Cyndi Moritz — ��ϲ��

WiSE Offers Post-Doc Tenure-Track Boot Camp

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 15:49:47 +0000

Whether you have just started your post-doctoral career and are thinking about your future options, or are actively planning to enter the tenure-track job market in the fall, the inaugural WiSE Post-Doc Tenure-Track Boot Camp is for you.

This interactive workshop will take place Tuesday, June 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in 369 Link Hall. It will cover a broad range of topics, including preparing for the academic job search, crafting and using Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to determine your job search values and goals, best practices in writing research and teaching statements, and successful negotiating strategies for salary, teaching load and tenure-track path.

Full catering will be provided during lunch and coffee breaks, and breakfast will also be available each day from 8 a.m. is open until Wednesday, June 13, at 5 p.m.

“I am honored to help organize, but most importantly, participate in the inaugural WiSE Post-Doc Tenure-Track Boot Camp,” says Samantha England, research assistant professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). “The preparative skills necessary not only to be competitive in the academic job market, but also to be successful once in position, are many and diverse. This program offers everything: from training in best practice for interviewing and negotiating, through real-time feedback on application documents, to faculty panel events on managing and funding. Furthermore, the opportunities to network and receive peer-mentoring from other post-doctoral colleagues are unparalleled.”

“As a new faculty member at SU, and a former postdoc for four years, I am excited to be involved in hosting the inaugural Postdoc Tenure-Track Bootcamp,” says Nicole L. Fonger, faculty liaison for WiSE postdocs and assistant professor of mathematics and mathematics education in A&S and the School of Education, respectively. “In an incredibly competitive job market, it is essential to have training and support for postdocs to further develop their identities as scholars, teachers and leaders in their field.”

The boot camp will include faculty panels on how to successfully navigate the tenure-track process and avoid early career mistakes, and on funding and grant literacy, with plenty of opportunities for networking as well.

Participants will work on research and teaching statements together during the workshop, so come prepared with your laptops, a short statement on your teaching philosophy and three paragraphs describing your research: What is your research? What is the significance of your research? What technologies do you use?

Post-docs of all genders are welcome.

The event is sponsored by WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship Faculty Affairs and the Graduate School within the Office of Academic Affairs also offered advice and support.

People’s Place Offers Summer Promotions

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 20:09:07 +0000

People’s Place, in the basement of Hendricks Chapel, offers drinks and snacks.

People’s Place is percolating with summer promotions. The student-run coffee shop in the lower level of Hendricks Chapel invites staff and students attending the Strawberry Festival to stop in Friday, June 8, for a $1 iced coffee.

Got a mug? Bring it to People’s Place year-round for a discounted fill up; $1 for hot coffee or a $1.50 for iced.

People’s Place accepts cash and—as a convenient new option for customers—is now offering reloadable gift cards available in any amount.

In keeping with its reputation as the coolest coffee shop around, People’s Place is proud to announce its new Pay It Forward promotion. Donate toward the next customer who may have forgotten their wallet—or who is short on cash.

Be cool this summer and follow People’s Place on social media for more promotions and specials.

The shop is open every weekday 8 a.m.—2 p.m. offering fair-trade coffee, bagels, baked goods and an array of beverages and snacks.

Second Annual ��ϲ�� Ramadan Dinner Planned June 9

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 31 May 2018 14:44:05 +0000

The second annual ��ϲ�� Ramadan Dinner will be held Saturday, June 9, at 7 p.m. at Manley Field House. Iftar (Ramadan dinner) will be served after remarks and a presentation on Islam and Ramadan. Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol will speak, among others.

Admission is free, but by reservation only. R.S.V.P. by June 3 to .

Muslims across the globe celebrate the holy month, fasting from dawn until dusk. Ramadan is not only about abstaining from food; it is also about charity, empathy and building character.

“For me, the goal of this community Iftar dinner is to bring the Greater ��ϲ�� community together to celebrate and embrace diversity and inclusion and the opportunities these offer for our community to grow and advance. We are blessed to have such a rich diversity in ��ϲ��,” says Muslim Chaplain Amir Duric. “At the same time, we are blessed that the leadership at ��ϲ��, the City of ��ϲ��, and other community leaders understand and embrace the value and opportunities that our diversity presents.”

For more information about Ramadan, and if you would like to join in fasting for a day, visit .

“The opportunity to host this Ramadan Dinner on campus is both an honor and delight. Not only will such fellowship provide an opening to learn from our Muslim leaders, but it will also serve as a distinctive and significant reminder that our collective future depends upon whether or not people that navigate religion differently can develop the aptitude to cooperate,” says the Rev. Brian E. Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel. “As religious and spiritual diversity continues to grow in ��ϲ�� and beyond, my hope is that such occasions to transcend boundaries will provide greater understanding and contribute toward our common good.”

The event is sponsored by Al Huda Mosque, Burmese Muslim Community Center, the City of ��ϲ��, Hendricks Chapel, ICNA Outreach Center, Islamic Cultural Center of Bosnians, CNY RISE CENTER, Islamic Society of Central New York, Masjid Bilal, Masjid Isa Ibn Maryam, Muslim Student Life at SU, ��ϲ�� Cultural Center and ��ϲ��.

Answers about Upcoming Technology Changes to Timekeeping and Core HR Transactions

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 18 May 2018 13:44:26 +0000

In an effort to modernize decades-old timekeeping systems and improve core Human Resources transactions (e.g., iJANs and Appointments), cross-functional teams are working to introduce new, simpler processes and one modern system. The upgrades are planned for launch on July 30, and MySlice will remain the main access portal. This project will bring more efficiency and reliability to the way employees record their time, whether they are hourly employees tracking time or salaried employees reporting exceptions. The improved system replaces paper punch cards, paper timesheets and manual data entry with technology to swipe ID cards or online entry including mobile devices.

The system and process changes are designed to reduce administrative burdens across the university.

Training and reference materials to prepare student employees, faculty and staff for the change will be released in July, and additional support will be in place as the 2018-19 academic year gets underway.

Interested in learning more about the role of the new system and the changes it could mean for employees? Here’s an overview of what you need to know:

Counseling Doctoral Student Awarded Fellowship

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 16 May 2018 19:21:39 +0000

Shana Gelin

The NBCC Foundation has selected Shana J. Gelin, a doctoral student in the counseling and counselor education program in the School of Education, for the National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program.

Gelin will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her service to underserved minority populations.

The foundation will distribute $20,000 for Gelin and 200 other doctoral counseling students. She is a graduate of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She is an internship student at the University Counseling Center and a doctoral supervisor for students pursuing master’s degrees in counseling.

Anthony Veasna So Receives Soros Fellowship for New Americans

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 13:13:00 +0000

Anthony Veasna So has received a 2018 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans to support his studies in the graduate program in creative writing in the University’s College of Arts and Sciences. So joins 29 other new Soros Fellows, selected from 1,765 applicants this year. Paul and Daisy Soros, immigrants themselves, chose to invest their money in supporting each year the graduate education of new Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—who are poised to make significant contributions to U.S. society, culture or their academic field. Each fellow receives up to $90,000 in financial support over two years, and they join a lifelong community of New American Fellows. So shared a little about his background and his ambitions for his writing.

‘Joy of Close Reading’ Conference Will Remember Prof. Hope Glidden

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:56:20 +0000

“The Joy of Close Reading in Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Studies” is the name of a conference that will be held Friday, April 27, in memory of Professor Hope Glidden, a distinguished scholar of early modern French literature and member of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) who passed away on Sept. 17, 2017.

During the conference, 11 faculty members working in the fields of ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies will present about the practice of close reading texts within their respective fields of research. The keynote speaker is Prof. Phillip Usher from New York University. Faculty, staff and both graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to attend. For the full program, visit the .

“Hope Glidden was a beloved member of the French section of LLL and an accomplished scholar of French literature, especially of Rabelais and Montaigne,” says Albrecht Diem, associate professor of history and one of the organizers of the conference. “This conference is a tribute to her work and her teaching. She was part of the Medieval/Renaissance program and many of the presenters were not only her colleagues but also close friends of her. We also show with this conference that the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Period is, more than it is commonly known, a particularly strong field at our university.”

The conference will take place at the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library, from 9 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. It is sponsored by the Medieval-Renaissance program, the Humanities Center, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and Bird Library.

Requests for accommodations may be made to Diem at adiem@maxwell.syr.edu or 315-443-0785 until April 19.

Sarah Fuchs Sampson Wins Fellowship to Research at Harvard’s Houghton Library

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 18:47:44 +0000

Sarah Fuchs Sampson, assistant professor of music history and cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Music Histories, is the recipient of the 2018-19 John M. Ward Fellowship in Dance and Music for the Theatre at Harvard University’s Houghton Library. The library is renowned for its collections of rare books and manuscripts. The short-term fellowship will support research for her second book project, “Singing Beyond the Stage: The Embellished Score in Late Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Europe.”

Sarah Fuchs Sampson

Fuchs Sampson explains, “In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, British and French sheet-music publishers commonly issued piano-vocal scores featuring the names of the most celebrated singers of the day on their front covers. Many of these publications claimed to bear traces of singers’ unique performance practices, especially the embellishments they introduced at will into arias and art songs, using phrases such as ‘sung by’ or ‘introduced by’ to indicate that the printed vocal lines did indeed record what had happened in real time. In my project—which constitutes the first full-length study of the creation, promotion and consumption of embellished piano-vocal scores—I suggest that the significance of the embellished score lay not in its ability to mirror the sounds of the stage but to mediate them, thus shaping how critics and consumers in Great Britain, France and beyond thought about vocal expression on and off the stage in the late 1700s and early 1800s.”

The Harvard Theatre Collection, held at Houghton Library, preserves a large number of these embellished scores, Fuchs Sampson says. She will spend four to six weeks in May and June 2019 there, examining about 300 printed scores associated in some way with famous singers dating back to the late 1700s and early 1800s, as well as a handful of musical manuscripts reflecting how amateur musicians engaged with established singers’ vocal practices.

“A dynamic young scholar in her field, Sarah has also distinguished herself at SU with her innovative approaches to teaching and scholarship,” says Romita Ray, associate professor of art history and chair of the Department of Art and Music Histories. “Her fellowship at the Houghton Library is particularly exciting as it will enable her to work on her second book project. The Department of Art and Music Histories is thrilled to see her grow from strength to strength.”

Grounded in archival research, Fuchs Sampson’s scholarship on the musical culture of the long 19th century is broadly interdisciplinary, incorporating perspectives from cultural history as well as film and media studies. Her first book project focuses on how audiences, voice teachers and opera singers used technology to engage with French operatic culture around the turn of the 19th century.

Fuchs Sampson received a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. She is a member of the American Musicological Society, the European Association for Digital Humanities, the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and the Society for French Historical Studies. She is also the recipient of several awards, including the prize for the best scholarly paper delivered by a junior scholar at the 2015 Transnational Opera Studies Conference held in Bologna, Italy.

YouTube Sensations Damon and Jo to Visit Campus April 11

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:40:17 +0000

Joanna Franco, left, and Damon Dominique in one of their YouTube videos

In 2015, best friends Damon Dominique from Indiana and Joanna Franco from Brazil started a series of travel videos for young people who want to travel but may have a limited budget, or who lack familiarity with a particular destination. In a few years, these 20-something YouTubers have attracted more than a million views each month and keep their audience laughing while recounting their trials and tribulations as they explore many countries and a wide variety of situations.

On Wednesday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m., Damon and Jo will appear at Gifford Auditorium to share their story. The two, who speak five languages fluently between them, will talk to students about the role of language, travel and global awareness in education and about the story of their business, .

Tickets are free at the Schine Box Office. The event is sponsored by La Société Francophone and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics.

SUArt Galleries Announces Acquisition of Major Work by Contemporary Artist Carrie Mae Weems

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:01:48 +0000

The ��ϲ�� Art Galleries has announced its acquisition of several important works by internationally acclaimed artist Carrie Mae Weems.�� These works, “People of a Darker Hue” (2016), “All the Boys (Blocked 1)” and “All the Boys (Blocked 2)” (2016), were made possible through the generosity of the Charina Endowment Fund, Richard Menschel ’55 and the artist. Menschel, along with his brother Robert ‘51, H’91, assisted with the 2004 acquisition of Sol Lewitt’s “Six Curved Walls”��in honor of former ��ϲ�� Chancellor Nancy Cantor.�� The work is installed as a part of the Art on Campus Program, on the hillside of Crouse College.

“All the Boys (Blocked 2)” by Carrie Mae Weems

“People of a Darker Hue,” a 15-minute video, and “All the Boys (Blocked),” archival photographic prints with screenprint, ask the viewers to contemplate the prejudicial law enforcement practices that impact communities of color. “People of a Darker Hue” was screened last year at the ��ϲ�� International Film Festival and at the Anglim Gilbert Gallery in San Francisco, while the photographic prints have been seen at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City. These works investigate issues of identity and those aspects of police reports where ‘presumed guilt’ is often the norm.�� “All the Boys” (2016) specifically responds to the recent killings of young African-American men and suggests the bleak reality that is all too often conjured up by portraits of black men in hooded sweatshirts.�� The accompanying text panels remind us of police reports, underscoring the all-too-often ‘presumed guilty’ attitudes of our law-enforcement community.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Considered one of the most influential contemporary American artists, Carrie Mae Weems has investigated family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems and the consequences of power. Determined as ever to enter the picture—both literally and metaphorically—Weems has sustained an ongoing dialogue within contemporary discourse for over 30 years. During this time, Weems has developed a complex body of art employing photographs, text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation and video.

Weems has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions at major national and international museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frist Center for Visual Art, Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain.

Weems has received numerous awards, grants and fellowships, including the prestigious Prix de Roma, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Alpert, the Anonymous was a Woman, and the Tiffany Awards. In 2012, Weems was presented with one of the first U.S. Department of State’s Medals of Arts in recognition for her commitment to the State Department’s Art in Embassies program. In 2013, Weems received the MacArthur “Genius” grant as well as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also received the BET Honors Visual Artist award, the Lucie Award for Fine Art photography, and was one of four artists honored at the Guggenheim’s 2014 International Gala.�� Additionally, she is a recipient of the ICP Spotlights Award from the International Center of Photography, the WEB Dubois Award from Harvard University, as well as Honorary Degrees from: ��ϲ��, California College of the Arts, Colgate University, Bowdoin College and the School of Visual Arts.

She is represented in public and private collections around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and the Tate Modern, London.

About ��ϲ��

��ϲ�� is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an��undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic , with a global footprint, and��, ��ϲ�� offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of ��ϲ�� 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 .

Slepecky Lecture, Award Ceremony to Take Place April 4

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 16:30:04 +0000

The Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony will take place Wednesday, April 4, at 2:45 p.m. in 304 Schine Student Center. This is a change from the previously announced starting time of 3 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available for the event. If you have requests for accessibility and accommodations, please contact the Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services (EOIRS) office at 315.443.4018.

Guest speaker Nora S. Newcombe, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple University, will lecture on “Spatial Thinking for STEM Success.” Spatial thinking concerns the locations of objects, their shapes, their relations and the paths they take as they move. Spatial skills are as important, as literacy and numeracy and play a central role in achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This talk will review research showing that (a) spatial thinking and STEM learning are related, and (b) spatial thinking is malleable. It will go on to evaluate two strategies for using these findings in education. Strategy 1 involves direct training of spatial skills. Strategy 2 involves spatializing the curriculum, using tools including spatial language, maps, diagrams, graphs, analogical comparison, physical activity that instantiates scientific or mathematical principles, gesture and sketching.

Newcombe received a B.A. in 1972 from Antioch College and a Ph.D. in 1976 from Harvard University. Her research focuses on spatial cognition and development, and the development of episodic memory. She is currently principal investigator of the NSF-funded Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, whose purpose is to develop the science of spatial learning and use this knowledge to support children and adults in acquiring STEM skills. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006 and to the Society of Experimental Psychologists in 2008 and has numerous publications and awards to her name. She is president-elect of the Federation of Associations of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

“Dr. Newcombe is an outstanding cognitive scientist and a pioneer in the scientific study of spatial cognition,” says Amy Criss, professor and chair in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “She is also a fierce advocate for the sciences and an award- winning mentor. We are very fortunate to welcome her to ��ϲ�� to honor the legacy of Dr. Slepecky.”

Norma Slepecky in 1999, holding a model of the auditory system

Professor Norma Slepecky, for whom the lecture and research prize are named, was only 57 when she died on May 2, 2001. She was a distinguished auditory neuroanatomist and professor at ��ϲ��. As a professor of bioengineering and neuroscience in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and member of the Institute for Sensory Research, Slepecky was a passionate researcher herself and an advocate for undergraduate student research. She frequently mentored undergraduate students seeking research experience. She also strongly supported efforts to increase the number of women in science and engineering.

With her enthusiastic approval, her family, friends and colleagues joined together to endow the Norma Slepecky Memorial Lectureship and Undergraduate Research Prize just prior to her passing. She hoped that her legacy, with the support of the endowment, would continue to encourage young undergraduate women to conduct research, thereby combining both her passions. The deans of represented colleges designated WISE as the stewards for this lectureship by a noted woman scholar and award to an undergraduate woman researcher and the celebration luncheon.

About ��ϲ��

White House Champion of Change Talila Lewis to Speak on Disability Justice March 29

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 16:17:21 +0000

“Disability Justice in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Perspectives on Race, Disability, Law & Accountability” will be the topic when disability activist Talila Lewis gives an address Thursday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to noon in 228B Schine Student Center.

Talila Lewis

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by lunch from noon-1 p.m.

This event is supported by the Center on Human Policy, the Disability Law Society and the Disability Cultural Center. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation will be provided. For more information, please contact Alan Foley at afoley@syr.edu.

People with disabilities represent over half of all people killed by law enforcement and are the largest minority population in jails and prisons, point out the organizers of the event. Yet advocates rarely view the crisis of mass incarceration through a disability justice lens or approach decarceration advocacy with an intersectional framework. This presentation will explore the historical and present nexus between race, class, disability and structural inequities within the criminal legal system and those systems that feed the United States carceral system. Attendees will learn practical strategies for advocacy in education, legal and prison settings that foreground longstanding federal disability rights laws and that center disability justice principles. Lewis will examine and critique current trends in advocacy and offer innovative and intersectional alternatives that have the potential to stem the tide of mass incarceration for all people.

“The work Talila Lewis is doing is so important and crosses many intersections of the human experience,” says Bruce Sexton, president of the Disability Law Society. “You will be in for a treat if you are able to make the lecture.”

Lewis was recognized as a White House Champion of Change and one of Pacific Standard Magazine’s Top 30 Thinkers Under 30. She engineers social justice campaigns that illuminate the nexus between race, class, disability and structural inequity. Lewis co-founded and serves as the volunteer director of Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of Deaf communities (HEARD), a volunteer-dependent nonprofit organization that created and maintains the only national database of deaf imprisoned people.

Lewis also serves as a consultant on radical education and workplace inclusion; serves as an expert on cases involving disabled people; and previously served as the Givelber Public Interest Lecturer at Northeastern University School of Law and a visiting professor at Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf. She is a founding member of the Harriet Tubman Collective and co-creator of the Disability Solidarity praxis and practice. A recent graduate of American University Washington College of Law, Lewis has received awards from numerous universities, the American Bar Association, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the American Association for People with Disabilities and the Nation Institute, among others.

About ��ϲ��

Q&A: Karina von Tippelskirch on Journalist Dorothy Thompson

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 13:54:34 +0000

Karina von Tippelskirch

Journalist Dorothy Thompson, a 1914 alumna of ��ϲ��, is not well known today, but before and during World War II, she was one of the U.S.’s most influential women, along with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In her new book, “Dorothy Thompson and German Writers in Defense of Democracy” (Peter Lang GmbH, Internatiionaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2018), Associate Professor of German Karina von Tippelskirch investigates Thompson’s early and fierce opposition to Adolf Hitler, and how she acted as an agent of cultural transference between Germany and the United States.

Stanford Professor to Give Volcker Lecture March 26

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 19:06:18 +0000

Raj Chetty, professor economics at Stanford University, will give the Volcker Lecture Monday, March 26, at 4 p.m. in Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium. The title of his talk is “Restoring the American Dream: New Lessons from Big Data.”

Raj Chetty

A reception will follow the lecture. Free parking is available in the University Avenue Garage. For more information, to RSVP or to watch the live stream, visit .

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available for each event. If you have requests for accessibility and accommodations, please contact the Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services (EOIRS) office at 315.443.4018.

Chetty’s research combines empirical evidence and economic theory to help design more effective government policies. His work on tax policy, unemployment insurance and education has been widely cited in media outlets and Congressional testimony. His current research focuses on equality of opportunity: How can we give children from disadvantaged backgrounds better chances of succeeding?

Chetty is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” grant and the John Bates Clark medal, given by the American Economic Association to the best American economist under age 40.

The Volcker Lecture is presented by Leonard Burman, the Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics in the , and by the Maxwell School’s Center for Policy Research. Robert Menschel, senior director at Goldman Sachs and trustee emeritus of the University, endowed the chair to honor Paul Volcker, a pre-eminent economist and former chair of the Federal Reserve.

About ��ϲ��

Shadow Day Marks 20 Years of Inspiring Seymour Students

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 18:24:00 +0000

Shadow Day will mark its 20th anniversary at the University on Friday, March 23, when 94 fifth-grade students from the ��ϲ�� City School District’s Seymour Dual Language Academy visit campus for the day. The event, formerly coordinated by University College, will be run under the auspices of Community Engagement for the first time this year. The event has also received��generous support from multiple departments across campus that have made donations.

Seymour Dual Language Academy fifth-grade students visit Manley Field House during 2017’s Shadow Day.

“Shadow Day is a key event for the fifth grade at Seymour School,” says Bea �ҴǲԳ�á��, vice president for community engagement. “It has become a tradition that the students look forward to as they reach grade 5. The SU students see Shadow Day as an opportunity to give back to their community and pay it forward. That is certainly true for me as an alum of Seymour.”

�ҴǲԳ�á�� says that after meeting with Thomas Rosaschi, the event’s coordinator at Seymour, they modeled a campus visit for the students. The day will start out with a welcome reception in Maxwell Auditorium, where the Seymour students will meet University students and get breakfast. Chancellor Kent Syverud will welcome them, along with �ҴǲԳ�á��. The Admissions Office will make a presentation, which will be followed by a group photo.

The next couple of hours will be spent touring campus or visiting academic classes. As time allows, the students will visit the following places:

Schine Student Center Bookstore
Bird Library and/or Carnegie Library
Hendricks Chapel
Crouse College
Hall of Languages

After lunch at the Schine Student Center, the students will be taken by bus to Manley Field House and the Carmelo Anthony Center. There, they will get a tour of the facilities and meet some of the student athletes.

�ҴǲԳ�á�� says that the day’s activities have changed a little bit over the years, but at its core it has always been about providing the Seymour students with the opportunity to see themselves as college students. “We introduce them to our own undergraduates, many with similar backgrounds, and remind them that they too can attend ��ϲ�� or any other university, especially since the University has given the promise of tuition support via the Say Yes program,” she says.

About ��ϲ��

‘Mindfulness and Social Justice’ Will Be Topic of Interfaith Dialogue Dinner

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 14:07:22 +0000

The last of the University’s 2017-18 Interfaith Dialogue Dinner Series, “Common and Diverse Ground: Raising Consciousnesses by Acknowledging the ‘Hidden’ Things that Divide Us,” will take place on Thursday, March 22. The dialogue, on “Mindfulness and Social Justice,” will be held from 6-8 p.m. in the Noble Room of Hendricks Chapel.

The two-hour gathering will include a shared meal, facilitated dialogue and two times of mindful meditation (at the beginning and the end). The dialogue will be co-facilitated by chaplains, faculty, staff and students.

“Bonnie Shoultz and I are delighted to collaborate with the Rev. Rhonda Chester, all of our myriad chaplaincies, Prof. Diane Grimes and the Spiritual Life Council, with support from Dean Brian Konkol, to host this semester’s Interfaith Dialogue Dinner, thus continuing this meaningful, ongoing series for our students, faculty, staff and community members,” says Diane Wiener, director of the Disability Cultural Center, who, with Buddhist Chaplain Shoultz, co-coordinates the series. “We welcome and look forward to everyone’s participation, as always.”

The group will also be celebrating both the recent Outstanding Spiritual Initiatives Award��from NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education won by Hendricks Chapel for its weekly Dean’s Convocations and the Feb. 7 release of “” by Mark E. Hanshaw and Timothy S. Moore. The book “shows the innovation and inspired engagement happening on United Methodist-related colleges and universities.” Contributors include Shoultz and Wiener.

This event is co-sponsored by the Disability Cultural Center and Hendricks Chapel.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and inclusive food will be provided. Requests for accommodations or food queries should be made by contacting sudcc@syr.edu.

About ��ϲ��

We’ve All Heard the Words ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Blockchain,’ but What Are They?

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 13:44:50 +0000

Lee McKnight, left, and Chris Chomicki

Lee W.McKnight is an associate professor in the , faculty advisor to the Worldwide Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship Club and an affiliate of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. He is also an expert on Bitcoin and its underlying technology, Blockchain. Chris Chomicki is a junior studying information management and technology and computer science in the iSchool He also works as a web developer for SIDEARM Sports and is also an athlete on the Division I Cheerleading Squad at the University. Together, they answered some questions about Bitcoin and Blockchain for those of us who are not technical whizzes.

For more information: Register for McKnight’s��webinar Feb. 14, noon-1 p.m. EST, titled:��“.”

Britton Plourde Works to Develop Tools for Quantum Computer

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:43:25 +0000

Britton Plourde, professor in the Department of Physics in the , has received a new grant from the National Science Foundation to work on developing tools for building a quantum computer. This is a collaborative project with a group in the Physics Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Britton Plourde, right, works with JJ Nelson, a postdoc in his research group, on the vacuum sputter deposition tool in his research lab that is used for growing thin films of superconducting metals.

“One of the remarkable recent discoveries in information science is that quantum mechanics can lead to efficient solutions for problems that are intractable on conventional classical computers,” Plourde says. “While there has been tremendous recent progress in the realization of small-scale quantum circuits comprising several quantum bits (‘qubits’), research indicates that a fault-tolerant quantum computer that exceeds what is possible on existing classical machines will require a network of thousands or millions of qubits, far beyond current capabilities.”

A ��ϲ�� faculty member since 2005, Plourde has been awarded multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, Army Research Office, DARPA and IARPA. He also is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award and an IBM Faculty Award. Plourde earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is editor-in-chief of the journal Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

He answered a few questions about his research.

2018 Transmedia Photography Annual

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:34:20 +0000

��is featuring the “2018 Transmedia Photography Annual”��exhibition, featuring photographs by seniors from the art photography program in the��within the�� The exhibition will be on view in the Hallway Gallery at Light Work through March 2. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, Feb.1, from 5-7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

“Quarry Loc” by Lashelle Ramirez, named Best in Show in the 2018 Transmedia Photography Annual

Light Work is located in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center at 316 Waverly Ave.

Exhibiting students include: Nora Alexandra-Young, Sydney Aliza Howard, Carly Bova, Anna Braun Heckler, Danielle A. Brown, Kendall C. Cooleen, Ericka Lynne Jones-Craven, Aman M. Kurien, Yvette Marie Moreno, Everett Putnam-Mackey, Lashelle Ramirez and Michelle Velasquez.

Paula Tognarelli, executive director and curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography, served as juror to select images for Best of Show and Honorable Mentions. Best of Show went to Lashelle Ramirez, and Honorable Mentions went to Nora Alexandra-Young, Danielle A. Brown, and Ericka Lynne Jones-Craven.

According to Tognarelli:

“In a gathering of photographic submissions, a juror can sense the pulse of a community. From a sampling of photographs, I try to approximate what is on the minds of the artists of the 2018 Transmedia Photography Annual. ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I belong?’ are common interrogatives of youth. From Socrates to every generation hence there is a constant to explore the reason to be. An examination of self is evident in this exhibition.

“In some cases, the artist deliberates the body as in ‘Quarry Loc’” by Lashelle Ramirez, who received Best in Show. Theirs is a study awash in brown color variations and compositional movement. Our focus travels from sand to coils of hair and along the linear turn of the shoulder and neck. The subject remains anonymous.

“In other images, artists are attuned to their surroundings and family and friends that bind them to a place. ‘Hors’” by Nora Alexandra-Young received an Honorable Mention. The strength of this photograph comes from a gesture that implies comfort, connection and empathy. A girl places her hand on a horse’s heart. Touch, not sight, unite the two.

“Ericka Lynne Jones-Craven received an Honorable Mention for ‘Water’” In hindsight, the photograph of ‘Mary’ should have received an award, as ‘Mary’ informs ‘Water’ and vice versa. The brown skin, the outstretched arms and the blue of water and veil complement both photographs. The figure floating in water, almost an abstraction, is reminiscent of a painting by Rubens called ‘The Assumption: The Feast of Mary the Virgin’ and another by Rubens in 1516 called ‘The Assunta.’

“Finally, ‘A Borne Silver Lining’ by Danielle Brown also received an Honorable Mention. The subject stands on a train platform. She confronts the viewer with confidence. What I respond to is the photograph’s mystery, its steel-gray pallet and the process of uncovering the artist’s intent.”

Light Work’s close partnership with the Department of Transmedia provides art photography students with full access to��its production facilities, lectures and workshops. Many students have worked with Light Work throughout their undergraduate careers and have become an integral source of the energy, passion and excitement that defines��the organization. “The Light Work staff and community congratulate all of the seniors on their accomplishments, and wish them the best in their bright futures within the field of photography,” says Cjala Surratt, promotions coordinator at Light Work.

��is executive director and curator of the . The Griffin Museum of Photography, located in Winchester outside Boston,�� is a nonprofit photography museum whose mission is to promote an appreciation of photographic art and a broader understanding of its visual, emotional and social impact. Tognarelli is responsible for producing over 60 exhibitions a year at the Griffin and its surrounding satellite spaces. She holds an M.S. in arts administration from Boston University, B.A. from Regis College, is a graduate of the New England School of Photography and is a current candidate for her master’s in education at Lesley University. She has juried and curated exhibitions internationally, including American Photo’s Image of the Year, Photoville’s Fence, Flash Forward Festival, Deland Arts Festival, Center for Fine Art Photography, PDN’s Photo Annual, PDN’s Curator Awards, the Kontinent Awards, the Filter Festival in Chicago, San Francisco International Photography Exhibition, Your Daily Photograph for Duncan Miller Gallery and the Lishui International Photography Festival in Lishui, China.

Psychology Alumnus Awarded Bronze Medal for Dissertation

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 19:33:36 +0000

William Aue G’14, who earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology in the , has been awarded a bronze medal for the James McKeen Cattell Dissertation Award for his dissertation, “Understanding Proactive Facilitation in Cued Recall.”

William Aue

In a continuing effort to encourage and recognize high standards of dissertation research, the Psychology Section of the New York Academy of Sciences biennially recognizes outstanding doctoral dissertations in psychology through the James McKeen Cattell Award. The competition is limited to students of doctoral programs in regionally accredited institutions who have either attained doctoral degrees or successfully defended their dissertations. Dissertations are judged by the steering committee of the Psychology Section, in consultation with specialists in the area of the dissertation.

“The aim of my research is to better understand when and how we update existing memories with new information,” Aue explains. “It’s well known that old memories can interfere with newer memories. For example, if a friend weds and changes their surname, our memory for their old name may make it hard to recall their new name; a phenomenon called proactive interference. In my dissertation, I examined situations where old memories actually help people recall new information; a phenomenon called proactive facilitation.”

Aue, currently a postdoctoral research associate at Purdue University, further elaborates, “The goal of my dissertation was to understand how proactive facilitation occurs. Drawing upon models of how we think memory works, I identified multiple potential mechanisms that could explain the phenomenon. Based on the results, I suggested that when we study information, we are also covertly checking if we’ve seen it before. If the new information is recognized as having been seen before, then the new memory gets a bit of a boost. This results in it being better remembered later on.”

He currently is working to understand mechanisms that drive learning that occurs when people retrieve information from memory (for example, during a test) and how that knowledge can be applied to educational settings and materials.

Mentors for the awardees’ dissertations are also recognized with a citation certificate. Aue’s mentor was Amy Criss, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, for whom he had high praise. “Working with Amy over the years has been a phenomenal experience. In addition to the countless hours spent discussing research and editing papers, she has worked tirelessly to provide opportunities and open doors to facilitate my professional development. It’s difficult to overstate her role in my success.”

“Billy is everything you want in a graduate student,” Criss says, “an incisive and collaborative scholar and a thoughtful mentor.”

About ��ϲ��

Founded��in 1870, ��ϲ�� 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. ��ϲ��’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. ��ϲ�� 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.

Physics Ph.D. Student Builds Successful Research Company

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 21:37:31 +0000

Aaron Wolfe expects to finish up his Ph.D. in physics this semester. He has been working on his doctorate since 2011 and should have been done by now, he says, but a few things have gotten in the way—like helping to run a company, Ichor Therapeutics, of which he is chief operating officer.

Aaron Wolfe shows Ellie Iumen what plasmids to use for a protein production run at Ichor Therapeutics.

“I have always wanted to run a biotech company,” Wolfe says. And in fact, he co-founded a company once before. This was after he got his bachelor’s degree at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in biotechnology and completed coursework in finance and entrepreneurism at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. His company brought a product to market, but like most startups, it failed, and he moved on.

In the , Wolfe has studied under Liviu Movileanu, program director of what is known as the SB3 graduate program, which includes structural biology, biochemistry and biophysics. Wolfe calls it a place for people who don’t “fit in a box.”

There, he worked closely with Adam Blanden, who was enrolled in a dual M.D./Ph.D. program with Upstate Medical University. In 2015, the two established Finger Lakes Bio, a startup drug and biologic development company.

Wolfe is still the CEO of Finger Lakes Bio, but his entrepreneurial fingerprint has grown since 2015 to include co-founding RecombiPure, a company that builds research tools, and Antoxerene, which does small-molecule drug discovery. Along with this he is acting as COO of Lysoclear, which does research on macular degeneration, and Ichor Therapeutics, which is a profitable contract research organization. He is doing all this with the help of his partners Blanden and Kelsey Moody (another former Upstate medical student).

Moody established Ichor in 2013 in his living room during medical school and has been growing the company ever since; Ichor is now in its third location. After visiting the facility, it is clear that Ichor is thriving. Its capital is increasing each year and Wolfe proudly points to the state-of-the-art equipment around the company’s LaFayette, New York, labs. The component companies have been able to attract contracts and investment just through word of mouth.

The atmosphere around the lab is casual but bustling. On a tour, Wolfe points out interns from several local colleges, and one of the scientists boasts about having purified several new proteins over the past week, when a typical lab might achieve one such purification in a month.

Ichor is always seeking to move into new areas, Wolfe says, and its website confirms this: “Fundamental to the Ichor culture is an emphasis on professional development. Our backgrounds span diverse disciplines in the life sciences, engineering, computer science and business. Team members are encouraged to embrace this diversity as a professional development opportunity, and to obtain cross training in areas unrelated to their core competencies,” it states.

Employees at work at Ichor Therapeutics

Along with Ichor’s 19 employees, interns at Ichor come from several educational institutions around the area, including ��ϲ�� and SUNY ESF. Wolfe is proud that the company is able to help students just starting out pursue their research dreams.

Wolfe says earning a doctorate has been advantageous in achieving his goal of running a successful biotech company. “Having a Ph.D. gives me a baseline credibility,” he comments. “When we move up to the next level of funding it will be especially helpful.”

He credits his advisor, Movileanu, with being “very gracious and patient” during the long period it took him to complete the work toward his degree. “I was able to work with him fairly autonomously for five years, which was extremely beneficial.”

Wolfe always knew he didn’t want to use his Ph.D. to climb the academic ladder. He’s actually right where he wants to be. He just wants to keep building his company.

Issues in Digital Scholarship Forum on Nov. 15

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 17:41:44 +0000

The fall 2017 Issues in Digital Scholarship Forum will feature Sarah Fuchs Sampson, assistant professor of art and music histories, and Meina Yates-Richard, assistant professor of English, both in the . It will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from noon-1:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library. Both speakers will discuss their current digital projects, followed by Q&A and discussion.

Sponsored by the ��ϲ�� Libraries’ Research and Scholarship department, the series explores how scholars in different fields engage digital technologies as the subject matter of their research, in their research methods, their collaborative work and the systems through which their research is disseminated and preserved. The program explores the ways in which the libraries, the University, and��their technology infrastructure can support these modes of scholarship and sustain their future.

If you need an accommodation in order to fully participate in this event, please contact��Patrick Williams at jpwillia@syr.edu by Nov. 8.

Award-Winning Photographer Gerard Gaskin to Lecture at Light Work Thursday at 10 a.m.

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 17:33:12 +0000

will present a special lecture and Q&A session with 2010 Light Work Artist-in-Residence, photographer Gerard H. Gaskin, Thursday, Oc. 26, at 10 a.m. in the Light Work Lab, located in the at 316 Waverly Ave. The award-winning photographer will speak to attendees about his photographic practice, influences, artwork and career. The lecture is��free and��open to students and community members.��This event was made possible in part by the generous support of the Department of Transmedia at ��ϲ��.

Gerard Gaskin, Tez, Evisu Ball, Manhattan, NY, 2010

radiant color and black-and-white photographs take��viewers inside the culture of house balls, underground events where gay and transgender men and women, mostly African American and Latino, come together to see and be seen. At balls, high-spirited late-night pageants, members of particular “houses”—the House of Blahnik, the House of Xtravaganza—“walk,” competing for trophies in categories based on costume, attitude, dance moves, and “realness.” In this exuberant world of artistry and self-fashioning, people often marginalized for being who they are can flaunt and celebrate their most vibrant, spectacular selves.

Gaskin, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, now based in ��ϲ��, earned a B.A. from Hunter College in 1994 and is now a freelance photographer based in the greater New York City area. His photos have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, Black Enterprise, OneWorld, Teen People, Caribbean Beat and DownBeat. Among his other clients are the record companies Island, Sony, Def Jam and Mercury. �Ҳ��쾱��’s photographs have been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and abroad, and his work is held in the collections of such institutions as the Museum of the City of New York and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Gaskin has been awarded The New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship for Photography and was part of the Gordon Parks’ 90, the bringing together of 90 black photographers from all over the United States to celebrate his 90th birthday. His work is also featured in the books “Inside the L.A. Riots” (1992), “New York: A State of Mind” (2000) and “Committed To The Image: Contemporary Black Photographers” (2001).

See more of Gaskin’s images at:��

Steve Gorn to Play Concert on Tuesday, Oct. 24

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 19:26:15 +0000

Grammy Award-winning musician Steve Gorn will give a concert, “The Transformative Power of Music,” on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. in 105 Life Sciences Building. His music combines the classical Indian tradition of bansuri flute with a contemporary world music sensibility.

Steve Gorn

The event is sponsored by the Department of Art and Music Histories in the College of Arts and Sciences. For disability accommodations requests, please contact Sydney Hutchinson at sjhutchi@syr.edu.

Gorn, whose flute is featured on the 2011 Grammy-winning recording “Miho—Journey to the Mountain,” with the Paul Winter Consort, and the Academy Award-winning documentary film “Born into Brothels,” has performed Indian classical music and new American music on the bansuri bamboo flute, soprano saxophone and clarinet in concerts and festivals throughout the world. He is also featured on Grammy-nominated CDs: Paul Simon’s “You are the One,” Angelique Kidjo’s, “Oyo,” Silvia Nakkach/David Darling’s, “Long & Longing,” and Paul Avggerinos’“Bhakti.”

His latest recordings are “Rasika,” with tabla by Samir Chatterjee, and “Illumination,” with Nepali flutist Manose. In addition to the landmark world music recording “Asian Journal,” with Nana Vasconcelos and Badal Roy, he recorded “Wishing Well” with Richie Havens and in August 2013, he performed at “Back to the Garden: A Day of Song and Remembrance Honoring Richie Havens“ at the site of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Duncan Brown Named to Internet2 Board of Trustees

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 17:57:59 +0000

Duncan Brown, the Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named to the Internet2 Board of Trustees. His three-year term will begin Nov. 1.

Duncan Brown

A ��ϲ�� faculty member since 2007, Brown has distinguished himself in the fields of gravitational-wave astronomy and astrophysics. As co-leader of the University’s Gravitational-Wave Astronomy Group, he works primarily at the nexus of physics, astronomy and computing. Brown’s contributions to LIGO’s Nobel Prize-winning data have helped open a new window onto physics, astronomy and cosmology, while reframing fundamental questions about the origins and evolution of the universe. Recently, his team contributed to a major discovery: witnessing the collision of two neutron stars in deep space and the resulting afterglow that signified the process of gold being created.

An American Physical Society and Kavli Frontiers Fellow, Brown is the recipient of a Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and a Meredith Professor Teaching Recognition Award from ��ϲ��. Brown is a sought-after conference presenter; the principal investigator of more than a dozen sponsored research projects; and an accomplished teacher, mentor and author. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and, prior to ��ϲ��, held a research position at Caltech.

Internet2 is a nonprofit, member-driven advanced technology community founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 serves 324 U.S. universities, 59 government agencies and 43 regional and state education networks. Through them it supports more than 94,000 community anchor institutions, over 900 InCommon participants and 78 leading corporations working with its community, and 61 national research and education network partners that represent more than 100 countries.

Internet2 delivers a diverse portfolio of technology solutions that leverages, integrates and amplifies the strengths of its members and helps support their educational, research and community service missions. Internet2’s research and education network infrastructure supports millions of user applications each day and delivers advanced, customized services that are accessed and secured by a community-developed trust and identity framework.

Four other members were named to Internet2’s board of the directors at the same time. They are: F. Alex Feltus, associate professor of genetics and biochemistry, Clemson University; David Gray, senior vice president for finance & business, Pennsylvania State University; Klara Jelinkova, vice president for information technology and CIO, Rice University; and Kelli Trosvig, vice president for information technology and CIO, University of Michigan.

Amanda Chou selected for Clinton Global Initiative University

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 19:32:01 +0000

Amanda Chou ’19 has been selected to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in Boston.�� CGI U was established in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world. It is a global conference that brings together students, university representatives topic experts, and celebrities to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global such challenges as education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health. The event will take place��this weekend at Northeastern University.

Amanda Chou

Chou is pursuing a double major in public relations at the and political science at the . She is a founding member and chief marketing officer of , and president of the campus student organization, Thrive @ SU.�� Both are based at the Blackstone LaunchPad in Bird Library.

Thrive Projects Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by three ��ϲ�� alumni who believed in becoming “global citizens” and launched a venture to educate and empower distressed communities in places like Nepal and Haiti. The venture won first prize in the social enterprise division in the 2017 New York State Business Plan Competition. Thrive @ SU, a campus-based organization that is part of SA, takes Thrive’s philosophy of sustainable, community-based solutions and applies it to the local ��ϲ�� community, partnering with organizations like Interfaith Works.

Chou was part of the Thrive team that represented ��ϲ�� earlier this year at the prestigious Hult Prize competition. The Hult Prize is a crowdsourced platform for social good, named one of the top five ideas changing the world by Time magazine. It is aimed at launching disruptive and catalytic social ventures to solve the planet’s most pressing challenges.

Beyond her work with Thrive, Chou was the first Blackstone LaunchPad Global Media Fellow, selected in January 2017.�� In that role, she has focused on student outreach, communications and engagement, and is building a network of ��ϲ�� students interested in social entrepreneurship.

Registered Dietitian Is Now a Master Trainer

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 15:48:49 +0000

SU Food Services Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Educator Ruth Sullivan has recently been certified as an Allertrain Master Trainer through Allertrain by MenuTrinfo, LLC. As an Allertrain Master Trainer, Sullivan will be able to teach and certify Food Services staff on food allergies and celiac disease.

Ruth Sullivan

To become a certified master trainer, Sullivan had to complete the Allertrain course, then take a full-day webinar through Allertrain. Master trainers are chosen based on their knowledge of food allergies, food intolerances and celiac disease. They must also have food industry and teaching experience.

Allertrain’s certified teaching programs will enable Sullivan to keep SU Food Services staff up to date on all the latest food allergy, celiac disease, food intolerances and food sensitivity information. To date she has taught over 200 Food Services staff members and they have become certified in identifying food allergy needs. This is another step that Food Services has taken to assure the safety of all of��its customers.

Timothy Diem Marches at Head of Athletics Band

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 19:34:17 +0000

Timothy Diem

Timothy Diem is in his first year as the director of athletic bands and assistant professor of music in the Setnor School of Music in the . Previously he spent 16 years at the University of Minnesota, 11 as the director of the Pride of Minnesota Marching Band.

Along with directing the marching band and overseeing all administrative aspects of the program, Diem also has taught courses in music education, marching band techniques and conducting, and directed various concert ensembles. Diem has also taught grades 5-12 instrumental music for four years in Elbow Lake and Rockford, Minnesota.

Faculty and Staff: Energize Midday with Free 30-Minute Fitness Class

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 13:04:39 +0000

Get fit this fall with a variety of free lunchtime fitness classes. The ��ϲ�� Wellness Initiative is hosting a free fitness sampler series on main campus starting Oct.��11. The series offers faculty and staff an opportunity to sample a variety of 30-minute classes, including body toning, balance and core, boot camp and yoga.

All levels of experience are welcome; no registration required. Wear comfortable clothes, bring water and a mat or towel. Invite a coworker and drop in for one or all of the classes!

Wednesdays, Oct.11-Nov. 15
Schine Student Center
12:15-12:45 p.m.

Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.

Questions? Email wellness@syr.edu or call 315.443.5472.

to stay up to date on the latest wellness events.

Brought to you by the ��ϲ�� Wellness Initiative

Get Vaccinated Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Have a Healthy Winter

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 13:34:36 +0000

in the United States can begin as early as this month. It typically peaks in January or February. The single best way to prevent getting the flu is to get the vaccine. It won’t protect you against every strain of flu, but it is formulated to protect against the most common strains that are going around. And even if you get a strain that you’re not vaccinated for, you will get a milder case than if you weren’t vaccinated at all, says Michele Frontale, supervising pharmacist for the Health Center.

Here on campus, you can begin your flu protection early by getting vaccinated at the free flu clinic for students, staff and faculty on Oct. 11 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Flanagan Gymnasium. No appointment is necessary—just bring your SU ID.

Not only will you be helping yourself, but you will be helping the University’s Health Services and Onondaga County.

“The University is a point of distribution for the county,” says Frontale. “We need to see how well we would perform if there was an emergency, such as an outbreak of a rare disease or a terrorist attack using a biological weapon. The more people we can vaccinate in a short period, the better.”

Frontale adds that the clinic will be staffed by personnel from the health center and from the county health department.

This year, getting vaccinated at the Oct. 11 clinic will get you extra protection, because Health Services is using a quadrivalent vaccine. That means the vaccine is formulated to protect against the four most common strains of flu that are predicted to be going around this year. The trivalent vaccine that was used in previous years protected against just the three strains predicted to be the most common.

Goldstein Restaurant Closed Oct. 5 and 6

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:29:45 +0000

The Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center Restaurant will be closed for lunch Thursday, Oct. 5, and Friday, Oct. 6, because of Orange Central events. The restaurant will reopen for lunch on Monday, Oct. 9.

Career Services Holds Annual Law and Graduate School Information Fairs

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 19:30:30 +0000

On Thursday, Sept. 28, Career Services will be hosting its annual Law and Graduate School Information Fairs. A day dedicated to helping students learn more about pursuing higher education after graduation, the events give students the chance to learn about opportunities right here at ��ϲ�� as well as at over 90 top colleges and universities. The Law School Information Fair will be held in the Panasci Lounge in the Schine Student Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Graduate School Information Fair will also be held in the Panasci Lounge in the Schine Student Center and runs from 5-7 p.m.

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.

Message from Health Services

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 19:39:08 +0000

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

��ϲ�� continues its aggressive communications campaign focused on educating the campus community about how to detect and prevent the spread of mumps. As reported yesterday, there are confirmed cases of mumps among our student population.

Following the confirmation of these cases and under the direction of the Office of Health Services, the University immediately activated its strong response protocol. This included isolating the potentially infected students, sanitizing all areas with which the students came in contact and notifying all people who may have interacted with the affected students.

In addition to ensuring you’re up to date on your vaccinations, some other tips for preventing the spread of illness include:

• Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or your arm when coughing or sneezing.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water.

• Avoid sharing cups, utensils, water bottles, etc.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces like sinks, doorknobs and tables.

Some common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides.

Mumps can be serious, but most people make a full recovery within a few weeks, and most symptoms can be managed with over-the-counter medication. It is important to remember that mumps is a vaccine preventable disease. According to Onondaga County Health Commissioner Dr. Indu Gupta because of high vaccination rates, mumps is no longer very common in the United States. While sporadic cases can still occur among vaccinated individuals and outbreaks have occurred on college campuses across New York State and the U.S., the best way to protect against mumps is to get the MMR shot. Additional information on mumps and immunizations is available on the .

We are always happy to answer your questions or discuss your concerns. Please call us at 315.443.9005 if you’d like to connect with a member of our team.

Sincerely,

Office of Health Services

Message from Health Services

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:40:11 +0000

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

The safety and well-being of all members of the ��ϲ�� campus community is our top priority. Within the last few hours, we have confirmed two cases of the mumps among our student population.

It is critical that we have up-to-date vaccination records on all our students. To that end, we are currently reminding all students without vaccination records that they must submit them to Health Services or get a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot. Mumps is not common today because of the effectiveness of the vaccine, and people most at risk are those not vaccinated.

While the vaccine is effective, on occasion, people who have had the vaccine may still get the mumps. Knowing the symptoms and maintaining good health practices will not only help keep you healthy, but your fellow community members as well.

Some common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides.

In addition to ensuring you’re up to date on your vaccinations, some other tips for preventing the spread of illness include:

• Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or your arm when coughing or sneezing.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water.

• Avoid sharing cups, utensils, water bottles, etc.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces like sinks, doorknobs and tables.

Mumps can be serious, but most people make a full recovery within a few weeks, and most symptoms can be managed with over-the-counter medication.

Health Services is working closely with the Onondaga County Health Department to monitor the situation and has already been in contact with those affected. This is normal and considered best practice.

Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Health Services at 315.443.9005.

Sincerely,

Office of Health Services

Q&A with Coming Back Together Chancellor’s Citation Winner Colline Hernandez-Ayala

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 13:32:18 +0000

Colline Hernandez-Ayala

Colline Hernandez-Ayala is a partner at GTM Architects and leads the multifamily/mixed-use studio practice specializing in the planning and design of large urban redevelopment projects. She began her career as an architectural designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago, working on high-rise commercial structures. After several years working for other firms, she and two colleagues started JH Design Group. The firm’s work included the design of mixed-income replacement housing, retail and commercial projects. She is also a wife and mother of two boys, Nicolas and Noah ages 13 and 7. As a student at ��ϲ��, Ayala participated in Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the Student African American Society and C-STEP. She is a 1989 graduate of the and is a lead donor of an endowment benefiting black and Latino architecture students at ��ϲ��.

Point of Contact Gallery Presents ‘Aleph’ by Pedro Roth

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 18:58:31 +0000

A piece from the exhibition “Aleph” by Pedro Roth

The exhibition “Aleph” by artist Pedro Roth is on view at Point of Contact Gallery,��350 W. Fayette St., ��ϲ��, through Oct. 6.

An artist talk and guided tour will take place Thursday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. A reception will follow at 6 p.m.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, and raised in Buenos Aires, where he currently lives, Roth has exhibited extensively between Prague and Buenos Aires in venues such as the Laura Haber Gallery, Centro Cultural Borges and the Wussman Gallery, among others. His works can be found in collections of the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (MAMBA); Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Latinoamericano, La Plata (MACLA); Jewish Museum of Prague; Museo de Bellas Artes de Azul, Provincia de Buenos Aires; Museo Contemporaneo de Santa Fe (MAC); and the Jewish Museum of Buenos Aires. In 2010, he was recognized as a Distinguished Citizen of the Culture by the City Council of Buenos Aires.

Urban Cinematheque 2017: ‘Get Out’ on Friday, Sept. 1

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:51:33 +0000

Explore the downtown arts and culture scene in ��ϲ�� with a free screening of box office��blockbuster “Get Out” by director Jordan Peele!

Jordan’s Peele’s film “Get Out” will be shown at this year’s Urban Cinematheque on Sept. 1.

UVP will host the screening in the Onondaga County Community Plaza adjacent to the iconic .

This event is free and open to the public.

Dozens of local arts��Ի� culture organizations��will host tables at the event. Free popcorn and lemonade will be provided. Food trucks will also be present.

Audience members who are able to do so are advised to bring blankets or portable chairs. Limited seating will be available on a first come, first served basis. Street parking, as well as pay parking lots, are ample in the immediate vicinity.

Charter buses leave from and return to the on the ��ϲ�� Campus Center every 15 minutes from 7-11 p.m.

Urban Cinematheque is presented by UVP and Light Work in partnership with the Everson Museum of Art, Onondaga County Office of the County Executive, and the Connective Corridor, and generous support from:��Ի� . Additional support is provided by the��.

Book Memorializes Symposium in Tribute to Late, Great African Writer Chinua Achebe

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 18:49:59 +0000

In 2014, the Department of African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences held a daylong conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe’s landmark novel “Arrow of God.” The symposium featured some of the top scholars in the field of African literature to talk about the man who was called “the father of the African novel.”

The cover of “The Art of Resistance,” featuring Herbert Ruffin’s painting

The scholars gathered not only to honor “Arrow of God,” which is seen as one of the most important indictments of colonialism in literature. They also wanted to remember Achebe himself, who had died just the year before. Some in the ��ϲ�� audience may have remembered his receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University in 1998.

This spring, that conference has been memorialized in a book, “Illuminations on Chinua Achebe: The Art of Resistance,” issued by Africa World Press. It was edited by Herbert G. Ruffin II, associate professor and chair of African American studies, and Micere Githae Mugo, professor emerita of African American studies, the co-conveners of the 2014 conference. In addition to contributing through editing and writing, Ruffin lent one of his paintings for the volume’s cover.

“The idea was always to produce a book that could become a model for the production of new knowledge and freedom as a result of it,” Ruffin says

The conference’s focus was “Arrow of God” (1964), which many see as Achebe’s masterpiece and the culmination of what is known as his trilogy, but he is known for many works, including novels, short stories, poetry and essays. “No other African writer has succeeded as he has in evoking and perpetuating the African orature heritage through the written tradition,” says Mugo, herself an orature expert.

As Ruffin and Mugo say in the book’s introduction, “The total legacy of this great writer cannot be confined to one work alone, however fine it might be.”

Achebe’s best-known novel is actually his first book and the first of the trilogy, “Things Fall Apart” (1958). According to Mugo, that book is the one that “placed African literature on the world map.” It has sold more than 12 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages.

Mugo says the conference participants were challenged to come up with new theoretical formulations on “Arrow of God,” Chinua Achebe as a writer and his legacy as an individual; to bring “illuminations on Achebe” to the conference table, and they did just that.

The book contains 12 essays, including one by Achebe’s daughter and two by Mugo, for whom Achebe served as a mentor and friend. “I owe a great deal of my literary achievements to Professor Achebe,” Mugo says.

The book has been well-received by scholars. Says Tsitsi Jaji, associate professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania: “Mugo and Ruffin have accomplished that rare feat of bringing to light new reasons to celebrate the life and work of one of African literature’s founding figures. … Here scholars, authors of fiction, editors and historians elucidate why ‘Arrow of God,’ a far less-studied novel than his first, is essential to comprehending Achebe’s impact on African, and indeed, world letters.”

Talent Agency Grooms Artistic Teens for Success

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 15:45:16 +0000

Student Tyron McIntire sketches during drawing class at the Talent Agency.

David Gebremichael is one of a group of teens who, surprisingly during the summer, get themselves out of bed early and down to the Nancy Cantor Warehouse on West Fayette Street in ��ϲ�� by 9 a.m. four days a week.

Assata Bey works on a sculpture.

Gebremichael isn’t getting paid to be there. He’s one of 24 students at the Talent Agency, a nonprofit program that works with visually creative youth to help them develop their art skills and create portfolios of their work.

“I got lost finding this place the first time,” Gebremichael says, “but I’m glad I found it. I like it here.”

Yvonne Buchanan, one of the Talent Agency’s co-founders and an associate professor of art in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), says Gebremichael is very talented. He was connected with the program through his guidance counselor at Corcoran High School in the ��ϲ�� City School District, which Buchanan says is a common way to find out about the program.

Most, but not all, of the students are economically disadvantaged. “We don’t ask about the kids’ status, but we try to reach those who couldn’t pay for these lessons,” Buchanan says. “We have grants to serve underprivileged kids.” Almost all of the students come from the ��ϲ�� school district, with a few from Liverpool and Solvay sprinkled in.

And not all are high school students. A handful attend Onondaga Community College, and a few are out of school and working.

The Talent Agency started seven summers ago, at the time running out of the sculpture studio of the other co-founder, Dorene Quinn, then an adjunct professor in VPA. They found that the students lost momentum if they didn’t keep going, so they started running the program year-round, though the summer program is the most intensive. A grant from then-Chancellor Nancy Cantor helped the program get on its feet. It is still housed in the community space at the Warehouse.

The summer program runs Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The mornings are spent drawing; then, after lunch, come classes in concentrations, such as painting, photography, 3D art, digital art�� and sculpture.

The program helps students develop not only their artistic skills but also a portfolio of work that can be used for college admission applications. Eleven students from the program have gone on to attend ��ϲ�� in arts, design, film or other creative programs.

Azalea Thomas sculpts a rose.

Buchanan, a studio artist, and Quinn oversee the undergraduate and graduate students from VPA who teach in the program. Many of them come back for several years to burnish their teaching credentials.

“We attract students who are interested in teaching,” Buchanan says. “Some of them even want to start something like this in their own hometowns.” She adds that Talent Agency teachers also get student images for use in their own portfolios.

Prospective teachers are interviewed and must come up with a course syllabus, but they aren’t required to have previous teaching experience.

Taro Takizawa ’17, started teaching at the Talent Agency while earning an M.F.A. in printmaking because “as an artist, you always need another source of income. I’m teaching drawing instead of printmaking, but I always feel like I’m learning a lot. It’s really refreshing.”

Growing up in Iran, teaching was always a dream for Asal Andarzipour ’17, so she got involved with the Talent Agency during the first semester of the M.F.A. program in collaborative design in 2015. “It was challenging because at the time I was struggling with the language, but soon I started to like it,” she says. Now she is assistant director of the program as well as drawing instructor.

Syrian artist Nada Odeh is pursuing an M.A. in museum studies and directing the Talent Agency program for the summer. When she came to the University, she searched for ways to support student artists, starting at the Everson Museum before she heard about the Talent Agency. “I’m so happy to help the students in any way I can,” she says.

A group of Talent Agency students during drawing class

LaNia Roberts says the students think she is teaching them, but in fact, it is they who are teaching her. This summer is the first term teaching in the program for the senior painting major, and she is finding it “incredible.”

Roberts says one student started out claiming he didn’t like art, but she impressed on him that it was all about attitude. “He made incredible progress in just a week,” she says, adding that, while she doesn’t want teaching to be her whole life, she always wants it to be part of her life.

Gebremichael, a rising high school junior, thinks he might want to be an engineer, but says he wants to continue in the Talent Agency program anyway. “Art can help with everything. Art can make your life better,” he proclaims.

Dessa Bergen-Cico: We are all ‘Same Same, but Different’

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 17:32:42 +0000

Dessa Bergen-Cico

Since June 12, Dessa Bergen-Cico, associate professor of public health in Falk College, has been participating in a three-month Rotary Peace Fellowship at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The program covers such areas as peace, conflict prevention and resolution.

For the past seven years, Bergen-Cico has been working with local peace activists, former gang members and the greater ��ϲ�� community to address the impact of violence on trauma and addictions. “I feel that it is more important now, perhaps more than ever, for people to practice non-violence—in our words and actions—and to learn strategies for effectively modeling, teaching and cultivating mediation, negotiation, conflict transformation and non-violence,” says Bergen-Cico.

Recently, Bergen-Cico wrote a blog post for Rotary that was widely circulated. The post has to do with how we are all the same but different, and how this is reflected in Thai culture, and around the world. You can read it .

Q&A: Margaret Voss on Coffee-Longevity Link

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:42:16 +0000

Margaret Voss

Margaret Voss is a professor of practice in ’s Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition. She teaches courses in nutritional biochemistry, metabolism and nutrigenomics. She shared her thoughts about recently released research that seems to indicate that drinking more coffee can increase longevity, and why this shouldn’t send everyone running for the coffee pot.

Q&A: Shiu-Kai Chin on Cybersecurity

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:10:08 +0000

Shiu-Kai Chin

Shiu-Kai Chin, professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the , director of the Center for Information and Systems Assurance and Trust, provost faculty fellow for strategic planning and Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, is an expert on cybersecurity. He recently shared his thoughts on the spate of major cyberattacks around the world.

Friday Night Flicks Bonus Movie: ‘Men in Black’

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:08:21 +0000

Friday Night Flicks will offer a bonus movie on Saturday, July 15: “Men in Black.” The film will be shown at 9��p.m. in Gifford Auditorium.

Starting at 8:30 p.m., the first 200 moviegoers will receive a free gift, popcorn a drink and a raffle ticket to win one of several prizes.

Parking is available after 5 p.m. in the Quad 1 lot off Crouse Drive.

For more information, call Summer at ��ϲ��, 315.443.1095.

Urgent Need for Blood Donors!

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 13:37:26 +0000

With many donors vacationing and schools that host blood drives on break, summer is an especially difficult time to collect enough blood donations to meet the needs of patients. To give hope and strength to��trauma victims, cancer patients and all people��depending on life saving��blood transfusions, student Claudia Heritage��is hosing a blood drive on Thursday,��June 22, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in Room 304 ABC��Schine Student Center. New donors are needed to help avoid shortages this summer.

Details on how to make an appointment are below. For eligibility questions, please visit or call 1.866.236.3276. All��presenting donors will receive a free Red Cross T-shirt.

Winners Announced in Newhouse’s 11th Annual Mirror Awards Competition

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 20:08:31 +0000

Winners in the 11th annual competition honoring excellence in media industry reporting were announced Tuesday, June 13,��at a ceremony in New York City, hosted by the��. “Today” show contributing correspondent Jenna Bush Hager emceed the luncheon event, which was held at Cipriani 42^nd Street.

Fred Dressler Leadership Award winner Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric at the Mirror Awards luncheon

The winners, chosen by , are:

Best Profile:

Sarah Esther Maslin, “” for Columbia Journalism Review

Best Single Story:

Soraya Chemaly and Catherine Buni, “” for The Verge

Best Commentary:

Eric Alterman, “” for The Nation

John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting:

Gabriel Sherman for New York magazine

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In addition, the Newhouse School honored legendary journalist Tom Brokaw of NBC with the Fred Dressler Leadership Award. Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, presented the award. A honoring Brokaw included remarks by Steven Spielberg, Katie Couric, Lester Holt, Ken Auletta, Bob Costas ’74, Matt Lauer, Anderson Cooper, Dan Rather��Ի� Bob Dotson G’69, among others.

The school presented the i-3 award for impact, innovation and influence to The New York Times. Executive editor Dean Baquet offered remarks; the award was accepted by Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times.

Luncheon co-chairs were John D. Miller ’72, chief marketing officer for NBC Olympics and chair of NBCUniversal Marketing Council, and Dana Zimmer ’92, president of distribution for Tribune Media.

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit.

Photos from the event will be posted at . For more information, contact Wendy Loughlin at 315.412.4522 or wsloughl@syr.edu.

Friday Night Flicks to Feature ‘Rogue One’

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 18:23:32 +0000

Registration Open for Financial Wellness Webinar for Faculty and Staff

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:07:59 +0000

Invest 30 minutes to check-in on your financial well-being.�� Join us on February 17 for a lunchtime webinar that will help you learn how to create a realistic spending plan as well as help you start to develop a savings strategy to achieve your personal financial goals.

Develop a Savings Strategy, live webinar presented by Carebridge

Friday, Feb. 17
Noon-12:30p.m.

��If you are not able to join the live webinar, visit after Feb. 17 to listen to the archived webinar.

The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program provided by Carebridge is available 24/7/365 and can help you adjust to life’s challenges. Whether you need assistance identifying care for a child or an elder; ��need help with your finances; ��or desire assistance in coping with an emotion issues such as grief, stress or relationship conflicts, Carebridge can help.�� To access confidential services at any time, call Carebridge at 1.800.437.0911.

To learn more about Carebridge eligibility and services, visit

Questions? Email wellness@syr.edu or call 315.443.5472.

to stay up to date on the latest wellness events.

Brought to you by the ��ϲ�� Wellness Initiative

Newhouse Professor Explains Fake News

Cyndi Moritz — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 21:21:02 +0000

Tom Boll

Tom Boll was a newspaper journalist for 30 years and has been an adjunct professor in the Newhouse School since 2007. There, he’s taught newswriting as well as news literacy. One of his courses, COM 337, “Real News, Fake News: Literacy for the Information Age,” seems especially relevant these days given how much fake news has been in the real news.

Hosein Earns Prestigious DNI Grant

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 21:26:23 +0000

in the has been awarded a Doctoral New Investigator (DNI) Grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. The DNI grant program promotes the careers of young faculty by supporting research of high scientific caliber and enhances the career opportunities of their undergraduate and graduate students through research experience. It is awarded to just 75 assistant professors across the United States each year.

Ian Hosein

Hosein’s research explores novel��ways to harness light to make materials used in solar energy and heat conversion, electrochemical energy storage, chemical separation and smart coatings.��His research group’s��work spans the spectrum from fundamental formation mechanisms in matter, to materials fabrication to application-driven research and development.��The DNI grant will support Hosein’s research to control the synthesis of multicomponent polymeric materials using white light for two years. The work will explore processing conditions that produce novel composite structures and advanced material properties critical for use in lithium-ion batteries, thermoelectrics and oil-water separation.

“Multicomponent polymeric materials are found in technologies all around us, and their properties are intimately tied to their structure. Scalably and precisely controlling how each polymer component organizes during manufacturing has remained a significant challenge, but it is crucial to improving their performance,” says Hosein. “Our group has a new way to use common light sources, such as lamps or LEDs, to stimulate and control the movement of different components during processing. Our aim now is to closely study how this phenomenon works in order gain a general understanding that will apply to a wide range of composite materials. This grant enables us to forge ahead in this exciting direction.”

Hosein is an assistant professor in the . He completed his graduate studies at Cornell University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He was awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada fellowship in support of his graduate studies. After his doctoral work, Hosein completed post-doctoral positions at the University of Waterloo and McMaster University.

His��research��aims to provide materials-based solutions that address critical challenges in clean energy production and storage, environmental remediation and clean up, and sustainability. The present focus is on creating new materials from both organic and inorganic systems, with an emphasis on directed self-organization, bio-inspired structures and enhancing material properties.

Hosein is also editor-in-chief for the journal Canadian Chemical Transactions and an editor for the open-access journal Scientific Reports.

Professor Tej Bhatia Gives Plenary Addresses at Two Conferences

Cyndi Moritz — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:30:52 +0000

Tej K. Bhatia, professor of linguistics in the and director of South Asian Languages, has given plenary addresses at two distinguished conferences this fall. The first was at the 2016 Indo-French International Conference on Hindi Studies, held in September at Sorbonne University, Paris. The title of Bhatia’s address was “Discovering the European Hindi Grammatical Tradition.”

Tej Bhatia

The second plenary address took place in November on the ��ϲ�� campus, at the 46th Conference of the New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). His presentation centered on the key issue of how to empower rural farmers of India (and similar population)—economically and linguistically—by forging the new partnerships between social networking and marketing models.

“Tej Bhatia’s plenary was highly informative and easily accessible to his diverse audience,” says Maureen Edmonds, language coordinator at ��ϲ��’s English Language Institute and conference chair, who introduced Bhatia. “Tej presented a wealth of useful new data from his research on rural farmers in India. He narrated his story and the stories of his research participants in vivid, personal detail, allowing his audience to understand and appreciate the problems and innovative solutions in the daily lives of Indian farmers. Tej’s comprehensive research and fluid narration made his plenary a success.”

Bhatia has served as director of the Linguistic Studies Program and acting director of Cognitive Sciences at the University. He was also a fellow at the Center for the Study of Popular Television at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Citation Award for excellence in research.

Bhatia has published a number of books, articles and book chapters in the areas of bilingualism, multiculturalism, media (advertising) discourse, socio- and psycho-linguistics, and the structure and typology of English and South Asian languages (particularly Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi).

He has been the recipient of a number of grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, American Council of Learned Societies, the Smithsonian Institution, Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad, Linguistic Society of America, American Council for Learned Society, Japan Science Foundation and American Institute of Indian Studies, among others. He has held visiting professorships at a number of prestigious universities in North America, Japan and India. He has also been a consultant to several academic, government and business organizations.

Financial Aid Closing Early on Friday, Dec. 2

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:20:43 +0000

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarship Programs will close at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, so staff can attend a teambuilding event.

The office will reopen on Monday, Dec. 5, at 8:30 a.m.

Global Entrepreneurship Week Features Keynote by Founder Carl Schramm

Cyndi Moritz — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 18:09:24 +0000

The first-ever campuswide Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration kicks off at ��ϲ�� with a keynote by its founder, Carl Schramm, University Professor and former president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The opening event, “The History of Innovation,” will be Monday, Nov. 14, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons at Bird Library, followed by a networking reception in the Learning Commons.

Carl Schramm (Messy K refers to his column in Forbes.)

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a celebration of innovators who launch startups and bring ideas to life. For one week each November, the world’s largest celebration of entrepreneurship inspires people around the globe to explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. With activities ranging from large-scale competitions to intimate networking and meetups, lectures and panel discussions, film screenings and meetings with investors, aspiring entrepreneurs are introduced to possibilities and exciting opportunities.

Representatives from 37 countries were on hand when GEW was announced in 2007 by Jonathan Ortmans, president of GEW; Carl Schramm, former president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation; and Gordon Brown, former prime minister of the United Kingdom. The event has now grown to 160 countries, 20,000 partners and 10 million people.

The Blackstone LaunchPad at ��ϲ�� is taking the lead organizing activities on campus, which include nearly two dozen events across campus from Nov. 14-18. The schedule of activities is online at:�� .

Schramm is recognized internationally as a leading authority on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. The Economist has referred to Schramm as the “evangelist of entrepreneurship.” His 2010 essay in Foreign Affairs initiated the study of expeditionary economics.�� He has authored, co-authored or edited several books, including “Better Capitalism,” “Good Capitalism/Bad Capitalism,” “Inside Real Innovation,” “The Entrepreneurial Imperative” and “Controlling Healthcare Costs.” “Burn The Business Plan” is forthcoming in 2017.

Schramm’s academic career began at Johns Hopkins, where he founded the nation’s first research center on healthcare finance. He has founded or co-founded five companies, including HCIA and Greenspring Advisors, a merchant bank. Schramm also has served in major corporate roles, including EVP of Fortis (now Assurant) and CEO of Fortis Healthcare. He has served as a member of the Science Advisory Board of Mars Inc.; advised major corporations, including Ford, J&J and Apple; and served as a director of two public companies. He has been a member of the Singapore Prime Minister’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. He chaired the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy Advisory Committee and was a member of the President’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

He is a founding member of the Board of the International Intellectual Property Commercialization Council, a U.N. recognized NGO headquartered in Hong Kong; a trustee of the Templeton World Charity Foundation; and, a Council Member of the National Academies of Sciences’ Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable. He has served as a trustee of the Kauffman Foundation and the Milbank Memorial Fund.

Schramm is a Batten Fellow at the University of Virginia and has served as a visiting scientist at MIT. He serves on the board of the Tusher Center for Intellectual Property at UC Berkeley. He was the inaugural Arthur & Carlyse Ciocca Visiting Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UC Davis in the academic years 2013 and 2014.

He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a Ford Foundation Fellow, and a New York State Regents Graduate Fellow, and earned his law degree at Georgetown University. He held two consecutive Career Scientist Awards from NIH, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine. He holds five honorary degrees and the University of Rochester’s George Eastman Medal. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Nominations Sought for Orange Circle Awards

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:36:24 +0000

Know someone in the ��ϲ�� community doing extraordinary things in the service of others? The Office of Alumni Engagement is now accepting nominations for the . These prestigious awards are given out during Philanthropy Week in March and recognize altruistic members of our community. Three awards are presented—to an alumni recipient, a student group recipient and a faculty member recipient. The deadline to is Monday, Nov. 7.

Chancellor Syverud Addresses October Meeting of University Senate

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:11:58 +0000

��ϲ��’s recent leadership transitions, the Campus Framework, diversity and inclusion, and the Climate Assessment Survey were among a handful of topics Chancellor Kent Syverud addressed during his University Senate appearance Wednesday afternoon in Maxwell Auditorium.

Speaking in front of the University’s governing body, the Chancellor began his address by remembering Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, who was tragically killed in an off-campus shooting on Friday, Sept. 30.

Below are the Chancellor’s remarks as prepared for the University Senate meeting:

Good afternoon.

First, I note that it is the University’s practice now to acknowledge that ��ϲ�� sits on native lands at all major public events. Since the University Senate is an official University body, I believe at least once a year someone should treat its meeting as a major public event. So I start by saying I acknowledge with respect the Onondaga Nation, the indigenous people whose ancestral lands we are now on.

I will keep my remarks brief today. Following me will be Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly, who I understand is going to address multiple topics, including Whitman School transitions, Title IX issues, her work with University Senate committees and the Academic Strategic Plan.

Today, I will briefly update you on leadership transitions, Campus Framework issues, diversity and inclusion Efforts, the climate survey, and if there is time I will take questions. I expect that at November’s University Senate Meeting, I will brief you on budget endowment and advancement.

Death of Our Student

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the recent death of one of our students. On Sept. 30, Xiaopeng Yuan, a junior enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences studying mathematics, was killed off-campus in a shooting in the Town of DeWitt. This crime continues to be actively investigated by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and supported by DeWitt Police and ��ϲ��’s Department of Public Safety.

The ��ϲ�� community continues to mourn the loss of Xiaopeng and extend support to his friends and family. We have assisted Xiaopeng’s parents in their travel to ��ϲ�� and their efforts to understand what happened to their son. Yesterday, Ruth and I met with the family, along with Pat Burak and Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz.

Our thoughts, prayers and condolences continue to be with Xiaopeng’s family and friends. This has been a time of great sadness for all of us. I came here directly from the memorial service at Hendricks Chapel.

Leadership Transitions

There have been significant changes in University Leadership since commencement. Michele Wheatly has started as provost and is doing a terrific job. John Wildhack, ��ϲ�� alum and long-time ESPN executive, began as our director of athletics in August.

Lou Marcoccia

Also, since the last Senate meeting I attended, Lou Marcoccia, now former executive vice president and chief financial officer, announced his retirement.

For more than 40 years, Lou has been a vital contributor to nearly every major initiative at the University. He dedicated much of his career to ��ϲ��; he has worked tirelessly to make this a better place, and he has been a great steward of the University—both as a leader and as an alumnus. Lou had a wide portfolio of responsibilities and his retirement is an occasion to assess the structure of BFAS going forward.

Chief Financial Officer Search

On Sept. 27, the members of the CFO search committee were announced.

They include: Steve Barnes, Candace Campbell Jackson, Can Isik, Ed Pettinella, Michael Tick and Michele Wheatly. I will chair this search.

Korn Ferry will be our search firm, led by Ken Kring and Beau Lambert. Ken and Beau were on campus the week of the Oct. 3 to meet with the committee and gather information from deans and executive team members.

The position description was posted last week (Oct. 12), and we anticipate a first round of interviews to follow shortly after the November board meeting.

I hope to identify a finalist in this search by Dec. 1.

Hendricks Chapel Search

The search committee for the next Hendricks Chapel dean was announced on Friday, Sept. 30.

This is a nine-member committee, co-chaired by Sam Clemence and Candace Campbell Jackson, and it includes: David Van Slyke (dean), Andrew Clark (staff), Daniel Feng (staff), Rabbi Leah Fein (staff), Mara Julin (student), Martha Sutter (faculty) and Joan Nicholson (BOT).

This search follows a seven-month review of existing programs, facilities and finances. Witt/Kieffer will be the search firm.

Newly announced Senior Vice President for Enrollment & Student Experience

Newly announced Senior Vice President for Enrollment and the Student Experience Dolan Evanovich is on campus this week (Oct. 12-14), meeting with his leadership team and beginning preliminary admissions conversations with several school and college deans. Dolan comes to us from The Ohio State University, where he is credited with significantly enhancing academic quality and diversity and inclusion enrollment goals. He starts Dec. 5.

Cathryn Newton

I have appointed Cathryn Newton as Special Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost for Faculty Engagement. In this role, Cathryn will be reporting directly to Provost Wheatly and me and be responsible for:

partnering with the University’s Office of Research to grow the University’s involvement, achievements and reputation in the area of undergraduate research;
collaborating with Provost Wheatly and Pete Sala, vice president and chief facilities officer, to help refine the Campus Framework in meaningful ways to further address the academic and research needs of faculty and students, and
working with the SUNY-ESF leadership to identify several areas of collaboration, including research and faculty partnerships that support the Academic Strategic Plan.

All of this work supports both the academic strategic plan and thus our campus framework.

Campus Framework Updates

As I mentioned, one of Professor Cathryn Newton’s stewardship responsibilities in her new role announced today as Special Advisor for Faculty Engagement is to work directly with Pete Sala, chief facilities officer, and Provost Wheatly to ensure the decisions we make going forward with the framework address the academic and research needs of students and faculty. A lot of work and a lot of communication have already occurred on the Campus Framework issue since we last met. Specifically, I was told that at the last Senate meeting people wanted to know about the cost of the University Place Promenade.

Last week, the University announced a $1 million naming gift to support the University Place Promenade. The gift was made by Steve Einhorn, a 1964 graduate of the School of Architecture and his wife, Sherry, a 1965 graduate of the School of Education. Steve has served on the Board of Trustees for the past four years and has a strong record of service and giving to the University. He is a long-time member of the School of Architecture Advisory Board and is chair of the Campus Framework Advisory Group.

As a result of the Einhorns’ gift, the promenade will be known as the Einhorn Family Walk. This gift is the initial lead gift in a major fundraising effort to support the many projects contained within the draft Campus Framework.

Importantly, the gift is also the first in a series of giving opportunities for alumni and donors who will support other naming opportunities along the Einhorn Family Walk. With this gift and others we are actively pursuing, the project will be substantially donor supported.

Returning to the cost question: The previously planned and unavoidable, and very serious, deferred maintenance project on University Place, involving our major water sewer mains, cost just over $2 million. The final separate cost of turning University place into the Einhorn Walk, which made sense to do at the same time as the deferred maintenance project, was $4 million.

Of that $4 million, $2 million will come from philanthropy, of which $1 million has already been pledged and additional gifts are expected this year.

So the net cost to University funds of converting University Place to Einhorn Walk is expected to be $2 million dollars. I believe that was a good investment in the University Framework.

Diversity & Inclusion

I am grateful for the progress since Commencement on advancing diversity and inclusion at the University. Last week, I attended the last meeting of the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity. I thanked them for their great work.

That work will be continued by the new Diversity and Inclusion Council. That council, which is the result of the Workgroup’s recommendations, is made up of 22 members (some of whom served on the Workgroup), including students, faculty and staff.

Many of the Workgroup’s 18 short-term recommendations have been implemented or initiated, including:

For the first time on Monday, the University recognized Indigenous People’s Day.
The Hendricks Chapel policy has been amended to ensure that all dedications and invocations at University events are nondenominational.
An accessibility audit is underway, including inspection of all 9 million square feet of University buildings.

There is still much work to do on short-term recommendations before Dec. 31, and also on the workgroup’s long-term recommendations. The council and I are committed to doing the work.

Much of that work involves the voice and input of the University community.

Climate Assessment Survey

Last spring, nearly 6,000 students, faculty and staff members took part in a comprehensive survey about the learning, living and working environment at the University. I am committed, as is the University, to transparency in the results of this survey. I have not seen the results yet and will not until next week.

Next Thursday, Oct. 20, the survey report’s executive summary will be made available to the University community. A week later, on Thursday, Oct. 27, the Climate Assessment Planning Committee will host a pair of campus update sessions, during which project consultant Susan Rankin will describe the survey findings. It is important that all of us be prepared to learn from this complex data and participate in discussion about next steps.

The update sessions are from noon-1:30 p.m. and 4-5:30 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3. Members of the University community are encouraged to attend one of these sessions or follow online the live stream of the second session.

The conversation about next steps will include an online feedback form and a series of “campus conversation” open meetings late this semester and early next semester during which the Climate Assessment Planning Committee hopes to obtain additional input in preparation for the release of its final report and recommendations.

That is my report, and many thanks.

��

Tisdel Honored by Catholic Charities

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 15:27:05 +0000

Camille Tisdel, director of web services for Technical Systems and Services (TSS) in the Women’s Building, was honored recently by Catholic Charities with its “Mover & Shaker” award. The award is presented to a community leader who lives out Catholic Charities’ mission of promoting human development and working to eliminate poverty and injustice.

From left: Salt City Shaker committee chairs Adrienne Graves and Katie Lindsay, Camille Tisdel and Catholic Charities Executive Director Mike Melara

Tisdel is currently the board president at Baltimore Woods and also serves on the board of Interfaith Works. She has also served on the board of the Preservation Association of CNY and as a mentor for Le Moyne business students.

Tisdel started with Technical Systems and Services in November 2013 as an assistant director. She was charged with writing reports that interfaced directly with the Advance alumni data system. She was able to quickly synthesize the requirements and produce the needed output. Several of her reports are used on an almost daily basis.

In March 2016, Tisdel moved into the web director position for TSS. She and her staff have responsibility for all emails to alumni around the world, the ’Cuse Community, event registrations and managing the web presence for Advancement and External Affairs. She has learned to merge web technology with “big data,” which will be especially helpful as the new Alumni e-CRM is implemented across campus.

Free Oct. 12 Flu Clinic Seeks to Vaccinate as Many on Campus as Possible

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 13:42:05 +0000

By getting vaccinated for the flu on Wednesday, Oct. 12, you will help keep yourself healthy this winter. You will also be helping out the ��ϲ�� Health Center and the Onondaga County Health Department.

A free flu shot clinic for students, faculty and staff will take place Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Flanagan Gymnasium.

That day, a free flu clinic will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Flanagan Gymnasium, open to all University students, faculty and staff members. Michele Frontale, supervising pharmacist for the Health Center, says the organizers hope to give as many as 2,000 flu shots in that four-hour period.

“The University is a point of distribution for the county,” Frontale says. “We need to see how well we would perform if there was an emergency, such as an outbreak of a rare disease or a terrorist attack using a biological weapon. The more people we can vaccinate in a short period, the better.”

Frontale adds that the clinic will be staffed by personnel from the health center and from the county health department. The flu vaccine given will be formulated to fight the most common types of flu predicted for the upcoming flu season.

The flu vaccine will be free for all who attend the clinic, but you must bring a valid SU ID. Students, faculty and staff from SUNY-ESF will not be eligible for the vaccinations.

Everyone on campus should get vaccinated for flu, Frontale says. “It promotes a healthy campus. The more students, staff and faculty are vaccinated, the more it keeps our teachers teaching and our students going to class.”

Q&A: LGBT Resource Center Director Tiffany Gray

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 13:53:09 +0000

After working for a year as the interim director of the University’s LGBT Resource Center, Tiffany Gray was recently named as the center’s permanent director. This cause for celebration coincides with the center’s 15th anniversary, which is being celebrated Monday, Sept. 26, from 5-7 p.m. in the Comstock Room at the University Sheraton. The event is free and open to all. Gray shared her thoughts on her new permanent position and the state of the LGBT rights movement.

Tiffany Gray

Q.�� You have recently been made permanent in the position of director of the LGBT Resource Center. Does that make a difference in how you are able to approach projects, and if so, how?

A. Yes, I’m extremely excited to be the permanent director of the LGBT Resource Center. Many people know that I worked at the LGBT Resource Center a few years ago as the associate director, so I have a lot of love and care for the RC. Now, being the director, I have the ability to vision and imagine the possibilities of our work. Despite my staff being small, I have an amazing team that contributes a great deal to the success of the RC.

Q. The LGBT Resource Center is now pretty well-established on campus. What are your plans to expand or refine its programs?

A. We are actually celebrating 15 years of the LGBT Resource Center’s founding, so it’s an exciting time to be the newest director. We will have an opportunity to highlight the past accomplishments of the center, share memories, celebrate with each other and look toward the future. I just recently hired a new associate director who starts in October. I’m excited to have a full staff so that we can do some visioning and planning for the future. I would agree that we are well established; however, there are still many students, faculty and staff who have no idea that our center exists, have never visited our space or even know about the work that we do. Having a dedicated LGBT Resource Center on a college campus shouldn’t be taken lightly because there are many places that don’t have a space. As I look toward the future, there are several areas that I would like to focus on during my time as the director, but I’ll only highlight a few. I’d like to enhance our visibility on campus, alumni connections, outreach and advocacy, policies, educational opportunities and collaborative efforts. In addition, as a center, we will continue to explore the complex intersections of our multiple social identities, enhance our allyship efforts and ultimately strive to create safer people and safer spaces on campus and beyond.

Q. Are there constituencies that you feel you have not yet reached?

A. Well we have pretty major responsibility on campus. Our primary role is to serve and support LGBTQA people (i.e., all people with marginalized genders and sexualities). However, we know that gender and sexuality is a part of who people are and not all of who they are. So our work becomes more complicated as we strive to acknowledge and affirm the whole person. We also know that our center works across identities with allies and the entire campus community more broadly. So for us, we operate from the framework that we serve the entire SU community. For our center, social justice is one of our core values—it is foundational to our work and our guiding philosophy. We state “We are invested in building coalitions to dismantle systems of inequality and work together to rebuild and create more liberatory spaces on campus and beyond.”

Q. How can all members of the campus community make this a better place for people with marginalized genders and sexualities?

A. I think that self awareness, self exploration and engaging more deeply in social justice work is important. I think it’s difficult to offer support if you haven’t done any self reflection about what your own framework and philosophy is around diversity and inclusion. Also, I think there are passive and active things that people can do to show their sense of allyship. That can range from reassessing the language one uses, affirming and validating someone’s gender identity/expression, stepping out of one’s comfort zone to try and explore new things, letting people be the authors of their own lives (i.e., allowing space for people to tell you who they are vs. assuming you know who they are), participating in educational opportunities, advocacy, etc. ��Ultimately, I think that once someone says they are an ally to LGBTQA people and/or other marginalized groups that’s when the real work begins. Ask yourself, how would people know that you are an ally beyond you just saying that you’re one. I think that is a useful activity for people to engage in. And please know that this list isn’t exhaustive. These are just a few things that quickly come to mind.

Q. On a national or international level, what is the current or next big issue for the LGBT rights movement? How are students active in that movement?

A. Honestly, I have no idea how to answer this question. The current state and future state of our country regarding diversity and inclusion is completely unknown to me. I want to be hopeful that we can work toward a more liberatory society, but at times it’s difficult to imagine a world that is not yet. As I reflect on this question, it’s difficult for me because the tragedies at Pulse in Orlando, or other recent tragedies involving other marginalized populations remind us that this world isn’t safe for everyone. There is still so much work to do around racism, queerphobia, transphobia (just to name a few) and the intersections of those identities and many other marginalized identities. I can’t think about the next big issue because I’m still grieving. While many have moved on or feel that these tragedies don’t impact them directly, I think it is still very real and present for many LGBTQA people, conscious allies and those committed to social justice. In June, I wrote a statement surrounding Pulse on behalf of our LGBT Resource Center. And I guess I’ll close with an excerpt from that statement:

We see you
We are here for you
We are in solidarity with Orlando and all people with marginalized genders and sexualities and …
We will continue to be advocates for social justice and liberation not only for ourselves but for others.

LGBT Resource Celebrates 15 Years on Sept. 26

Cyndi Moritz — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:11:34 +0000

The LGBT Resource Center will celebrate its first 15 years on campus on Monday, Sept. 26, from 5-7 p.m. in the Comstock Room at the University Sheraton. The event is free and open to all.

Come listen to stories from the center’s history, share your own thoughts and memories, connect with people in the LGBT Center’s communities and celebrate many more years to come on campus.

Appetizers and beverages will be served. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. For additional accommodations, or more information, email lgbt@syr.edu or call 315.443.3983.

Landscape of Urban Education Series to Kick Off Sept. 22 with Shawn Ginwright

Cyndi Moritz — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:21:45 +0000

The Douglas Biklen Landscape of Urban Education Lecture Series will start up for the year with a talk on Thursday, Sept. 22, by Shawn Ginwright, associate professor at San Franscisco State University. Ginwright will speak on “Radical Healing in Schools and Communities” at 5:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

Shawn Ginwright

The series, which has been running since 2005, is dedicated to the presentation of current ideas and strategies for navigating urban education terrain in the United States, reflecting the School of Education’s long-running commitment to urban education. The late professor Sari Biklen was its initial organizer, and it was named for Dean Douglas Biklen after his retirement.

Marcelle Haddix, Dean’s Associate Professor and chair of the Department of Reading and Language Arts in the School of Education, has chaired the committee that organizes the lecture series for the past five years. Each year has a theme, she says, and this year’s is hope and healing.

“In response to last year’s lecture series, which focused on issues related to the school to prison pipeline, we wanted to invite speakers to campus who can encourage a community dialogue of hope and healing for our schools and communities, especially in response to the reawakening of racial violence,” Haddix says.

That sentiment led to the invitation to Ginwright to speak. He is a leading national expert on African American youth activism and development and serves as the senior research associate at the Cesar Chavez Institute for Public Policy He is the author of “Hope and Healing in Urban Education” and “Beyond Resistance! Youth Activism and Community Change.”

Ginwright blends his years of research with colorful and touching examples of how teachers, and community leaders reclaim matters of the heart to create lasting change in challenging urban neighborhoods. He vividly illustrates how strategy, logic models and plans seldom produce the transformation sought. Schools, city governments and businesses often change their policies and practices but seldom transform the hearts of people in their organizations, Ginwright says. He illustrates how schools are not simply places for learning, but rather hubs for belonging. He demonstrates that great teachers don’t simply teach, but rather saturate their students with love, hope and imagination. He inspires people to be more human in their professional lives, noting that real change often requires the breaking of paradigms and rules.

The other speaker who has been announced for the series this year is Edward Brockenbrough, associate professor in the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester, who will speak on Feb. 9. Both speakers are co-sponsored by the ��ϲ�� Humanities Center.

Haddix says that other speakers and events will be added to the lineup.

Earth Sciences Chair Pursues Sideline as Guitarist

Cyndi Moritz — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:37:04 +0000

Donald Siegel, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences in the , is by any measure a successful scientist. He is the Jessie Page Heroy Professor and a Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence. He is chair of his department. But that’s not enough for him. He’s always pursuing mastery in other fields.

Donald Siegel playing guitar at Picasso’s Pastries and Café

Years ago, Siegel learned how to play chess. He got good enough at it that he could compete in tournaments. Then he moved on to cooking. He got good enough at it that he wrote a kosher Chinese cookbook, published in 2005.

“I’m a Type A personality,” he explains. “I don’t want to be a dilettante at anything I do.”

Siegel’s latest pursuit is playing the guitar, though to be accurate it’s not just a recent interest. He actually began playing as a child back in the 1960s. When he was a teenager in Saratoga, New York, Siegel asked his dad if he would get him a guitar—basically to get girls, Siegel admits.

So Siegel’s father and grandfather went down to the local guitar store and bought him a guitar and found him a teacher. The teacher turned out to be a jazz guitarist who, instead of teaching the youngster songs, taught him “comping,” the strumming of chords to accompany singers. Not exactly what young Don Siegel had in mind to impress the girls.

Eventually, Dad got Siegel an electric guitar, a classic Gibson, but it wasn’t long before he felt he had to make a choice between his love of the arts and his love of science. Dad’s advice was that he could always get a job in science and pursue the arts in his spare time, so he went into Earth science. But music fell by the wayside, and he didn’t pick up a guitar for decades.

Then, seven years ago, Siegel’s son was getting married. The father of the bride was a musician who taught at a college on Cape Cod. He suggested that he and Siegel play together at the wedding reception. So Siegel dug out his old guitar and started practicing. When all was said and done, Siegel felt he did a respectable job at the event.

But Bill Winniker, the leader of the professional band that played at the reception thought he had some potential. So he issued a challenge to Siegel: keep practicing and play with us a year from now at Skipjack’s in Boston.

Siegel asked around ��ϲ�� for the best guitar teacher and found Gordon Moore in DeWitt.

“He told me, ‘If you fight me, you won’t learn anything.’”

Siegel started taking weekly lessons from Moore and practicing for hours every day. He says Moore was a really tough teacher. “He actually taught me a bit about how to teach after all these years,” Siegel admits.

Siegel made it to his date in Boston, then kept taking lessons with Moore. About five years ago, the teacher said, “I think it’s time for you to get out there. I never thought you’d do it.” Siegel laughs about that a little.

Now, Siegel plays two or three Saturday mornings a month at Picasso’s Pastries and Café on Westcott Street in ��ϲ��. His pay, he says, is free coffee and bagels. He has been engaged to play occasionally for weddings and other receptions but hopes to do more once he retires in the future.

Cyndi Moritz — ���ϲ�����

WiSE Offers Post-Doc Tenure-Track Boot Camp

People’s Place Offers Summer Promotions

Second Annual ���ϲ����� Ramadan Dinner Planned June 9

Answers about Upcoming Technology Changes to Timekeeping and Core HR Transactions

Counseling Doctoral Student Awarded Fellowship

Anthony Veasna So Receives Soros Fellowship for New Americans

‘Joy of Close Reading’ Conference Will Remember Prof. Hope Glidden

Sarah Fuchs Sampson Wins Fellowship to Research at Harvard’s Houghton Library

YouTube Sensations Damon and Jo to Visit Campus April 11

SUArt Galleries Announces Acquisition of Major Work by Contemporary Artist Carrie Mae Weems

Slepecky Lecture, Award Ceremony to Take Place April 4

White House Champion of Change Talila Lewis to Speak on Disability Justice March 29

Q&A: Karina von Tippelskirch on Journalist Dorothy Thompson

Stanford Professor to Give Volcker Lecture March 26

Shadow Day Marks 20 Years of Inspiring Seymour Students

‘Mindfulness and Social Justice’ Will Be Topic of Interfaith Dialogue Dinner

We’ve All Heard the Words ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Blockchain,’ but What Are They?

Britton Plourde Works to Develop Tools for Quantum Computer

2018 Transmedia Photography Annual

Psychology Alumnus Awarded Bronze Medal for Dissertation

Physics Ph.D. Student Builds Successful Research Company

Issues in Digital Scholarship Forum on Nov. 15

Award-Winning Photographer Gerard Gaskin to Lecture at Light Work Thursday at 10 a.m.

Steve Gorn to Play Concert on Tuesday, Oct. 24

Duncan Brown Named to Internet2 Board of Trustees

Amanda Chou selected for Clinton Global Initiative University

Registered Dietitian Is Now a Master Trainer

Timothy Diem Marches at Head of Athletics Band

Faculty and Staff: Energize Midday with Free 30-Minute Fitness Class

Get Vaccinated Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Have a Healthy Winter

Goldstein Restaurant Closed Oct. 5 and 6

Career Services Holds Annual Law and Graduate School Information Fairs

Message from Health Services

Message from Health Services

Q&A with Coming Back Together Chancellor’s Citation Winner Colline Hernandez-Ayala

Point of Contact Gallery Presents ‘Aleph’ by Pedro Roth

Urban Cinematheque 2017: ‘Get Out’ on Friday, Sept. 1

Book Memorializes Symposium in Tribute to Late, Great African Writer Chinua Achebe

Talent Agency Grooms Artistic Teens for Success

Dessa Bergen-Cico: We are all ‘Same Same, but Different’

Q&A: Margaret Voss on Coffee-Longevity Link

Q&A: Shiu-Kai Chin on Cybersecurity

Friday Night Flicks Bonus Movie: ‘Men in Black’

Urgent Need for Blood Donors!

Winners Announced in Newhouse’s 11th Annual Mirror Awards Competition

Friday Night Flicks to Feature ‘Rogue One’

Registration Open for Financial Wellness Webinar for Faculty and Staff

Newhouse Professor Explains Fake News

Hosein Earns Prestigious DNI Grant

Professor Tej Bhatia Gives Plenary Addresses at Two Conferences

Financial Aid Closing Early on Friday, Dec. 2

Global Entrepreneurship Week Features Keynote by Founder Carl Schramm

Nominations Sought for Orange Circle Awards

Chancellor Syverud Addresses October Meeting of University Senate

Tisdel Honored by Catholic Charities

Free Oct. 12 Flu Clinic Seeks to Vaccinate as Many on Campus as Possible

Q&A: LGBT Resource Center Director Tiffany Gray

LGBT Resource Celebrates 15 Years on Sept. 26

Landscape of Urban Education Series to Kick Off Sept. 22 with Shawn Ginwright

Earth Sciences Chair Pursues Sideline as Guitarist

Cyndi Moritz — ��ϲ��

Second Annual ��ϲ�� Ramadan Dinner Planned June 9