¹ú²úÂ鶹¾«Æ·

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023

Dear Faculty Colleagues:

As many of you are aware, a member of our alumni community, Mosab Abu Toha G’23, was detained over the weekend by Israeli authorities in Gaza. He has since been released. Upon learning of his detention, the University has been focused on gathering pertinent information, working with federal officials and identifying tangible actions to support Mosab and his family.

I am pleased to share that through Syracuse University’s participation in the Scholars at Risk network, we have offered Mosab a visiting scholar faculty position. Scholars at Risk is an international, nonprofit organization that provides academic appointments to threatened scholars. This action has been taken in coordination with Scholars at Risk as well as with appropriate federal officials who are also working to support Mosab and his family.

Upon his acceptance, this will be Syracuse University’s second appointment related to participation in Scholars at Risk. Most recently, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we welcomed a visiting assistant teaching professor from Ukraine. We are proud of our participation in this important global program and appreciate the good work of the affiliate colleges and universities.

I want to extend my gratitude to College of Arts and Sciences Dean Behzad Mortazavi, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Jamie Winders, Vice President for Community Engagement and Government Relations Cydney Johnson and the faculty in the Department of English for their advocacy on behalf of and in support of Mosab.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer