and senior years. She also played trumpet in the symphony, concert and pep bands, as well as the wind ensemble.

Ben Bradley

An A&S faculty member for more than a decade, he also is a philosophy professor and the director of the .

In “Well-Being,” Bradley guides readers through the various philosophical theories of well-being, such as hedonism, perfectionism and pluralism, showing the benefits and drawbacks of each theory. He explores the role of well-being in moral and political theory, as well as the limitations of welfare-based approaches to ethics, such as utilitarianism and welfare egalitarianism. Finally, he introduces puzzles about well-being that arise in moral and prudential deliberations about procreation and death.

“One of my goals in writing this book is to make philosophy more accessible to the everyday person,” Bradley says. “It is supposed to be understandable to readers with no formal experience with philosophy. We all have unsystematic and to some extent unconscious beliefs about the good life and its importance to morality; the book identifies many of these beliefs and subjects them to critical scrutiny.”

Roger Crisp, professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford (U.K.), considers Bradley one of today’s foremost ethicists. “In recent decades, philosophers have made serious progress in answering the hugely important question of what, ultimately, makes life good for anyone. Ben Bradley is one of these philosophers, and this insightful, accessible, informed and open-minded book is an outstanding survey of where the debate now stands.”

An expert in ethics and in philosophy of death, Bradley earned a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has held academic positions at Princeton University, Western Washington University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Illinois Wesleyan University. His other books are “The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Death” (Oxford University Press, 2012) and “Well-Being and Death” (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2009). He also is a frequent contributor to top scholarly journals, including Philosophical Studies, Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, Utilitas and Ethics.

Facilitated by graduate students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the Phonological Awareness Camp for Kids is a fun, play-based program that promotes early literacy skills.

Learning to read is a milestone for almost any child, but the process is not always easy. That’s why the in is offering a five-day program aimed at helping children learn important literacy skills.

Facilitated by graduate students in the , the Phonological Awareness Camp for Kids (P.A.C.K) is a fun, play-based program that promotes early literacy skills in children. The camp is supervised by Megan Leece, a speech-language pathologist specializing in early childhood speech and language disorders.

P.A.C.K. meets July 20-24 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Gebbie Clinic (621 Skytop Rd., South Campus). Enrollment is limited and open to 4- and 5-year-olds, regardless of literary skill level, enrolling in kindergarten this fall.

Children will learn phonological awareness, vital to developing successful reading skills. They also will participate in listening and rhyming games, vocabulary activities, songs, crafts and story time—all in a fun, engaging, small-group setting.

P.A.C.K. is $90 for each child of a University faculty and staff member; $180 each for non-University participants.

The Gebbie Clinic provides complete diagnostic and treatment services for adults and children having difficulty with any area of communication.

Andrea Persin

Andrea Persin, an accounting and finance professional with more than 12 years of experience, has been appointed the new assistant director of budget and finance in the . She reports directly to Laura Troendle, the college’s director of budget and finance.

In addition to helping manage the college’s budget, Persin will coordinate and interpret financial reports for various units across campus; develop and prepare financial analyses; analyze data and troubleshoot effectively when needed; create reports; design and conduct analytical research, including preparing interpretive analyses and presenting findings in narrative and graphic forms; and collaborate with department chairs and budget analysts to identify and implement process changes that improve the overall operational efficiency of the college.

“I look forward to drawing on my experience to help oversee the fiscal health of the largest academic unit on campus,” Persin says. “The more financially sustainable we are, the better off the University is—specifically, in teaching, research and service. I am honored to help realize Chancellor’s Syverud’s vision for an ‘unrivaled’ College of Arts and Sciences.”

A native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., Persin comes to the college from AXA Equitable, where, for more than a decade, she held several leadership roles, including senior manager of enterprise governance, senior manager of insurance accounting and manager of accounting and reporting.

Troendle, who used to work with Persin at AXA, says she is the “perfect successor” to John Beecher, who recently left the college to head up the School of Education’s budget office.

“Andrea has diverse capabilities, a strong work ethic, the ability to multi-task and a collaborative approach [to work],” she says. “We are fortunate to have someone of her caliber in our office, and I know many of us will benefit from her expertise.”

Persin earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College. She lives in Baldwinsville with her husband Mike and her son Michael.

Melissa Pepling

She is the recipient of a three-year, $440,000 award from the NIH’s Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) Program. Also known as an AREA R15 award, it is designed to support meritorious research, expose students to laboratory research and strengthen the research environment of the University.

“It’s an exciting time in my field, as clues to the detection and treatment of ovarian cancer and other related conditions are being discovered at a record pace,” says Pepling, who specializes in the study of oocytes (female germ cells), hormone signaling and ovary organ culture. “Ovarian cancer is particularly hard to diagnose because of the lack of symptoms that are unique to the illness. My hope is that we can detect these diseases sooner, thus reducing the high mortality rate among women.”

Also a faculty member of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, Pepling says the grant award will support the study of other areas of female fertility, including primary ovarian insufficiency, the reproductive lifespan and menopause. As such, her research utilizes a variety of biomedical research techniques, including immunocytochemistry; confocal microscopy; Western blotting; ovary organ culture; pharmacological inhibitors; small-interfering RNA, or siRNA, technologies; and genetics.

“The pool of primordial follicles present at birth represents the total population of germ cells available to a female during her entire reproductive life,” she explains, adding that these cells undergo incomplete cell divisions that result in clusters called cysts. “My goal is to better understand the mechanisms that regulate cyst breakdown and programmed cell death to establish the primordial follicle pool in the ovary.”

“Professor Pepling is one of the leading authorities on mammalian oogenesis,” says , associate professor and chair of biology. “Her lab is doing cutting-edge work with endogenous and exogenous estrogens and how they affect early oocyte development. It’s pushing our department—and embryogenesis, in general—in bold, new directions.”

Pepling holds a variety of other academic and administrative posts, including serving as director of the biology department’s curriculum committee and confocal microscope facility. A sought-after lecturer and contributing journalist, she is a peer reviewer for a number of scholarly publications, including Development, Endocrinology and Nature Genetics.

She earned a Ph.D. from SUNY Stony Brook.

Steve Parks

As part of his five-year term, Parks will oversee the publication of two to three scholarly books a year.

“This is an opportunity for me to gain the broadest possible perspective on the field—where it’s going, what it needs to succeed and how to empower scholars who are shaping the future of our work,” says Parks, who also serves as the writing program’s director of graduate studies. “My role [as editor] is to meld different conversations and traditions together to see what new insights arise.”

Parks speaks from experience, having served as founder and executive director of New City Community Press in Philadelphia, and as one of the founders of Gifford Street Community Press in Syracuse.

It is in his twin role as editor and teacher that Parks excels at linking community publishing with grassroots activism—an idea born out of the efforts of the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers in the United Kingdom.

“Service learning and community partnerships can shed new light on the nature and goals of political and social movement rhetoric,” says Parks, who also served as editor of��Reflections: A Journal of Writing, Service-Learning, and Community Literacy.�� “I hope to draw upon my experience as publisher and editor of community and scholarly publications to build on the outstanding work being published in the SWR series.”

is associate professor of writing and rhetoric and chair of the writing program. “This appointment is a tremendous opportunity for Professor Parks and the University,” she says. “He is in a unique position to identify influential work and rhetoric as it emerges—something that could pay big dividends for our students. I can’t think of anyone who can better articulate the social, political and material contexts of writing and its teaching.”

Parks is the author or editor of numerous books, including the second edition of “Class Politics: The Movement for the Students’ Right to Their Own Language” (Parlor Press, 2013), “Circulating Communities: The Tactics and Strategies of Community Publishing” (Lexington Books, 2011) and “Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love” (Syracuse University Press, 2010). A former Temple University professor, he earned all his graduate and undergraduate degrees, including a Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh.

Lois Agnew

Associate professor and chair of the Writing Program, Agnew is the recipient of the 2015 William Wasserstrom Prize for the Teaching of Graduate Students. The Wasserstrom Prize is named for the great English professor who died in 1985. Since then, the prize has been awarded every year to an A&S professor who embodies Wasserstrom’s aesthetic as a graduate seminar leader, research and dissertation director, and advisor and role model.

“Lois is an extraordinary asset to the College of Arts and Sciences and to the University, as a whole,” says , dean of Arts and Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. “Not only does Professor Agnew inspire her students to work hard, but she also empowers them to achieve more than they thought possible on their own. Her keen understanding of issues pertaining to religion, science, technology and the press has redefined our understanding of rhetorical history and theory.”

During her decade-long tenure at the University, Agnew has received multiple honors and awards, including the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award and the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award. She is the author of numerous articles, essays and chapters, and of the books “Thomas De Quincey: British Rhetoric’s Romantic Turn” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012) and “Outward, Visible Propriety: Stoic Philosophy and Eighteenth-Century British Rhetorics” (Columbia:�� University of South Carolina Press, 2008). She earned a Ph.D. in English from Texas Christian University.

Horace Campbell

Like Agnew, Campbell is a favorite among graduate students. Winner of the 2015 Prize for Excellence in Master’s Level Teaching, he is dually appointed to Arts and Sciences, where he serves as professor and director of graduate studies in African American studies, and to the , holding professorships in political science and international relations. Campbell also directs the University’s Africa Initiative.

Ruhlandt says that Campbell represents “all that’s good” in a professor, scholar and administrator. “Professor Campbell is a friend and mentor to many,” she adds. “He’s genuinely concerned that his students end up with great jobs and great lives. As a result, his gives them his undivided attention, even after they graduate. He embodies the highest ideals of teaching excellence, research and service.”

Prior to the University, Campbell held faculty positions at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Northwestern University, the University of Sussex (U.K.), and The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago). He has also been a visiting professor at the Tsinghua University in Beijing Chinese University. He is the author of multiple books, including “Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya” (Monthly Review Press, 2013) and “Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA” (Pluto Press, 2010). He earned a Ph.D. from Sussex.

Agnew will be recognized at the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on Friday, May 8, at 5 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium; Campbell will be honored at the College of Arts and Sciences Master’s Convocation on Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. in Setnor Auditorium.

John Katko

The two-day event is part of a Distinguished Lecture Series supported by ORAU and will focus on the relationship that exists between effective forensic science and the scientific needs of national security interests. Organizers say the continually evolving landscape of both science and technology, as well as newly emerging natural and man-made threats have provided unique opportunities and difficult challenges in forensic science and national security.

Free and open to the public, the event will kick off with a keynote lecture by Congressman John Katko, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last November and serves as the chair of the Homeland Security Transportation Security Subcommittee. Congressman Katko will deliver his remarks on April 27 from 11 a.m. to noon in 220 Eggers Hall.

On Thursday, May 7, the event will continue at at 9:30 a.m. in 220 Eggers Hall with a lecture and panel discussions featuring an array of experts from both the forensic and national security sciences fields. The diverse backgrounds of the panelists provide a unique perspective at many levels related to matters involving forensic science and national security, including intelligence, defense, the judicial system, health and criminal justice policy, and disaster preparedness and response.�� The May 7 sessions will focus on new opportunities and potential directions of efforts to strengthen forensic and national security sciences to successfully combat threats—both domestically and globally—as well as opportunities, challenges and efforts to strengthen forensic and national security sciences in dealing with existing and emerging threats.

The panelists include Kathleen Corrado, director of laboratories of the Onondaga County Center for Forensic Science; Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett (USN, ret.), deputy director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism and fellow at FNSSI; Steven Hogan, first deputy counsel of the New York State Police; Robert Stoppacher, chief medical examiner for the Onondaga County Center for Forensic Science; and Mark Cicero, assistant professor of pediatrics and director of pediatric preparedness at Yale School of Medicine.

The events are sponsored by the ORAU, FNSSI, Maxwell’s departments of Public Administration and International Affairs and the Louis A. Bantle Series in Business and Government Policy in the Maxwell School.

For more information, contact co-organizers James T. Spencer at jtspence@syr.edu or Michael Marciano at mamarcia@syr.edu.

The two-part event will kick off at 3 p.m.��in the Maxwell Foyer with a poster session, showcasing research by more than 40 students. Free and open to the public, the session will enable attendees to meet the students, discuss their projects and vote for their favorite poster. The event will feature a rich mix of disciplines, including anthropology, economics, history, international relations, public affairs, political science and sociology.

There will be an awards ceremony��at 4:30 p.m.��in Maxwell Auditorium. The ceremony will recognize winners of both the poster session and an earlier research paper competition, involving more than two-dozen contestants.

Family, friends and colleagues are invited to attend. For more information, contact Sarah McLaughlin at 443.2253.

Noelle Selin

Free and open to the public, the ceremony includes a keynote address by Noelle Eckley Selin, a leading researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who will discuss “Mercury Pollution: Tracking Emissions to Impacts.” Much of her presentation will focus on the fundamental uncertainties about the transport and fate of mercury in the environment.

Selin is MIT’s Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Assistant Professor of Engineering Systems and Atmospheric Chemistry and a 2011 recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Xu will earn a B.S. degree in chemistry, before pursuing a Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology. At Syracuse, she has served as the Dooley Ornstein Reisman, Robert Charles Ornstein, & Lt. Adolph Ornstein Scholar (awarded annually to upperclassmen pursuing degrees in chemistry, biology, biochemistry or physics) and as a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

Named for the late Syracuse professor who was a renowned auditory neuroanatomist, the Slepecky Undergraduate Research Award celebrates the achievements of undergraduate women researchers in the STEM disciplines. The first award was given in 2004.

Slepecky was a bioengineering and neuroscience professor in the , as well as a member of the University’s Institute for Sensory Research. Prior to her passing in 2001, family, friends, and colleagues joined together to endow the Norma Slepecky Memorial Lectureship and Undergraduate Research Prize, which, in turn, is overseen by the University’s Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program.

The memorial lecture is co-sponsored by WiSE, the Normal Slepecky Endowment, the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the University’s Water Science and Engineering Initiative.

Amy Kallander

A scholar of the Ottoman Empire and modern Middle East, Kallander is also an affiliated faculty member with the women’s and gender studies department.

“I am interested in why some women were included in state development projects during the 1960s and ’70s, such as those involving education and family planning, while other women—those less educated, more pious or from rural areas—were not,” says Kallander, whose expertise extends to the social and cultural history of Tunisia, gender and colonialism, and family history.

The NEH grant will enable her to travel to Paris, where she will examine Tunisian periodicals collected in the French National Library, along with papers associated with the radical leftist movement of the late ’60s.

The significance of the award, for which competition is fierce, is not lost on Kallander. Of this year’s 900-plus applicant pool, she is among a mere eight percent to receive funding.

“I am both humbled and honored that the NEH selected my proposal from such an impressive slate of candidates,” she says. “This grant award will contribute to furthering my more than 14 years of traveling to Tunisia to study its history, culture and people.”

Kallander is the recipient of other honors and awards, including a recent faculty fellowship from the Syracuse University Humanities Center. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, serving as a Sultan Fellow in the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and was a Fulbright Fellow in Cairo, Egypt in 2008.

Evan Gottlieb

An associate professor of English at Oregon State University, Gottlieb will discuss “Speculative Romanticisms: Schelling, Coleridge and DeLanda” on Thursday, April 16, at 5 p.m. in the Hillyer Room (room 606) of Bird Library. The following day, he will lead a workshop on academic multi-format publishing at 2 p.m. in room 406 of Newhouse I. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Erin Mackie, chair and professor of English at esmackie@syr.edu.

“[Thursday’s] lecture will sketch an alternative genealogy of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s intellectual and poetic development—one that reads some of his best-known poetry in dialogue with the materialism of his own day, before considering its surprising resonances with heterodox Deleuzian materialism,” Gottlieb says.

A scholar of British literature of the “long 18th century” (c. 1688-1815) and a critical theorist, Gottlieb is the author of three books: “Romantic Globalism: British Literature and Modern World Order, 1750-1830” (The Ohio State University Press, 2014), “Walter Scott and Contemporary Theory” (Bloomsbury, 2013), and “Feeling British: Sympathy and National Identity in Scottish and English Writing, 1707-1832” (Bucknell University Press, 2007).

He is currently working on two book projects: “Romantic Realities: British Romanticism and Speculative Realism” (under contract with Edinburgh University Press) and “Engagements with Literary and Critical Theory” (under contract with Routledge). Gottlieb also serves on editorial boards of several journals, teaches at the Michigan-based Global Center for Advanced Studies and writes about literature for The Huffington Post.

He earned Ph.D. and master’s degrees from the University at Buffalo.

Kayla Christian, a master’s student in earth sciences, doing water quality sampling for a pre-hydraulic fracturing water quality database for New York State. This is an example of a project that will be integrated with the EMPOWER program.

At Syracuse University, “interdisciplinarity” isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a way of life.

Nowhere is it more apparent than among a group of faculty members who recently received a $3 million grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award supports a new graduate-level training program called the “Education Model Program on Water-Energy Research” (EMPOWER).

Led by principal investigator Laura Lautz G’05, associate professor of earth sciences, EMPOWER involves other faculty from the , as well as from the and the . Faculty include Charles Driscoll, University Professor and director of the Center for Environmental Systems Engineering; Christopher Scholz, professor of earth sciences; Donald Torrance, associate professor and director of science communications; and Peter Wilcoxen, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration.

Laura Lautz

Lautz says the funding will provide students with the skills, knowledge and competencies they need to succeed in various STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

“We’ll be able to train a new cadre of scientists and engineers with a broad knowledge of interactions between the water cycle and the preservation, production and consumption of fossil fuels for energy,” says Lautz, also an adjunct assistant professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “Such training might lead to professional opportunities in industry, government and education.”

“This major federal funding is great news for Syracuse University and the entire Central New York region,”��says U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York. “The National Science Foundation chose wisely when it selected SU to implement this pilot program aimed at advancing our understanding of water and energy consumption on our planet. This program will train our students in these fields as they prepare for good-paying future jobs in the STEM arena. I have long fought for these kinds of funds and will continue to do so on the federal level, as they allow our nation to maintain its competitiveness in the 21st century global economy while preparing our students to become the innovators of tomorrow.”

EMPOWER is the latest in a string of successes for the University’s Water Science and Engineering Initiative, jointly funded by the Office of the Provost, and the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Engineering and Computer Science.

“The grant marks the culmination of years of effort,” says Lautz, calling it a “vote of confidence” from the NSF. “I’m honored that what we’re doing is impacting our respective fields, while drawing national attention to the University.”

That the team’s proposal was one of only eight to be funded, from an application pool of nearly 260, makes the achievement all the more remarkable.

Charles Driscoll

Driscoll, a leading advocate of scientific and technological literacy, says EMPOWER will train students to better analyze, interpret and present their findings in a context that will be useful to energy and water managers and the environmental community. “Because of our commitment to interdisciplinarity, the University is poised to become a national leader in graduate-level STEM education,” he says. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in conceptualizing and deploying a program that positions our students for success in multiple fields.”

The grant provides a one-year, $32,000 stipend for up to 46 students. It also underwrites the development of various domestic and international field courses, including one in Rwanda; a seed-grant training program; and an external advisory committee made up of nationally recognized professionals.

“What I like most about EMPOWER is that students are the beneficiaries,” Lautz adds. “Almost all of the award goes directly to them or to programs benefiting them. The F&A [facilities and administrative] costs are relatively small, so that they get the most out of the experience.”

Tolley Hall, home of the Syracuse University Humanities Center

Now entering its third year, the Graduate Student Public Humanities Fellows program is a partnership between the New York Council for the Humanities and the Central New York Humanities Corridor supported through an award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The yearlong fellowships bring humanities scholarship into dialogue with the public realm through projects conceived of by doctoral students and implemented in partnership with community-based organizations. Syracuse University’s 2015-16 Central New York Humanities Corridor’s Public Humanities Fellowships have been awarded to Paul Arras and Scarlett Rebman (both Ph.D. candidates in history). In addition to an $8,000 stipend, fellows receive training in collaborating with community organizations and opportunities for professional development through the New York Council for the Humanities.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2014-15 Public Humanities Fellows, Tom Guiler (history) and Jason Luther (composition and cultural rhetoric) will present a����on their respective projects and fellowship year experiences. The seminar will take place from 10 a.m. to noon in 304 Tolley. The event is open to the Syracuse University community. Space is limited; to RSVP contact Mellon Coordinator,��Mi Ditmar��at 443-5944 by Monday, April 20.

Through the New York Council’s Community Partnership Grant program, on April 6-7 the Central New York Humanities Corridor sponsored the hands-on workshops “DIY Time Travel in the Afrofuture” in conjunction with the Urban Video Project at Light Work Lab and the Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility (formerly the Southwest Community Center). The workshops brought , a public interest attorney and a science fiction author from Philadelphia to explore the ways in which the tactics of science fiction and afrofuturism can be put into use as a tool of empowerment in everyday life.

The Public Humanities Fellowships and Community Partnership Grants are only part of the ongoing relationship between the Central New York Humanities Corridor and the New York Council for the Humanities. Case in point: last fall, the two organizations also partnered to present the veterans’ reading and discussion series “Serving: Standing Down,” hosted at the Syracuse University Humanities Center.

“The New York Council for the Humanities’ many initiatives provide the Corridor with unique opportunities to engage both the campus and the community in humanistic scholarship,” says Dean’s Professor for the Humanities Gregg Lambert. “Collectively, such programs provide a robust response for how and why the humanities matter, not just in the academy, but in society as well.”

Students from a previous session of the Paris Noir program enjoy the sights of the city.

Today, the and announced the reopening of the application period for one of the University’s most revered study abroad experiences—Paris Noir.

The program, which began 14 years ago, is a six-credit opportunity aimed at students who are interested in learning about the influence and dynamics of black culture, literature and experience in Paris, both past and present.

Nearly two weeks ago, it was announced that Paris Noir would not be offered this summer due to low enrollment. Like any other class, course or study abroad program with low enrollment in a given year, the University has to re-evaluate whether the program can still be offered. But College of Arts and Sciences says the program has had such a tremendous impact on its participants, that reopening the application period is not only appropriate, but necessary.

“Paris Noir is a hallmark study abroad program and one that the University wants to see continue for many more years,” says Ruhlandt, an international scholar herself who also directs a National Science Foundation-supported international program in chemistry. “Personally, I believe studying abroad is a cornerstone of any liberal arts education and it is my hope that any student that wants to travel internationally has the opportunity to do so during their time at Syracuse University.”

The College of Arts and Sciences, the SU Abroad team and the program’s faculty director, Associate Professor will collaborate on deploying vigorous recruitment efforts in hopes of attracting interested students. In order for the trip to go on as planned, 14 students must commit to the program.

The deadline to apply is Friday, April 17; all deposits ($550) and Conditions of Participation forms must be in by Friday, April 24. Students are responsible for the cost of their airfare as well as most of their meals.

“It’s going to take hard work, collaboration and our best recruiting efforts to make sure we meet our enrollment objectives,” adds Ruhlandt. “We are going to do everything in our power to promote this opportunity, communicate its tremendous value and assist students with the application and financial aid process.”

Mayes, professor of African-American studies and creator of Paris Noir, says she is appreciative of Dean Ruhlandt, Chancellor Kent Syverud, Interim Provost Liz Liddy and the staff at SU Abroad for their support.

“Paris Noir is so much more than a study abroad program; it’s a life-changing experience for students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to travel and study in Paris,” says Mayes. “I look forward to working closely with the dean’s communications team and SU Abroad to see to it that any student that seeks to experience Paris Noir has the opportunity to do so this summer.”

Students interested in applying to Paris Noir should visit . If they have questions, they should contact Marie Kulikowsky by email at mkulikow@syr.edu.

Contributions to support the Paris Noir program are welcome. To support the program, contact Karen Weiss Jones, assistant dean for advancement, at 315-443-2028 or kmweissj@syr.edu.

John Duffy

The lecture, titled “Rhetorical Virtues: The Ethical Discourse of the Writing Classroom,” is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, at 1 p.m. in room 304 AB in Schine Student Center. This event is free and open to the public. CART transcription for the hearing impaired will be provided.

The O’Malley Director of the University Writing Program and associate professor of English, Duffy will focus on the ethical dimensions surrounding all writing instruction. He will challenge instructors to consider how their work with students should move beyond a view of writing as instrumental in order to explore ways in which all language uses shapes and reflects value systems and engages people in the formation of social relationships.

Duffy regularly publishes scholarly articles on the ethics of writing, the rhetoric of disability and the historical development of literacy and rhetoric in cross-cultural contexts. In 2009, his book, “Writing from These Roots,” was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Book Award by the Conference on College Composition and Communication. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and master’s degrees from University College in Dublin, Ireland, and from Columbia University.

For more information, contact Lou Ann Payne by email at lapayne@syr.edu or by phone at 315.443.1083.

Sue Becker

To register, visit . The new deadline is Monday, March 30.

Becker, a professor of psychology, neuroscience and behavior at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, will discuss “Linking the Cognitive and Emotional Benefits of Exercise: Is Neurogenesis the Common Cause?”

Her lecture will be followed by presentations by various faculty members of the in the . Also on display will be science posters by graduate and undergraduate researchers at the University. An award will be presented to the best student poster.

Neuroscience Research Day is co-sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program and the , the latter of which is in the .

For more information, contact Amy Criss, associate professor of psychology, at acriss@syr.edu or 315.443.3667.

Dessa Bergen-Cico, left, and Rachel Razza

The event, which will begin at noon in 123 in Sims Hall, will feature Dessa Bergen-Cico, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health, and Rachel Razza, assistant professor of child and family studies, both in the . The pair will explore and discuss mindfulness and contemplative practices in school settings and link research with practice.

Free and open to the public, the Brownbag Series is part of the Humanities Center’s Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship. The interdisciplinary brownbag series aims to uncover contemplative practices for students, faculty and community members.

Co-sponsors include: The Writing Program, Departments of Women’s and Gender Studies, Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Hendricks Chapel, Hendricks Chapel Wellness Fund and the Contemplative Collaborative. Queries can be directed to Patrick W. Berry at��pwberry@syr.edu���ǰ���315-443-1912.

Gesa Kirsch

During her lecture, Kirsch, the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities, will explore the rhetorical strategies, social networks and civic activism of a group of 19th-century California women physicians. Drawing on several case studies and the rarely examined Woman’s Medical Journal, she will trace how women created and maintained social networks that enabled their intervention in arenas of society that were often restricted or off-limits. Kirsch will argue that we can better understand the rhetorical agency of early women physicians by examining how their work circulated across time, generations and geographical boundaries, evidence of which remains today in public policy, advocacy work and professional organizations.

Gerald R. Greenberg, the Humanities Center’s interim director and senior associate dean of the , says Kirsch is exactly the type of scholar the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship seeks to attract.

“Since this professorship was established, we’ve been fortunate to host a diverse array of extraordinary scholars, and Professor Kirsch is no exception. The humanities are the backbone of a Syracuse University liberal arts education and exposing our students to prominent scholars is critical to preparing them to be citizens of the world,” Greenberg says.

An eminent scholar in rhetoric and writing studies, Kirsch has published eight books and more than 30 scholarly articles. Her research interests include feminist rhetorical studies, ethics and social responsibility, contemplative practices, qualitative research methodology, archival research and environmental rhetoric. She has won the James Braddock Award for the best article in��College Composition and Communication��and the Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award for “Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies” (co-authored with��Jacqueline Jones Royster). In 2013, she won the Excellence in Scholarship Award from Bentley University in recognition of her accumulated record of scholarly productivity and leadership in the discipline.

“It has been a tremendous honor having someone of Professor Kirsch’s caliber visiting the Syracuse University campus,” says Patrick W. Berry, assistant professor of writing and rhetoric and co-organizer of the March 4 event. “Her research prowess, extensive publishing track record and interactive approach to teaching serve as an inspiration to all of us, particularly to the students who aspire to be part of the academy someday.”

Kirsch earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. She’s previously held faculty positions at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, University of Oregon, Eugene, and Wayne State University.

The public lecture is organized and presented by the SU Humanities Center. Co-sponsors include the Writing Program and the Departments of Women’s and Gender Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies in the ; Hendricks Chapel; the Hendricks Chapel Wellness Fund; and the Contemplative Collaborative. For more information, contact Berry at pwberry@syr.edu or 315.443.1912.

Thomas Keck

That is one of the many questions that political scientist seeks to answer in his latest book, “ (University of Chicago Press, 2014).

A faculty member since 2002, Keck is dually appointed to the , where he serves as an associate professor of political science and holds the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics; and the , where he is an affiliate faculty member of the LGBT studies program.

“Judicial Politics in Polarized Times” provides a sweeping survey of litigation on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights and gun rights across the Clinton, Bush and Obama eras.

Keck reviews several widespread narratives about contemporary courts and argues that, while all of these stories capture the significance of judicial politics in polarized times, each one, in and of itself, can be misleading.

“Despite judges’ claims, actual legal decisions are not politically neutral products of disembodied legal texts,” says Keck, who chaired the political science department from 2011-2014. “At the same time, judges are not undermining democratic values by imposing their own preferences.”

As a result, Americans are left with what Keck calls “endemic patterns of litigation,” with judges and the public pushing in the same direction.

“While advocates on both the left and right engage constantly in litigation to achieve their ends, neither side has consistently won,” he says. “Ultimately, judges respond not simply as umpires, activists or political actors, but in light of distinctive judicial values and practices.”

Already, ‘Judicial Politics in Polarized Times’ has drawn praise from colleagues. Gordon Silverstein, assistant dean for graduate programs at Yale Law School, calls it a “timely starting point” for conversations about the effectiveness of judicial review.

“This is a robust, measured and, ultimately, very persuasive book that places judicial review in the United States in context, insisting—and providing compelling evidence to support—the conclusion that judicial review is neither savior nor threat,” he adds.

Keck is also the author of “The Most Activist Supreme Court in History: The Road to Modern Judicial Conservatism” (University of Chicago Press, 2004), as well as numerous articles and essays.

Holder of the Sawyer Chair since 2009, Keck directs the Sawyer Law and Politics Program, an interdisciplinary initiative devoted to advancing teaching and research in the field of law and politics.

Prior to Syracuse, Keck taught at the University of Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College.

Natalie Rebeyev

Q: What subject of study will you pursue with the Gates Cambridge Scholarship?

A: I will use the award to pursue a Ph.D. in medical science under the supervision of Paul Lehner at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.

Q: How did you achieve this remarkable accomplishment?

A: I had a lot of help during the application process. Dean Karin Ruhlandt was one of six scientists who helped me prepare for my interview with the Cambridge selection committee. I was greatly assisted by members of (CFSA), who mentored and guided me throughout all phases of the process.

Other A&S faculty members ��conducted mock interviews, including Ramesh Raina, associate professor and chair of biology; Sandra Hewett, the Beverly Petterson Bishop Professor of Neuroscience and professor of biology; Kari Segraves, associate professor of biology; Robert Doyle, professor of chemistry; and James Hougland, assistant professor of chemistry.

Q: What do you plan to do after studying at Cambridge?

A: After studying at Cambridge, I plan to return stateside for medical school. I ultimately want to go into viral oncology, researching the link between viruses and cancer.

Q: How does your background inspire you?

A: I am a Bukharian Jew from a community that originates in Central Asia, and I am committed to sharing my experiences with and supporting the goals of young women from traditional immigrant communities. I am the first person to attend college from both sides of my family. It signifies that any woman, regardless of upbringing, economic status and cultural background, can achieve her highest goals. I’ve been so fortunate to be mentored by successful scientists, both male and female, and, thanks to this scholarship, I’ll be able to someday mentor aspiring scientists, as well. Furthermore, I will be able to make an impact on women by serving as an agent of change both locally and internationally. I could have never achieved this honor if not for the support of my professors, advisors, and peers.

Q: What other honors have you received? What are your other activities?

A: In addition to being a Coronat, McNair and Remembrance Scholar, I am a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program. I hold leadership positions with the medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon and the Chabad House at the University. Two summers ago, I conducted cancer research at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa (Israel) and I’m currently working on research alongside Richard Wojcikiewicz at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Dan Fornari

Free and open to the public, the event also recognizes six undergraduates for their excellence in the study of introductory Earth sciences: Gabriel Bravo ’17, Emily Carey ’17, Alaina Hickey ’16 and Nubia Twmousi Dandridge ’17, all of whom are affiliated with the ; and Rachel Dobosiewicz ’16 and Eli Goldweber ’16, both of whom are with the .

For more information, contact the in the at 315-443-9289.

“Now more than ever, students need to understand how the Earth works as a system and how humans interact with the Earth,” says , who chairs the Earth sciences department and serves as both the Jessie Page Heroy Professor and a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor. “By bringing together biology, chemistry and physics as they apply to the workings of the Earth, students can see the relevance of science to their lives and their communities. This event aims to recognize those students who are already making these intellectual connections.”

Siegel adds that he is excited about Fornari, calling him the “perfect keynote speaker.”

A senior scientist at the (WHOI) in Massachusetts, Fornari will discuss “How and Wet: The Science and Technology of Studying Submarine Volcanism and Hydrothermal Processes on the Mid-Ocean Ridge.” His presentation will draw on his 30-plus years of research on volcanic and hydrothermal processes; high-resolution mapping at mid-ocean ridges; and the structure and magmatic processes occurring in oceanic transforms and at oceanic islands, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos.

Fornari has also participated in over 80 research cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans; and has completed over 100 dives in Alvin and other Navy submersibles. Along with fellow WHOI scientist Susan Humphris, he has developed the Dive and Discover website, which brings the excitement of oceanographic science to thousands of students each day.

In December, Fornari received the American Geophysical Union’s prestigious Edward A Flinn III Award.

The Syracuse event is named for geologist Chauncey Holmes G’27, whose primary objective was to foster geologic awareness among undergraduate students. The Holmes award recognizes outstanding students in introductory geology.

Free and open to the public, IWD is part of the 90^th anniversary celebrations of the . IWD is also sponsored by the University’s (IVMF) and the . Free parking is available for all events in the Irving Avenue garage.

IWD will kick off on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. in the Strasser Legacy Room (Room 220) of Eggers Hall with a program titled “VA and Women’s Health: Expanding Horizons.” Mindy Grewal, the women’s health medical director at the Syracuse VA Medical Center, will address a variety of topics, including the role of women’s wellness programs and finding work in the post-9/11 environment.

“Women returning from combat, as well as those serving as civilians in combat and post-combat zones, deserve our respect and support,” says co-organizer , the holder of multiple titles at Syracuse, including professor of economics and chair of the international relations program. “The goal of this year’s IWD program is to celebrate the achievements of women who represent us as warriors and rebuilders and to illuminate the special challenges they face preparing for service, while overseas and upon return home.”

IWD continues on Friday, Feb. 27, with a Maxwell alumni panel featuring Deborah Alexander G’82, G’95, a Washington, D.C.-based social scientist and international affairs consultant; Alexandra Wise ’02, associate director of Shuraako, an NGO operating throughout Somalia; and Lamis Sleiman G’10, a monitoring and evaluation specialist for Management Systems International in Beirut. The alumni panel begins at noon and will also be held in the Strasser Legacy Room.

The day concludes with a keynote address by Maj. Gen. Linda Singh, the 29^th adjutant general of the Maryland Army National Guard, at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. Her remarks, which are expected to address the importance of community and military engagement, will be followed by a light reception.

IWD, which is celebrated each year on March 8, was originally proposed in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. The proposal received unanimous assent from more than 100 women representing 17 countries. Since 1975, IWD has been recognized by the United Nations and other multinational organizations. The day marks the economic, political, and social achievements of women all over the world.

Lea Beresford

Lea Beresford, editor at Bloomsbury USA, will speak on Monday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the Kilian Room, 500 Hall of Languages. The event is sponsored by the (ETS) and is open to all students. For more information, call 315-443-4950.

At Syracuse, Beresford will discuss her role at Bloomsbury (which has four major divisions, as well as companies in London, New York, Sydney and New Delhi) and the path she took to get there. Her talk will be followed by a Q&A session.

“This is a special opportunity for students of all majors, not just ETS, to find out how the book publishing industry really works,” says , professor and chair of English. “Given the many new ways information can be delivered (e.g., e-books, online books and audio books), the industry is undergoing an incredible transformation. Lea’s visit couldn’t be more timely or relevant.”

Beresford joined Bloomsbury in 2011, after stints at Random House and the Irene Skolnick Agency. Much of her editorial work has involved literary fiction, memoirs, food, science and pop-culture writing. Beresford has also worked as a freelance writer for She Writes. She earned bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology at Cornell University.

Gesa Kirsch

The Spring Symposia will continue on Friday, Feb. 13, with the second installment of its three-part Contemplative Collaborative Brownbag Series titled, “Learning to Be Present: Mindfulness Practices for Writing, Research and Creativity.”

The event, which will begin at noon in room 123 in Sims Hall, will feature , professor of English and director of the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences at Bentley University, and , assistant professor of writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University. The pair will explore and discuss mindfulness and contemplative practices: how writing intersects with them, and how they can promote insight, creativity, focus, engagement and a sense of well-being.

Patrick Berry

Free and open to the public, the Brownbag Series is part of the Humanities Center’s Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship. The interdisciplinary brownbag series aims to uncover contemplative practices for students, faculty, and community members.

The Brownbag Series is organized and presented by the SU Humanities Center. Co-sponsors include: the Writing Program; Departments of Women’s and Gender Studies and Communication and Rhetorical Studies; Hendricks Chapel; Hendricks Chapel Wellness Fund; and the Contemplative Collaborative. Queries can be directed to Patrick W. Berry at��pwberry@syr.edu���ǰ���315-443-1912.

Jason Sutter

Sponsored by the and the in the and the (AMH) in the , all events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact , associate professor and chair of AMH at tpcatefo@syr.edu.

Sutter’s series includes a drum workshop at the Guitar Center (3150 Erie Boulevard E.) on Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.; a lecture titled “The Business of Rock,” which is part of the Soyars Leadership Lecture Series, on Feb. 10 from 6:30 to 7:50 p.m. in room 007 in the Whitman School of Management; and a question-and-answer session with Cateforis, author of “The Rock History Reader,” on Feb. 11 in room 111 Bowne Hall from 12:45 to 2:05 p.m.

“Jason is one of the most highly-regarded drummers in the music business and I am thrilled that the students of Syracuse University will have access to someone of his caliber,” says Cateforis, one of the organizers of Sutter’s visit. “There’s more to music than just being a great musician, and what I love about this event is the fact that Jason will cover such a wide array of topics pertinent to the music industry and rock music history.”

A Potsdam, N.Y., native, Sutter earned a master’s degree in orchestral percussion from the University of Miami. While a graduate student in Miami, Sutter got his big break, landing his first tour with recording artist Juliana Hatfield. He went on to record and tour with dozens of artists, including Letters to Cleo, Jack Drag, Chris Cornell and the Rembrandts. Sutter was also an original cast member and musician for the hit Broadway musical “Rock of Ages,” a show he was instrumental in developing.

Professors , , and have been elected to executive committees at the Modern Language Association (MLA), which promotes the worldwide study and teaching of language and literature.

Fetta, assistant professor of Spanish, is a member of the MLA’s Division of Literatures of the United States in Languages Other Than English—a position she has held since last January. She also serves on the Women’s Indigenous Native Caucus of the national organization Mujeres activas en literatura y ciencias sociales.

Giannini, associate professor of Italian, is newly elected to the MLA’s Division on Twentieth-Century Italian Literature. His term begins this month.

Ticio Quesada, assistant professor of Spanish, is in her second year as a member of the MLA’s Comparative Romance Linguistics Discussion Group Executive Committee. She’s also serving as the committee’s secretary this year.

Rios, associate professor of Spanish, has been elected to the Division on Latin American Literature from Independence to 1900. She also serves on the executive committee of the Venezuelan Section of the International Latin American Studies Association (LASA).

Each professor serves a five-year term on his or her MLA committee.

“To have such strong faculty representation at the MLA and these other international organizations is a reflection of my colleagues’ character,” says , associate professor and chair of LLL. “Their leadership and service are indicative of our department’s commitment to students, programs, the campus and the professional community. These professors are some of our best ambassadors.”

Meanwhile, , professor of linguistics, is the new vice president and president-elect of the International Association of World Englishes (IAWE), which studies the forms and functions of different Englishes in diverse cultural and sociolinguistic settings.

The announcement came last month at IAWE’s 20th international conference in Delhi, India, where Bhatia also delivered the plenary address.

“I am extremely proud of Professor Bhatia,” Bulman adds. “He brings a deep understanding of the issues and constituencies that are central to IAWE. I can’t think of a higher honor in our field, nor a more deserving person.”

Along with fellow LLL professor William C. Ritchie, Bhatia has been named editor-in-chief of Brill Research Perspectives in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition (Brill, 2015). At Syracuse, Bhatia also serves as director of the South Asian Languages Program and as a faculty fellow in the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute.
, professor of linguistics and director of the Linguistic Studies Program as well as of the Computational Linguistics Program, has been invited to serve as an advisor to the Linguistic Society of America (LSA)’s Committee on Linguistic Institutes and Fellowships. She also is in her third year as a member of the Advisory to Programs Committee of LSA.

Kornfilt can trace her involvement with the society back to 1980, when she attended that year’s LSA Summer Institute as a prestigious Bloch Fellow. Since then, she has received numerous other honors and awards, including the 2010 Humboldt Research Award.

“Professor Kornfilt knows, first hand, the impact of these various institutes and fellowships,” Bulman says. “They bring together some of the field’s leading minds in pursuit of cutting-edge teaching and research. Her involvement bodes well for us and the LSA.”

Kornfilt also serves as director of the linguistic studies program as well as of the computational linguistics program. She is currently writing a recommendation for a highly talented graduate student to attend the upcoming 2015 Summer Linguistic Institute.

Vivian May

“Pursuing Intersectionality” documents intersectionality’s ongoing value for achieving a more just and equitable world. May explains the concept’s key premises, traces its roots in 19th-century United States black feminist theory and practice, and suggests several tactics for interpreting and practicing intersectionality more adequately.

This is May’s second book, and though it has only been out for a few days, it’s already receiving high praise from peers in her field.

“Vivian May’s book is the first that analyzes intersectionality from a broad historical vantage point, taking readers back to 19th century black feminist discourse,” says Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Women’s Research and Research Center at Spelman College. “Complex, nuanced, thorough and meticulous in her engagement with the debates that now swirl around this influential theoretical analytic tool, May engages its critics and advocates with passion and clarity. A must-read for scholars and practitioners committed to social justice movements and anti-oppression ideologies.”

A recipient of the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award and the LGBT Center’s Social Justice Recognition Award, May regulary publishes articles in top schoarly journals, including lHypatia, Meridians, African American Review, Women’s Studies Quarterly, and Callaloo. Her most recent article, “Under-Theorized and Under-Taught: Re-Examining Harriet Tubman’s Place in Women’s Studies,” appeared in Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism last fall.

“The past 10 months have been incredibly busy but, at the same time, profoundly rewarding,” says May. “To wrap up a book project and be elected to lead the world’s largest scholarly association dedicated to women’s studies is humbling.”

An avid researcher, May’s first book, “Anna Julia Cooper, Visionary Black Feminist” (Routledge, 2007), led to her consultancy with the United States Postal Service on Cooper’s Black Heritage stamp: currently, she is also serving as a consultant to a film on Cooper. May’s research focuses on feminist theory and black feminist thought, African American literature and intersectionality.

A member of the Syracuse faculty since 2002, May is among the first Ph.D.s in women’s studies in the U.S.: she earned her Ph.D. from Emory University. She’s held faculty positions at Texas Woman’s University, Teachers College, Columbia University and William Paterson University.

��

Free and open to the public, the Brownbag Series is part of the Humanities Center’s Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship. The interdisciplinary brownbag series aims to uncover contemplative practices for students, faculty and community members.

The series lineup is as follows:

Practicing Presence: Mindfulness Practices for Teaching and Learning

Friday, Jan. 16
Noon–1:30 p.m., 123 Sims Hall
Diane Grimes, associate professor, Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Syracuse University

W. Kurt Stavenhagen, doctoral candidate, Composition and Cultural Rhetoric,
Syracuse University, and full-time lecturer at SUNY-ESF

Learning to Be Present: Mindfulness Practices for Writing, Research, and Creativity
Friday, Feb. 13
Noon–1:30 p.m., 123 Sims Hall
Gesa E. Kirsch, professor of English and director of the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences
Bentley University

Patrick W. Berry, assistant professor, Writing and Rhetoric
Syracuse University

Mindfulness Goes to School: Linking Research with Practice
Friday, March 6
Noon–1:30 p.m., 123 Sims Hall
Dessa Bergan-Cico, assistant professor, Public Health
Syracuse University

Rachel Razza, assistant professor, Child and Family Studies
Syracuse University

The series is presented by the Humanities Center. Co-sponsors include the Writing Program and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies in the ; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies in the ; Contemplative Collaborative; and Hendricks Chapel and its Wellness Fund.

For more information, contact Patrick Berry by email at pwberry@syr.edu or by phone at 443.1912.

The cover of Luis Castañeda’s book “of Spectacular Mexico: Design, Propaganda, and the 1968 Olympics”

, an expert on urban, visual and design culture in the Americas, is the author of “Spectacular Mexico: Design, Propaganda and the 1968 Olympics” (University of Minnesota Press, 2014). , a specialist in American and American Indian art, has written “A Strange Mixture: The Art and Politics of Painting Pueblo Indians” (University of Oklahoma Press, 2015), due out in February.

“Luis and Sascha are stellar representations of the interdisciplinary research that we value so highly in AMH,” says , associate professor and chair of AMH. “Their politically charged books are both primed to shape art history scholarship in new and fascinating directions.”

Castañeda studies how objects, spaces and images have influenced social and geopolitical transformations in Latin America across time, especially in the context of global media events. In “Spectacular Mexico,” he analyzes the creative run-up to Mexico City’s 1968 Summer Olympics. These Olympics were only “the most ambitious of a sequence of design projects” that also included the creation of sports venues, a subway system and pavilions for world’s fairs.
Throughout the book, Castañeda demonstrates how these projects were used to create a spectacle of social harmony and, ultimately, guide Mexico City into becoming the powerful megacity it is today.

Castañeda remarks that Mexico was not only the first Latin American country to host the Olympics, but also the first Spanish-speaking country to do so. “As a result of Mexico’s architectural transformation in the lead-up to the Olympics, the country and its people were put on international display. Architecture and design were used as instruments of propaganda and nation-branding.”

Castañeda joined the Syracuse faculty in 2011, after earning a Ph.D. from New York University. He is already working on his next book project, tentatively titled “The Modernist Frontier: Architects, Bureaucracies and Power in Latin America.”

The cover of Sascha Scott’s book, “A Strange Mixture: The Art and Politics of Painting Pueblo Indians”

Like Castañeda, Scott is relatively new to AMH, having joined the faculty in 2008. “A Strange Mixture” looks at how native and non-native artists have used art to address some of the most pressing political and cultural issues of their day.

Scott focuses on the work of five early 20th-century artists: Ernest L. Blumenschein, John Sloan, Marsden Hartley, Awa Tsireh (San Ildefonso Pueblo) and Georgia O’Keeffe. With each artist, she examines how his or her work shaped or was shaped by American Indian politics during the interwar period (i.e., 1915-30), when federal Indian policy shifted away from forced assimilation and toward preservation of native cultures. These artists helped to change political landscape, in part, by reshaping public opinion about native peoples and cultures through their art and activism.

“What’s fascinating and discouraging is that the political and ethical struggles of indigenous peoples in the 1920s and ’30s are still relevant today,” says Scott, who, along with her family, spent more than a year touring the country as she completed her research for the book.

Scott describes the research process as long and intense. “When my husband and I embarked on our travels with our then seven-month-old son, he was beginning to crawl. By the time we returned home, he could run, count to 20 and found out he was going to be a big brother,” she continues. “Although seeing this book through is a huge personal accomplishment, the journey is what I’ve remembered most fondly.”

Scott, who earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, is also on the faculty of native American studies.