The One University Awards Ceremony, an annual event to honor members of the Syracuse University community who are making a difference through academics, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service, will be held Friday, April 19, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

“Every year, we come together to celebrate the outstanding contributions and tremendous success of our students, faculty, staff and broader community,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “The accomplishments of this year’s recipients reinforce what it means to be Orange. This ceremony also shines a bright spotlight on the work being done around campus, much of which happens behind the scenes. I thank the many members of our community who organized this event and look forward to recognizing this year’s winners.”

Two major awards—the Chancellor’s Medal and the Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence—will be bestowed. The ceremony will also include the presentation of the Student-Athlete Award, Judith Seinfeld Scholarship, Meredith Professorship for Teaching Excellence, Teaching Recognition Award, Diversity and Inclusion Award, William Pearson Tolley Medal for Distinguished Leadership in Lifelong Learning and Chancellor’s Forever Orange Award.

���Ի��� will also be recognized. This year’s��University Scholars,��, and Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars will also be honored.

All members of the University community are invited and encouraged to attend. A reception will follow in the lobby of the Heroy Geology Laboratory.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided at the ceremony. For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations, contact Gabe Coleman at gbcolma@syr.edu.

Award Recipients��

The��Chancellor’s Medal��is the University’s highest honor and is awarded to individuals in honor of their trailblazing and extraordinary contributions to the University, to an academic body of knowledge or to society. This year’s recipient is��, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The��Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence��recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in four overarching categories:

• The award for��Excellence in Student Research recognizes students who have engaged in collaborative research that has the potential to make a deep and lasting impact on greater society. This year’s recipients are Jingjing Ji, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (graduate), and Ashtha Singh, an international relations major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School (undergraduate).
• The award for��Outstanding Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives acknowledges faculty and staff who, through their work, enhance the undergraduate experience for students or make invaluable contributions to supporting and advancing the University’s mission and goals. The recipients are��, associate professor of communications in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (faculty); , chief operating officer for the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (professional staff); , program coordinator of citizenship and civic engagement in the Maxwell School (professional staff) and , events coordinator at Lubin House (support staff).
• The��Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction award is intended for faculty members who are collaborators in work of intellectual richness that has the potential for future impact. The work of these nominees offers possibilities for collaboration within the University and outside in partnership with others. This year’s honorees are��, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Art and Music Histories in the College of Arts and Sciences, and , associate dean of research and professor of Public Health in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
• Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence, Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors those who have made extraordinary contributions toward advancing all four pillars of excellence over the arc of their careers while at Syracuse University and beyond. This year’s recipient is��, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The other awards to be presented are:

• The��Student-Athlete Award recognizes the top female and top male student athletes and are presented to the senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average over the course of their academic and athletic careers. This year’s recipients are Izabela Krakic, an international relations major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences and member of the women’s rowing team, and Julius Rauch, an entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major in the Whitman School of Management and a member of the men’s soccer team.
• Seinfeld Scholarship: Each year Syracuse University honors the talents of outstanding faculty or students through an��, a distinguished alumna and member of the University Board of Trustees. Awards are made to those who have been determined by their peers to have made outstanding contributions to the beauty of the world, to have added to human values and to ending human abuse anywhere in the world, and to have demonstrated passion for excellence, creativity and originality in academic or artistic fields. This year, the designation is bestowed upon a faculty member,��, associate professor of advertising in the Newhouse School.
• The��Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorships for Teaching Excellence were created in 1995 to recognize and reward outstanding teaching among faculty. The 2024-27 Meredith Professors are��, professor in the School of Information Studies, and , Bond, Schoeneck and King Distinguished Professor in the College of Law.
• In 2001, the Meredith Professorship Program was expanded to recognize teaching excellence by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors. Awards are given in two categories:��Early Performance ���Ի���Continuing Excellence. This year’s honorees in the Early Performance category are��, assistant professor of television, radio and film in the Newhouse School; , associate teaching professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science; , assistant professor of visual communications in the Newhouse School; , assistant teaching professor of Chinese and Chinese language in the College of Arts and Sciences; and , assistant professor in the School of Architecture. The two honorees in the Continuing Excellence category are��, assistant dean of online and distance education and associate teaching professor of social work in the Falk College, and , teaching professor and graduate director of nutrition and food studies in the Falk College.
• The��Diversity and Inclusion Award��recognizes an individual who is integral in helping us achieve academic excellence at a university that is welcoming to all through our investments in a diverse, inclusive, accessible and equitable community. This year’s recipient is��, teaching professor in the College of Law and faculty fellow for the Office of Strategic Initiatives and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
• The��William Pearson Tolley Medal for Distinguished Leadership in Lifelong Learning is based in the School of Education and honors national or international leadership in support of lifelong learning. This year’s recipient is ’77, executive director of MidPenn Legal Services, adjunct professor of law at PennState’s Dickinson Law and an alumna of the School of Education.
• The��Chancellor’s Forever Orange Award recognizes individual students, faculty or staff who—by virtue of extraordinary hard work, good values and commitment to excellence—have come to embody the best of Syracuse University. This year’s recipients are , associate vice president of parent engagement and student experience, and , head coach of the men’s soccer team.

Twelve seniors have been named as the 2024 Syracuse University Scholars, the highest undergraduate honor the University bestows.

The Syracuse University Scholars Selection Committee, a Universitywide faculty committee, selected the scholars using criteria that included coursework and academic achievement, independent research and creative work, evidence of intellectual growth or innovation in their disciplinary field, a personal statement and faculty letters of recommendation.

“These accomplished students have made the most out of their educational experience at Syracuse and have also contributed to our vibrant University community through research, creative work, public service and many other areas,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “We are proud to recognize them for their outstanding achievements.”

The 2024 Syracuse University Scholars are:

• Marwa Abedrabbah, a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Nicole Aponte, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications;
• Alana Coffman, an international relations major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Edward (Cole) Fluker, a chemical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science;
• Alison Gilmore, a sport analytics major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics;
• Yvonne Kuo, a psychology and forensic science major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Mitchell Mazza, a psychology and neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Yasmin Nayrouz, an English and textual studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Mariana Pérez Lugo, a nutrition science major in the Falk College and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Julius Rauch, a finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major in the Whitman School of Management;
• Matthew Snyder, a psychology and neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and
• Iona Volynets, an international relations and history major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

The society, the nation’s oldest and most selective, is unique in that it comprises both undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, making it a good fit for Syracuse.

In 2014, reorganizations left the Syracuse chapter without someone to lead it. But that is changing, as the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) is currently in the process of restarting the chapter. Invitations have recently been sent to eligible students, says Adam Crowley, fellowships advisor with CFSA and president of the University’s chapter. An induction ceremony for the new members will be held on campus on Wednesday, March 27.

A 1916 telegram from Penn State congratulating Syracuse University on receiving enough votes to establish a Phi Kappa Phi chapter (Photo courtesy of Syracuse University Archives)

“This is the perfect time to relaunch our Phi Kappa Phi chapter,” Crowley says. “Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence in all disciplines, including professional schools. As the University emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, this felt like the right opportunity to build a forum bringing together outstanding students in diverse fields.”

Initiation into the organization is limited to the top 7.5% of juniors based on academic standing, Crowley says. Seniors and graduate students in the top 10% based on academic standing are also eligible.

There are currently 325 active chapters in the country. From 2010-14, 545 students were inducted into the Syracuse chapter.

Crowley says membership in the organization opens up new opportunities for students, including scholarships, networking and attendance at a national conference. As the chapter grows, Crowley envisions bringing in speakers and developing opportunities for community service.

“One of our first priorities is recruiting student officers to help identify programming that will appeal to all of our members,” he says. “I’m looking forward to working with our student leaders to find ways that our new members can collaborate with each other.”

Crowley will be assisted in the administration of the chapter by Robert Wilson, associate professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (vice president) and Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA (secretary).

Members of Phi Kappa Phi across the nation have served in the White House, in Congress and the Supreme Court, and have won Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes and other national and international awards for service and achievement in their chosen fields.

That’s after being at the helm for 21 years of STEP and 12 years of CSTEP conferences (co-chairing with Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers of CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies from 2012 to 2019). That is a good proportion of Syracuse University’s and New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) collaboration as hosts, for 24 and 29 years respectively.

Leonese Nelson

In addition, Nelson served as treasurer of the Association for Program Administrators of CSTEP and STEP Inc. (APACS) for more than 18 years, until June 2019. At its June 2023 annual conference, APACS recognized Nelson with its Dr. John Staley Award for Outstanding Service.

Nelson’s work on the two conferences and with APACS has been in addition to running the University’s and programs, which—like their analogs statewide—prepare underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students to enter college and participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions. The Syracuse STEP and CSTEP programs are part of the School of Education’s .

With her Tuskegee University bachelor’s degree in hand, Nelson came to Syracuse in 1993 as a political science master’s degree student and a teaching assistant in the Department of African American Studies. After her master’s degree, she pursed a doctorate and first became affiliated with the entry programs as a STEP graduate assistant, in fall 1998.

Nelson notes that her political science background gave her the organizational and people skills to juggle both conferences. “It’s important for me to have events that are special for the school and college students, an opportunity and space just for them,” explains Nelson. “The students come first—that is what is most important for me, and all my vendors and committee members know that too.”

To back up her point, Nelson quotes Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Adding, “My mother made sure that I learned to give back, for having had the kind of opportunities that she didn’t have.”

To offer a sense of the scale of planning involved, this year’s middle- and high-school STEP students gathered for their three-day conference in Albany from March 24 to 26, 2023. A couple of weeks later, from April 14 to 16, it was the turn of the college-level students to meet at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, New York. In addition to posters, presentations and demonstrations, both events featured speakers and plenty of extracurricular activities, such as dance, talent shows and games. Plus, there’s a college fair for the STEP students and a graduate fair for CSTEP. And that’s not all—the organizers throw banquet dinners for both groups too.

“My name is a placeholder. Vendors have to send packages to someone,” says Nelson humbly, noting that a team across the University helps her organize, including many in the .

Leonese Nelson (fifth from right) with students at the 2023 STEP Conference in Albany, New York.

Nelson says she wanted her final conferences to be extra special. In 2020, the STEP conference was just days away when New York State shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The health emergency also cancelled the 2021 conferences, but STEP convened online in 2022 with 500 attendees. “We needed to come back together in 2023—and go above and beyond. I did everything I could because we needed to start a new normal.”

Now that she has stepped down from her statewide responsibilities, Nelson says she will spend more time on the Syracuse STEP and CSTEP programs—including planning college tours in New York and further afield for the middle- and high-school students—and she will be on hand to help those planning the statewide conferences in her stead.

What favorite memories does Nelson have? Well, she has organized the conferences long enough to have fond recollections of students excitedly calling their parents using pay phones. Now it’s selfies and posting to Instagram. She also mentions the dress-up banquet held for the STEP students, where the hotel convention hall goes from “drab to fab.” “I once heard a student say, ‘Is this all for me?’ ‘Why would it not be for you?’ I replied.”

Sometimes, young STEP students go very far, and Nelson has been there to see these journeys take flight. One such student was “The Professor,” a middle schooler who earned his nickname by being so studious and inquisitive. He went on to earn an engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I don’t put limits on my students,” observes Nelson. “I say to them, don’t compare yourself to others. Your paths won’t always be the same.”

Your Feedback Is Requested

The Academic Strategic Plan will play a pivotal role in the future of our University. We hope you will take the time to review and provide your feedback. Opportunities for doing so include the following:

• Thursday, Feb. 23, 10:30 a.m.-noon: – K.G. Tan Auditorium, National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building, and on
• Wednesday, March 1, and Tuesday, March 7: Zoom feedback sessions (details to come)

You can also .

Following the feedback period, the Academic Strategic Plan will be revised, finalized and shared with the University community in early April.

Learn More

We will continue to provide information about events, feedback opportunities and ways to be involved with the refinement of the plan as we move through the next weeks and months. You can also�� on the latest news by visiting the .

“I want people to see the arts and humanities as central to research, teaching and scholarship,” Haddix says. “I want us to have strong relationships and connections to the surrounding community and to disrupt and challenge the idea that we don’t have that.”

Marcelle Haddix serves as associate provost for strategic initiatives in the Office of Academic Affairs.

In February, Haddix was appointed by Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer to the new administrative role. Haddix is fulfilling key functions, overseeing multiple University units and being the Academic Affairs liaison to many campus and community initiatives. She advances diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives and oversees the and .

Many University arts and humanities organizations, affiliates and research programs report to her office. They include , , Cultural Center, Point of Contact, the , the and the Mary Ann for Public and Community Service. She also is principal liaison to the and liaison to the , the and the University’s other academic programs having community-based or experiential learning components.

In addition, she works to connect the Office of Academic Affairs with the Academic Leadership for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (ALDEIA), the and the . Currently, the office consists of herself and executive assistant Lucianna Juiliani.

Before her new appointment, Haddix, who has been at the University since 2008 in the , served as Distinguished Dean’s Professor of Literacy, Race and Justice in reading and language arts and as an affiliated faculty member in the departments of African American Studies, Composition and Cultural Studies, Cultural Foundations of Education, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She also holds a courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.

Raj Dewan

“Raj took the helm of the iSchool at a time of extraordinary and rapid change as the pandemic not only transformed the way universities deliver on their educational mission, but also changed the way the world works, becoming even more dependent on information technology and the digital economy,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “He has worked closely with faculty to implement new programs that secured the iSchool’s position at the forefront of transformative change in the digital age. I appreciate his leadership and commitment to the iSchool and Syracuse University.”

During Dewan’s tenure as iSchool dean, was created to serve as a hub for sharing ideas and research between faculty, students and eventually third-party partnerships to help secure research funding. To better prepare students for the ever-changing workforce, the iSchool added a certificate of advanced study program in cloud management. Also last fall, the iSchool launched two new undergraduate programs in innovation, society and technology and applied data analytics, along with a new online program for part-time students interested in earning a bachelor’s degree in information management and technology while exploring topics like cybersecurity, machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, project management and business.

In addition, during the last two years, iSchool faculty earned prestigious grants from the to fund library and information science projects, and hosted the first Syracuse workshop in blockchain and cryptocurrency research. The iSchool has positioned itself at the forefront of blockchain and cryptocurrency research and education in recent years by offering the first blockchain management course for undergraduates, and online and in-person courses for master’s students.

“Despite the tremendous challenges of the last two years, it has been a great privilege to lead the talented and dedicated faculty, staff and students of the iSchool,” says Dewan. “Together, we have advanced the mission of the iSchool, always with a focus on excellence in teaching and research and preparing our students for the greatest areas of demand in the changing workforce. We did this all while navigating the uncertainty and unknown brought on by a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. I am very much looking forward to returning to the classroom with our great students and alongside my outstanding faculty colleagues, and resuming my research in business analytics and information system standards.”

Dewan came to Syracuse University from the University of Rochester Simon Business School with expertise in both technology and information analytics and an impressive track record of innovating curriculum in teaching and pursuing relevant research.

Seaman is once again stepping into the role of interim dean, a position he previously held from May 2019 to January 2020, between the retirement of longtime iSchool Dean Liz Liddy and the hiring of Dewan.

“David is truly uniquely qualified to guide the iSchool through this next transition in leadership,” says Ritter. “He has an unmatched breadth of experience in working in a collaborative academic environment and knows the qualities of leadership expected by the iSchool and its partners.”

As dean of Libraries and University librarian, Seaman and his team continue to deliver the services and collections necessary to drive 21st-century research, teaching and learning, and to provide welcoming spaces for study, collaboration and innovation. Dean Seaman came to Syracuse after library leadership positions at Dartmouth College, The Digital Library Federation and the University of Virginia. He has lectured and published extensively in the fields of humanities computing and digital libraries and taught for many years at the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals and impact beyond what’s possible.

“The responsibilities of this position are vital to maintaining the reputation of Syracuse University as one of the best places in the nation to pursue a passion for both academic rigor and athletic performance,” says Chancellor Syverud. “I look forward to reviewing the applicants for this position and working closely with the faculty member selected to fill this important role.”

“We take tremendous pride in the consistently excellent performance of our student-athletes both on and off the field,” says Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “The faculty member who fills the role of FAR shares in the responsibility for ensuring that our athletics program understands and supports the unique needs of the student-athletes to excel in the classroom and in their sport of choice.”

The FAR, who is appointed by the Chancellor, acts as the Chancellor’s and Provost’s advisor on all matters involving the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), including providing input on potential NCAA and ACC legislation and policies. The FAR represents Syracuse University as the voting delegate to the annual NCAA convention and may serve as a delegate at any other NCAA or ACC meetings as directed by the Chancellor.

The FAR also acts as liaison between athletics and academics, periodically reporting to the faculty and administration on the academic well-being of student-athletes. The FAR has responsibility, in consultation with the assistant provost for student-athlete academic development and associate athletics director for compliance, to ensure that student-athletes meet all NCAA, conference and Syracuse University requirements for eligibility to participate in team activities, benefit from financial aid and participate in intercollegiate competition as a representative of Syracuse University.

The FAR also bears responsibility for the development of statistical reports on the academic preparation and performance of student-athletes for each sports team and providing them to the Chancellor, Provost, Board of Trustees, Athletics Compliance Committee, appropriate Faculty Senate Committees, Athletics administration and head coaches, and chairs the Faculty Oversight Committee.

Rick Burton, the David B. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, has served as the University’s FAR since 2014. “Rick has brought extraordinary insight and a wealth of experience in sports marketing and management to the position of FAR and we are deeply grateful for the years he devoted to serving our student-athletes,” says Wildhack. Burton began his own career as a sportswriter in Syracuse and continues to publish scholarly research and commentary while teaching in the Renée Crown Honors Program on sports and culture. He is the former commissioner of Australia’s National Basketball League and served as the chief marketing officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

Individuals interested in applying for this position must be a member of the Syracuse University faculty or an administrator who holds faculty rank. The FAR cannot hold an administrative or coaching position in the athletics department. The is an excellent resource for prospective candidates.

Individuals interested in applying for the position should submit a letter of interest by Friday, April 29, to��nomination@syr.edu.

As Syracuse University’s new vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, Gretchen Ritter says her first priority during the coming weeks and months will be to get to know the faculty and students of her new campus community.

“I look forward to going on tours, visiting labs and studios, getting acquainted with colleagues from across the campus,” Ritter said, during a welcome event Tuesday, Oct. 12. “I want to thank you in advance for sharing with me your insights about what makes Syracuse special and your good ideas about how we might achieve even greater levels of impact and excellence.”

Provost Gretchen Ritter

In those necessary conversations, Ritter also wants to express her own values—including one core value that “we are all here for the faculty and the students.”

“That is because it is through the research and creative excellence of the faculty that we expand knowledge and human understanding,” Ritter said. “And it is by enabling the talents and ambitions of our great students that we enrich the world with emerging leaders who will help us to imagine and achieve a better future for all of us.”

Ritter was named vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer in June 2021 after a global search. About 150 campus community members gathered Oct. 12 in the Ilene and David Flaum Grand Hall, Whitman School of Management, to officially welcome Ritter, who started her new role on Oct. 1. The event was also .

Before getting to know more about the University as a candidate for the position, Ritter said she knew about Syracuse University mostly through its reputation—hearing from colleagues at her previous institutions about the programs and people that define Syracuse and the breadth and depth of its academic excellence.

In meeting and hearing from the Search Committee members, who she described as thoughtful about the University’s challenges and opportunities and deeply committed to the impact the University has on the world, Ritter gained an even fuller understanding of Syracuse University.

“I saw a campus community that is committed to public service, that cares deeply about the success and well-being of the students, that has embraced inclusive excellence and that was hungry for an opportunity to prioritize academic excellence,” Ritter said. “One of the phrases I heard first once and then repeatedly in my interviews and conversations was the self-description: ‘I bleed orange.’ From faculty, alumni, parents and students—what comes across is a deep commitment to what can be done as a member of this community.”

Speaking at the event, Chancellor Kent Syverud said the University and its people have made much progress over the past two years, despite the challenges in the world, and have been through many transitions.

“And now we have a long-term provost in office. And that’s a transition we need to embrace and support—all of us,” Chancellor Syverud said. “We have a provost in office who is a fine scholar, an experienced academic leader who’s seen and led at other top universities. And we have a person who is deeply thoughtful and caring about both our faculty and our students.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud at welcome event for Provost Gretchen Ritter

Chancellor Syverud noted Ritter’s accomplishments as a respected political scientist; her leadership as an administrator; her support for expanded faculty research and cross-collaboration; her work with faculty and leadership to secure philanthropy; her unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and access; and her focus on enhancing learning inside and outside of the classroom.

“She is a keen listener, as you’ve heard, and a strong communicator. These qualities will serve her well as the leader of us as an academic community,” said Chancellor Syverud. “I think she will carry this student-focused international research university into a really wonderful new era.”

Two members of the Provost Search Committee, Kira Reed, associate professor of management in the Whitman School of Management and Provost Faculty Fellow, and Jamie Winders, professor of geography in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and committee chair, also welcomed Ritter at the event.

Jamie Winders

Winders explained how the search committee met with many people on campus—faculty, students and staff—to find out the most important issues the next provost should address and the qualities and qualifications for that person.

In conversations with Ritter, the committee members “became more and more convinced that she was what our campus charged us to find in our next provost, that her ability to ask the right—if tough—questions, her vision for where Syracuse University could go, and how to get there, and her deep commitment to working with faculty and all other parts of campus to place our academic mission at the center of everything we do, made her our ideal provost,” Winders said.

Yousr Dhaouadi, a doctoral student in Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and president of the Graduate Student Association, said she was honored to speak at the event on behalf of the student body, which will work with the new provost to continue to strengthen academic excellence.

Dhaouadi spoke of how Ritter had reached out to meet with the Graduate Student Organization, the Student Association and other student entities before the start of the semester.

“I want to thank Dr. Ritter for making students an important part of her first few weeks at Syracuse,” Dhaouadi said. “I am humbled to be a part of such a remarkable and talented community here at Syracuse, and on behalf of Syracuse students, we look forward to working with you Dr. Ritter.”

Phi Beta Kappa members were inducted in successive socially distanced ceremonies.

Fifty-six students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications were inducted into the Syracuse University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa May 20.

is the oldest honorary society for students in the liberal arts, started in 1776, and one of the most prestigious undergraduate honorary societies in the United States. To be eligible for induction, students must have a major in the College of Arts and Sciences or the Maxwell School, and meet several criteria including a minimum cumulative grade point average, mastery of a foreign language, basic competence in mathematics and good character.

“It is always a privilege to induct outstanding students into Phi Beta Kappa, which is universally recognized as the premier academic honor society in America,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Membership puts them in the company of our nation’s most notable leaders, scholars, artists, scientists, journalists and public servants, both past and present. I urge our new inductees to embrace the meaning of the Greek letters, which stand for ‘Love of learning is the guide of life.’”

New Phi Beta Kappa members took the society’s oath and signed the membership book to join the Kappa Chapter of Central New York, an affiliate of the highly prestigious honor society.

Chris Johnson, associate provost, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and president of the Syracuse University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa says, “It is a privilege to celebrate outstanding academic achievement by students in the liberal arts and sciences. Membership in Phi Beta Kappa opens doors inside and outside of academia and is widely recognized by employers as a credential that indicates a deep and broad understanding of the liberal arts and the ability to communicate effectively.”

The students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa were the following:

Katelyn Bajorek, Jamie Bowler, Dylan Bryant, Aren Burnside, Sophia Carbone, Celina Carranti, Lia Chabot, Gretchen Coleman, Alexa Deyo, Laura Dickinson, Julia Cleo Fisher, Maiya Focht, Bronwyn Galloway, Leon Gambitta, Ethan Garcia, Noah Goldmann, Anna Gugerty, Sixuan Guo, Anna Henderson, Harrison Higgins, Ariel Hylton, Ronni Isenberg, Jacob Kahane, Kaylie Klotz, Madison Kovach, Elizabeth Kunnel, Kaizhao Zero Lin, Lexin Lu, Sierra Lyles, Parizeh Malik, Katharine Merken, Simran Mirchandani, Justin Mitchell, Sarly Molina, Lila Nazarian, Miranda Nemeth, Nicholas Otero, Summer Psaila, Kyla Reitzel, Brianna Rheume, Brandon Ross, Cecilia Rullo, Thomas Russo, Katherine Ryan, Jamie Sabin, Emily Schladt, Iris Schwartz, Joseph Spoelstra, Peiyuan Tang, Haley Vaughan, Kailee Vick, Katherine Villarin, Karley Warden, Emerson Womble, Ashlyn Wong and Alisamarie Yiatras.

Syracuse’s 94 percent GSR is above the national GSR of 90 percent and ties for 10^th among Power 5 schools. Syracuse is one of six Atlantic Coast Conference schools ranked in the top 10 of the Power 5 schools this year.

The NCAA started measuring the GSR, which also includes those who entered midyear, as well as student-athletes who transferred into the institution, in 2004.

Syracuse’s women’s tennis and women’s volleyball programs achieved a perfect 100 percent for the ninth consecutive year, the longest active streaks in the athletics department. The Orange men’s cross country, men’s track and field, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s rowing, women’s basketball, women’s ice hockey and women’s soccer programs all scored a perfect 100 percent. Every Syracuse team posted a GSR higher than 82 percent.

“This is so impressive,” says Syracuse University Faculty Athletics Representative and David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management Rick Burton. “At Syracuse, we treat academic performance and post-graduation career success as being incredibly important. The commitment made by SU’s athletics director, sport supervisors, coaches, academic support staff and student-athletes is there in the numbers. Fans of Syracuse University Athletics should take as much pride in this outcome as an Orange ‘W’ in competition.”

The volleyball program leads all Syracuse programs with 11 perfect GSR scores, followed by the men’s cross country, men’s track and field, and women’s tennis programs, which have posted a perfect 100 percent GSR nine times. Women’s lacrosse and women’s soccer have each achieved a 100 percent GSR on eight occasions.

“Our student-athletes continue to demonstrate excellence in athletics and academics,” says Assistant Provost for Student-Athlete Academic Development Tommy Powell. “Their hard work, focus and commitment to achieving academic success is inspiring. I’m incredibly proud of everything they have accomplished on campus and look forward to their positive impact on our global society.

Syracuse’s GSR Success By the Numbers:

• Power Five Ranking: Syracuse ties for 10^th among Power 5 schools (94 percent GSR)
• ACC: Syracuse is one of six Atlantic Coast Conference schools in the top 10 (Syracuse, Duke, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia)
• Teams with a 100 percent GSR in 2020: Ten (women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, men’s cross country, men’s track and field, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s rowing, women’s basketball, women’s ice hockey and women’s soccer)
• Consecutive 100 percent GSR scores: Nine years (women’s tennis, women’s volleyball)
• Most 100 percent GSR scores: 11 (women’s volleyball)

The NCAA instituted the GSR to more accurately reflect the mobility of college students as compared to the Federal Graduation Rate. The federal rate counts any student who leaves a school as an academic failure, whether or not the student enrolls at another school. The federal rate also does not consider students who enter as transfer students. The GSR formula provides a more complete and accurate picture by removing from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and including student-athletes who transfer to a school after being enrolled at another university.

The release of the GSR follows last spring’s����of the impressive success of student-athletes as reflected in the University’s Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Architect and urban designer Liang Wang is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2020-21.

The School of Architecture has announced that architect and urban designer Liang Wang is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2020-21. Wang is currently a Doctor of Design candidate and previously a teaching fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), where his scholarship and teaching concern history and theory of urban form, space and politics of the superblock development, as well as architecture and the idea of the city in East Asia.

The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of Architecture—established in early 2015 in memory of Harry der Boghosian ’54 by his sister Paula der Boghosian ’64—is a one-of-a-kind program designed to give faculty members, early in their careers, the opportunity to spend a year developing a body of design research based on an area of interest while teaching at the School of Architecture.

Fellows play a significant role at the school by enhancing student instruction and faculty discourse while supporting both research and the development of research-related curriculum valuable to architectural education and the discipline.

“The Boghosian Fellowship has become among the most important residential research and design fellowships in the world,” says Michael Speaks, dean of the School of Architecture. “We have, in the last five years, been fortunate to be joined by some of the most innovative young designers and researchers from around the globe.”

During the 2020-21 school year, Wang will teach an architecture studio and two professional electives focusing on his research project, “The Architecture of the Commons.” By engaging the idea of “commons” in relation to the disciplinary knowledge of architecture and particularly through the lens of the superblock development, his research will contemplate the role of architecture as both common means for spatial production and common knowledge in conceiving new modes of collective life and the idea of the city.

“I believe that understanding the relationship between architecture and the city, between design agency and socio-political content is an important step towards a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future,” says Wang.

Like the four previous Boghosian Fellows, Wang will work closely with faculty and students at the School of Architecture while exploring interdisciplinary collaborations within the University and its various centers and colleges. By emphasizing collective participation and conversation, his research will culminate in the form of a research publication and exhibition, as well as a symposium.

“Wang, whose research parallels that currently being developed by several of our faculty, is truly groundbreaking and will certainly augment and complement the work completed by past fellows,” says Speaks. “We are thrilled that he will be joining us this next year.”

“I am truly humbled and honored to be selected as the 2020-21 Boghosian Fellow at Syracuse,” says Wang. “This prestigious fellowship not only embodies a remarkable lineage of innovative research and teaching, it also presents an excellent opportunity for me, as a young educator and practitioner, to expand my current research and explore new possibilities through teaching and collaboration.”

Wang has been educated in China and the United States as both a designer and a scholar. His design research and practice speculate on the relationship between architecture and the city by focusing on urban design and large-scale architectural projects. He is the recipient of the Peter G. Rowe Scholarship of Harvard University, and his doctoral research is sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center, the David Rockefeller Center of Harvard University, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and the Harvard Asia Center.

In line with his research work, Wang is the co-author of the book “Urban Blocks and Grids: History, Technical Features, and Outcomes” (with Peter Rowe, Scholars’ Press, 2019). He is also the co-editor of the forthcoming issue on “Commons” in the journal New Geographies (Harvard GSD, 2020).

Previously, Wang completed his master of architecture in urban design degree with distinction from Harvard GSD, where he was awarded the Urban Planning and Design Thesis Prize and the Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design. He also holds a master of architecture degree from Rice University, where he won the Morris R. Pitman Award in Architecture and the Fondren Research Award. Wang received his bachelor of architecture degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in China, where he was the recipient of the National Scholarship by the Ministry of Education in China.

In addition to his academic experiences, Wang is the co-founder of Commons Office—a creative think tank and a research-minded design practice based in Boston and Shanghai. Prior to founding Commons Office, he practiced architecture internationally at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York; Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen; WW Architecture in Houston; and Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects in Shanghai.

“I am looking forward to joining the distinguished community of educators, scholars and practitioners at Syracuse,” says Wang. “At the same time, I am also excited to work with the bright students there and engage them with collective explorations. I am confident that the invaluable experience of teaching, researching and collaborating with faculty, staff and students at the school and beyond will sharpen my expertise and broaden my horizons. I hope that, through collective conversations and public engagement, it could also contribute to the commons of architecture and design in our time.”

The Boghosian Fellowship has helped the School of Architecture attract the best and the brightest emerging professors. Previous fellows include Maya Alam (2016-17), Linda Zhang (2017-18), James Leng (2018-19) and Benjamin Vanmuysen (2019-20).

For more information about Liang Wang and his work, visit .

To learn more about the Harry der Boghosian Fellowship, visit .

Mike Frasciello

University College Dean Mike Frasciello has been at the forefront of online instruction for much of his University career—leading, teaching, developing and researching online programs.

In this unprecedented time, he and collaborators across the University have been working to ensure that thousands of students and faculty members can make that transition to online learning mid-semester.

Frasciello, who has launched online programs at University College, created the University’s Center for Online and Digital Learning and served as director of online learning for the College of Engineering and Computer Science, knows what success with online learning looks like for students.

Keep a schedule.

“When we look at characteristics of a successful learner, it’s a student who has a high degree of discipline and will carefully plot their time,” Frasciello says.

He recommends students rise for the day as they did in their residence hall or off-campus housing, schedule in their class and study times, and plan for all the extras they would have done throughout their day while on campus.

“Work out like you would have on campus and meet with friends online like you would have at Starbucks—adhering to a schedule that makes your coursework part of your routine is vitally important,” Frasciello says.

Reach out to your instructor.

“Ask questions during class. After a live session, send your professor an email, in which you might summarize key points or ask a question or for clarification,” he says.

Interact with your classmates.

“Student-to-student engagement is critical, creating a sense of community and becoming an active online participant,” Frasciello says. “Start chatting with a classmate during a session or set up a space in a Google Hangout.”

Frasciello also answers other questions that students might have as the University has transitioned and shares a variety of resources for students.

Q: What is the University doing to support students and faculty in making this transition to online learning?

A: Student and faculty support has been our priority. The Center for Online and Digital Learning, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, Information Technology Services and the Office of Online Student Success (OSS) created a dedicated and began directing students and faculty to online resources, training schedules and contact information for support services.

Specifically, for students, OSS began engaging with and training academic advisors within the schools and colleges on how to support online students. The focus was on how to best use the tools and technology to engage and advise online students, but the training also included techniques for keeping online students moving successfully through their coursework.

Twice each week, ITS and OSS send all students updates, technology training schedules, prompts, tips, techniques and resources for how to be successful online learners.

For faculty, CODL, CTLE and ITS created a Rapid Online Course Development Guide. The guide, which is updated weekly, provides guidance, tools and techniques for moving classes online and engaging students online to meet course learning objectives. The Rapid Online Course Development Guide is part of a larger toolkit of Academic Continuity Resources being expanded daily.

Additionally, the Office of Online Student Success coordinated with the Office of Retention and Student Success within the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience, the Office of Disability Services, the Center for International Student Services and academic advising offices within the schools and colleges to ensure that student support and services are available in the event of instruction moving online.

Q: What are the plans for taking final exams?

A: Faculty have complete control of the curriculum and make all decisions relating to how students are assessed in their courses. As part of their resources and training, faculty have been provided options for implementing quizzes and exams in the online environment. Guidance for this is available through the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, ITS and the Center for Online and Digital Learning.

Q: What if a student’s internet connection is poor for participating in online classes? What if they don’t have broadband?

A: For students with no or poor internet access, ITS has curated a list of with specific responses to COVID-19. This is a common concern and the largest point of anxiety for our students.

Students are encouraged, whenever possible, to find a quiet space to study that is near a wireless router. Using a headset can help minimize noise distractions from others in the household. If network issues occur, regular communication with faculty is key so students can work to get caught up on anything missed due to broadband issues.

Q: How can students who might be struggling academically in this transition receive support from the University?

A: We encourage students to reach out to their academic advisor or other support person with whom they are comfortable to discuss their progress in the online environment. For support in successfully navigating the online learning environment, students should contact the Office of Online Student Success at orangeonline@syr.edu or 315.443.3256.

Other academic services such as the Center for Learning and Student Success, the Writing Center, the Calculus Help Center and the Physics Help Center have moved to best serve students.

For technology-specific issues, the ITS Service Center is available, including evenings and weekends, to assist students, faculty and staff at help@syr.edu or 315.443.2677.

The shared competencies are the following:

• Ethics, Integrity and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion;
• Critical and Creative Thinking;
• Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills;
• Civic and Global Responsibility;
• Communication Skills; and
• Information Literacy and Technological Agility.

Student Association Vice President Kyle Rosenblum ’20, a psychology and policy studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, says the shared competencies will position students for success. “The shared competencies framework guides our learning with flexible general education requirements, while at the same time ensuring that each program is better preparing students for life after graduation.”��

The shared competencies will promote the crucial knowledge and skills essential for all students to develop in their time at Syracuse. “These are core competencies that transcend the specific requirements of schools, colleges and programs,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly. “The long-term goal is for all undergraduates, regardless of major, to acquire and demonstrate the essential skills and knowledge of a distinctive Syracuse University education.”

A Syracuse University Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Shared Competencies, consisting of students, faculty, staff and administrators, led this effort since 2017. “The process of developing the shared competencies and framing language that were approved by the Senate in December has been a model of how the Senate and its committees should be involved in developing major academic policies,” says Robert Van Gulick, philosophy professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, University Senator and member of the University Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Shared Competencies. “The Senate Ad Hoc Committee was given the lead in developing the list of competencies, and it followed a broadly consultative process with input from the hundreds of faculty and students who responded to the initial draft proposal. We anticipate the eventual creation of a new Senate standing committee on assessment, with wide representation from all of SU’s diverse schools and colleges.”

The six shared competencies include framing language that describes broadly the range of knowledge, skills and attributes that each competency entails. This framework builds on the Academic Strategic Plan’s promise to provide students a distinctive experience that instills “the capacity to think deeply and analytically; to listen and learn from diverse life experiences, cultures, and points of view; to act with ethical and academic integrity; and to engage in ways that enrich scholarship and enhance our communities and the world.”

The shared competencies were also shaped by the Middle States accreditation process. Anne Mosher, faculty chair of the Maxwell Program in Citizenship and Civic Engagement and chair of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Shared Competencies, says that the next step will be to learn how each undergraduate program in every school and college can adopt and enhance the competency framework. “We’ll be interacting with deans, department chairs and undergraduate directors to discuss some of Syracuse University’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment preliminary mappings of the six competencies to individual undergraduate major programs,” Mosher says.

Last July, Provost Wheatly appointed Mary Graham, professor of sport management in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, to work closely with Mosher and the Ad Hoc Senate Committee. “We are designing a faculty-driven assessment process that will enhance consistency in learning outcomes across majors,” Graham says. “At the same time, we want the process to support the uniqueness and thoughtfully designed programs of study across the schools and colleges.”

The Ad Hoc Committee plans to pilot test the assessment of the communication skills shared competency during the 2019-2020 academic year. “We chose the communication skills competency first because it has straightforward framing language and we know from the IEA’s research on each undergraduate program that teaching and learning in this area occurs campuswide,” Mosher says.

Anyone interested in more information on the shared competencies should contact Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (iea@syr.edu), Senate Ad Hoc Committee Chair Anne Mosher (amosher@maxwell.syr.edu) or Provost Faculty Fellow Mary Graham (megraham@syr.edu). In addition, more information and Frequently Asked Questions can be found at this .

The short course initiative extends Syracuse University’s portfolio of online professional degrees, non-credit programs and executive education��offered to post-traditional learners. Short courses will provide highly engaging content to non-degree seeking students presented over 6-8 weeks. At least 10 short courses will be launched in this latest partnership with 2U.

“We are delighted to announce this expansion of our partnership with 2U. The global reach of Syracuse University via our online degree programs, and now the short courses, offers affordable opportunities for professional development and continuing education,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly. “Our alumni, as well as staff, can benefit from the extension of the Syracuse experience, enhancing skills and furthering their careers through the short courses.”

Students will receive personalized support on an online platform in a primarily asynchronous format. Content will include high-quality videos, case studies, readings, practice quizzes and assignments.

“This is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach of Syracuse University faculty to individuals seeking to differentiate themselves in the job market,” says Associate Provost and Graduate School Dean Peter Vanable. “The short courses will focus on high-demand subject areas and feature our talented faculty who bring forth a wealth of expertise.”

Syracuse University faculty members, chosen on the basis of their teaching expertise and scholarly achievements, will develop the short courses in collaboration with course design experts. Adult learners will earn a certificate upon successful course completion. The first course is planned for launch this fall.

“Syracuse is an institution that does not shy away from innovation and change,” 2U President of University Partnerships and Services Andrew Hermalyn says. “Since our partnership first launched in 2014, more than 1,000 students have graduated from 2U-powered programs at Syracuse, and today’s agreement marks another important step forward in meeting the needs of lifelong learners.”

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience, as well as innovative online learning environments. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths. At Syracuse University, we offer a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges and 18 online degree programs. We have more than 15,000 undergraduates and 7,500 graduate students, more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit .

The interdisciplinary minor, open to all Syracuse University undergraduate students, provides a background in the Holocaust, other global atrocities and human rights violations, and efforts to confront the past and transform the future. Partnerships and courses from across the College of Arts and Sciences and the University examine when, how, where and why individuals and groups act as perpetrators, bystanders and upstanders. Students will have the opportunity to study abroad in Central Europe; Strasbourg, France; or Santiago, Chile as a part of these courses.

“We are seeing increased activity from right-wing and extremist political parties across the globe, in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, Brazil, Canada and the United States,” says Julia White, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Leadership and coordinator of the atrocities studies minor. “Along with this, systems and individuals are demonstrating discrimination and violence against marginalized people. By studying potential—and occurring—atrocities we are intentionally developing a world view that considers what part we can play in confronting injustice and disrupting systemic patterns of prejudice, discrimination, racism, antisemitism and dehumanization that lead to the commission of atrocities.”

The minor in atrocity studies and the practices of social justice consists of 18 credit hours. There is one required course for the minor, HST 362, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, so students currently enrolled in the course or plan to take the course should consider the minor. The other courses are chosen from a broad range offered across the university:

• one course related to atrocities/genocides
• two courses on challenging dehumanization
• one course on education and social justice
• one course related to an individualized internship or capstone project.

White notes this interdisciplinary minor would be of interest to any student at Syracuse University who is interested in social justice and challenging oppression.

“For example, students from the Whitman School who are committed to social change and entrepreneurship; Newhouse School and College of Visual and Performing Arts’ students who are interested in advancing social justice through media and the arts; Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences’ students who are interested in justice, peace, security, stability and domestic and international affairs in their many forms; education students committed to teaching, leading and engaging with schools and communities to confront and address injustices; Falk College students committed to anti-oppressive social policies and practices; School of Information Studies’ students interested in combatting oppression through information technology; and School of Architecture students committed to social justice through design.”

Students interested in the minor in atrocity studies and the practices of social justice can visit the or contact Julia White at jmwhit02@syr.edu or 315.443.9321.

Modern technologies are generating tremendous amounts of real-time data, and computer algorithms and sophisticated metrics help convert these data into actionable information. Expertise in extracting, storing and managing data, as well as an understanding of ways in which data can be analyzed to inform government decision-making, is increasingly in demand by employers who work with or serve the public sector. In addition, the availability and sensitivity of data, as well as a growing reliance on algorithms to drive decisions, raise a host of public policy issues that governments need to address.

“Maxwell M.P.A. alumni enjoy meaningful careers in data science and data analysis at institutions like the World Bank, the Government Accountability Office and the NYS Department of Education, and in private companies and in academic research settings,” says Associate Dean, Chair and Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Robert Bifulco. “Codifying data analytics for public policy as an area of study will allow us to deepen and expand our relationships with top employers in this area and ensure that Maxwell remains at the leading edge of this rapidly evolving field.”

Current and new coursework related to data analytics for public policy include:

• PAI 724: Data-Driven Decision Making with Matt Young, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs
• PAI 774: Public Policy & Program Evaluation with Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs
• PAI 789: Policy and Decision Analysis with Peter Wilcoxen, professor of public administration and international affairs, Ajello Professor in Energy and Environmental Policy, and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence
• PAI 793: Public Sector Predictive Analytics with Len Lopoo, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of Public Policy, director of the Center for Policy Research and co-founder and director of Maxwell X Lab (new in Fall 2020)

A new component of the M.P.A. program, , is an internship option that allows students to further tailor their degree based on their career goals and prior professional experiences. Students may complete their degree either through the traditional 12-month course of study or via a conveniently structured 18-month option that includes an internship. Internships are completed over the summer term in federal agencies, state and local governments, non-profits/NGOs, international organizations, or in related private sector companies within the US or abroad.

“The internship option is particularly beneficial for students in the early stages of their career or who are transitioning to rapidly evolving fields like data analytics,” says Kelli Young, director of the Palmer Career Center. “In addition to valuable hands-on experiences that complement what they are learning in the classroom, participants benefit from the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, build their resumes and tap into networks that can be critical to securing top jobs.”

Apply by Feb. 1, 2019 for priority consideration. To request information about Maxwell’s professional degree programs, contact Megan Begert via email at msbegert@syr.edu or visit .

CLASS tutoring sessions help students apply research-based learning strategies to course content. Tutoring sessions take place on the lower level of Bird Library, in the CLASS Academic Support space and residence halls: Flint, Shaw and Sadler. Students are encouraged to view the schedule and sign up for sessions in advance on the . Drop ins will be accommodated space permitting.

The workshop will reintroduce faculty to the Office of Student Assistance, Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS), Office of Disability Services, Degree Works and Orange Success. In addition to providing an overview of degree and program completion, major transfers and ways to help students succeed in school, participants will also engage in questions of what to do about students in distress and learn about services and accommodations for students with disabilities.

The day will conclude with a panel discussion called “What to Do When,” featuring perspectives from academic advisors. Attendees will receive a reference packet regarding resources, points of contact and places for additional training and information.

Coffee and lunch will be provided. R.S.V.P. by Monday, June 25, by emailing pclong@syr.edu. Email pclong@syr.edu if you need any accommodations.

Who’s Your Data? The Power and Promise of Big Data was taught this spring by Newhouse associate professor of advertising��. She worked with The Trade Desk, a self-service technology platform for managing digital advertising campaigns, to develop an interactive curriculum that helps develop the next generation of digital marketers.

Building upon The Trade Desk’s technology and data analytics expertise, Egan helped students gain an understanding of how marketers can precisely target audiences across multiple media channels and devices and how they can measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns in real time.

“Students learned unique skills that allowed them to bridge the gap between traditional data scientist and advertising strategist,” Egan says.

Lucy Sutphin, a 2018 graduate of the advertising program, was a student in the class. “This class introduced me to all new types of data, and improved my understanding, as an advertiser and a consumer, of the benefits and challenges of data collection,” she says. “Now I feel like I understand the data behind programmatic ad buying, a concept that has changed the advertising industry. Being able to talk about programmatic in simple, clear language has made me feel much better equipped to play a more helpful role at any agency or platform where I might work.”

In the class, students learned about different types of data and ways to use data-driven insights to strategically find and engage with audiences. “It’s about creating meaningful relationships with consumers and making ads more relevant to them to enhance the customer experience,” Sutphin says.

Susan Vobejda, The Trade Desk’s chief marketing officer, notes, “The Trade Desk is committed to developing the next generation of marketers. We’re excited to partner with Syracuse to highlight the power and precision of programmatic as it is the future of digital advertising.”

Students in the class worked with Newhouse associate professor��, director of the����program, with the goal of increasing applications to the program. “We gathered data on who was visiting the media studies pages of the Newhouse School website and who was clicking ‘learn more’ or ‘apply now,’” says Egan. “These insights provided us with information on what types of audiences to focus on.” Students presented their findings in April.

Students also had access to The Trade Desk’s industry-leading Trading Academy curriculum and completed the company’s programmatic certification. They also worked with students at the��, who ran more complex data analyses to develop strategies that better targeted ads.

Students also worked with professionals at The Trade Desk to gain real-world experience in digital media buying and campaign optimization.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an��undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic , with a global footprint, ���Ի���, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit .

“With the growing interest in and popularity of competitive gaming—not just in terms of participation, but also broadcasting and marketing—we made it a priority to offer our students a holistic look at esports and media,” says��, director of the����and a professor of practice in��. She will co-teach the course with��, assistant professor of English in the��, who has previously taught courses in gaming.

“The world of esports is expanding at an astonishing rate, as are the number of careers associated with the industry,” says Hanson. “By collaborating with Twitch, students in our course will have the opportunity to gain invaluable insights and cutting-edge experience from leaders in the field.”

Twitch is the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers, where 15 million community members gather each day to watch, talk and chat about shared interests. Twitch’s video service is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for the entire video game ecosystem, as well as adjacent interests including the creative arts, vlogging (IRL), traditional sports and more.

“Syracuse University’s Esports & Media course will provide valuable insight into the entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the gaming industry, which is very much aligned with our Twitch Student program,” says Mark Candella, director of strategic partnerships at Twitch. “We envision this leading to students from every discipline finding opportunity to contribute in their own unique ways to the competitive gaming scene as it continues to gain momentum.”

Students in the course will examine esports through multiple lenses to understand their intersection with media and broadcasting. The history, technologies and business models behind esports will be discussed, along with the roles of teams, leagues and services like Twitch. Students will work directly esports organizations to produce original content in a range of forms, such as written analysis, live broadcasting, reporting and/or developing marketing and advertising plans.

“We will be working with Twitch throughout the semester,” says Stomski. “We will have a dedicated Twitch channel for our class and Twitch will assist with arranging guest speakers and supplying guidance to our students as they navigate the ever-changing world of esports and media.”

The course is open to all Syracuse University students. For more information, contact Stomski at 315.443.4065 or��okstomsk@syr.edu.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an��undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic , with a global footprint, ���Ի���, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit .

from on .

Beginning in the fall semester, new students will participate in a shared academic experience to explore together themes of diversity, inclusion and belonging—and what it means to come together as a community to share those ideals.

The University is launching the , a shared reading program coordinated by the Provost’s Office for all first-year and transfer students. The book selected for the 2018-19 academic year is “Born a Crime,” a memoir by Trevor Noah, South African comedian and host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

The University will provide a copy of the book to all first-year and transfer students before they arrive on campus for the start of their academic careers. The students will then discuss the book and work on a common assignment in first-year writing courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, and also have further conversations surrounding the book in peer-led discussion groups.

In the book, Noah, who was born in South Africa to a black South African mother and a white European father, recounts his childhood growing up during the last days of apartheid and the opportunities and adventures with his mother in the period that followed.

“Not only is Trevor Noah the most successful comedian in South African history, but ‘Born a Crime’ is a groundbreaking text that will prove to be informative, formative and deeply transformative,” says Dean of Hendricks Chapel Brian E. Konkol, an organizer of the program. “Our students will learn a bit more of who Trevor is, and, as a result, they will receive the confidence and freedom to be more fully who they are, not only as students, but as global citizens.”

The new program, which reinstitutes a prior shared reading program for new students, focuses on the University’s continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion. The program developed from a recommendation by the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion (CWDI), which sought to add to the new student orientation experience and deepen understandings and forge relationships across racial, ethnic, religious and other lines.

“The Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion believed that the selection of a single book would be an important sign to our new students about Syracuse University’s academic expectations and the importance and value of intercultural competencies,” says Special Assistant to the Chancellor Barry L. Wells, former CWDI co-chair and co-chair of the Universitywide Council on Diversity and Inclusion. “Effective shared reading programs that are supported by co-curricular options can be valuable in community building, establishing community expectations, and providing a common intellectual experience around specific learning objectives. In addition, research indicates that shared reading programs supports two fundamental theoretical principles of student persistence and learning, which are social integration and active involvement for first-year students.”

A special component of the program will be peer-led discussion groups to enhance students’ understanding of the book and engage them in broader contexts about equity and opportunity. Student peer facilitators will not only serve as key facilitators of the book’s content, but also serve as connecting points for new students to Syracuse University.

The peer facilitators will be paid a stipend, participate in a retreat focused on diversity and inclusion, and lead four group discussions with first-year and transfer students during the 2018-19 academic year.

Students can apply to be a peer facilitator, or they can be nominated by faculty, staff or another student. To apply to become a peer facilitator, click . To nominate someone, visit . Applications must be submitted by noon on Wednesday, April 18.

For more information about becoming a peer facilitator contact Kal Srinivas, director for retention in the Office of the Associate Provost, at ksrini01@syr.edu or Terra Peckskamp, director of the Office of Residence Life, at tlpecksk@syr.edu.

Organizers say the smaller peer-led discussion groups will enable new students and their peer facilitators to engage more fully with the diverse community that is Syracuse University and gain a better understanding of themselves.

“The opportunity to engage with Trevor Noah’s text will prove to be an incredible learning experience. In following his career, I have come to perceive him as a brilliant comedian and television host, yet also one who is also thoughtful, observant and empathetic,” Konkol says. “Through his storytelling and candid commentary, we witness a level-headed leader, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart most fully lie. I can think of no better educational gift than providing our students with the opportunity to experience such a person and consider how they, too, can grow into the most authentic version of themselves.”

The new program is being launched by members of a coordinating committee, under the direction of Provost Faculty Fellow Rochelle Ford. Members include representatives from the offices of the Provost, Residence Life, Off Campus and Commuter Services, and First-Year and Transfer Programs working together with the College of Arts and Sciences, Hendricks Chapel, the Humanities Center and the University Lectures series.

“The Syracuse Reads Program aims to provide a common experience to enhance our understanding of diversity and unifying the campus to make us more inclusive,” Ford says. “Additionally, reading the book, participating in peer discussion groups, completing related course assignments and attending the University’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner should help students speak truth to power, articulate their identity and heritage, understand and appreciate differences within our communities, and communicate interculturally.”

To join in the experience of the Syracuse Reads Program, other members of the Syracuse University community—faculty, staff and students—and the City of Syracuse community will also be encouraged to read Noah’s memoir.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit www.syracuse.edu.

On Tuesday, Feb. 20, Academic Affairs and the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience will host the Major Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Panasci Lounge, Schine Student Center. The fair will feature representatives from every school and college, who will answer students’ questions about transferring internally.

“When a student is interested in transferring to another school or college, we want to ensure they have the information they need, and this fair is one way to do that. We want students to know we are here to help them find the right major and to support their success now and into the future,” says Amanda Nicholson, assistant provost and dean of student success.

Whether students are thinking about transferring to another school or college at Syracuse or pursuing a dual major at another school or college, this fair will help students get answers to their questions about requirements, deadlines, processes and prospects.

For more information about the Major Fair, contact Kal Srinivas at 315.443.8108.

The online J.D. program will be the first in the nation to combine real-time and self-paced online classes, on-campus residential classes, and experiential learning opportunities.

“By allowing students to engage in real-time online classes from anywhere, the online J.D. will make the College of Law’s high-quality legal education accessible to students who cannot reasonably attend a fully residential program,” says Craig M. Boise, dean of the College of Law. “Designed to be a model for excellence in legal education in the 21^st century, the Online J.D. will provide an opportunity for the college to expand the reach of its residential J.D. program and cement its national reputation for leadership in innovative approaches to legal education.”

Developed by the College of Law’s faculty with the leadership of Associate Dean for Research and Online Education Nina Kohn and Executive Director of Online Education Kathleen O’Connor, the online J.D. is scheduled to launch in January 2019. The program will be extraordinarily interactive. At least 50 percent of the online class time will be in “real time,” allowing professors and students to connect in a small class environment. Self-paced class sessions with interactive exercises will complement these live sessions. Students also will attend in-person courses on campus and at satellite locations, have the opportunity to complete a legal externship before graduation and participate in student organizations.

The online J.D. was subject to intense scrutiny and review by legal education experts before the college was granted the variance. Students in the online program will be taught by College of Law faculty, will be held to the same high admission and academic standards as students in the college’s residential program and will take all courses required by its residential J.D. program.

“With this program, Syracuse is transforming legal education to better meet the needs of an evolving profession and today’s students,” says Boise. “I appreciate the continued support of alumni, faculty, staff and the legal community as we develop the program and welcome a new group of talented students into the College of Law community.”

For more information about the online J.D. program, visit .

About Syracuse University

Founded��in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences ���Ի���professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus ���Ի���extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

This fall, the����returns to the University to teach computer science and computer engineering students from institutions across the country to become leaders in cybersecurity.

Attend the CSS General Interest Meeting on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.in room 4-201 in the Center for Science and Technology to learn about this unique, single-semester experience. To register, email��eecsstaff@syr.edu��before Feb. 24. Pizza will be served. To join the meeting remotely, connect via��.

Designed by the����and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, the CSS is an 18-credit semester in which students learn to identify and analyze system vulnerabilities, assess risks, develop countermeasures, build and verify secure systems and deliver software that has verifiable assurance properties.

The CSS is open to qualified SU seniors and juniors, as well as seniors and juniors from other colleges and universities. This year, SU is offering the CSS on a cost-neutral basis for up to 10 ROTC candidates from academic institutions outside of the University. SU’s cybersecurity programs have been��.

Participants will attend a leadership development seminar, gain priority access to an internship with the US Air Force, attend retreats and visit the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“Students in the CSS learn the theory, tools and practices to formally verify the security and integrity of operations. This capability is the basis for assuring missions in cyberphysical space no matter the application.��There is no other program like this in the nation,” says Professor Shiu-Kai Chin.

The CSS consists of a core course load, electives and professional development. Core ABET-accredited courses include CIS 400: Certified Security by Design, CSE 484: Introduction to Computer and Network Security and CIS 487: Access Control, Security and Trust. Electives are tailored to individual student needs and interests. Professional preparation includes an internship and leadership development.

Students must be seniors or juniors in a computer science or computer engineering undergraduate program with an appropriate level of prior coursework and a preferred GPA of 3.3 or higher. They must also have experience with discrete mathematics, programming experience in a high-level language and familiarity with Linux at the command-line level. It may also require a U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status to be eligible for internship opportunities, an optional part of the program.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on March 18. To apply, please send the following in a single PDF file to��cyberengineering@syr.edu:

• resume;
• unofficial college transcripts (including transfer credits); and
• a 100-word biography (include hobbies, interest and goals) with a recent headshot.

A letter of recommendation from an academic advisor or faculty member must also be sent to ��cyberengineering@syr.edu��directly from the reference by��the deadline. For ROTC cadets, a letter of reference from ROTC detachment leadership is also acceptable. Admission notifications will be sent in April.

Register for the general interest meeting on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in room 4-201 in the Center for Science and Technology at Syracuse University. To register, email��eecsstaff@syr.edu��before Feb. 24. To join the meeting remotely, connect via��.

About Syracuse University

Founded��in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences ���Ի���professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus ���Ի���extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

During the 2017 ACC Meeting of the Minds conference, Evan Weiss ’19 describes his research on how various brands of basketballs have an impact on the outcome of a college basketball game.

Evan Weiss ’19 would highly encourage other students who are involved in research or creative work to try out for a distinctive academic event for a select group of students from only 15 universities: the ACC Meeting of the Minds (M.o.M.) Conference.

The conference showcases the research and creative work of undergraduates from the ACC’s 15 schools. This year’s conference will be held April 6-8 at Boston College.

Weiss, a sport analytics major in the , presented at last year’s conference at Duke University on his research on how various brands of basketballs (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, etc.) have an impact on the outcome of the game in college basketball. The conference was a memorable event for him.

“My biggest take-away from the Meeting of the Minds Conference was that there is some really great research being done from schools across the country, and I was blessed to be able to learn from other students and try to get a better understanding of work that is being done outside of my normal area of study,” says Weiss, who worked with faculty mentor Rodney Paul, professor of sport management.

The networking also added to the experience. “I was able to make extremely valuable connections at the conference, and it was an experience that I will truly never forget,” he says.

Each of the ACC’s schools selects six undergraduates to present at the conference. Students of all disciplines can apply to present their original research or creative project, which needs to be under the mentorship of a faculty member.

Syracuse University students can apply by completing a brief application at . The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 9.

“Students passionate about their research or creative work—like a script, architectural model, musical composition—should seriously consider this awesome opportunity for participating in the Meeting of the Minds conference,” says Provost Faculty Fellow Rochelle Ford, professor and chair of the Department of Public Relations in the . “Students will experience presenting their own work in preparation for the future, meet with other scholars and faculty members from across the ACC and learn about research and creative work in other fields.”

The event is also a way to showcase Syracuse University’s students and the important contributions in research and creative work they bring to their classrooms, labs, studios and fields of interest, she says.

A panel of Syracuse University faculty members select the winners based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of project and relevance of project to program of study.

For more information about the 2018 M.o.M. Conference, contact Melissa Lowry at malowry@syr.edu.

About Syracuse University

Founded in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching excellence, rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11 academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence in the liberal arts, sciences and professional disciplines that prepares students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main campus and extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an institution of its kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of supporting veterans and is home to the nationally recognized Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their families. To learn more about Syracuse University, visit .

Professor David Crane calls on a student in the course Media and Atrocities. (Photo by Ken Harper)

Training communicators to make sense of atrocity and humanitarian disaster was the motivation behind Media and Atrocities, an interdisciplinary course offered for the first time this semester at Syracuse University. The course was co-taught by , professor of practice��in the ��and member of the faculty of the , and , associate professor of multimedia photography and design��in the and director of the .

The course examines the critical roles that law, policy and communications play in ensuring truth-telling and securing justice for victims of atrocity, often by providing international law organizations with the raw information they require to bring humanitarian law violators to justice. Harper says he and Crane believe it’s the first university course of its kind.

“These students will become young professionals who are trained to seek and present information on atrocities, genocide, disaster … basically, making the unthinkable understandable,” says Harper.

Among the required readings were “” by Samantha Power and “” by Ishmael Beah. Several non-fiction films were also recommended, including “” and “,” as well as fictional films such as “,” “” and “.”

Special guests—including Ploughshares Fund president , CNN senior U.N. correspondent and Physicians for Human Rights researcher Christine Mehta ’11—participated in class discussions via Skype.

Course content was constantly shifting, Harper says, “adapting to the reality the world presents.”

Students in the course included both undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of programs across campus, such as international relations, broadcast and digital journalism, public affairs, photography and law. They began the semester by examining the meaning and history of atrocity, reviewing legal developments over the past century and learning about the modern international criminal law system.

Most of the semester was spent building a mock postconflict justice tribunal for Syria. Students chose various roles—such as prosecutor, journalist, public relations officer or activist—and carried out a series of practical exercises in preparation for the final exercise, held on the last day of class: a press conference called by the mock tribunal’s chief prosecutor (played by Crane) announcing an indictment against Syrian President Bhashr Hafez Al-Assad.

Students also set up a public relations office; organized a PR plan; staged a news broadcast; and developed a coordination plan for NGOs working in Syria, as well as a model for the organizations to work together into the future.

Zach Krahmer, who is earning a master’s degree in photography from the Newhouse School and an executive master’s degree in international relations from the , says he chose to enroll in the class because he is interested in conflict resolution and has worked with communities that have experienced trauma. “I wanted to think critically about the way we produce and consume media that involves atrocities, and the responsibility that implies,” he says.

He notes a particular assignment that had him and his classmates explore the ways social media have been used in various campaigns, with the resulting presentations touching on everything from the Colombian plebiscite to Buddhist extremist groups in Myanmar to Assad. “I was surprised by the innumerable ways that perceptions of events had been manipulated by tactful use of media,” he says.

Krahmer, along with fellow students Katie Conti and Maggie Mabie ’16, acted as Crane’s media team for the mock tribunal. They staged the public release of an indictment against a sitting head of state; wrote, edited and delivered a press release; and crafted the chief prosecutor’s press briefing. “It was valuable to experience the deliberation that goes into crafting public messages such as these,” he says. Mabie, who earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the Newhouse School and is now a joint J.D./M.P.A. student in the College of Law and the Maxwell School, says the final exercise was one of the most powerful parts of the class. “Everyone treated the simulation as if it were real.”

Following the class, Krahmer says, “I have a greater appreciation for the way media can be leveraged by different actors to achieve their goals.”

Crane knows intimately how important good journalism and good public relations are to the success of postconflict justice. As the founding chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone—an international war crimes tribunal set up after a devastating civil war—Crane held frequent press conferences and town hall meetings with ordinary citizens seeking justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity, helping them to engage with a lengthy and esoteric process and to accept its findings.

Today, Crane and his law students in the College of Law’s rely on ground reports from reporters, photojournalists and others in the field. SAP is an internationally recognized, cooperative effort to document war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Syrian Civil War. The students log reports of crimes in their “Crime Matrix,” which is filed with international clients such as the United Nations and International Criminal Court. The intent is that the Crime Matrix will help form the basis of a prosecution of those most responsible for humanitarian crimes after the conflict ends.

Crane and Harper have collaborated on several recent SAP projects, including the event and the “Looking Through the Window Darkly”; “Covered in Dust, Veiled by Shadows”; “Idlib Left Breathless”; and “Report on the Yazidi Genocide.”

“In a conflict zone, the free press is often another victim of tyrants and unscrupulous warriors, and journalists must do their work in extremely dangerous conditions. Certainly, Ken and I know first hand the difficulties reporters face when documenting human suffering, and the Syrian Accountability Project has recorded many crimes against journalists during that conflict,” says Crane. “Nevertheless, throughout the world there are brave reporters who risk their lives, not only filing reports so the world can witness atrocity but also acting as advocates for those who have no voice. In this course, Ken and I worked together from different disciplines to instill a sense of the responsibility communicators in war zones have, how their work can bring hope and eventually justice to the afflicted and the importance of professionalism in extreme conditions.”

Officials of Syracuse University and Le Moyne College after announcing the new academic partnership. From left to right are iSchool Dean Elizabeth Liddy, Syracuse Provost Michele Wheatly, Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud, Le Moyne President Linda LeMura, Le Moyne Provost Joseph Marina S.J., and Madden School of Business Dean Jim Joseph.

The new partnership will enable students enrolled in master’s degree programs at both Le Moyne and Syracuse to take courses at their sister institution. Madden School students can study�������Ի�����at Syracuse University, while iSchool students can benefit from Le Moyne’s expertise in�������Ի���. The new academic opportunities are open to iSchool students in the�������Ի�����masters’ programs and students in the Madden School’s����master’s program. Students will receive certificates in one of four concentrations.

“We are pleased to strengthen Le Moyne College’s relationship with Syracuse University, which has grown substantially over the past few years,” said Le Moyne President Linda LeMura. “This is a win-win situation for our students enrolled in this curriculum, enabling them to complete a masters in IS from Le Moyne while also taking courses at one of the most well-respected information studies schools in the country. And we look forward to welcoming iSchool masters students to our campus.”

“Syracuse University and Le Moyne College have a long history of building on our shared values and unique strengths for the benefit of our students,” said Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud. “This collaboration continues that legacy in ways that will enhance the academic experience for students pursuing studies in one of the fastest growing fields in academia and industry today.”

In addition to Chancellor Syverud and President LeMura, others speaking at the event included Syracuse Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly; Le Moyne Provost Joe Marina, S.J.; iSchool Dean Elizabeth Liddy; and Madden School of Business Dean Jim Joseph.

The agreement is the latest in a long line of academic partnerships between Syracuse University and Le Moyne. Past agreements include:

• early admission for Le Moyne students to the��; this 3+3 agreement allows Le Moyne undergraduates to complete both their undergraduate and juris doctor degrees in six years.
• a����between the iSchool and Le Moyne that allows Le Moyne students to earn an accelerated master’s degree—in information management or library and information science—by beginning their graduate coursework their senior year.
• a��4+1 forensic sciences program between Syracuse’s����and Le Moyne College, allowing Le Moyne students to begin their graduate coursework in forensic sciences while still completing their undergraduate degree.
• integrated study abroad programs that support travel abroad opportunities for both Syracuse and Le Moyne students.
• a��partnership between Syracuse’s����and Le Moyne College that enables Le Moyne to offer pre-engineering programs to their math and science domestic undergraduates.

About Le Moyne College

Located in Syracuse, N.Y., Le Moyne College is a private, four-year institution enrolling approximately 2,500 full-time undergraduate students in programs of liberal arts, science, business and pre-professional studies, and 800 full- and part-time��students in graduate programs in nursing, education, business administration, information systems, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy and arts administration. Since its founding in 1946, the college has modeled ���Ի���strengthened the nearly 500-year-old Jesuit educational tradition. It is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States.

About Syracuse University

Founded��in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences ���Ի���professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus ���Ի���extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

Assistant Professor Christopher Green is providing a unique spring semester course to students interested in exploring the linguistic makeup of a major language of Ghana, with the help of a native speaker.

The best way to learn the intricacies of a foreign language is through the words of a native speaker. Assistant Professor Christopher Green is making that happen for students who want to explore a particular African language in his spring semester course, “Field Methods in Linguistics.”

Green will be assisted by alumnus Andy Semabia G’10, a native speaker of Ewe, a major language of Ghana, who will be a language consultant and participate in each class—a unique opportunity for students.

“The main idea is to give students some exposure to something outside of their comfort zone. This will open students’ eyes to a completely different language family, and the culture that goes along with it,” Green says. “We learn a lot about culture through language and how people express different topics. It’s not often you get to sit with a native speaker to ask questions about a language you’ve never heard of before.”

Understanding the grammatical makeup

Students will ask questions of Semabia about certain vocabulary—such as words for food, family members, things in nature—and gain an understanding of the grammatical makeup of the language. Semabia will also record the work so that students can refer back to his voice and check the transcription.

“As we build out, we’ll start to use responses to discern the other grammatical components of language—what is the language sound system, tonal system, what prefixes and suffixes does it use, how do you build phrases, how do you build larger sentences,” Green says. “It’s basically building from the ground up.”

Christopher Green

Green, who is based in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the , studies the Wanga language of the Luyia set of languages, based in Kenya. “I’ve never worked on a language from Ghana but it’s a tonal language and that’s my specialization, so I get an opportunity be exposed to a new language,” Green says.

Looking for native speakers

Green had been starting to form the course and was looking for native speakers of African languages when he met Semabia at the Westcott Street Cultural Fair in September, where Semabia was selling food and craft items from West Africa.

“We started chatting and I told him I was looking for potential consultants for the spring,” Green says. As secretary of the Ghana Society of Central New York and acquainted with members of the nonprofit Pan African Community Center of Central New York, Semabia told Green he could spread the world about Green looking for a language consultant and that he would also be interested in assisting.

Semabia came to the U.S. in 2006 from Ghana to pursue a degree; he completed an M.A. in anthropology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He met and married his wife, and they opened a local business, Better Brittle. Semabia was an archeologist for a civil and environmental engineering firm but is currently on hiatus, working with his wife full time selling fair-trade local baskets from Ghana and Senegal at the CNY Regional Market and making and selling a variety of West African-style brittle.

Fluent in five Ghanian languages—Ewe, Twi, Ga, Ada and Krobo, Semabia was interested by Green’s invitation to participate in the class.

Andy Semabia

“I will like to help expose the Ghanaian languages to a larger audience,” Semabia says. “It is my desire to use the class to help students learn new sounds and expressions and basic mannerisms of the Ewe language while at the same time introduce them to a different culture.”

Information in real time

The benefit of having a native speaker is getting information in real time, instead of working from written narratives. “Maybe you want to know about an interesting suffix or a certain verb for when a person walks down the street versus when an animal walks down the street,” Green says. “There’s all these interesting things that emerge out of these discussions—you can trail off on a tangent.”

The Ewe language is a regional language used in the eastern portion of Ghana and into the neighboring countries of Togo and Benin, with about 20 million speakers.

The class will develop a grammatical sketch of the language with each student assigned a particular grammatical topic to explore, such as how questions are formed, what type of prefixes it has and how the number system works.

Students in linguistics, anthropology, communications sciences and disorders and communications—or any student interested in languages—would be ideal for the class, Green says.

The course will be offered every spring with consultants from other African countries. Semabia’s experience will help inform others what the course will entail. “It could build community for other offerings of the course,” Green says.

Semabia is looking forward to an enthusiastic class with a lot of interaction that will go beyond basic grammar and vocabulary. “I want students to understand the beauty of an African language as we explore the dichotomy between ‘Ewe’ and ‘English,’” Semabia says.

The Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) Program invites students to fill out an online interest form for our 2018 academic course offerings: SOC/WGS 230 and CFE 200. IGD is an educational model that brings together students from diverse backgrounds to engage in deep and meaningful conversation across social identities toward a place of action.

Courses include Dialogue on Race & Ethnicity (Mondays 3:45-6:30 p.m.) and Dialogue on Socioeconomic Inequality and Education (Wednesdays 3:45 – 6:30 p.m.). Visit our website to learn more today.

��Website:

Contact person: Robin Higgins
Intergroup Dialogue
315-443-9585

Contact: Martha Coria
Graduate Records Office
315.443.5749
macoria@syr.edu

Website:

The executive master’s in international relations degree program in Washington, D.C., will allow working professional to benefit from the academic strengths of the Maxwell School and the practical applications of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Students will learn from Maxwell faculty, CSIS scholars and guest lecturers drawn from the senior ranks of government and business communities while earning a degree from the nation’s No. 1-ranked school for graduate education in public affairs and contributing their own ideas to real-world policy challenges.

“The complexity of today’s global environment demands an interdisciplinary and practical understanding of the threats and challenges facing the international community,” says John Hamre, CSIS president and CEO. “We want to create a space where innovative ideas can surface and where the next generation of leaders can start to contribute meaningful policy ideas.”

The executive master’s in international relations in D.C. (EMIR in DC) is intended for mid-career professionals with at least seven years of experience who are interested in advancing their careers and in being able to take classes on a schedule that does not interfere with their work. Students will be able to choose from one of five specializations in global security & intelligence, foreign policy, global markets, global development or public diplomacy.

In addition to academic courses, students will spend one of their semesters working directly with CSIS policy experts to complete a rigorous capstone project aimed at addressing an international policy challenge. Students will also work with CSIS’s award-winning production studio to develop a multimedia product that showcases their research findings and policy recommendations, while attaining new skills in data analysis, visualization and presentation.

“We are thrilled to build on our strong partnership with CSIS to offer public service-oriented professionals an unparalleled option to pursue an advanced IR degree in Washington while at the same time benefiting from the vast resources of a top-ranked, global think tank,” says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School.

Classes start in 2018. Students may select to enter the program in the spring, summer, or fall semester. For more information on the executive master’s in international relations in D.C. program, please visit .

The session will focus on , and a new resource from the Office of Disability Services—a Disability Resource Portal, also known as Accommodate, available to students via MySlice.

Presenting will be Kal Srinivas, director of retention in the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (on Orange SUccess); Kelly Campbell, associate registrar for student services in the Office of the Registrar (on Degree Works); and Paula Possenti-Perez, director of the Office of Disability Services (on Accommodate).

Faculty and staff members in particular are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided.

According to the , 24��percent of the 2016 graduating class went on to immediately attend graduate school after graduation, a six percent increase from the . These events are held to help students navigate the initial stages of deciding whether law or graduate school is the right move after graduation and if so, which college or university is the right fit for them.

“The Law and Graduate School Information Fairs are a terrific opportunity for students to learn first hand about schools that are of interest to them,” says Dan Olson-Bang, associate director of graduate and Ph.D. programs in Career Services. “In a time when more students are going to graduate school than ever before, these events can help students to make the best decisions possible about their future.”

No registration is required. Students can visit orangelink.syr.edu to see a full listing of colleges and universities in attendance.

For questions about the event, students are encouraged to visit Career Services in 235 Schine or call 315.443.3616.

When faculty and student goals are aligned, they are prone to more positive experiences and outlooks–both in and out of the classroom. Students who feel connected to the content and to the instructor are more willing to put in the work and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Led by Lolita Paff, associate professor at Penn State Berks, this online webinar will offer concrete strategies for:
• Expanding student concepts and definitions of learning
• Inspiring students to think critically about how they learn
• Aligning student and faculty definitions and expectations of academic rigor

The webinar can be viewed at Hall of Languages, Room 500, on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.

Register online:

Contact: Melissa Lowry
Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment
315.443.4119
assessment@syr.edu

Website:

Gladys McCormick

The endowed chair was established in 2014 by Jay and Debe Moskowitz to improve understanding of Mexico’s economic and social importance to the United States. Jay Moskowitz is a Maxwell alumnus, graduating in 1975 with a Ph.D. in social science.

McCormick’s scholarship draws connections to contemporary issues like the drug trade, economic inequality and political violence. As an historian, she focuses on the disjuncture between policy and eventual practice across time—with particular attention to the Mexican government’s use of repressive tactics to combat drug trafficking. She concentrates on a period beginning in the 1970s and continuing today.

“My research on political violence and the drug war allows me to bring greater attention to how these issues impact U.S.-Mexico relations and showcase it within Maxwell and the greater community,” says McCormick, an associate professor of history who has taught at Maxwell since 2010. “What we see in Mexico is a perfect example of a precarious state in which so many official actors have a foot in both the legal and extralegal worlds. To envision solutions, we need to understand how this became such a common-sense practice.”

“Gladys McCormick is an accomplished scholar and promising public intellectual for the Moskowitz Chair,” says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School. “Her research has contemporary policy significance on issues of Mexico-U.S. trade relations, immigration and the socioeconomic outcomes for Mexicans and Mexican immigrants in the U.S. Her work has the potential to shape how policymakers on both sides of the border think about coordinating and collaborating to improve the human security of Mexicans in the country and the United States. As the Moskowitz Chair, she exemplifies what is special about Maxwell, where our faculty connect evidence-based scholarship with contemporary issues in an interdisciplinary environment that has real-world significance for policy makers and leaders across sectors and nations.”

In McCormick’s 2016 book “The Logic of Compromise: Authoritarianism, Betrayal, and Revolution in Rural Mexico, 1935-1965” (University of North Carolina Press), she explains the longevity of one-party rule in Mexico from the perspective of the countryside.�� Concentrating on the formative period between 1935-1965, she proposes that the governing regime used rural Mexico to hone a series of tools, including strategically deployed violence, the manipulation of historical memory and institutionalized corruption. These tools allowed Mexico to become one of the most successful cases of authoritarian modernization in Latin American history and provide a more effective explanation of the Mexican political system’s longevity. To date, very little has been written about the countryside during this period and, as her research shows, it is critical to understanding Mexico’s political history. She is working on two projects at the moment: a book on the study of torture and political prisoners since the 1970s and a series of articles on the development of the drug trade in Mexico since the 1980s.

McCormick, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaches a wide array of courses on Latin America, political violence and oral history methods. She is also a recent co-director of the documentary film and history M.A. program (offered with the��).

She won the 2017 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Teaching and Research, recognizing outstanding non-tenured faculty members at the Maxwell School. She also won Syracuse’s Meredith Teaching Recognition Award in 2014.

McCormick, a native of Costa Rica whose first language is Spanish, also offers counsel and assistance to individual students, administrators and faculty regarding how U.S. immigration policies impact the Syracuse community. She served on the University’s Ad Hoc Committee on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)/Undocumented Students. The committee prepared a report recommending immediate, short-term and long-term recommendations to enhance support for undocumented students and others with family members who are undocumented.

“Immigration is personal,” she says. “It comes from heart. I lived through it. It’s one of the reasons I’m excited about working on Mexico-U.S. relations: It touches on the professional and the personal.”

International students accepted with the Open Society Foundations’ scholarship program were on campus this month for their summer orientation before they head to universities across the U.S. Two dozen are enrolled at Syracuse University.

Fifty-eight international students converged on the Syracuse University campus this summer as part of the Open Society Foundations’ pre-academic summer program.

The students received Open Society Foundations (OSF) scholarships to attend graduate school at one of many American universities, and Syracuse was their first stop to acclimate them to the American classroom experience before heading off to schools across the country. Twenty-four of the students are remaining at Syracuse University, where they were accepted into programs to pursue their graduate studies.

The OSF scholarship program, which provides funding to students who demonstrate academic and professional excellence and are deeply committed to leading positive social change in their communities, has typically held the summer programs in different geographic areas around the world. This year, for the first time, an introductory session was held in the United States—at Syracuse University.

“Last year we decided to pilot the program in the host country the students would be attending,” says Michael Paller, program manager of scholarships for the Open Society Foundations. “We already had a partnership with SU—many students are doing a master’s degree here in law, public policy or education—and because we had such good relationships with the faculty we thought it would be optimal.”

Students apply to the OSF foundation for one of three scholarship program areas—Civil Society Leadership Award, Disability Rights Scholarship Program or Palestinian Rule of Law. They pursue degrees in a variety of fields, such as communications, development studies, education, law, public policy, human rights and gender studies. Once they become a finalist, OSF staff recommends schools they should apply to. After they are accepted at an academic institution, students receive full scholarships, fully funded between the OSF and the host institution where they were accepted.

Students came from 22 different countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Palestine, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

“The students are all very motivated. The primary award, the Civil Society Leadership Award, of which three-quarters of the students are awarded, are for individuals who are working in home countries on various issues related to human rights, democracy and supporting communities who are marginalized in their home countries,” Paller says. “They all have some work experience and are high achieving.”

The three-week summer program, which began July 23 and wrapped up Aug. 13, was an intensive three weeks in which students built on their foundations in their social science area and received assistance with academic writing.

They focused on becoming used to an American higher education classroom. This encourages participants to become more critical thinkers and be in a classroom that is more learner-centered, Paller says. “The students come from learning environments that are more teacher-centered and lecture-based. This is preparing them for that environment, to encourage them to participate and ask questions and read critically.”

Students took two classes, one with an academic writing instructor and another with a social science-area instructor, which included some Ph.D. students and instructors from Syracuse University, in such areas as legal studies and writing.

OSF student Kalkidan Lakew, who is from Ethiopia, received the Civic Society Leadership Award to pursue an education in policy analysis, which she hopes can contribute to her efforts to challenge policies and decisions that affect public policy outcomes.

“My background is in gender equality and youth empowerment, and I plan to work on women’s equality issues in Ethiopia. Women, who are 51 percent of the population in Ethiopia, are still undermined, oppressed and not represented in decision-making platforms, which makes Ethiopian women voices close to non-existent in the public policy design and implementation,” says Lakew, who will pursue a master’s degree in international development policy at Duke University. “I want to work on policy advocacy and bring critical women’s issues, such as gender-based violence, girls’ education, women’s representation in decision-making and leadership, and women’s access to finance, to the surface.”

Lakew appreciated how the summer program created an engaging environment that enabled students to learn from their mistakes and found the summer program’s academic writing course essential for her upcoming studies. “I am still in the process of adopting to the new environment and system, so the experience sharing with last year’s fellows enabled me to have a better idea about how the education system works,” Lakew says. “Most of all, meeting students from different counties with diverse experiences was the highlight of my three weeks; this is a lifetime opportunity of networking. Last but not least the trip to Niagara Falls is something I will always remember.”

The summer program also included a cultural event where students were encouraged to share some of their culture through a performance or presentation. They also visited local historic sites and visited nearby cities, such as Skaneateles and Niagara Falls.

At the end of the program, those not attending Syracuse for their graduate studies have gone on to such schools as American University, Brandeis University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Washington University at St. Louis and Ohio University.

As students move on to their institutions for their graduate studies and then back to their home countries, they go with hopeful expectations to build up their communities.

“We hope that they return to their home countries with the knowledge and skills they need to take on leadership roles in the organizations that they worked at prior to coming to the program or a newer one they identify when returning to their country,” Paller says. “We hope they will achieve their own personal goals and work toward improving their home countries and their society as a whole in whatever way they see fit.”

In Business Essentials, students learn about all aspects of running a business.

Syracuse University students can get a meaningful overview of management principles and disciplines through this class specifically designed to be engaging, interactive and fun. During lectures, the team of five professors portrays the executive leadership team of the fictional Whitman Chocolate Co. Students discover that Professor McKelvie, who plays the intelligent but clueless son of the late Gertie Whitman, has recently inherited ownership of the company from his mother and is in need of management training.

During each class, instructors act out scenes from the boardroom in the format of a television drama, complete with plot twists and cliffhangers. The instructors base their lessons off scripts, which are written by the team during planning sessions.

“There’s a storyline, so people really get into it,” said Professor McKelvie. “Everyone is excited to see how to solve the next problem. You never really know what is going to happen next.”

After each “episode,” students have the chance to ask the characters questions, offer suggestions and contribute to solving the many problems the company encounters—from lawsuits to personnel issues and everything in between. The class provides students with essential knowledge of accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, management, supply chain management, retail, law and international business. Professors , , , and McKelvie each act as a specialist for the company in one of these areas.

“We believe that many non-management majors are interested in a basic understanding of business,” says , associate dean for undergraduate programs at the Whitman School. “We wanted to make that a real possibility for students from all over campus without any barriers to entry, while giving them the ability to fit it into the prescribed schedule for their major course of study. This class offers them that opportunity. Having a grasp of accounting, marketing, finance and the other functions explored in Business Essentials can prove to be a real asset in almost any work setting.”

“All the professors present the fundamentals of their topics through this larger example, so students can apply it in a real-world scenario, which makes it easier to understand,” says Ellie Lapidus ’17. “The instructors encourage participation and make you feel comfortable asking questions. It makes for an interactive, creative and fun learning environment that allows students to thrive.”’

The multidisciplinary approach of Business Essentials, combined with its experiential learning component, ensures that students leave the course with a holistic understanding of management.

“You can teach marketing, or you can teach finance, but in reality, all the functions of a business have to work together,” explains Smith, who led the development and coordination of the entire course. “That’s why I love teaching it as a whole; you see how the lessons really connect and apply to a business setting.”

Several students in the Renée Crown University Honors Program were recognized with top awards for their capstone projects during the honors program convocation in May in Hendricks Chapel.

For students in the Renée Crown University Honors Program, the honors capstone project can be a challenge to complete. The project typically requires intensive research, writing, professional or creative work over the course of already busy junior and senior years.

The reward is in the chance to discover their research passion and possibly build a foundation for future pursuits. It’s also a chance for a special recognition of their outstanding efforts.

Each year a faculty committee reviews the projects, and several prizes in various disciplines are awarded to Renée Crown University Honors students for their capstone work. Prize winners receive a $500 award, and honorable mention recipients receive $250.

A top prize—the Orlin Prize, made possible by honors alumnus David Orlin ’47, for best overall capstone—is also awarded, with a $1,000 award.

As they review the projects, capstone prize selection committee members often linger over the projects and learn from the students and their work, says Eileen Schell, professor of writing and rhetoric in the and a selection committee member.

“It’s a tough call to select��one��capstone project as the winner, as the projects are invariably engaging, well-written, thoughtfully researched and original,” Schell says. “The projects demonstrate potential to continue beyond the occasion of the capstone. Some projects are publishable, or will be published��or released within months or a year or two; some will become the basis of graduate-level work.”

The selection process is intense.

“Honors capstones are judged by creativity; quality of writing, film, photography or performance; or scientific accomplishment, depending on the project and major,” says Ford Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies and Professor of Anthropology Susan Wadley, a selection committee member. “Once the capstone decisions are made by the divisional committees, representatives of each division work to choose the Orlin prize, where the need to judge across different kinds presentations—for example a sung performance versus a biological research project—becomes difficult and until we can ultimately find agreement.”

This year’s top winners, who were announced May 12 at the Renée Crown University Honors Program Convocation, are the following:

Soleil Young ’17 (biology, College of Arts and Sciences, and anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School) was awarded the Orlin Best Capstone Prize and social science prize for her project titled: “Please Forget to Floss: Developing an Assay for Identifying Tuberculosis in Dental Calculus from the Smithsonian’s Huntington Collection (1893-1921).” Her advisors were Associate Professor Shannon Novak and Associate Professor Anthony Garza.

In her abstract, Young, who was also a University Scholar, Remembrance Scholar and College of Arts and Sciences Class Marshal, notes her research into examining new ways of tracking and understanding tuberculosis in the past, utilizing the DNA trapped in calcified dental plaque, or dental calculus. She reports the first-ever successful isolation of ancient tuberculosis DNA from the dental calculus of 13 individuals from the Smithsonian’s Huntington Collection.

Young was proud of her capstone—and happy and relieved to have it completed and turned in after working on it for so long.

“It was exciting and surprising when they called my name for the social sciences division, and even more surprising and exciting when they called it for the grand prize. I had a very big smile on my face,” Young says. “It was also, after the fact, nice to know that other people thought that it was a good project, and to get recognition for all my hard work, and the hard work of everyone who helped me.”

Hasmik Djoulakian ’17 (women’s and gender studies and citizenship and civic engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School) was awarded the William Sauers Prize for Best Capstone Project in the Humanities for “Analyzing “Meliha Nuri Hanem,” “In the Ruins” and “My Soul in Exile” by Zabel Yesayan.” Djoulakian’s advisor was Associate Professor Himika Bhattacharya.

In her abstract, Djoulakian, a University Scholar and a Coronat Scholar, notes her research “is a feminist cultural analysis of the novels, letters and short stories of Zabel Yesayan,” a writer, activist and teacher in the early 20th century during the Armenian Genocide. “This project insists not only on telling the history of an invisibilized genocide, but also on telling that history through a critical feminist lens based on the documented observations and creative interventions of a woman who lived during the genocide,” Djoulakian notes.

Djoulakian says working on her capstone was a “self-conscious and reflexive process,” as she thought about choosing a different topic that wasn’t so connected with how she views herself, her family and lineage. “I had so many moments of doubt—was my writing good enough, was I developing my ideas thoroughly, did it make sense to spend so much of the capstone talking about my methodology?” she says, but in the end, she knew her topic was the right one for her academically and personally.

“Winning the Humanities Prize was a��meaningful��moment of affirmation.��It felt��not only like a recognition of my work��but also of��narratives and stories around the Armenian Genocide, which are typically unrecognized,” Djoulakian says. “I would not have been able to produce this capstone without the support of my adviser, reader or any of the other people who helped me, ���Ի���receiving the humanities prize is a testament to how much they supported me.”

Kathryn Ferentchak ’17 (film, ) was awarded the creative category top prize for “‘Osiris: A Short Film.’” Her advisor was Assistant Professor Alex Mendez.

According to her abstract, “Osiris” “is a narrative short film which emphasizes renewable energy as Earth’s one Hail Mary, placing the power of science and engineering into the hands of a female protagonist.” Ferentchak directed and produced the film and in her project she notes that an analysis of the film demonstrates how a successful independent film () can move from development to distribution.

“The Renée Crown Honors Program gave more to me than any single other organization on campus. I would not have been able to accomplish what I did with my senior thesis film without their support,” Ferentchak says. “The $500 award for Best Creative Capstone will go a long way to helping me promote ‘Osiris’ in the film festival circuit. They frankly invested in me and I will never forget this.”

Jessica Toothaker ’17 (biology, College of Arts and Sciences) received the top prize in the sciences and engineering category for “Oocyte Development and Ovarian Health in an Estrogen-Deficient Mouse Model and the Implications for Female Infertility.” Her advisor was Professor Melissa Pepling.

Toothaker’s work examined the formation of oocytes (a female cell that develops into an egg) in mice. In her abstract of the research, Toothaker, a University Scholar and a Goldwater Scholar, notes “This project uses immunocytochemistry, histological staining, optical and cryostat sectioning, and oocyte morphology analysis to determine when ArKO mice [genetically engineered mice with a certain enzyme] experience oocyte loss, differential folliculogenesis and generation of aberrant follicles in the ovary.”

Patricia Terhune ’17 (television, radio and film and policy studies, College of Arts and Sciences, and Maxwell School) was awarded the top prize for best capstone project in professional programs for “Learning and Laughing: ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ as Educational Entertainment.” Her advisor was Assistant Professor Charisse Corsbie-Massay.

In her abstract, Terhune, a Coronat Scholar and a Remembrance Scholar, states “This paper uses three main segments of the current HBO show ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ (LWT) as a case study for how this show, as a news parody program, attempts to achieve the goals of education and goals of entertainment by analyzing the patterns in the way content is presented.”

“Winning a capstone prize validated the countless hours I put into my research of ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ (LWT) as educational entertainment, as well as the overall��study of political satire as a pedagogical tool. It was empowering to know that the committee found my research important and well-done,” Terhune says.

“I��want to be making��socially conscious��comedy��that helps people learn and laugh, so it was incredibly helpful for my own development to research and analyze how LWT does it. Additionally, the prize money helped me afford to enroll in comedy classes in Chicago so I can continue to hone my skills,” Terhune says.

Alexis Rinck ’17 was awarded the Civic Engagement Career Achievement Award during the honors program’s convocation in May in Hendricks Chapel.

Alexis Rinck ’17 (political science and sociology, Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences) was awarded the Civic Engagement Career Achievement Award. She was selected for the award for her work in civic engagement, beginning as an intern with the New York Public Interest Research Group at Syracuse University her freshman year. During her sophomore year, Rinck started a Democracy Matters chapter and organized three events: Mindful Music, Prison Industrial Complex and a dirty money environmental panel.

Rinck, a Remembrance Scholar, went on to organize Jammin’ for Justice, a social justice-themed concert that had over 200 attendees, during her junior year. Committee members noted that she has been a mentor and inspiration to many on campus during her years here. Her work in civic engagement and activism has led her to pursue a master’s in public administration focusing on social welfare policy at the University of Washington.

“This award means the world to me. Coming to Syracuse University all the way from San Francisco, I was eager to find my place,” Rinck says. “I struggled at first, like so many, but became deeply involved with activism in NYPIRG, which launched me into starting my own chapter of Democracy Matters on campus. Following the election of Donald Trump, me and an amazing group of feminists and comrades organized together to put together the Sanctuary Campus Walkout, the Rally for Refugees, and the Women’s Strike Rally.

“It’s amazing to have the work I have done be recognized, but I did not do it to be recognized. To me, civic engagement was not a requirement or a means for recognition, but rather a lifestyle,” Rinck says “As an activist and organizer, your life is all about civic engagement, whether you realize it or not. To win this award sends a message to activists; the work we do is real and it matters.”

Those who received honorable mentions are the following:

Creative

Evangeline Soileau ’17, a University Scholar, (), “Dinner Parti,” Advisor, Assistant Professor Amber Bartosh

Emma Ettinger ’17, a University Scholar, (drama and stage management, College of Visual and Performing Arts), “And the Women Cried: Voices from Shakespeare’s History Plays,” Advisor, Associate Professor Celia Madeoy

Humanities

Emily O’Hara ’17 (English and textual studies and political science, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School), “Contested Spaces: Spatial Discourses and the Struggle for Power in the Early Modern English Empire,” Advisor, Associate Professor Patty Roylance

Farrell Brenner ’17, a University Scholar, Remembrance Scholar and Coronat Scholar, (women’s and gender studies and citizenship and civic engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School), “The Aryan- and Polish-Passing Women and Girl Couriers of the Jewish Resistance Movements in Nazi-Occupied Poland,” Advisor: Associate Professor Carol Fadda-Conrey

Social Science

Rachel Brown-Weinstock ’17, senior class marshal, a University Scholar, a Coronat Scholar and a Remembrance Scholar, (sociology, citizenship and civic engagement and policy studies, College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School), “Facebook, Factories, and Frames: A Sociocultural Explanation of Community Attachment Resilience in a Deindustrialized City,” Advisor, Assistant Professor Becky Schewe

Science and Engineering

José Marrero Rosado ’17, a Remembrance Scholar, (biochemistry and anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School), “Determining the toxicity of PTE and PXE, two chemicals from Onondaga Lake,” Advisor, Associate Professor Kate Lewis

Faculty members say students always appreciate the award recognition, but the students often note how the greatest reward was in the challenging process to get there

“Many students speak about the life their projects will have beyond the Honors Program; they have built a foundation for future work,” Schell says. “These students are also inspired, motivated and guided by dedicated faculty mentors who have invested hours in reading drafts and guiding the work.”

The IAS is India’s premier civil service whose members occupy top positions in the state and federal governments of India. IAS officers participating in this program have approximately 15 years of experience and are serving in senior positions across India. The executive training program focuses on building the officers’ understanding of the latest developments in public policy, administration and governance, while also developing the officers’ capacity for formulating policy and managing large government systems.

The Maxwell School is partnering with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, India’s premier institution dedicated to training officers of the country’s higher civil services with a mission to promote good governance. Approximately 80 senior officers, representing every state in India, are participating in 2017. The partnership with the Maxwell School, secured through a highly competitive international bidding process, represents a unique connection with the Government of India and a foreign institute of higher education.

The Maxwell School’s unique connection with India has existed for over half a century. Thousands of Government of India officials have sought to further their education and skills at the Maxwell School, including through its many professional degree programs, certificate programs and customized executive education programs. The Maxwell-India partnership began in the 1950s with Dean Paul Appleby working with Prime Minister Nehru and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. In addition to its curricular offerings, Maxwell maintains deep ties to the region through its many research centers and institutes and faculty scholarship at the Maxwell School.

Additional information regarding the Maxwell and India connection can be found at .

Leonard Lopoo

Leonard M. Lopoo, professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the Maxwell School’s , is the 2017 recipient of the Birkhead-Burkhead Teaching Excellence Award and Professorship. His selection was announced at the 2017 Department of Public Administration and International Affairs (PAIA) convocation on June 30.

The Birkhead-Burkhead Award and Professorship is an annual award that recognizes outstanding teaching in PAIA. Recipients of the award are nominated by current students in the department and selected by a committee comprised of former award winners. Honorees hold the professorship for four years and offer the faculty address at the PAIA convocation in the year following their selection.

The award honors two former Maxwell School professors: Guthrie Birkhead and Jesse Burkhead. Guthrie Birkhead was a faculty member in the PAIA and Political Science Departments from 1950 until his death in 2013.��He was dean of the Maxwell School from 1977 until 1988, and he served as director of the Metropolitan Studies Program (now part of Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research).��Jesse Burkhead was a faculty member in the Department of Economics from 1949 until his death in 1996. An expert on public budgeting, he retired as Maxwell Professor of Economics.�� In 1956, he authored the highly acclaimed book “Government Budgeting.”

Professor Lopoo has been a member of the Maxwell faculty since 2003. His research primarily involves the family and explores issues surrounding fertility, marriage, maternal employment and social welfare policies designed to assist low-income populations. He recently co-founded the , which utilizes social science and behavioral economics to analyze and improve policy and program outcomes. In partnership with public and nonprofit organizations, X Lab researchers conduct randomized field experiments in order to test which policies and programs are successful, and which are not.

Professor Lopoo is also a prolific scholar. He has been published in numerous academic journals, including��Demography,��Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Marriage and the Family, ���Ի���Journal of Public Economics. He is currently the social policy co-editor of the��Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, a post he has held since 2008.

Story by Ph.D. student Jared Whear

New student members were inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society in May.

Forty-one students in the were inducted into the Syracuse University chapter of the premier honor society Phi Beta Kappa May 12.

is the oldest honorary society for students in the liberal arts, started in 1776, and one of the most prestigious undergraduate honorary societies. To be eligible for induction, students must have a major in the College of Arts and Sciences, meet a minimum cumulative grade point average, have studied a foreign language and demonstrate basic competence in mathematics and have good character.

“Phi Beta Kappa is universally recognized as the premier academic honor society in America,” says Chris Johnson, president of the Syracuse University chapter, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the ��and interim director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

The University celebrates outstanding achievement by students in the liberal arts and sciences—and the students’ induction into the honor society reflects that proud recognition.

“Membership in Phi Beta Kappa opens doors to graduate and professional schools, and is a widely recognized credential for many employers. The combination of high academic performance and the required breadth of study ensures that Phi Beta Kappa members have a deep and broad understanding of major themes in the liberal arts and the ability to communicate them effectively,” Johnson says. “The 41 students initiated this year at Syracuse are all outstanding young scholars who have demonstrated the ability to think critically at a very high level; they are ready to take these skills into academia, government, professional studies and the workplace.”

Along with the initiation of new members, the event included a recognition of faculty mentors; a student speaker, Ilana R. Siegal; and a faculty speaker, A. Peter Castro, associate professor of anthropology. Students also sign their names into the membership book, which dates from the 19th century and includes nearly all of the Syracuse members since the chapter’s inception in 1895. A reception was held following the ceremony.

The students were also honored at a reception on April 21 at the Chancellor’s House, hosted by Chancellor Kent Syverud and Dr. Ruth Chen, and also attended by Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele G. Wheatly.

The students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa were the following:

Xin Ai, philosophy; Adeola R. Ajayi, biochemistry; Valerie R. Boctor; political science; Sarah E. Buell, citizenship and civic engagement; Lynnea M. Capuano, psychology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Kathryn E. Cassidy, history; Luke Z. Chadwick, international relations, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Lauren N. Chilcott, psychology; Cassandra D. Cleary, history, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Lynsey K. Cooper, international relations, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Christina E. Costa, biology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Binyan Ding, applied mathematics; Hasmik J. Djoulakian, women’s and gender studies, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Yifei Dong, political science.

Katherine N. Eng, biology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Yao Fu, economics; Jessye S. Green, mathematics; Lauren G. Hannah, sociology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Caitlin A. Harrison, modern foreign language, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Albanie K. Hendrickson-Stives, forensic science; Rachel L. Hipschman, psychology; Canming Jiang, economics, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Victoria So Yeon Kim, international relations, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Carolee N. Lantigua, citizenship and civic engagement, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Eve P. Mercer, communication sciences and disorders, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and Marilyn P. Musterait, forensic science.

Also, Kristian A. Perez, psychology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Erica M. Petz, anthropology, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Sarah R. Poisner, art history, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Christopher L. Pulliam, political science, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Manxi Qin, applied mathematics; Nedda Sarshar, policy studies, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Andrew J. Stranahan, history, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Wyatt D. Suling, policy studies; Michaela R. Tricola, Italian language, literature and culture, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Samantha R. Trombley, policy studies, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Delaney O. Vanwey, international relations; Xintong Wang, economics, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Sarah Whittaker, communication sciences and disorders; Mengran Zhang, mathematics, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and Rui Zhao, psychology.

The following students were inducted in the 2015-2016 election season during their junior year and graduated in May: Alexander F. Amico, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Farrell Greenwald Brenner, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Rachel M. Brown-Weinstock, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Kathryn A. Capodanno; Regina Catague, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Jasmyn A. Chacko, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Frederick W. Cieri III; and Alicia L. Drummond, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Also, Anniya S. Gu, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Kimberly M. Juarez; Gabrielle R. Lichtenstein, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Claire A. Moran; Hanna-Abigail H. Mosier, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Emily R. Norman; Emily O’Hara, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Genevieve C. Pilch, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Seth E. Quam, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Emilie A. Scardilla, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; Jennifer B. Shulman, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; ��and Ilana R. Siegal, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

The Phi Beta Kappa Society has chapters at 286 colleges and universities in the United States, almost 50 alumni associations and more than half a million members worldwide. The mission of the Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought and recognize academic excellence.

Students in Assistant Professor Lynn Greenky’s yearly Maymester course, “Political Communication Inside the D.C. Beltway,” visit the Albert Einstein Memorial on the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The course, in which they spent a week in the nation’s capital, helps students gain the skills to better process political discourse.

With constant tumult in the nation’s capital, political communication inside the Washington, D.C., beltway has become a relentless churn of messaging, whether by press conference, sound bite or tweet—President Donald Trump’s preferred method.

How do you wade through all the noise to get to what’s relevant?

Assistant Professor Lynn Greenky’s yearly Maymester course, CRS 432/632, “Political Communication Inside the D.C. Beltway,” helps students gain the skills to better process all the political discourse and make sense of the messaging and the players.

“I want students to think about—as they receive information—who is the audience, why is the communication being directed to that audience, what’s the point, what does the communicator want the audience to believe or to do,” says Greenky, a faculty member in the ’ Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies. “It’s about thinking critically and absorbing the information, not taking things at face value.”

The class, which includes graduate and undergraduate students, involves an intensive two weeks: the first in Syracuse to study political communication theory and review some current themes, and the second week to explore firsthand the role of communications with communicators and insiders in the hotbed of D.C. politics.

Greenky, who is also an attorney, begins by having students come up with a working definition of politics and then study current events and the communications that surround them. “We look at how communication that is usually mediated—through some form of media, whether traditional or digital—affects politics and then how does politics affect mediated communication,” she says.

Lynn Greenky

During this year’s course, students discussed agenda setting and framing; reviewed case studies, such as the president’s executive action on immigration; and went through the news of the day, which during their week in Syracuse included the president’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Greenky also has students research communications professionals and organizations that they will be meeting with during their time in D.C.

After first visiting some sites in Washington, D.C., students met with various communications professionals to discuss their communications and examined how theory and reality match up, Greenky says. Students met with the communications director of the Republican National Committee, a former communications director of the Democratic National Committee and communications professionals in the legislature, Pentagon, State Department and private advocacy organizations. They also toured CNN.

Greenky makes sure students hear voices from both sides of the aisle. “They really get a broad base,” she says.

Hunter Thompson G’18, who was one of eight students in this year’s Maymester course, was drawn to the course because of its focus on skills, rather than solely theory, and the chance to explore the current state of politics.

“We are in a unique historic movement, and this class and the interactions we had in D.C. were always colored by the uniqueness of what is happening presently,” says Thompson, who is pursuing a master’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies. “As far as politics and media coverage goes, the rules are being rewritten due to various exigencies.”

Meeting with the various communications professions was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Thompson says. During the time with the communicators, he quickly saw the importance of coordination for messaging and its use as a strategy.

“Coordination is when various communicators plan out what a message is and stick to it—amplifying that message,” Thompson says.��“Currently, the Republicans are having an issue with members of their party and frankly the president staying consistent with their message—as the president contradicts his staff and party frequently. This seemed to be a concern and issue that many in D.C. were working with during our trip.”

Students met with the communications director of the Republican National Committee, a former communications director of the Democratic National Committee and communications professionals in the legislature, Pentagon, State Department and private advocacy organizations. They also visited D.C. sites.

Greenky notes how communicators are kept on their toes by a president who no one expected to win and is hard to anticipate. “Democrats are shell-shocked, and even some of the Republicans are trying to find their way and keep their messaging straight in coordination with the White House—not wanting to undercut the White House but not knowing which message to embrace,” she says.

Greenky hopes the experience helps students expand their concept of what they can do with their professional careers. Many of the professionals they met are people in their 20s and 30s, and students see they are making an impact in an exciting and interesting place.

In previous years, some students come into the class without an interest in politics, but their focus changes after being part of the experience. One student at the end of the D.C. week decided to go into political communication and management, attended a campaign management program and ended up working with a firm the student had visited as part of the class.

Thompson plans to continue his education after earning a master’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies, but he could also see himself fulfilled by a career in any of the communicator roles in D.C. they explored.

“The trip experience alone provided knowledge about various skills that are important to these professions,” Thompson says. “More importantly, though, this trip was an amazing opportunity to network. Everyone we met was extremely helpful and offered to help point us in the right direction if we had an interest in moving to D.C. and working inside the political communication world. In particular, the SU alumni were some of the most gracious and helpful people.”

“Mindful Communication Skills,” CRS 347, will be offered for six weeks in Summer Session II, July 3 through Aug. 11. The course is taught by Diane Grimes, associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and will be held Monday-Thursday from noon to 1:45 p.m. in Room 123 of Sims Hall.

Registration is now available, and the course is open to students, faculty and staff. For more questions or more information about the course, contact Grimes at 315.443.5136 or dsgrimes@syr.edu, or Joanne Balduzzi at balduzzi@syr.edu.

Mindfulness, at its core, is the practice of paying attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental way, and is a practice that is developed over time. Grimes is one of the founding members and the director of Syracuse University’s Contemplative Collaborative, which comprises more than 140 members from a wide range of disciplines and offices across campus. Members work to enhance student development and promote academic excellence in tandem with personal well-being.

“The Contemplative Collaborative brings together such a range of people, from professors who include mindfulness practices in their teaching, to students, to those researching mindfulness, to those concerned with the wellness and personal development of both students and staff, to community members,” says Grimes. “Many areas of the university are involved precisely because mindfulness can be helpful in so many contexts.”

In the CRS 347 classroom, meditation cushions replace the traditional chairs. Cell phones are silenced and put away, so that participants can experience the class with minimal distractions.

Grimes draws from a range of mindfulness practices in her teaching. Class begins by sitting in silence and focusing. Yoga and meditation are a part of each class. Personal reflection goes hand in hand with the sharing of practices, insights and journal entries between participants and the development of trust and openness. Participants keep daily reflection journals.

“Communicating Mindfully,” a book by Dan Huston, a professor and expert on the practice of mindfulness, is used in the course. But much of the learning happens through creative activities. Poetry, music, creative arranging, mandala coloring, free writing and photography are just a few of the ways Grimes encourages her students to develop mindfulness.

The course is meant to expose students, both intellectually and experientially, to contemplative practice and to help them consider the relationship between contemplation skills and the communication skills they use in daily life.

“This is not a religion course, nor is it a course in Buddhism,” Grimes says. “People of many religions (and none) practice meditation and other mindfulness practices.” Benefits of mindfulness, she says, include increased awareness, creativity, happiness, mindfulness, improved relationships, relaxation, resilience, self friending and self knowledge; and decreased anxiety, depression, pain, reactions, resistance and stress.

Grimes has received a great amount of feedback from students on the how the practice of mindfulness has had a positive impact in their lives. “Out of all the ideas and concepts I have learned from classes that I have taken in the CRS program, I believe that mindfulness will stick with me the greatest,” says one student. “It is not just a concept that you study and keep in your brain for a specific time in the future, but what you apply to whatever you are doing in the moment. Living in the present moment is not something I had focused on before taking this class.”

“If people are open to it, mindfulness can result in changes that will improve the quality of their life,” Grimes says. “Meditation is one of the few things that can actually reset the happiness ‘set point,’ allowing people to be happier regardless of difficulties or circumstances.

Mindfulness practice is incorporated into several courses Grimes teaches. During the academic year, she and students in her “Communication, Mindfulness and Social Justice” course��(CRS 360) work with first graders at Frazier Elementary School in Syracuse. They use puppets and the Disney movie “Inside Out” to help them process emotions and become mindful.

Evan Weiss ’19 presents “Effects of Use of Different Balls in NCAA Basketball” during the ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference.

Six students with a variety of research projects—such as community attachment resilience in a deindustrialized city, the effects of using different basketballs in NCAA play and 3D flow visualization in virtual reality—represented Syracuse University at this year’s ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference.

An annual showcase of some of the ACC’s most outstanding scholars, the ACC Meeting of the Minds (M.O.M.) Conference highlights students from each of the 15 ACC institutions presenting their research and creative work. Students display their knowledge and creativity, but their presence also has greater impacts for their continued learning.

Genevieve Starke ’17 presented her research on how sound radiates from the exhaust flow of supersonic jets. Along with highlighting her research, the conference, held this year at Duke University, allowed her to experience a variety of work in various disciplines. But her biggest takeaway was in the challenge to ensure her work was understandable to everyone at the interdisciplinary conference.

“There’s a lot of specialized vocabulary in the disciplines, and it was difficult to filter out or explain these terms so that everyone there could understand the research,” says Starke, who graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “This is a really important thing to remember in research, because we usually go to conferences where everyone understands the vocabulary and terms and also the importance of the research. But research should be accessible to everyone, so this conference was a good reminder of how difficult but necessary this is.”

Rachel Brown-Weinstock ’17 discusses her research on the topic “Fallen Factories, Facebook, and Frames: An Application of Neighborhood Narrative Frame Theory to Explain Community Attachment Resilience in a Deindustrialized, Socially Disorganized City” during the ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference.

The students were selected by a panel of Syracuse University faculty members to attend the conference, which provides students with a chance to hone their research presentation skills. It was held March 31-April 2. They were accompanied by Chris Johnson, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and interim director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

“The students who attended the Meeting of the Minds at Duke represented the best undergraduate scholars at the member universities of the ACC,” Johnson says. “For Syracuse’s student representatives it was a chance to showcase their research and creative accomplishments alongside their colleagues from some of the top research universities in America. It was also a chance to network with students and faculty at other schools and to explore new directions for their own scholarship.”

The students and their projects were the following:

• Rachel Brown-Weinstock ’17, sociology, policy studies and citizenship and civic engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, senior class marshal, Remembrance University Scholar and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, “Fallen Factories, Facebook, and Frames: An Application of Neighborhood Narrative Frame Theory to Explain Community Attachment Resilience in a Deindustrialized, Socially Disorganized City.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Assistant Professor Rebecca Schewe.
• Ranbir Dhillon ’17, aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Renée Crown Honors Program, “Three Dimensional Flow Visualization in Virtual Reality.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Assistant Professor Melissa Green.
• Hasmik Djoulakian ’17, women’s and gender studies and citizenship and civic engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, University Scholar, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, “An Invisibilized Genocide: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of Zabel Yesayan’s Writings.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Assistant Professor Himika Bhattacharya.
• Ismael M. Gonzalez ’18, biochemistry and neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences, member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, “Characterization of K27 and K29-linked Polyubiquitin Chains: Identification of K27 and K29-linked PolyUb binding partners.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Assistant Professor Carlos A. Castaneda.
• Genevieve Starke ’17, aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, University Scholar, “Directionality and Pulsing of Acoustic Propagation to the Far-Field of a Supersonic Jet Flow.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Associate Professor Jacques Lewalle.
• Evan Weiss ’19, sport analytics, Falk College, “Effects of Use of Different Balls in NCAA Basketball.” Faculty mentor/advisor: Professor Rodney Paul.

Ranbir Singh Dhillon ’17, who graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering, decided to apply for the conference as a way to meet and interact with other students also conducting undergraduate research. He also found it a good opportunity to present his research to others outside his field.

“For my project, I wrote a program that allows three-dimensional models to be analyzed in virtual reality. Specifically, I was using three-dimensional models of the wake behind a pitching panel,” says Dhillon. “I enjoyed seeing the breadth of research being conducted. This experience gave me practice explaining my research to people who were not necessarily in my field, which will be useful in my future professional life.”

Starke, who used data from supersonic jet experiments performed at the Skytop Turbulence Lab for her research, appreciated the variety of undergraduate research at the conference.

“It was really cool to see what undergraduates from other universities were doing,” she says. “I’m in engineering, and there were bio talks, history, sociology, etc.��It was great to learn about other subjects as well as the research at other universities.”

Johnson says the students are important ambassadors for the University.

“Presenting their work alongside students from Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia and the other great schools of the ACC is a powerful validation of the quality of the undergraduate research done at Syracuse University, not just by these six students, but across the entire University,” Johnson says. “I would hope that the students who participated in the Meeting of the Minds came away feeling proud of their work and enthusiastic about pursuing careers in research and creative scholarship.”

Five students were selected to participate in the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program; two students were awarded study/research grants. The research grants and ETAs are awarded through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“The Fulbright program allows our graduates to immerse themselves in another culture and language while at the same time, in most cases, ‘giving forward’ via teaching English. Both the U.S. and their host societies gain through increased communication and understanding,” says Ford Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies and Professor of Anthropology Susan Wadley, the campus Fulbright representative. “This year’s SU Fulbright awardees were exceptionally qualified as strong students and researchers, but most of all through their engagement in community activism while at SU. Their experiences, often with Syracuse’s refugee communities or local schools, were evidence of their commitment to language and education.”

The application process itself is a valuable experience for students, who can seek assistance through the University’s (CFSA).

“Students have to think through and articulate their qualifications and goals, and to imagine cultural engagement in another country. That work can be very clarifying, and it can also often be applied usefully to graduate school or job applications,” says Jolynn Parker, CFSA director, assistant director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and a campus Fulbright program adviser. “For students interested in international engagement, the Fulbright is unmatched opportunity for a year of support to live and learn abroad.��Now, perhaps more than ever, the Fulbright program’s goal of ‘promoting mutual understanding’ between the United States and other countries feels vital.”

The following students were selected for the Fulbright awards:

• Amber Barrow ’17, neuroscience and biology, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Study/Research Grant, Public Health, China
• Rachel Brown-Weinstock ’17, sociology, citizenship and civic engagement, and policy studies, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School
  • English Teaching Assistantship, South Africa
• Frederick Cieri ’17, modern languages and international relations, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School
  • English Teaching Assistantship, Spain
• Hasmik Djoulakian ’17, women’s and gender students and citizenship and civic engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School
  • English Teaching Assistantship, Armenia
• Mallory Hennigar, Ph.D. student, religion, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Study/Research Grant, Religion, India
• Meghan Mistry ’17, broadcast and digital journalism, Newhouse School
  • English Teaching Assistantship, Malaysia
• Andrew Scheuer G’17, Spanish language, literature and culture, College of Arts and Sciences
  • English Teaching Assistantship, Argentina

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which is the largest U.S. exchange program with 1,900 grants awarded annually, allows students to take on international study, research and teaching opportunities as part of U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright’s vision in 1945 for the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture and science.”

“Students who receive a Fulbright award work, live and learn from the people of their host country during the period of their grants, whether they are teaching English abroad or conducting research,” Parker says.��“Returning Fulbrighters always express their gratitude for the incredible privilege of this experience, and their sense of both intellectual and personal growth.”

Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (315.443.2759, jmpark02@syr.edu). The campus deadline for the 2017-18 application cycle is Sept. 11, 2017.

View the schedule of convocations .

College of Law

James E. Graves Jr.

At the College of Law’s separate ceremony on Friday, May 12, in the Carrier Dome, U.S. Circuit Judge L’80, G’81, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, will deliver the address. Judge Graves was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 2011 by President Barack Obama, having previously served for 10 years on the Mississippi Supreme Court. His nomination was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 14, 2011. Upon nominating Judge Graves, President Obama said, “Throughout his career James E. Graves has shown unwavering integrity and an outstanding commitment to public service.”

School of Architecture

Hsinming Fung

California architect , AIA—a lifelong advocate for the arts and architecture education—will address the graduating class of 2017 at the School of Architecture convocation. Fung is principal of Hodgetts + Fung (HplusF), an award-winning architecture and design firm in Culver��City, California. The studio, which she co-founded, is noted for its expertise in the design of unique places for learning, cultural events and civic functions.��The firm’s award-winning projects include the design of the renovated Hollywood Bowl, the Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, CalArts’ Wild Beast Pavilion and Nashville’s new Ascend Amphitheater.

College of Arts and Sciences

Anthony Noble

Anthony Noble ’99, vice president and the chief of staff to the chairman, president and CEO of American Tower Corp., will address graduates at the College of Arts and Sciences convocation. American Tower Corp. is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of wireless and broadcast communications real estate. Noble previously was the managing principal of Princeton Real Estate Partners, which acquires, develops and manages properties throughout Washington, D.C. He also has served as an executive at an international real estate investment firm, where he led the acquisition and entitlement phase of the Capitol Crossing project, a 2.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development spanning an active portion of Interstate 395.

School of Education

Donovin Darius

Donovin Darius ’98 will be the School of Education’s convocation speaker. Darius graduated from the health and exercise science program in the school and was a member of the Syracuse University football team. He was selected 25th overall in the 1998 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars and played for them for nine years. He currently runs the Donovin Darius Foundation, which focuses on the mental, physical and emotional empowerment of families. Darius also serves as a director of the NFL Legends Community and NFL Transitions Coach, where he works with current and former players as they transition into and out of the NFL.

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Jared Green

Civil engineering alumnus Jared Green ’01 will serve as the speaker for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Green is a senior associate/vice president at Langan Engineering, an international land development firm. After graduating from the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Green earned a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Campaign. In 2003, he began working at Langan in New York City, where he has also become part owner. Green serves on the Young Alumni Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. He was recently named one of ENR New York’s Top 20 Engineers Under 40.

David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

During the Falk College’s convocation, undergraduate student reflections will be given by Nicole L. Autino ’17, child and family studies, and Arielle J. Hall ’17, nutrition science. Autino and Hall are the Falk College marshals who will lead the academic procession of the Falk graduates at convocation and Commencement. Both students represent the ideals of the graduating class and are selected based on scholarship and leadership. Every department in Falk College selects an undergraduate and graduate student to act as a department marshal, leading their departments in the academic procession at convocation. They are chosen based on their academic achievements and service to their department and the college. Martha Wasserbauer G’17, nutrition science, will present the graduate student reflection. She is the department marshal for nutrition science and dietetics.

School of Information Studies

Members of the iSchool’s senior class with Wiley Cerilli. From left are Jake Engler, Kobby Tettey, Megan Minier, Wiley Cerilli and Lily Kim. The group invited Wiley to HInds Hall to ask him to be the iSchool’s convocation speaker.

Alumnus and entrepreneur Wiley Cerilli will be the speaker for the School of Information Studies’ convocation. Cerilli has a long history of successful business ventures. He spent 10 years at online food ordering pioneer Seamless, helping it become one of the fastest growing companies in the country before being acquired by ARAMARK.��In 2010, he founded Single Platform, a service that allowed businesses to manage their online identity, and raised $4.5 million in two rounds before selling the startup to Constant Contact for $100 million. Following the sale, he became vice president at Constant Contact and then venture partner for First Round Capital in New York. In December 2015, he co-founded a food preparation and delivery service, Good Uncle.

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Gladys McCormick

Gladys McCormick, assistant professor of history and co-recipient of the , will be the convocation speaker for the Maxwell School. McCormick and Azra Hrodmažić, assistant professor of anthropology, were named this year’s recipients of the Moynihan Award, recognizing outstanding non-tenured faculty members. The award will be presented at the school’s . (Hrodmažić is out of the country and will be unable to attend.) McCormick is a historian who concentrates on Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. She is the author of “The Logic of Compromise in Mexico: How the Countryside Was Key to the Emergence of Authoritarianism” (UNC Press, 2016). McCormick teaches courses on Latin America, political violence and oral history methods, for which she was previously recognized with SU’s Meredith Teaching Recognition Award.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

Lakshmi Singh

NPR’s Lakshmi Singh ’94 will deliver the keynote address at the 2017 . Singh is an outspoken champion of diverse voices, thought and collaboration within newsrooms and throughout news coverage. The award-winning veteran broadcaster is followed by millions of listeners on NPR, whether in the role as anchor or as guest host on weekends for the NPR program “All Things Considered.” As a field reporter for 25 years, Singh focused extensively on immigration policy and health, both issues now at the forefront of news coverage of the current presidential administration. As a journalist of Puerto Rican and Indo-Trinidadian descent, Singh is recognized as an influential voice for change in the communications industry.

University College

Timothy Bryant

Timothy Bryant ’15 will address graduates during the convocation for University College (UC). Bryant thought college was beyond his capability after a series of traumatic events caused him to drop out of high school. Bryant earned a GED and was working as a massage therapist when one of his clients—a Syracuse University professor—suggested that he might want to explore the Higher Education Opportunity Program at UC. After enrolling, he made the dean’s list every semester and was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda, the honor society for nontraditional students. He graduated with honors as an alumni scholar and was accepted into the Maxwell School’s Ph.D. program in sociology.

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Evin Robinson

Evin Floyd Robinson ’12, G’14 will be the convocation speaker for the College of Visual and Performing Arts. He is the co-founder of New York On Tech (NYOT), an organization preparing the next generation of technology leaders. NYOT’s work has been featured in such media outlets as CNN, TechCrunch, BET, PBS, Black Enterprise and Univision, among others. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List and recognized as a Kauffman Entrepreneurship Engagement Fellow and a Wells Fargo Millennial Activist. He is a TEDx presenter, and his work has been mentioned in Inc. magazine.

Martin J. Whitman School of Management

Students and faculty members will address graduates during the Whitman School’s convocation. The graduate speakers will be students Laura Wortham G’17 (MBA@Syracu) and Alexis Drickel G’17 (MBA), along with Associate Professor Joe Comprix, chair of the Joseph I. Lubin School of Accounting and Whitman Graduate Student Organization Faculty of the Year Award winner. The undergraduate speakers will be students Lauren Blake Knafo ’17, Whitman student government president and ��Whitman School marshal, and Xinye Zou ’17, Whitman School marshal, along with Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice Kenneth Walsleben, Faculty of the Year Award winner.

Francisco Sanin

On May 19, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, School of Architecture Professor Francisco Sanin will join a highly respected gathering of leading thinkers from around the globe as a panelist at the conference.

The high profile event is organized by the , in partnership with and Stakeholders from government and private sectors, the United Nations network, and other international organizations will engage in dialogue regarding the critical role of sustainable infrastructure and city portals in urban transformation.

Among the many notables participating in this event will be H.E. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General; H.E. Peter Thomson, president, United Nations General Assembly; and Dr. Joan Clos, Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat).

Professor Sanin will participate in a special case study session and provide expertise on the recent transformation of Medellin, Colombia. “It’s an honor to participate in this forum,” says Sanin. “The conference will explore case studies from around the world that go beyond the more traditional view of infrastructure, i.e. bridges and roads. The case of Medellin represents a more comprehensive understanding, one that includes social and political elements—schools, hospitals, markets, public spaces, etc.”

The City of Medellin recommended Sanin’s selection as a panelist to represent “their story” at this event. Sanin was born and educated in Medellin, receiving his architectural diploma from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Of much greater significance, however, is the impact Sanin has had on Medellin’s dramatic transformation over the last few decades. Sanin has visited the city regularly to conduct workshops and seminars on urban design, led research on the city’s urban strategies—many resulting in development and becoming a road map for future transformative efforts. He has worked closely with Sergio Fajardo—currently governor of the state of Antioquia in Colombia, and former mayor of Medellin—in developing projects at the city and state level.

It is worth remembering that, in the late 1980s and 90s, Medellin was considered one of the most, if not the most, dangerous cities in the world. In recent years, Medellin has become recognized internationally for its urban and social transformation. It has won several international urban design prizes. In 2016, in Singapore as the most innovative urban transformation in the world. In December 2016, “60 Minutes ”on CBS aired a special feature, ,” including an interview with Fajardo and examples of how strategic, comprehensive changes to infrastructure brought the city back to life.

Says Sanin, “Infrastructure can become a crucial tool of urban transformation. This conference represents a recognition of that and will be a forum to exchange the experience of Medellin with others from around the world.”

Professor Francisco Sanin is internationally known as an urban designer, noted for his extensive research in the history and theory of urban form. He is a practicing architect with work in several countries. He has received numerous awards in architectural competitions and has lectured, curated exhibitions, and published internationally. He was director of the Syracuse University Architecture program in London from 2014-2016, chair of the school’s graduate program from 2010-2013, and director of the Syracuse Architecture Florence program from 2005-2008. He has previously taught at Princeton, the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, Kingston and Greenwich Universities in the UK, and the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. He has been a visiting professor in schools around the world, including the Korean National University of Arts, Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, UPB in Medellin, Colombia, and Miami University.

Cap and gown? Check. Graduation tassels? Check. Ready to celebrate your academic accomplishments at Syracuse University? Check! Here’s what you’ll need to know as you prepare for Commencement 2017.

will take place Sunday, May 14, beginning with the degree candidates’ procession at 9:30 a.m.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr., civil rights activist and a senior managing director of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC in New York, will deliver the Commencement address.

Syracuse University will confer 6,363 degrees, which are to the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and associate’s degree candidates. The College of Law will confer 148 juris doctor and 27 master of law degrees during a ceremony Friday, May 12. The College of Law’s will be U.S. Circuit Judge James E. Graves Jr. L’80, G’81, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

During Commencement, Syracuse University Chancellor and President Kent Syverud and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) President Quentin D. Wheeler will address the graduates. Syracuse Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly will preside.

Commencement 2016 Ceremony

The University will award honorary degrees to five recipients: Frank Bisignano, First Data chairman and CEO; Vernon E. Jordan Jr., civil rights activist and a senior managing director of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC in New York; Vincent Poor, the Michael Henry Strater University Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University; Thomas Porter (Sakokwenionkwas, “the one who wins”), the founder, spokesperson and spiritual leader of the Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke; and Carrie Mae Weems, an internationally known photographer and video installation artist.

The two all-University Senior Class Marshals, Rachel Brown-Weinstock and Nedda Sarshar, will lead graduates during the ceremony. Brown-Weinstock, a native of Gloversville, New York, is a junior in the and the majoring in sociology, policy studies, and citizenship and civic engagement.��Sarshar, hailing from Toronto, Canada, is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, majoring in writing and rhetoric, policy studies, and citizenship and civic engagement.

Along with the all-University marshals, 23 student marshals will represent the 13 schools and colleges at Syracuse University; ESF is represented by two student marshals. They were chosen on the basis of leadership abilities, participation in extracurricular activities, service to the University and academic achievement. The marshals will lead the degree candidates of their respective schools or colleges.

Twelve seniors have been designated as Syracuse University Scholars and three as SUNY-ESF Scholars. This is the highest academic award given to undergraduate students. Farrell Greenwald Brenner ’17 was selected as this year’s speaker on behalf of the Class of 2017.

Nancy Weatherly Sharp, professor emerita of newspaper journalism in the , will serve as mace bearer and lead the academic procession. The University Marshal is Shiu-Kai Chin, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the . Associate University Marshal is Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor and chair of reading and language arts in the .

The Army and Air Force ROTC cadets will present the colors.

The invocation will be given by Hendricks Chapel Interim Dean Samuel Clemence.

Also during the ceremony, retiring faculty members who have been recommended to receive the title of emeritus by the University Senate to the Syracuse University Board of Trustees will be recognized by Board of Trustees Chairman Steven W. Barnes ’82, who will also deliver a greeting.

Graduates will also receive an alumni welcome from Mark Verone ’95, president of the Syracuse University Alumni Association.

The Syracuse University Brass Ensemble will perform under the direction of James Spencer, professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. The national anthem will be sung by Kamala Sloss ’17, and Ha-Young (Heidi) Synn ’17 will sing the alma mater.

A live video stream will be broadcast for school and college Convocations as well as Sunday’s Commencement ceremony. Each ceremony’s stream will go live 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. .

Celebrate Commencement on social media using the hashtag #SUGrad17. Check out to see the highlights.

WSYR-TV digital 9.2 (Spectrum Ch. 890 and Verizon FiOS 470) will also broadcast the majority of the ceremony, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

More information about Commencement 2017 can be found at . View the 2017 Commencement Information Booklet .

The hard work and discipline of Syracuse University’s student-athletes in the classroom have led to impressive academic success as reflected in the University’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) announced today by the NCAA. Photos by Mike Okoniewski

Student-athlete Eva Gordon’s commitment to her academics doesn’t take a break while on the road during the busy playing schedule for the women’s soccer team.

Last fall at an away game, Gordon ’18, dressed in her practice gear, took an exam with a proctor at the host school and then headed back to the practice field—all through a coordinated effort with the coaching staff, her professor and the team’s academic coordinator, Lynaye Stone, through the Athletics Department’s Stevenson Educational Center.

“They are really accommodating to our academics,” says Gordon, a child and family studies major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. “School comes first, regardless.”

Matthew Moyer ’20, a student-athlete with the men’s basketball team, has worked hard his first year to manage his time between his studies in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the basketball court.

“Whenever I have free time, that means I can get something done,” Moyer says. He worked on his schedule with men’s basketball academic coordinator Joe Fields to ensure he has a set study hall time in between classes; meets with professors during their office hours; and maximizes his time to study on weekends outside of practice. “I just try to do my best to set myself up for success.”

Their hard work and discipline—and that of their fellow student-athletes—in the classroom and on the playing fields and courts have led to impressive academic success as reflected in the University’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) announced today by the NCAA.

The APR number, which follows individual student and total program progression at each Division I institution, tracks student-athletes by assigning points for each semester they remain eligible and for staying enrolled or graduating.

Each program at Syracuse surpassed the minimum standard of 930 (a perfect score is 1,000) and most reached much higher. The highlights include the following:

• Fourteen teams had a perfect single-year score.
• Eight teams had perfect single-year scores for three consecutive years.
• Women’s soccer had a perfect multi-year rate for the second year in a row; men’s basketball had a perfect multi-year rate.
• The single-year institutional score of 990 is tied for the highest single-year score on record at the University.
• The multi-year institutional score of 985 is tied for the highest multi-year score on record at the University.

Director of Athletics John Wildhack is proud of the academic accomplishments of the nearly 600 student-athletes at Syracuse University.

“The aspect of my job that I enjoy the most is the opportunity to interact with the student-athletes. The APR scores show the commitment they have to their academics,” Wildhack says. “It shows they are disciplined, that they prioritize and that they place the necessary emphasis on academics.”

The aspect of my job that I enjoy the most is the opportunity to interact with the student-athletes. The APR scores show the commitment they have to their academics.

Director of Athletics John Wildhack

Wildhack also credits the work of the coaches and coaching staff and the academic support team—led by Tommy Powell, assistant provost for student-athlete academic development—as critical to helping ensure the academic success of student-athletes. “We’re here to support the student-athletes, but we also hold them accountable for the work they must do,” Wildhack says.

The positive APR scores reinforce the values of the University and its academic mission. “Athletics is just part of the overall ‘One University.’ It’s upon us to uphold the values that the Chancellor and his leadership team have set for the entire university and all its students,” Wildhack says.

Rick Burton, David B. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management in the Falk College and the University’s faculty athletic representative to the ACC and NCAA, agrees that the APR results exemplify the highest goals at the University.

Student-athletes find support from academic coordinators and tutors in the Stevenson Educational Center.

“It furthers the Chancellor’s vision that we create a reality that Syracuse University student-athletes are accomplished both in the classroom and on the athletic fields or courts where they participate,” Burton says. “For me, it’s complete affirmation that our efforts to recruit great student-athletes and then to give them every opportunity to succeed in the classroom is taking place.”

Burton recognizes the work of the academic support team to propel the students. There is “an understanding of what’s needed for a modern student-athlete to be able to marry the demands of being an elite athlete with being a highly competitive student,” he says.

“There’s so much hard work that goes into helping students achieve their goals in the classroom, and to have it verified by the NCAA is just such a great statement about the commitment to academics that we make at SU,” Burton says.

Men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim says his student-athletes, many of whom are the first person in their family to get a college degree, get the message pretty quickly from the coaches and the academic support staff that the emphasis is on academics.

“They understand when they come here they are going to class and they are going to get good grades. Basketball is just two or three hours a day,” Boeheim says. “It’s managing your time making sure you’re doing that little bit every day.” He notes both academics and basketball require practice and preparation. “You have to do it every day and pay attention to it, and then you can have success,” Boeheim says.

A critical element has been the work of Joe Fields, the men’s basketball team’s academic coordinator, who helps student-athletes manage their schedules, facilitates study session on the roads, sets up tutoring, and just spends time with them. “He connects with every player every day, so they understand this is the most important thing,” Boeheim says.

Even if players decide to play professional basketball after graduation or earlier, whether in the NBA, with European leagues or on a development league, at some point they will all enter the workforce after they finish their playing careers, Boeheim says. “We talk all the time—you’re going to be out there another 30 or 35 years in the workplace so it’s important to have your degree.”

When student-athletes, such as men’s basketball players, do leave the University early for an opportunity to start a professional sports career, the coaching staff and the academic support staff have been able to manage early departures in a way that does not penalize the team’s APR score, as per criteria set by the NCAA.

What it means is that student-athletes who depart early for a professional sports career leave the University in good academic health, says Tommy Powell. “That allows the student-athlete to return to SU at any point and finish that degree, if that’s something they desire. And that’s something we encourage and support along the way,” he says.

Men’s basketball academic coordinator Joe Fields with student-athletes Sean Avant ’17 and Matthew Moyer ’20.

Powell, who oversees the academic support staff at the Stevenson Educational Center, says his staff builds a supportive foundation in many ways from the beginning with all students. “As a freshman comes into to this system, our goal is to make sure that we do everything we can to ease that transition into Syracuse University and then provide them with great support,” Powell says.

Academic coordinators, along with the students’ academic advisor, help them plan their schedules around practice and games and ensure they are making progress toward their degree. Tutors offer assistance at the center, and study sessions are arranged to ensure time is spent on school work.

Crucial to all of the planning is the commitment by the faculty to the student-athletes. “The faculty members here are just tremendous,” Powell says.

Another element through the Stevenson Center is the S-Project, a life skills program that assists students throughout their time at Syracuse University, with personal and professional development. It includes personal finances, career planning and community service.

The support and programming for the students guides them, but the commitment by the student-athletes is paramount to their success.

“They are going to class every day; they are working hard; they are making those grades; they are going out competing for the University,” says Powell, who notes that the cumulative GPA for student-athletes for fall 2016 was 3.07. “Our job is to support them in a way that they can have a tremendous experience here.”

Football player Sean Avant ’17, who finished a bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and is now pursuing a graduate degree in instructional design, development and evaluation in the School of Education, is grateful for the support. He remembers as a freshman practicing speeches for his class in front of support staff at the Stevenson Center and getting tutoring assistance for one particularly challenging class on Greek philosophers. “It made it easier to do the work,” he says.

One year, Avant was recognized as an Academic Warrior of the Month. “For that kind of recognition, I know people were watching me and they were proud of me and the work I put in,” says Avant, who calls the Stevenson center a “second home” where he now enjoys giving advice to freshman student-athletes.

Student-athlete Haley McDonnell ’17 (right) with academic coordinator Katie Scanlon.

Having the support of academic coordinator Katie Scanlon has been especially helpful for women’s lacrosse student-athlete Haley McDonnell ’17, who is majoring in management and accounting at the Whitman School. In one instance, Scanlon worked with McDonnell on helping ensure McDonnell’s plan for a summer independent study and internship in Florence through SU Abroad could work with her Whitman requirements. “As an athlete you really don’t have an opportunity to do that in the school year,” McDonnell says.

Along with the staff support, McDonnell sets personal expectations for herself at the beginning of the year, such as achieving high grades and forming good relationships with professors. “If you know what you want to accomplish by the end of the semester, you create the roadmap as you go,” says McDonnell, who will be entering a position with Ernst & Young in New York City this summer.

Stephanie Skilton ’17, a member of the women’s soccer team, got a jump on her academics as a freshman by attending the SummerStart program, along with other student-athletes. The Universitywide program allows incoming students to take some credit courses and get an introduction to life at Syracuse University. Skilton, an international student from New Zealand, was a bit nervous coming to a different country, but the program and support from her coaches, teammates and the academic staff made the transition easier.

Student-athletes get support from staff at the Stevenson Educational Center.

“We would train every day and then go to classes. And we would have mandatory study hall hours that we had to complete, which was really helpful because we were almost one-on-one with the tutor who helped us with our homework and guided us,” says Skilton, a health and exercise science major in the School of Education.

The discipline learned from mandatory study hall sessions and advice from the academic team to stay proactive with informing her professors about her schedule stayed with her throughout her time at Syracuse. “Having that ingrained in me from freshman year, I’ve been able to work out a balance on my own, holding myself accountable, but it’s been with a lot of help from Stevenson,” Skilton says.

Skilton’s coach, Phil Wheddon, sees the “tremendous dedication and discipline” in the members of the women’s soccer team, which is reflected in the team’s APR numbers.

The continuing high marks represent the competitive nature of the students. “They want to do well on the soccer field but they also want to be successful in the classroom,” Wheddon says. “It builds confidence knowing that everyone on the team is working toward a common goal on the field and off the field.”

The APR numbers also confirm that athletics is bringing in the right type of students who can meet the challenges at Syracuse. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity to work with them, and I’m thankful for all the support that everyone gives them,” Wheddon says.

For example, he notes the team’s travel schedule can be hectic, but the student-athletes study and do assignments while traveling whether on a bus or plane, and the academic coordinator works closely with the players and their professors to make sure they have the information they need.

“We’re trying to develop well-rounded human beings to be successful in life,” Wheddon says. “We all wish we could play soccer for life; unfortunately, that doesn’t happen for a lot of people. So your passion may be in sports but you know the educational background you get here at Syracuse will set you up for your future.”

For the 2015-16 academic year, each of Syracuse’s programs surpassed the minimum threshold of 930. Among the specific highlights at Syracuse are:

• The women’s soccer program and men’s basketball program had a perfect 1,000 multi-year average.
• Fourteen programs posted perfect scores of 1,000 in a single year, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field, ice hockey, women’s soccer, tennis and volleyball.
• Six teams had a perfect single-year score for the third consecutive year, including men’s cross country, men’s indoor and outdoor track & field, women’s basketball, ice hockey and tennis.
• Syracuse University produced a single-year score of 990 for the athletic program, equaling the highest single-year score at the school. The multi-year institutional score of 985 also tied for the highest in program history.

The APR number is determined through the tracking of individual student progression and accumulated program progression at each Division I institution. Scholarship student-athletes earn a point each semester for remaining eligible and a second point for staying enrolled or graduating. The four-year APR is compiled by averaging each program’s performance over a four-year period.

A program can also earn APR points when former student-athletes return to the institution to complete their degrees. According to the NCAA, more than 14,000 former college athletes have returned to earn their degrees since the APR was instigated as a measurement tool.

Senior Stacia Tsakonas presents her capstone research at the New York State Speech-Language Hearing Association annual convention in Saratoga Springs, April 20-22.

The presentation panels will run concurrently in 10 rooms throughout the building, except during lunch (11:30-1 p.m.), and are free and open to the University community.

Capstone projects are the culmination of three to four semesters of independent research, professional and creative work by students from across the schools and colleges of the University. Working with a faculty advisor, the students design, research and complete a significant project in their major field of study.

Among the topics that students are presenting on this year are Mayan hip-hop; unequal access to health care in the West Bank; the use of mail correspondence in the first women’s rights movement; the construction of gender in the Olympic games; mass adoption of virtual reality; the effects of corporate cell phones on workplace obligation; sexual and relationship violence prevention on campus; the effects of high-fat diets on learning; baseball players and their defenses of performance enhancing drugs; the impact of partisanship on the federal reserve; predicting the future of mass adoption of virtual reality; and the role of system xc- in 3-NP-induced neurodegenerative pathways.

Formats for the 15-20 minute presentations will include slide shows, websites, illustrations, films, readings and performance. Many of the students will also present or publish the results of their undergraduate research work at national and international conferences or in publications.

The Honors Capstone Presentation Day schedule is available at

Jade Rhoads

Jade Rhoads was named a Udall Scholar in the field of tribal policy. Rhoads is a junior majoring in Russian language, literature and culture in the College of Arts and Sciences and geography in the College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, with a minor in global security studies.

She is a member of the Tuscarora Nation and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Rhoads plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in security studies. Her goal is a career in the United States government within the intelligence community focusing on security. From this position, she plans to advocate for recognition of Native passports and identification cards.

Maizy Ludden

Maizy Ludden was named a Udall Scholar in the field of environmental issues. Ludden, a sophomore, is a double major in biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and geography in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, with minors in food studies in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and writing in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Ludden intends to pursue a Ph.D. in ecology. Her goal is to establish a career in scientific research focused on mitigating the environmental impacts of agriculture and on empowering farmers to harness biological interactions to support sustainable food production.

Ludden is co-president of the campus group Students of Sustainability. She completed independent research on biodiversity mentored by Professor Kari Segraves and participates in a research project to develop a Sustainable Agriculture Index under Professor Rick Welsh. Ludden was also named a 2017 Goldwater Scholar.

Katie Duggan was named a Udall Honorable Mention. Duggan, a junior environmental engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, also earned a Udall Honorable Mention in 2016. She intends to pursue a master’s degree in environmental engineering, focusing on watershed and stormwater management. Duggan is active in the SU Excelerators and conducts research on green roofs mentored by Professor Cliff Davidson.

Katie Duggan

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment.

In 2017, the Udall Foundation awarded 60 scholarships of up to $7,000 each. Udall Scholars attend a five-day summer Scholar Orientation in Tucson, Arizona, designed to extend their professional network, introduce them to other scholars and alumni, and teach them new skills.

The Udall scholarship honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on Native American self-governance, health care and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

Universities may nominate up to eight students for the Udall Scholarship each year. The Udall selection process at Syracuse University is administered by the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) with assistance from Udall faculty representative Richard Loder, professor of sociology in the Maxwell School. Interested students should contact CFSA in October. Applications are due in mid-March.

Students prepare a meal during the dedication last fall of the Susan R. Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens in E. I. White Hall as part of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. (Photo by Steve Sartori)

In the new Falk College kitchens, creativity is unbound. Chef instructors and professors encourage students to experiment using the latest high-tech kitchen equipment, ingredients and cooking methods—and their students are taking up the challenge.

Nutrition major Mary Mik ’19, who is taking Restaurant and Food Services Operations (NSD 216) this semester, loves the space and equipment that can’t be found in a typical home kitchen.

“When I cook at home, I feel limited. But there are so many resources in the new kitchens to use: water faucets above stoves, food processors, a stove that heats water in around a minute. The list goes on,” Mik says. “Chef [Mary] Kiernan allows her students to try new equipment and foods simply just to experiment and get familiar with what else is out there beyond the few things we may have at home.”

First opened for classes in fall 2016, the Susan R. Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens in E.I. White Hall showcases the latest cooking technology in a laboratory setting to prepare students in both traditional and emerging food and nutrition competencies for careers in food, nutrition, dietetics and public health.

The new experimental food lab kitchen—which is set up in pods to accommodate 32 students—and commercial kitchen immerse students in a hands-on practical setting that many will be involved in when they enter their professional careers.

“The kitchens allow students to value trial and error and understand that critical importance of knowledge application,” says Mik, who is studying to become a registered dietitian.

The new experimental food lab kitchen and commercial kitchen immerse students in a hands-on practical setting that many will be involved in when they enter their professional careers. (Photo by Steve Sartori)

Along with the kitchens, the new facility includes a baking nook, café and video camera system that can broadcast classes, food demonstrations and seminars to anywhere on campus or across the country.

(Those interested in testing out the facilities for credit can take a Maymester course in two separate courses. See below for more details.)

“Working in the commercial kitchen sets up our students to be able to walk into a commercial or industrial kitchen anywhere and feel more comfortable, less intimidated,” says Kiernan, a chef instructor in the Falk College. “This gives our students a bit of an edge.”

A stand-out feature of the new kitchens is the power of the equipment. “It’s vastly different than anything they’ve seen up to this point,” says Kiernan, who teaches the Restaurant and Food Services Operations course in which students prepare their own menus and are divided in groups to each handle one aspect of restaurant operations over the course of four services.

The use of the technology has been a learning experience for the instructors and students alike. For example, Kiernan lets her students do their own experimentation working with the ovens—which have many features—such as learning how to steam in the oven, not just on the stovetop.

“Those are the kinds of things they are learning with the technology, just the awesome power and the heat, so safety is really important,” Kiernan says.

Susan Fukes ’18, who is a lab assistant for courses that have included Kiernan’s Restaurant and Food Service Operations, agrees the new high-tech ovens are a top feature—allowing different foods to be cooked at different temperatures at the same time, which was especially helpful during service days. She also appreciates the amount of space in the new kitchens.

“When the kitchens were located in Lyman Hall, there wasn’t a lot of space to work in when preparing the food and there wasn’t a lot of storage space either,” says Fukes, who is majoring in nutrition. “The open space of the��new kitchens improves the experience of the teacher and the students.”

Visitors tour the new Falk College kitchens. (Photo by Steve Sartori)

Fukes has seen students grow in their abilities and self-assurance as they’ve worked in the new kitchens. Her favorite experience as a lab assistant was in the Restaurant and Food Service Operations course.

“Going through the class myself, I understood the heavy��workload involved. What I really enjoyed was giving assistance to the students, providing them with helpful tips but also allowing them to work through the process on their own at times,” Fukes says. “It was great to watch their confidence build throughout the semester��as they learned new and exciting ways of preparing foods;��understanding food service operations, which gives them a greater appreciation for dining out themselves; and learning to work together as a team.”

In the hands-on Farm to Fork course, taught by Assistant Professor Evan Weissman and Kiernan, students learn about alternative food systems—in this case, community-supported agricultural programs (CSAs)—and work with local, seasonal foods as part of the students’ membership in CSA programs with local farmers.

“The kitchens allow us to not just engage with questions theoretically but also to gain opportunities for hands on exploration,” Weissman says. “The students gain culinary skills needed to be active food citizens, really participating in a food system. It is necessary for consumers to have culinary skills to allow them to work with regional produce and have much more direct control over foods they eat.”

The kitchens allow us to not just engage with questions theoretically but also to gain opportunities for hands on exploration.

Assistant Professor Evan Weissman

Without knowing ahead of time what fresh local produce will be delivered, students have to think creatively about how to transform the ingredients and be creative, while Weissman and Kiernan provide the basic techniques and culinary skills and offer ongoing assistance.

The new teaching kitchens provide a spark to help students think big.

“We’ve got these new educational spaces that are lively and vibrant with cutting-edge technology. They are welcoming and create excitement around the program, while supporting our program goals,” Weissman says. “Students have the necessary resources and technologies to engage the class material in creative and innovative ways.”

For example, the wok station is perfect for seasonal vegetables, and the large cooking areas allow for preparation of large community meals for the whole class. The teaching technology in the café allows students to engage in lectures, while the modular features facilitates class discussions and group work.

The teaching technology in the café allows students to engage in lectures, while the modular features facilitates class discussions and group work. (Photo by Dianne Seeley)

Students have been mindful of the sustainable use of resources, using all they can of a food product, such as the trimmings on radishes and implementing the different technologies to help reduce waste of the product. Weissman has also seen some creative dishes, such as beet cupcakes and pizzas: “They used local flour to make the dough and then all regionally produced toppings. There were some creative pizzas coming out of those ovens.”

Kiernan sees the students’ creativity in action all the time, such as when a group was tasked with making strawberry ice cream. She encouraged them to try different things, like heating the strawberries and pureeing them before they are blended with the ice cream versus chopping up fresh strawberries and incorporating them in the ice cream.

“Whenever I can allow that to happen, they do it both ways; it gives them a benchmark, and they realize the parts per million on flavor happens differently when you handle the ingredients differently,” Kiernan says.

Mik, whose group in the NSD 216 course served Chancellor Kent Syverud at one of the meal services, looks back on the course experience as having taught her many complexities of food preparation. “For example, I have gotten to understand how and why certain flours work for cake and not bread, what happens when I mix muffin batter too much, and how to prep and serve food on a large scale,” Mik says.

As she pursues her studies toward eventually becoming a registered dietitian, Mik expects her internship will include a variety of areas in which dietitians work: clinical, community and food service. “The new Falk kitchens and NSD 216 gives me a view of what the food service side will look like in my internship and possibly what it will look like in my future as a dietitian,” Mik says.

For students, faculty or staff interested in taking food preparation courses, testing out the kitchens and getting credit, two courses are being offered during Maymester:

• Introduction to Culinary Arts (FST 222): Culinary theory paired with plenty of hands-on practice. Everything you need to prepare any recipe you encounter.
• Professional Baking (FST 201): From ingredients and measurements to mixes and dough. Experience bakeshop production and satisfy your sweet tooth.

The courses are in high demand during the fall and spring semester but room is available during the Maymester sessions.

View a tour of the Susan R. Klenk Learning Café and Kitchens below.

from on .

The winners are Mark Heller, James H. ��Henderson, Azra Hromadžić, Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, Zunli Lu and Erin J. Rand.

The Graduate School annually solicits nominations from graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni for the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award. This award honors faculty who have a significant, positive influence on graduate education at Syracuse University through their commitment to superior graduate teaching, dedication to departmental and community presence, and research initiatives. The finalists were selected by an interdisciplinary committee of graduate students and are recognized at the Outstanding TA/Excellence in Graduate Education Awards Ceremony and Reception where they will receive a certificate and gift in appreciation of their contribution to graduate education.

The 2017 Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award recipients are:

Mark Heller

Mark Heller — professor of philosophy, and William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities since fall 2013.

An expert in metaphysics and epistemology and mentor to graduate students and junior faculty, Professor Heller established his uniquely entertaining teaching style by engaging his students in the process of learning and exploring the nature of “things.”

James Henderson

James H. Henderson — associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and biology, Bioengineering Graduate Program director.

“Jay” is the principal investigator at the Henderson Lab. Through interdisciplinary efforts between the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute and the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, the lab provides exceptional instruction and mentoring for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral trainees to advance the body of knowledge and technology in biomedical, mechanobiology and tissue engineering.

Azra Hromadžić — assistant professor of anthropology.

Azra Hromadžić

A cultural anthropologist specializing in political anthropology, ethno-political violence and post-conflict reconciliation, and a truly dynamic instructor, Professor Hromadžić provides “tireless support” for her students and advisees, always leading by example.

Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn – professor of history and senior research associate, Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn

Professor Lasch-Quinn “embodies the rare combination of distinguished scholar, intellectual powerhouse, community builder, teacher, mentor and friend whose generosity of time, thought, spirit and ‘boundless curiosity’ is not confined to the History Department.”

Zunli Lu — assistant professor of Earth sciences and director of the Low Temperature Chemistry Lab.

Zunli Lu

Professor Lu provides his students with learning experiences that tie in the elements of water, rock and life to gain a better understanding of climate systems. He “promotes interdisciplinary collaborations, facilitates discussions and publications, provides expert insight into scientific investigations and crafts a unique personal development path for each of his students.”

Erin J. Rand — associate professor of communication and rhetorical studies and affiliate professor of LGBT Studies.

Erin Rand

An honored scholar and teacher, her expertise lies in queer and feminist theories, rhetorical theory and criticism, and social movements and activism. Professor Rand “balances her kindness with a pragmatic, disciplinary approach and cutting-edge perspective that continues to yield promising results.”

Nearly 80 percent of Syracuse University instructors use the feedback they get from student ratings to revise their courses. Your instructors are listening to what you have to say about their courses. But they can only respond if you let them know what you think.

The online system for Student Ratings will open Monday, April 24. You will receive an email that day that contains your passcode and the link to the . The system will remain open until Wednesday night, May 10.

Most departments use the online system for collecting student ratings. If you do not see a course on your online student ratings page, the course may be using paper evaluations. Paper evaluations will be administered in class, typically at the last class meeting. If you have a question about how student ratings will be collected for a course, check with your instructor.

Additional questions should be directed to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment at oira@syr.edu or 315.443.8700.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to let your instructors and the University know about your classroom experiences.

Ana Monzon, a graduate student in public relations and international relations, received the award to study Bahasa Indonesian; Jade Rhoads, a junior majoring in geography and Russian language and literature received the award to study Russian; and Giovanna Saccoccio, a junior majoring in public relations and international relations received the award to study Turkish. The students worked with the University’s (CFSA) to prepare their applications.

The is supported by the U.S. Department of State and is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages.

Monzon, Rhoads and Saccoccio are among approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a CLS scholarship in 2017. Each CLS participant will spend 8 to 10 weeks in intensive language immersion, studying Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu.

Over the past 10 years, the CLS Program has sent over 5,000 American undergraduate and graduate students overseas to learn critical languages all over the world. It provides fully funded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences. CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

The CLS Program actively recruits in states and regions of the United States that have been historically underrepresented in international education and encourages students from diverse backgrounds and academic majors to apply.

Giovanna Saccoccio

Saccoccio sees the opportunity to study Turkish in Azerbaijan through CLS as a boost to her career plans to work in foreign affairs in the region.

“I’m passionate about Turkish issues and Turkey’s relationship with Europe and the Middle East,” she says. “Getting the chance to learn Turkish through the CLS program will allow me to turn my interests into career-changing skills in the field of foreign affairs.�� I can’t wait to learn more about the Turkish and Azerbaijani cultures, and to develop my cross-cultural communication skills.”

CLS Program participants are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. These exchange programs build relations and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The CLS Program is administered by American Councils for International Education.