“I’m excited to spend some of my last moments on campus celebrating with the people who have made my college experience so special,” says Chloe Langerman ’25. “It’s going to be bittersweet, but I can’t wait to move forward as an Orange.”

Senior Sendoff Checklist

1. : Celebrate the incredible achievements of the ���ϲ����� Class of 2025 on Thursday, May 8, from 1-4 p.m. on the Quad. Spend the afternoon making lasting memories before you head into your next chapter. Enjoy lawn games, a DJ and giveaways for all graduating students!
2. : Leave your legacy and support the future of ���ϲ����� students. When combined with gifts from your classmates, your class gift of $25 or more makes a real difference.
3. : Celebrate your next adventure and complete the First Destination Survey as soon as possible. Students can find their First Destination Survey by logging into and visiting their Career Center page.
4. : A memento for graduating seniors, the yearbook is filled with senior portraits, academics, sports and much more. Visit the to purchase your 2025 yearbook from Jostens. Orders are due Friday, May 9.
5. : From preparation, a complete schedule of events, accessibility information and more, this is your one-stop for all your Commencement Weekend information needs.
6. : Graduation marks the start of the alumni experience! Be sure to stay in touch through the Alumni Association’s expansive events, services, clubs and more!

“I’m looking forward to attending the Senior Celebration alongside my best friends and soaking up every last minute we have on campus and taking them down in some lawn games,” says Maggie Anderson, ’25. “Cheers to the Class of 2025 and all of the incredible opportunities awaiting us in the future!”

Resources for Families and Supporters of Seniors
The Orange families and supporters of seniors have played an important role in the successes of the Class of 2025! Explore the helpful resources highlighted below.

• : Visit and learn more about Commencement Weekend, find campus maps, hotel and restaurant information.
• : From , , receiving communications with the , to learning what items are permitted or not to bring and the University’s Clear Bag Policy, the is available to answer .
• : Family and friends are welcomed to make a gift, share a congratulatory message and photo of their student to further celebrate the amazing accomplishment of graduation.

In response, the University’s Center for International Services is actively supporting the affected students. The center is coordinating closely with the Office of Academic Affairs and the students’ academic programs to ensure continuity in their education. Two of the three students remain on track to graduate as scheduled, and efforts are ongoing to assist the third student in maintaining their academic progress.

The University understands this news may be concerning for international members of our community and has been in direct communication with international students as well as international faculty and staff. As the situation continues to evolve, the University will provide updates as appropriate and urges anyone with questions or concerns to reach out to Juan Tavares, director of the Center for International Services, at jtavares@syr.edu or 315.443.5833.������ ����

“This initiative ensures that a ���ϲ����� education remains within reach for every talented and driven student—regardless of financial circumstances,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “���ϲ����� has a long history of being a university welcoming to all. The ���ϲ����� Promise will continue this legacy for the next generation of students so the best and brightest students can choose to be Orange and thrive here.”

How the ���ϲ����� Promise Match Works

At the heart of The ���ϲ����� Promise is a transformative $10 million matching initiative that empowers donors to enhance their impact and deepen their commitment to student success. Fueled by two generous unrestricted estate gifts, ���ϲ����� will offer a 1:2 match for contributions supporting scholarship endowments. Eligible gifts include contributions of $100,000 or more that establish new endowed scholarships, and $50,000 or more to enhance and sustain existing ones. This forward-thinking program not only reinforces the University’s long-term dedication to access and affordability but also positions ���ϲ����� as a national leader in expanding student opportunity.

Meeting the Moment—and the Need

Today, 78% of ���ϲ����� students receive some form of financial aid. In recent years, the University has reduced the average student debt burden by more than 10%. To build on this progress and meet the financial and academic needs of today’s students, ���ϲ����� is increasing its commitment to growing and sustaining permanent funding sources in perpetuity. Tracy Barlok, senior vice president and chief advancement officer, says scholarships offer just that—lasting support that grows over time through investment and continued giving.

“This initiative is critically important because it allows us to attract and retain students who strengthen our academic excellence and elevate our entire community,” says Barlok. “We’re inviting our alumni and donors to be part of something transformational—to pay it forward to help future generations of students pursue a ���ϲ����� education and thrive—both as students and as future Orange alumni.”

About ���ϲ�����

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

Rebekah Lewis

“I am thrilled to begin the director position and look forward to collaborating with center staff and faculty affiliates to expand its crucial work,” says Lewis, who has more than 15 years of experience in health and higher education settings.

In her previous role at the Ottawa University Heart Institute, Lewis provided program evaluation and qualitative research expertise for a variety of women’s cardiovascular disease prevention projects at the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre. Her current evaluation research focuses on improving primary prevention of cardiovascular disease among high-risk women. She received a master of public health from Boston University School of Public Health in 2001.

“We are pleased to welcome Rebekah Lewis to the Lerner Center as its new director,” says , Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, director of the and professor of sociology. “Rebekah brings a wealth of expertise in health education, program evaluation and research. Her forward-thinking orientation and ideas for program development align perfectly with the Lerner Center’s mission.”

The Lerner Center was established in 2011 with an endowment from Sidney Lerner ’53, a marketing executive and public health advocate, and his wife, Helaine. Its mission is to improve population and community health through research, education, advocacy and programming focused on the social and structural determinants of health and health disparities. It supports numerous programs, assistantships and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, including the popular DeStress for Success course, an undergraduate social impact competition and internships.

The center recently announced that it will host national Healthy Monday programming, a signature public health campaign that aims to reduce the risk of chronic disease by offering prompts about healthier habits. Hosting the national Healthy Monday campaign was made possible by an organizational restructuring and a $2.52 million gift to the Lerner Center and ���ϲ�����’s Forever Orange Campaign by Helaine Lerner in 2023.

Story by Michael Kelly

As a recognized student organization (RSO), University Union (UU) is the official programming board of ���ϲ����� university. Entirely student run, the RSO works to source and host campus entertainment, including Block Darty and Block Party.

“Serving as president this year has been one of the most rewarding experiences,” says Naimah Rahman ’25, University Union president. “The whole year leads up to Block Party and Block Darty, which feels like our Super Bowl. To be a part of a ���ϲ����� tradition that students look forward to every year is an immense honor. Our team works tirelessly all year to make sure we put on an event that the student body will resonate with. I am honored to lead an incredible team of people that make this happen!”

Block Darty

Activities on the Quad from 1-5 p.m. are free for ���ϲ����� and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) students. There will be food trucks, inflatables, activities and more.

“Our events are tailored for the students that come to them, so every activation, brand and activity has been thought out,” says Rhylee Hudson ’27, collaborations director of University Union. “Organizing Block Darty has been something amazing. I’ve never dreamed that I could’ve loved planning events this much. It is so rewarding to see people interested in our event and that makes the planning all worth it.”

Block Darty will also feature an outdoor concert with live music from artists Sun Room, Alex Vaughn and Padma.

“There aren’t many opportunities for college creatives to showcase their work on large scales,” says Emma Barbosa ’25, design director for Block Party and Block Darty. “Through these events, I’ve gotten the chance to see my work displayed throughout campus and it’s a gratifying feeling seeing the campus community interact with it.”

Block Party

The Block Party Concert lineup will be headlined by two-time Grammy nominated rapper Latto with support from Role Model.

Breakout Queen of Da Souf rapper Latto has been making a name for herself since she was 8 and hasn’t stopped since. In the past three years, the 24-year-old released her project Queen of Da Souf, her album 777 and loose singles while continuing to elevate and garner accolade after accolade. Big Latto’s ‘got that real big energy’ and shows no signs of stopping.

Role Model’s been in love. He was so in love he wrote his entire debut album, Rx, about it. But not all romances last forever, and the 27-year-old’s grieving of that same relationship is at the center of his sophomore album, Kansas Anymore. As rough as it was to ride that roller coaster of heartbreak and homesickness, Role Model feels these are the greatest songs he’s made yet.

Tickets are required and the JMA Wireless Dome opens at 7 p.m.

• ���ϲ����� and SUNY ESF: Tickets are $20 for students, faculty and staff with valid University I.D. and email address. Students can purchase a maximum of two tickets and at time of purchase they will be loaded on to their account.
• General Public: Tickets for the general public are on sale via . Tickets will start in the 200-level reserved area and continue to the 300-level if needed.

Tickets will also be available for purchase in the Box Office throughout the duration of the event on Friday, April 25, 2025.

For questions, or to request accommodations, contact University Union vice president, Enoca Shin ’25, at uuvicepresident@gmail.com by 5 p.m., on Wednesday, April 23, for Block Party and Thursday, April 24, for Block Darty.

The University has an abundance of disciplines that can relate to a career and technical education (CTE) pathway and provide a meaningful experience for an intern. If you think your team is a good fit for a summer intern, please reach out to Jake Losowski, the University’s associate director of community engagement, at jjlosow@syr.edu. The deadline to apply is May 1.

Intern Moo Loe Htoo worked at the SENSES Project last summer, where students can learn about music production, podcasting and more.

Now in its fifth year, the SU Summer Internship Program offers the opportunity for rising high school seniors from the SCSD’s CTE program or Say Yes scholarship programs to engage in a six-week work opportunity on campus to gain valuable hands-on experience working closely with University employees in their chosen field. The goal of the program is to give local students real-world job experience before their high school graduation. Summer internship experiences have led students to both higher education and the workplace, and interns have completed the program with a better understanding of what their future career might look like.

Having an SCSD summer intern working with you can also be rewarding for your team. “Although it’s important to expose young people to the opportunities that exist in our organization, it is equally important and fulfilling to provide our staff with the chance to feel valued and energized by impacting young people in a positive way,” says Mike Hartnett, patrol commander in the Department of Public Safety.

The University’s Office of Community Engagement works with the school district to align the experience with the students’ goals and interests. Summer interns come to campus well-equipped with knowledge and skills from the classroom as well as hands-on learning opportunities and are eager to learn from qualified professionals.

The CTE program works to empower all students to build technical, academic and professional leadership skills for college and career success. Students take courses in a specific CTE pathway that allows them to obtain work-based learning experiences and master skills that prepare them for employment or secondary education after finishing school. Some CTE programs that could align with opportunities on campus include:

The Summer Internship Program has had many successful internship placements throughout the course of the program, including the Barnes Center at the Arch (Health Professions learning pathway) the Department of Public Safety (Law Enforcement learning pathway) and Facilities Services (Construction Technology, Electrical Trades, Manufacturing and Welding learning pathways). These placement sites have been successful thanks to the employees working with the interns who have acted as career coaches, engaging with the students, guiding them through the experience and teaching them the skills of the job.

Summer interns from the Say Yes scholarship program have also had positive work experiences on campus; their positions are more general and range from administrative support to summer youth program counselors.

The annual 5K event features a and is a great opportunity to bond with your coworkers, enjoy some friendly competition and promote wellness among faculty and staff.

“In 2022 and 2023, ���ϲ����� earned the distinction of having the largest team at the event among the dozens of local companies that participate,” says Molly Morgan, associate director, of health and wellness for faculty and staff. “This year, we are looking to regain that title with an incredible showing of our faculty and staff. We encourage employees of all abilities and fitness levels to come out for an evening of fun, movement, socializing and meeting new people from across the University!”

Participants gather for a group photo at the 2024 ���ϲ����� WorkForce Run.

Registration Details

• Fee: $21.50 (the University subsidizes the remaining fee)
• Deadline to join the team: Tuesday, May 6
• Includes: Unisex performance-blend ���ϲ����� team T-shirt, official race T-shirt and a complimentary Mediterranean buffet
• Link:

T-shirt/Bib Pick-Up

• Monday, June 9, from 2 to 5 p.m., 621 Skytop Road, Suite 1112
• Tuesday, June 10, from 9 a.m. to noon, 228 Schine Student Center

Help Spread the Word!

To help recruit additional colleagues from your office or department, download and print this year’s WorkForce Run flyer [PDF] and hang it around your workspace.

The ���ϲ����� WorkForce Run is for of the University; however friends and family are welcome to join by registering as an individual participant, paying the full race fee of $55 and picking up their own race packet.

Parking is available at NBT Bank Stadium and shuttle bus service is provided. The has detailed parking information and answers to frequently asked questions.

The event is also a fundraiser, with this year’s event benefiting , a nonprofit that provides a temporary home for families with seriously ill children who travel to the region for medical care.

To learn more, visit the or email wellness@syr.edu with any questions.

Ryan Monarch

The Moynihan Award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding record of teaching, research and service. It was established eponymously in 1985 by then-U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was also a former member of Maxwell’s junior faculty from 1959 to 1961.

Monarch joined Maxwell in August 2021 after serving as principal economist for the international finance division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2021. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan in 2014.

Monarch studies U.S.-China trade, buyer-supplier relationships in international trade and how the recent tariff war affects U.S. exports and supply chains. His research has been published in the Journal of International Economics–the top journal in international economics–and multiple other top-tier economics journals, such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of the European Economic Association and American Economics Journal: Applied Economics. He has also written numerous policy reports. His work has been sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research and has been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Economist and Reuters.

In recent months, Monarch has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, the South China Morning Post, the New York Post, Spectrum TV, National Public Radio, The Motley Fool and other outlets for his expertise on ongoing events in international trade policy, and he served as a panelist for the Maxwell School event “Trump’s Tariffs: Issues and Implications” held on April 9.

The Moynihan Award recipient was chosen by a committee of faculty comprised of Leonard Lopoo, Andrew Cohen and Emily Thorson. In a nomination letter submitted by Lopoo, they noted that Monarch is “an expert in international trade” who has “made important contributions to the ‘buyer-supplier matching’ topic.”

“His course evaluations are outstanding,” wrote Lopoo, associate dean, chair and professor of public administration and international affairs. “Students frequently commented on how Professor Monarch makes complicated topics easy to understand” and enjoyable to learn.”

Lopoo also noted Monarch’s “important service to the Maxwell School,” serving on the international trade search committee and serving as director of the Trade, Development and Political Economy Workshop.

This story was written by Michael Kelly

Tyler Gentry ’25 (right), who received funds from the Internship Funding Award, and a coworker in the Vevo office space in Los Angeles

Annually, offers the Internship Funding Award, which provides financial assistance to ���ϲ����� sophomores and juniors throughout summer internship experiences. The award covers the cost of credit or travel and living expenses. Internships can be either paid or unpaid for students to be eligible to receive the award. Other eligibility requirements include the following.

• The applicant has not previously received the Internship Funding Award.
• The internship is an external summer position.
• The internship is supervised by a professional who can help the student explore opportunities that link theory with practice in the field of the student’s interest.
• The applicant’s profile is updated and complete.

Applications for the Internship Funding Award are due June 10, 2025. The following highlighted students received the Internship Funding Award in 2024.

Making Global Connections

Gabrielle Harrison ’25 spent her summer as a consumer public relations intern at FINN Partners in London, England. In this position, Harrison was immersed in the PR world and worked on projects for clients around the world. “I had the chance to contribute to meaningful campaigns, from media relations to event planning, and learned a great deal about the industry from my incredibly talented colleagues on the consumer team,” says Harrison.

The FINN Partners office in London (Photo by Gabrielle Harrison ’25)

Harrison says that future applicants should be thorough and specific about how they would benefit from the award. “Preparation is essential, so take time to craft a compelling narrative that showcases your passion and how this experience will benefit both you and your community.”

Contributing to the Entertainment Industry

Tyler Gentry ’25 spent his summer in Los Angeles, California, as a music and talent intern at Vevo. The Internship Funding Award allowed him to experience the city and work with leading artists in the music industry. “My internship gave me the opportunity to create studio performance videos for artists such as Dasha, The Warning, Wolftyla, Chanel Tres and many more!”

Gentry says that it was a difficult process to figure out the financial logistics of his internship, but he says it’s important for students to stay determined. “Be passionate about what you want and how you will obtain it. My passion and determination helped me stay focused on creating a realistic plan for me to make the internship happen,” says Gentry.

Securing Jobs Post-Graduation

Through the support of the Internship Funding Award, Madison Deak ’25 interned last summer at Goldman Sachs Ayco in Cohoes, New York. Her experience included networking opportunities with financial professionals and immersion in the world of wealth management. “After an amazing summer I’m excited to be returning full-time to Goldmans Family Office post-grad,” says Deak.

Deak says an essential part of finding an internship is to stay open-minded; it took her over a year after she started applying to land an offer. “As long as you’re doing the right things: applying, interviewing and continuing to be involved in your academics, you will find something. It may just take time. You will end up where you’re meant to be.”

For complete information and application details, visit the on the Career Services website. Contact Erin Smith at ejsmit06@syr.edu with any questions.

Story by Student Experience communications intern Chloe Langerman ’25, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

Long lines of families turned out for support and shared their heartbreaking stories of evacuations and lost homes. Amid the sorrowful scene, Aga recalls watching a group of children playing tag and laughing in the parking lot while their mother waited in line for food and other provisions.

“It was just such a human moment in such a tragic, apocalyptic scenario that it just really struck me that this is something people are going to have to deal with for years, and it’s real people just trying to get through it,” says Aga, who has worked as a field representative in Chu’s Pasadena office for three years.

On the first day of the Eaton fire, Jan. 7, Aga fielded calls from residents who had evacuated, who had lost their homes, and who couldn’t find family members. Some had lost loved ones in the flames. Chu’s district, which covers most of northeastern Los Angeles county and serves nearly 750,000 residents, was heavily impacted by the Eaton Fire; it destroyed nearly 9,500 structures, scorched over 14,000 acres and claimed 17 lives before it was fully contained.

Maxwell alumnus Zayn Aga (pictured center, wearing a tie) is shown with colleagues during a visit to fire-ravaged Altadena, California, by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and other lawmakers.

Aga was part of a team advocating for federal aid to support the affected community. They also assisted residents in receiving medical equipment and in recovering lost mail and other critical documents.

“It’s our job and our responsibility to make government work for people,” Aga says, adding that he strives to “make government work for somebody just a little bit better and be a little bit more accessible.”

Aga said he finds purpose in making a difference in small, meaningful ways. Despite evacuating his own home, he gathered supplies and drove across the city, visiting four different centers in search of one still accepting donations. One day he rounded up a lost dog and located its worried owner who had been searching since the fires.

“Helping people in a crisis, and exercising initiative and going the extra mile even when his own safety and property are being threatened, sounds so much like Zayn,” says , professor of political science. “He’s the complete Maxwell package—empathy, dedication to service and determination to improve government. I’m very proud of him.”

Aga says his Maxwell schooling helped prepare him to support others in times of need, reinforcing the importance of solving problems one step at a time. He said he gained especially valuable experience interning for U.S. Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer and U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi.

“At its core, this was all just people doing their best and trying to be there for one another,” says Aga of his experience.

Story by Mikayla Melo

Lauren Woodard

, assistant professor of anthropology, has received the Spring 2025 Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) First Book Subvention for her upcoming book on Russia’s migration policies on the Russia-China border.

Woodard’s book is titled “Ambiguous Inclusion: Migration and Race on the Russia-China Border” (University of Toronto Press, 2026). It draws on her 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews and immersive participant observation in Moscow and Vladivostok, Russia, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 2014-17.

Further, it explores how those who immigrate to Russia through its Resettlement of Compatriots Program experience challenges adapting to life in the country, despite receiving expedited citizenship and state benefits. Migrants’ uneasiness, she argues, reflects racial hierarchies that are shaped by complex configurations of ethnicity, language and culture.

The ASEEES is a nonprofit scholarly society that supports teaching, research and publishing about Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and Eastern Europe. It hosts an annual convention, book prizes and the Slavic Review—the leading peer-reviewed journal in the field. The first book subvention prize is awarded twice annually to three winners for individually authored books.

Woodard’s research has been supported by the Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fellowship, Fulbright research grants to Russia and Kazakhstan, and the Social Science Research Council. She was also awarded the Title VIII Research Scholar fellowship by the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., in 2022 for her research on migration, race and belonging in Russia’s Far East. She received the International Relations Teaching Award for the 2022-23 academic year, which recognizes excellence in teaching and contributions to the international relations undergraduate program.

Woodard is a senior research associate in the Center for European Studies. She teaches courses on political anthropology, Eastern Europe, anthropological theory and global encounters.

Story by Michael Kelly

Graduate by Hilton is a lifestyle brand made up of 35 hand-crafted hotels that reside in dynamic, university-anchored towns across the U.S. and U.K. Each hotel is created with a focus on local history and nostalgia—from the design touchpoints to the culinary experiences—capturing the unique spirit of each university and reflecting the cultures and traditions of the communities they are located within.

“Graduate is an ideal partner in helping us bring to life a distinctive and dynamic space that authentically represents the ���ϲ����� experience,” says Brett Padgett, senior vice president and chief financial officer. “This collaboration will create a vibrant hub for both our campus and the broader ���ϲ����� community, offering a welcoming destination during key moments like Orange game days, reunions, graduations, campus visits and beyond. We’re thrilled to work together to build a space that reflects the unique spirit and character of ���ϲ�����.”

“���ϲ����� is the perfect partner as we continue the Graduate tradition of delivering collegiate-inspired hospitality to vibrant academic communities,” says Kevin Osterhaus, president, global lifestyle brands, Hilton. “Like the University, Graduate values lifelong learning and connection, and we are confident this hotel will become a beloved destination for visitors, locals and fans alike.”

The planned hotel will feature approximately 200 rooms, on-site parking, a full-service, three-meal restaurant and event space. A rooftop bar and lounge will offer stunning views of campus, creating a space for both hotel guests and members of the Central New York community to gather. The new hotel will be situated across from the University Avenue Garage, at the corner of University Avenue and Harrison Street.

“We are excited about the potential of this new hotel to enhance the overall experience for our campus community while providing a much-needed venue for visitors and events in the area,” says John Papazoglou, senior vice president and chief operations officer. “This development highlights how ���ϲ����� is advancing its strategic goals while contributing to the vibrancy of the City of ���ϲ����� and Onondaga County.”

The University has engaged The Hardy Group to serve as project manager, with DLR Group selected as designer and LeChase serving as construction manager. The University is in the process of selecting a third-party operator for the hotel.

About ���ϲ�����

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

About Graduate by Hilton

is a lifestyle brand of hand-crafted hotels that reside in dynamic university-anchored towns in the United States and United Kingdom. Each hotel brings stories and traditions to life through one-of-a-kind experiences, which authentically reflect the unique spirit of each community they are located within. Founded in 2014 by Adventurous Journeys (“AJ”) Capital Partners and acquired by Hilton in 2024, Graduate’s portfolio consists of 35 open hotels across the US and UK. Learn more about Graduate by Hilton at and follow the brand on .

A master’s student in in the , he was the 2024 honorable mention for SNM’s Brian Israel/Sam Pellman Award.

Rolando Gomez

Gómez’s woodwind quintet, , will share the program with two string quartets: Orientalism, by Sami Seif, the 2024 winner of the Israel/Pellman Award, and Bodensee, by Maxim Dybal-Denysenko, the 2024 recipient of SNM’s New York State Federation of Music Clubs/Brian Israel Prize. All three composers will be on hand to introduce their pieces.

Both SNM awards recognize promising New York state composers studying for or embarking on professional music careers.

Tickets are $20 (general admission) and $15 (students and seniors). Students who are 18 years old and younger are free with valid college ID. For tickets and more information, visit SNM’s .

SNM Managing Director Carole Brzozowski ’81 says the concert has grown into a local springtime tradition. “It’s a celebration of emerging talent,” continues the former dean of the (VPA), in which the Setnor School is housed. “The Society for New Music is proud to take a leadership role in identifying and nurturing young, innovative composers.”

Capturing the Spirit��

The Juicy Kandy quintet premiered Sit and Play at the 2023 Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival at The Juilliard School. The performance marked Gómez’s New York City compositional debut.

Collaborating with world-class musicians exposed the Miami, Florida, native to innovative writing techniques. It also inspired him to capture the performers’ personalities in his music.

“Sit and Play is a virtuosic work that reflects my love for jazz, especially bebop,” says Gómez, who graduated from Oberlin Conservatory weeks before the premiere.

Conceived as a theme and variations, Sit and Play evolved into a suite of four contrasting character pieces. The music abounds in shared motives, syncopated grooves and polyphonic textures.

Gómez says the name of the piece is “playful and self-referential,” a nod to the way that jazz and Latine composers use titles to acknowledge the act of music making. “Sit and Play reflects the spirit of the music … and invites musicians to engage with the piece in a direct, intuitive way.”

The 10-minute work has four distinct movements: Jab and Stab, a syncopated exchange between oboe and the rest of the ensemble; Breathe and Sing, a melancholic bassoon solo dedicated to Gómez’s first music teacher—his father; Cut and Paste, a technical tour de force for French horn; and Riff and Run, a vibrant scherzo for flute recalling some of the piece’s earlier themes.

“Working with the Society for New Music is incredibly meaningful,” says Gómez, who recently presented the suite on his master’s recital. “SNM strengthens connections between the University and the professional word, allowing students like me to engage with performers and other composers at the highest level.”

Sit and Play is performed by Kate O’ Leary ’26, flute; Sydney Kincaid ’27, oboe; John Giordano ’26, clarinet; Lily Carpinone ’26, bassoon; and Ryan Hill ’27, French horn.

Expanding His Vocabulary

Gómez was in high school when he began scoring music for video games. A self-taught composer, he enrolled at Oberlin, majoring in composition and minoring in technology in music and related arts.

Working at ���ϲ����� with Natalie Draper—another SNM favorite who is an assistant professor of theory and composition in the Setnor School—has enabled Gómez to expand his musical vocabulary.

“It’s a fusion of traditional and modern styles,” says Brzozowski, noting Gómez’s modernist approach to American and Cuban forms.

Genre-blending is apparent in the program’s other works. Seif’s Orientalism is a meditation on identity and the passage of time, inspired by Edward Said’s landmark book. In turn, Dybal-Denysenko’s Bodensee is named for the lake near his family home in Austria—the same body of water that inspired composer Robert Schumann some 170 years earlier.

Seif is a doctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center; Dybal-Denysenko, a 2024 graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Juilliard student Yuxuan Lin also is a 2024 Israel/Pellman honorable mention. Her entry—Can’t let it go, when it returns for solo cello—is slated for a future SNM program.

Brian Israel taught in the Setnor School from 1975 until his death in 1986. He was a prolific composer, conductor and pianist who befriended SNM co-founder Neva Pilgrim.

Sam Pellman was a Hamilton College music professor who served on the SNM board and chaired SNM’s Israel prize competition until his death in 2017.

Pilgrim was a one-time VPA professor and longtime community partner who died last year. In 1971, she helped found SNM, which has performed and commissioned a formidable body of work by up-and-coming composers. It is the only year-round new music organization in the region and is the oldest nonprofit of its kind in the state, outside of New York City.

Join Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness at the 6th annual on Friday, April 25, at 2 p.m. in the School of Education Commons in Huntington Hall. The celebration is open to the public.

The event will recognize and celebrate faculty and staff for their efforts to examine and enhance student learning and operational success. Awards will be given in five categories:

• Assessment Champion, recognizing campus community members who advocate for meaningful assessment to enrich the student learning experience and operational effectiveness.
• Outstanding Assessment, recognizing a distinguished academic program, co-curricular program/unit and functional unit for a robust assessment and action planning to support decision-making.
• Best Engagement Strategies, recognizing programs/units for engaging faculty, staff and students in the assessment process.
• Best Use of Results, recognizing an academic program, co-curricular program/unit and functional unit for using assessment results to inform decision-making.
• Collaborative Inquiry and Action, recognizing a program/unit that collaborates with others outside of their primary school/college/division to use the assessment process to enhance student learning and campus operations.

Posters highlighting the work of 2024 Assessment Leadership Institute participants and 2024-25 recipients of the Student Engagement in Assessment grant will also be showcased.

Light refreshments will be served. today!

The Hall of Languages lit up in teal for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“Commemorating Sexual Assault Awareness Month on college campuses is essential to raising awareness, supporting survivors and fostering a culture of prevention,” says Leslie Skeffington, Barnes Center at The Arch assistant director for sexual and relationship violence prevention. “Our events are designed to build community among survivors and allies, offering spaces for connection, healing and solidarity as students navigate the final stretch of the semester.”

Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2025

Those seeking to show solidarity and support, alongside survivors, at any stage of their healing journey are invited to participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month events. Visit the ��for a complete list of events and details.

Take Back The Night 2025

Each year, the University recognizes and participates in Take Back The Night, a global event that brings community members together to speak out about sexual violence, relationship violence and other forms of interpersonal violence. This year’s event will take place on Thursday, April 10, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Panasci Lounge at the Schine Student Center.

“This year’s Take Back The Night continues the work of reimagining and recentering students in this long-standing annual event. We have a great group of students planning the event and have received strong support from the Student Association, fraternity and sorority organizations and registered student organizations on campus,” says Virginia Evans, Barnes Center at The Arch staff therapist and sexual and relationship violence coordinator.

“Highlights of this year’s event include student performances, a fashion show, community art projects and a Survivor Speak Out. We will close the evening with a collective healing activity. We look forward to honoring survivorship with our entire campus community on April 10, during Take Back The Night!” Evans says.

For more information or to request accommodations, please call the Barnes Center at The Arch at 315.443.8000 or email��BarnesCenter@syr.edu.

Charles W. Beach

Shortly after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of Arts and Sciences, Charles W. Beach launched a firm representing manufacturers and helped a start-up company become a world class leader in opto-electronic components. Eventually, grew into a leader among manufacturers’ representatives, offering high technology component solutions and quality service throughout the Northeast. Long after Beach himself retired, the company remains family-owned and operated, in Jamesville, New York, with his son David at the helm.

Beach, who died on Feb. 22, 2025, at the age of 88, served his alma mater on the Board of Trustees as a voting trustee from 1991 to 2007 and remained active as a life trustee on the board’s Academic Affairs Committee. He also supported the University and its students philanthropically, including initiatives in the athletics department, and an endowed scholarship in the name of his parents, Arthur and Norma, both of whom were ���ϲ����� graduates. Like their son, Arthur Beach 1917 and Norma Vergason Beach 1925 earned degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences.

While building his business in the 1960s, Beach returned to ���ϲ����� to pursue a master’s degree in education in the School of Education. He continued to live in ���ϲ����� and commute to Rochester to support Kodak and Xerox with various electronic components.

“Through his service and philanthropy, Charlie demonstrated his enduring support of higher education and ���ϲ�����,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “He built a company grounded in innovation and service, demonstrating the value of relationships, integrity, and ingenuity.”

Beach remained devoted to the greater ���ϲ����� region in his civic work and volunteerism. He was a founding member of InterFaith Works of ���ϲ�����, where he served as board president, and was also past president of the United Methodist Foundation Inc. and the Vera House Foundation, and past president of the boards of Elmcrest Children’s Center and ���ϲ����� Rotary.

The city he loved honored him in return. The Post-Standard honored him with a Person of Achievement award in 2003 for his “volunteer leadership and monetary contributions to a long list of Central New York’s social service, educational and cultural institutions over the decades.” Temple Adath Yeshurun honored Beach with a Citizen of the Year award in 2010. In 1991, he was named philanthropist of the year by the Central New York chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives.

Beach’s commitment to service and inclination toward leadership began early in life. He was elected class president at Nottingham High School after serving in that position at his elementary school, the Charles Andrews School. He pursued his passion for baseball in high school but, according to his family, his dream of playing professionally was dashed when he contracted polio in his pitching arm and shoulder.

Beach is survived by three children, Karen, Marilyn and David, along with seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Haowei Wang

Wang’s research focuses on understanding the social determinants of healthy aging in a global context. In particular, she investigates the transformation of family networks, how multiple dimensions of family relationships impact well-being and caregiving in later life, and how demographic shifts and social policies shape physical and mental health across the life course.

The APC Fellowship program is designed to help early-career population researchers network, increase their profile and develop skills for disseminating research. Fellows are invited to give a talk at an APC research center, present at an APC virtual event and receive support in preparing a policy brief. Founded in 1991, the APC is an independent group of over 40 research institutions in the U.S. that brings together scholars across disciplines to educate policymakers and collaborate on research related to demographics and population change.

“Professor Wang is doing important policy-relevant work on healthy aging and family structures that impact not just individuals but whole communities,” says Shana Kushner Gadarian, associate dean for research. “We are so happy to see this recognition of her research and her strong trajectory.”

Wang is a research affiliate at the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, a faculty associate at the Aging Studies Institute and a research affiliate at the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. Her areas of expertise are in social gerontology, family demography, aging and population health. She has contributed to many articles in interdisciplinary journals on topics including population aging, health disparities, family structure changes, intergenerational relationships, and COVID-19 experiences among middle-aged and older adults.

Story by Michael Kelly

The One University Awards Ceremony, an annual event to honor members of the ���ϲ����� community who are making a difference through academics, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service, will be held Friday, April 11, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

“The One University Awards are one of the great traditions at ���ϲ�����,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “This ceremony highlights the incredible accomplishments, scholarship, and innovation of our students, faculty, staff, and community. Every year I look forward to celebrating the talented and dedicated people who come together to make this a great university.”

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

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

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

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

Award Recipients��

The��Chancellor’s Medal��is the University’s highest honor and is awarded to individuals in honor of their trailblazing and extraordinary contributions to the University, to an academic body of knowledge or to society.

This year’s recipients are Cydney Johnson, deputy county executive for physical services for Onondaga County and ���ϲ�����’s former vice president for community engagement and government relations, and , Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor of policy studies in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

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

• The award for��Excellence in Student Research��recognizes students who have engaged in collaborative research that has the potential to make a deep and lasting impact on greater society. This year’s recipients are Qingyang Liu, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics (graduate), and Abigail Greenfield, a history major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a political philosophy major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program (undergraduate).
• The award for��Outstanding Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives��acknowledges faculty and staff who, through their work, enhance the undergraduate experience for students or make invaluable contributions to supporting and advancing the University’s mission and goals. The recipients are��, associate teaching professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (faculty);��, assistant dean for undergraduate programs in the Whitman School of Management (professional staff); , director of international student success in the College of Arts and Sciences (professional staff) and��Emma Karp, operations assistant in Campus Dining and Catering (support staff).
• The��Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction��award is intended for faculty members who are collaborators in work of intellectual richness that has the potential for future impact. The work of these nominees offers possibilities for collaboration within the University and outside in partnership with others. This year’s honorees are��, professor of teaching and leadership and director of the Center for Experiential Pedagogy and Practice in the School of Education, and��, professor and chair of biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
• Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence, Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors those who have made extraordinary contributions toward advancing all four pillars of excellence over the arc of their careers while at ���ϲ����� and beyond. This year’s recipient is��, professor and program coordinator for theater management in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The other awards to be presented are:

The��Student-Athlete Award��recognizes the top female and top male student athletes and are presented to the senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average over the course of their academic and athletic careers. This year’s recipients are Jordan Beck, a finance major in the Whitman School of Management and a member of the men’s lacrosse team, Charlotte Ebel, majoring in public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and German language, literature and culture and women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the women’s rowing team, and Emma Klein, a chemical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a member of the women’s soccer team.

Seinfeld Scholarship: Each year ���ϲ����� honors the talents of outstanding faculty or students through an��, a distinguished alumna and member of the University Board of Trustees. Awards are made to those who have been determined by their peers to have made outstanding contributions to the beauty of the world, to have added to human values and to ending human abuse anywhere in the world, and to have demonstrated passion for excellence, creativity and originality in academic or artistic fields. This year, the designation is bestowed upon Claire Ceccoli, a senior public relations major in the Newhouse School, and Elizabeth Paulin, a senior sociology major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences.

The��Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorships for Teaching Excellence��were created in 1995 to recognize and reward outstanding teaching among faculty. The 2025-28 Meredith Professors are , associate professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and��, professor and associate dean of human dynamics in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. The 2022-2025 Meredith Professors, Julie Hasenwinkel and Lauryn Gouldin, will also be recognized. In 2001, the Meredith Professorship Program was expanded to recognize teaching excellence by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors. Awards are given in two categories:��Early Performance��and��Continuing Excellence. This year’s honorees in the Early Performance category are��, associate teaching professor of biochemistry and director of undergraduate program in the College of Arts and Sciences;��, assistant teaching professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs;��, Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership in the College of Engineering and Computer Science;��, assistant professor of public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; , assistant professor in the School of Information Studies; and��, associate professor of law in the College of Law. The two honorees in the Continuing Excellence category are��, teaching professor and associate dean of students in the College of Law, and��, associate teaching professor of writing studies, rhetoric, and composition in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The��Enduring Values Award recognizes an individual who is integral in helping us achieve academic excellence at a university that is welcoming to all. This year’s recipient is Craig Tucker, director of Higher Education Opportunity Program and Trio Student Support Services programs.

The��William Pearson Tolley Medal for Distinguished Leadership in Lifelong Learning��is based in the School of Education and honors national or international leadership in support of lifelong learning. This year’s recipient is , founder and president of H.G. Adams & Associates Inc., and an alumnus of the School of Education.

The��Chancellor’s Forever Orange Award��recognizes individual students, faculty or staff who—by virtue of extraordinary hard work, good values and commitment to excellence—have come to embody the best of ���ϲ�����. This year’s recipient is��, founding director of the Shaw Center for Public and Community Service.

The afternoon begins with the Voices of Service Poster Event, taking place from 12:30 to 3 p.m. in the Bisignano Grand Hall. Organized by Academic Affairs and the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), the event showcases research projects, curricular initiatives and community-based efforts led by ���ϲ����� students, faculty, staff and partners. From veteran-centered education programs to collaborative outreach initiatives, the event offers a glimpse into the diverse ways the university supports military-connected populations.

Brief remarks will be delivered at 12:45 p.m.��and attendees are encouraged to engage with presenters to learn more about ongoing and future projects. The event is open to all and aims to foster new collaborations across disciplines and departments.

Those planning to attend the poster event are asked to .

Following the poster session, attention turns to the K.G. Tan Auditorium for the next installment of the D’Aniello Speaker Series, beginning at 3 p.m.

This edition features a keynote from retired U.S. Air Force Col. Martha McSally, who is among the first women combat pilots in the U.S. military, and a former U.S. senator and representative. McSally, who served in Congress from 2015 to 2020, will share personal insights on facing adversity, leading with courage, and breaking down barriers in both military and political arenas.

Her talk, “Be Unbreakable,” promises to deliver an inspiring narrative of resilience and determination—hallmarks of McSally’s trailblazing career. A reception will follow back in the Grand Hall.

To attend the speaker series, .

Together, these events reflect ���ϲ�����’s ongoing mission to be the best place for veterans—on campus, in the community and across the country.

Carmelo Anthony (Photo by N. Scott Trimble)

Carmelo Anthony, one of ���ϲ�����’s most prolific former student-athletes, will deliver the address on Sunday, May 11, at 9:30 a.m. at the JMA Wireless Dome. Anthony’s return to campus is especially profound as his son, Kiyan Anthony, will soon wear the Orange jersey, following in his father’s footsteps as a member of the Orange men’s basketball program.

The basketball legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 finalist played one season for the Orange men’s basketball program helping to lead the team to its first NCAA Championship in a thrilling victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. For his stunning performance, he was named the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player. After ���ϲ�����, he went on to play 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association, earning accolades such as 10-time NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA Team member. The four-time Olympian for U.S. basketball won three Olympic gold medals and a bronze medal. Beyond his time on the court, Anthony is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and media personality with his podcast “7PM in Brooklyn.”

“Carmelo Anthony played a pivotal role in one of the most storied moments in ���ϲ����� history,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “His exceptional talent, relentless work ethic and athletic excellence are matched by his unwavering commitment to giving back, especially in creating opportunities for young people and aspiring student-athletes. We are honored to welcome Carmelo back to campus to inspire and share his journey with our graduates, their families and the entire University community at this year’s Commencement ceremony.”

“I’m excited to be returning to the Dome to celebrate the amazing achievements of these graduates,” says Carmelo Anthony. “This is a full-circle moment, and serves as a powerful reminder of how education, resilience and a supportive community can empower you to achieve your dreams. Go Orange!”

A top high school recruit with an already impressive talent, he quickly became a standout player at ���ϲ�����. Anthony was a consensus All-American, averaging 22.2 points and 10 rebounds per game, helping lead ���ϲ����� to a 30-5 overall record. He was honored as National Freshman of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association, Basketball Times, Sporting News and ESPN.com. He was a unanimous selection for Big East Conference Freshman of the Year and was Big East Conference Rookie of the Week a record 10 times, among other accolades.

With his history-making year at ���ϲ�����, it did not take long for NBA teams to recognize his immense potential. He declared for the 2003 NBA Draft and was selected as the third overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. His prowess and talent set him up as one of the league’s premier scorers. During his time with the Nuggets (2003–2011), he consistently led the team to the playoffs and achieved numerous accolades. In 2011, he was traded to the New York Knicks, where his abilities continued to raise the bar, scoring a career-high 62 points in a single game, a record for both the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

His career continued with playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. Over 19 seasons in the NBA, he earned 10 All-Star selections, a scoring title in 2013 and a place on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. His NBA legacy has been solidified as a fan favorite and with his scoring abilities—ranking among the top 10 all-time leading scorers in the NBA.

On the international stage, Anthony’s popularity went global as a four-time Olympian. Anthony joined United States basketball, winning three Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016) and one bronze (2004).

Off the court, Anthony has continuously given back to provide opportunities for the next generation. Along with his support of youth and family programs and community initiatives, Anthony made a lead gift that kick-started the construction of the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, which was completed in time for the 2009-10 NCAA season. The 54,000-square foot state-of-the-art facility features two full-practice courts, a strength and conditioning room, state-of-the art athletic training suite, offices for both coaching staffs, and complete locker room facilities.

In 2017, Anthony received the Chancellor’s Medal for Philanthropy, which is awarded to individuals in honor of their extraordinary contributions to the University, to their areas of expertise and/or to the community.

Anthony, who retired from the NBA in 2023, has ventured into several entrepreneurial projects. These include the launch of his global estate brand, VII(N) The Seventh Estate; his lifestyle brand STAYME7O, which celebrates his well-known mantra and mindset; and his global, multi-platform content company Creative 7. In his latest project with Creative 7, he executive produces and co-hosts “7pm in Brooklyn,” a top-charting digital series surrounding all things hoops and culture.

This year is the 52nd anniversary of this program, organized by CNY Arts, and faculty and staff are invited to showcase their talents along with other employers and businesses in the region.

All eligible artwork submitted will be displayed on campus at Bird Library in a special exhibition titled “On My Own Time–Celebrating the Artistic Talents of ���ϲ����� Faculty and Staff.” The exhibition will run from May 30-June 12 during library hours.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to support their colleagues by visiting the exhibition and casting a ballot for their favorite piece to win the People’s Choice Award. Also, during the on-campus exhibition, a selection panel of adjudicators—including a CNY Arts representative—will select pieces for an “On My Own Time Grand Finale” exhibition. The finale is a five-week exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art from Oct. 4-Nov. 9 and will include a reception for artists, University colleagues, family and friends on Oct. 9. Tickets to the finale are available starting in September at .

Eligibility for Participation

All active full-time and part-time faculty and staff are eligible to submit artwork for adjudication. Fine arts faculty and professional artists are eligible to submit works outside of their discipline.

Criteria for Submission of Artists’ Work

• All artwork submitted must be��original creations. Copies of published work or craft kits will not be accepted.
• All artwork must have been��completed within three years of entry.
• Artwork must be��finished and display-ready, to include mounting hardware (if applicable). Please submit display instructions or materials as necessary.
• Each faculty or staff member may��submit up to three pieces for the exhibition.

Submission categories include:

• Painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor)
• Metalwork
• Drawing (pen, pencil, ink, charcoal)
• Jewelry
• Collage/assemblage
• Printmaking
• Computer art
• Photography (color or black-and-white)
• Woodwork
• Glasswork
• Sculpture
• Mixed media
• Ceramics
• Fiber art

Registration and Submission Instructions

All artists must register with their intent to participate by��May 9��by completing a��. Artwork submissions must be delivered to Human Resources by May 28 or directly to Bird Library on May 29. Additional details will be shared upon registration. Artists are responsible for delivering and collecting artwork on schedule.

If you have questions or would like to volunteer to assist with the exhibit at Bird Library, email��OMOT@syr.edu.

A pilot study of a post-stroke population by researchers from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders revealed some potential benefits of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on attention and fatigue. Study findings were published in .

Researchers worked with 10 stroke survivors (average age: 62.8) participating in two sessions spaced at least three days apart. They were all diagnosed with post-stroke aphasia, a language disorder that results from a stroke injury.

Each session began with an attention test as researchers recorded brain activity through electroencephalography and tracked pupil size. Participants received an attention-training exercise with either real tDCS or a placebo version. Afterward, they repeated the initial attention test.

Hannah Rembrandt

“If you can find a way to improve their attention, it can help other areas of their life,” says Hannah Rembrandt, first co-author and Ph.D. student in the , directed by��, associate professor and principal investigator of the study.

Understanding post-stroke attention is crucial because it is a foundation of executive functioning, which includes memory, language and planning.

The ���ϲ����� study, however, yielded mixed results. The participants who received real tDCS showed significantly larger pupil dilation, which could be expected to correlate with improved attention. Pupil dilation reveals the activation of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine pathway, a brain system involved in attention. Researchers wanted to learn if pupil dilation measurements could be a physiological marker for assessing its effectiveness.

Yet the actual treatment did not benefit patients in measurable attention tests.

“We hypothesize that attention did not improve because there were too few sessions of the treatment,” says Rembrandt. “Other research has suggested that it is more effective when you use it for multiple sessions.”

A Transcranial direct current stimulation device.

An intriguing finding is when participants received the real stimulation, they felt less fatigued after the attention test than when they received the placebo. The study suggests that tDCS might help reduce fatigue by affecting specific brain pathways. The participants rated their general level of fatigue on a scale of zero to 100 at the beginning and the end of the session.

“If you do a lot of mental activity, we’d expect fatigue to increase,” says Rembrandt. “That tDCS mediated an increase shows a lot of promise to help combat fatigue.”

Rembrandt says more studies are needed to determine whether the treatment could serve as a reliable tool for post-stroke cognitive rehabilitation.

“This is a step forward into understanding exactly how this treatment has been able to help people, and we are looking forward to continuing this work and learning more,” says Rembrandt.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

A warmer future could lead to less salty rivers by reducing the need for road salting. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

The chemistry of U.S. rivers is changing—and will change further in complex ways in different regions of the country. Scientists are exploring ways to predict future changes in watershed chemistry, which could improve managing them for climate change and community health.

University researchers are combining traditional geochemistry with artificial intelligence to predict how alkalinity—a measure of a solution’s ability to neutralize acids—and salts in rivers around the country could be affected by further climate warming and population growth, according to a study published in .

Tao Wen

The research team was led by��, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Wen also directs the��Hydrogeochemistry��And eNvironmental��Data��Sciences (HANDS) and��Noble Gases in��Earth��Systems��Tracing (NEST) research laboratories.

An excess of salt can make water undrinkable, increase the cost of treating water and harm freshwater fish and wildlife.

Past research shows that as salt levels in U.S. rivers have gone up, these waters have also become more alkaline, which can damage water, wastewater treatment and aquatic life. Increased alkalinity is occurring because of rising temperatures and more rainfall. Human activities, such as more people living in certain areas, might also contribute to it.

Yet alkalinity is also beneficial. When river waters are more alkaline, they help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and limit climate warming over time. However, before rivers can be harnessed for this purpose, researchers must first understand the basic chemistry at play.

Using machine learning models, the Wen team projected how salinity—measured through sodium levels—and alkalinity will change in 226 U.S. rivers between 2040 and 2100 under different climate and human population scenarios.

In northern states, rivers would become less salty because warmer winters mean less salt will be applied on icy roads. However, in the South and West, where people don’t use much road salt, river salinity will likely stay the same. But as these areas get hotter and drier, more salt from the soil might accumulate and wash into waterways.

The study also found that rising temperature can affect alkalinity. In watersheds rich in carbonate rocks, such as limestone, researchers found that alkalinity flux—the product of the natural breakdown of rock minerals—declines when temperatures surpass 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). This finding suggests that warming past a certain temperature level could suppress alkalinity in rivers.

Researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences are integrating traditional geochemistry with artificial intelligence to forecast the impact of climate warming and population growth on the alkalinity and salt levels in rivers nationwide.

However, in watersheds dominated by silicate rocks or organic carbon, higher temperatures accelerate silicate weathering and the decomposition of organic material, leading to increased alkalinity levels. More rainfall can also increase the amount of these chemicals in rivers, but only up to a certain point.

In the future, some watersheds with lower alkalinity could be manipulated to take up additional alkaline from watersheds, allowing rivers to sequester more carbon from the atmosphere.

For this and other multidisciplinary research, Wen received a 2025��. The award highlights excellent work by independent researchers in their early career that bring new insights into the field of geochemistry or to promote geochemical applications.

Visit the ��to read the full story.

Story by John H. Tibbetts

Plastic components are commonly used in infrastructure and transportation that we depend on—from water and sewer pipes to planes, trains and automobiles. But plastic materials experience stresses that degrade them over time. That’s why plastics in many critical applications are replaced on pre-set schedules, which is expensive but crucial for maintenance and public safety.

Xiaoran Hu

“When mechanical forces cause stress and deformation that go unnoticed in the plastic engineered parts of an airplane, for instance, it can cause significant consequences that we want to avoid,” says Xiaoran Hu, assistant professor of chemistry and member of the .

Supported by the University and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund, Hu and his team have created new molecules that someday could cut down on these risks and expenses. Mechanophores are molecules that respond to mechanical stress by changing characteristics such as their colors, and their incorporation into plastic components could enable visualization of mechanical stress. Hu’s team developed exceptionally sensitive mechanophore molecules—called “configurational mechanophores,”—that undergo mechanochemical isomerization reactions. The activated material can exhibit a color to indicate that a mechanical event has happened in a component. This visible signal would be useful in applications such as autonomous damage monitoring of materials.

“These new molecules could enable research into previously unobservable mechanical events in different materials, including synthetic plastics and biomaterials,” Hu says.

Ultrasensitive molecular force sensors facilitate structural health monitoring in plastic components and could enable scientists to investigate previously unobservable mechanical events in biological systems.

The ���ϲ����� team’s mechanophores are unique. According to a new study in the Journal of the ACS, their chemical transformation is triggered by minus mechanical forces as low as 131 piconewtons, which is below what is required to trigger any other mechanochemical reactions known up to date. For comparison, mechanochemical reactions involving carbon-carbon bond scission typically require nanonewton scale of forces (1 nanonewton = 1000 piconewton). Hu’s mechanophores, on the other hand, are more sensitive than the tiny forces relevant in many biological molecules, such as the unzipping of DNA strands (~300 pN), the unfolding of protein domains, and the breaking of antibody-antigen bonds (~150-300 pN). The new mechanophores could be effective tools in biology, allowing scientists to study stress changes at the nanoscale that were previously unobservable or difficult to measure. This could lead to a better understanding of how mechanical forces influence and regulate various processes in biology.

Additionally, unlike most traditional mechanophores, which are prone to damage by heat or light, the new molecules are stable upon thermal and light exposure, and therefore are well suited for applications in different complex environments.

Hu’s research on configurational mechanophores paves the way for the development of mechano-responsive materials with unprecedented mechanosensitivity. These materials could enable the study of previously unobservable nanoscale mechanical behaviors, playing a crucial role in advancing our understanding across scientific disciplines ranging from polymer physics, materials science, to mechanobiology.

“Our lab is developing the next-generation molecular force sensors with further enhanced mechanosensitivity and capable of exhibiting fluorescence signals or other functional responses,” Hu says. “We also aim to apply our mechanophores to different materials platforms such as mechanosensitive elastomers and paints to develop safer and smarter plastics that autonomously monitor and report mechanical damage. Additionally, we will explore the potential of these molecular force sensors to investigate cellular processes in the future.”

Story by John H. Tibbetts

Students in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management celebrate Whitman Day, the school’s annual celebration of the power of the Whitman community and Orange Business Network, with a fun photo op. (Photo courtesy of the )

We want to know how you experience ���ϲ�����. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to ���ϲ����� at newsphoto@syr.edu. You might see it featured here.

Students soak in the sun on a picture-perfect last day of classes for the Spring 2025 semester. (Photo courtesy of the )

During the annual Flight Day event, College of Engineering and Computer Science aerospace engineering seniors put their airplanes to the test inside the JMA Wireless Dome. (Photo courtesy of the )

Thanks to a helping hand from 25 students from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program, 721 sandwiches were made for the Assumption Food Pantry in ���ϲ����� during the Catholic Center’s weekly Community Night mass and dinner. (Photo by Father Gerry Waterman, Catholic chaplain)

For Earth Day, the ESF-SU Lights Out Task Force teamed up with staff to turn the lights off at the JMA Wireless Dome. (Photo courtesy of the )

Janna Van Vranken ’25 (right) and partner Addison Simone practice peaceful rock balancing in front of Hendricks Chapel, sponsored by the Buddhist Meditation Association. (Photo by Amy Manley)

Yvonne Malinowski ‘99 and son give their dogs, Mavis and Auggie, a chance to explore the lawn while her daughter takes a campus tour on a spring day. (Photo by Amy Manley)

A sure sign of spring: flowers blooming in front of the Shaffer Art Building. (Photo by Amy Manley)

Otto paid a visit to see Mike Tirico ’88 (pictured next to Otto), who was guest hosting on the “Today” show all this week. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� in New York City Facebook page)

During the 20th annual Brodsky Series, Jennifer Hain Teper (second from right), the Velde Professor and preservation librarian at the University of Illinois Libraries, led an engaging lecture and hands on workshop on scrapbook preservation. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ����� Libraries’ Facebook page)

The sights of spring are on display in front of the Shafer Art Building on a sunny late-April afternoon (Photo by John Boccacino)

The University Concert Choir practices for an upcoming performance. (Photo courtesy of the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Facebook page)

To gain a better understanding of their testing chamber project design, mechanical and aerospace engineering students (pictured from left to right) James Jabbour ’25, Brady McKenna ’25 and Alexandra Vaida ’25 visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to meet with engineers across various disciplines. (Photo courtesy of the College of Engineering and Computer Science Facebook page)

���ϲ����� students, alumni and staff members visited the set of the “Today” show to support guest host Mike Tirico ’88. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� in New York City Facebook page)

Otto meets with fans on the set of The “Today” show. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� in New York City Facebook page)

���ϲ����� Ambulance members came together to celebrate its supervisors and administrative team members during its 52nd annual banquet. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� Ambulance Facebook page)

Members of the campus community came together to celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors that marks the arrival of spring. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

John Lally ’82 speaks at a ribbon-cutting event celebrating the opening of the new Football Performance Center at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex on Saturday, April 12. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ����� Athletics)

Otto sits atop equine friend Charm during a visit with the English equestrian club sports team. (Photo courtesy of @theottoorange and @syracuse_equestrian on )

The Graduate School proudly hosted its inaugural doctoral candidacy recognition event, honoring students who achieved candidacy—a pivotal milestone in the doctoral journey. (Photo courtesy of the Graduate School’s LinkedIn page)

Snow falls on Hendricks Chapel during a mid-April snowstorm. (Photo by John Boccacino)

During the 2025 ���ϲ����� Alumni Awards, the campus community came together to honor outstanding alumni who embody the Orange spirit through their remarkable achievements, leadership and service. Pictured are (from left to right) Paul Greenberg ’65 (George Arents Award); Jon and Karen Ritter, the parents of Jamieson R. Ritter ’19 (accepting the Military/Veteran Alumni Award posthumously on Jamieson’s behalf); Kimberly Wolf Price L’03 (Volunteer of the Year); Chancellor and President Kent Syverud; Jack Kreischer ’65 (Melvin A. Eggers Senior Alumni Award); Chelsea Ransom-Cooper ’15 (Generation Orange Award); Melanie Littlejohn G’97 (George Arents Award); and Judith C. Mower ’66, G’73, G’80, Ph.D.’84 (George Arents Award). (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� Alumni Association Facebook page)

OttoTHON is the largest student-run philanthropy event at ���ϲ�����, and during this year’s annual dance marathon event, OttoTHON raised more than $115,000 for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

The annual Maxwell Awards of Excellence celebrated five exceptional alumni who embody the school’s commitment to engaged citizenship. Pictured are (from left to right) Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke with honorees Sahil Jain ’13, Margaret Abraham G’89, Ana Maria Menezes ’06 and Tom Bozzuto ’71. Tiesha Peal ’99 was unable to attend. (Photo courtesy of the Maxwell School’s Facebook page)

Representatives from some 80 regional community-based organizations gathered at the Marriott ���ϲ����� Downtown March 27 for an expo event hosted by ���ϲ�����’s Lender Center for Social Justice. One of the highlights was the Funders Roundtable, featuring (from left to right) Jonathan Snow, president of the John Ben Snow Foundation; Melanie Littlejohn, president and CEO of the CNY Community Foundation; Meg O’Connell, executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation; moderator Lyndsey Hodkinson, director of foundation relations; and Kira Reed, senior research associate at the Lender Center.

The inaugural ���ϲ����� Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Summit, the first NIL event organized by students for student-athletes at the University, brought ���ϲ����� student-athletes together with corporate brands for networking, education and NIL development. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of the Knight Foundation, and CNN anchor Boris Sanchez ’09, discuss the future of journalism before the 2025 Toner Prizes awards presentation in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shannon Finney)

Admitted students to the Department of Film and Media Arts in the College of Visual and Performing Arts toured Shaffer Art Building and made a short animation with Professor Heath Hanlin during the Spring Reception. (Photo courtesy of the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Facebook page)

The 108th Chancellor’s Review and Awards Ceremony recognizes the exemplary achievements of the University’s Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets. The event on March 28 was held in the JMA Wireless Dome. Pictured are (from left to right) Ryan Kelly, senior associate athletic director; Army ROTC cadets and members of the football team Joshua Kubala and Nathan Edwards; and head football coach Fran Brown. (Photo by Candace Campbell Jackson, chief of staff and senior vice president)

On March 28, the campus community came together to honor the dedication of the University’s ROTC cadets while reflecting our commitment to supporting veterans and military families. (Photo by Charlie Poag)

The time-honored tradition of the Chancellor’s Review and Awards Ceremony underscores the University’s unwavering dedication to military service and mirrors traditional military ceremonies that date back to the Middle Ages. (Photo by Charlie Poag)

Students help cut Otto’s birthday cake during a campuswide celebration at the Schine Student Center. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

Students help celebrate Otto’s birthday during a campuswide celebration. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

During the annual University 100 Rugby Ceremony, U100 student ambassadors and tour guides were honored for their commitment to the University. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� U100 Instagram page)

Falk College students in the “Italian Football: Impact and Outcomes” class spent their spring break in Italy, meeting with Italian soccer clubs, learning about their organizations and taking in the cultural significance of the sport. (Photo courtesy of Falk College’s Facebook page)

Operation Veteran Warmup, organized by the College of Law’s online JDinteractive students in collaboration with the Military and Veterans Law Society and the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, helped collect more than 100 winter clothing items to support unhoused veterans in the ���ϲ����� community. (Photo courtesy of the College of Law Instagram page)

Student researchers in the College of Engineering and Computer Science present their work during the 2025 Engineering and Computer Science Research Day in the Schine Student Center. (Photo courtesy of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences’ Facebook page)

Hendricks Chapel recently hosted the annual Service of Commemoration, which honors students, faculty, staff, retirees, trustees and honorary degree recipients who recently passed away. (Photo courtesy of the Hendricks Chapel Facebook page)

During the annual Service of Commemoration, flowers were placed on the wall on the Quad outside of Hendricks Chapel to remember those students, faculty, staff, retirees, trustees and honorary degree recipients who recently passed away. (Photo courtesy of the Hendricks Chapel Facebook page)

During a postgame ceremony, the ���ϲ����� women’s basketball team honored departing seniors (pictured in their jerseys, from left to right): Izabel Varejão, Saniaa Wilson, Georgia Woolley, Kyra Wood, Lexi McNabb and Sophie Burrows. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ����� Athletics)

Students in the ���ϲ����� Abroad Madrid program took a field trip to Spain’s oldest cultural institution, the Instituto Cervantes, which works to promote Spanish language education worldwide. (Photo courtesy of the ���ϲ����� Madrid Instagram page)

Alumni panelists Kim Burnett ’91, Savion Pollard ’25 and Joe Nehme ’11 speak during the first Micron Day, which showcased the innovation and growing momentum of the technology company’s transformative investment in the community and the deep connections being made with the University and Central New York. (Photo by Marilyn Hesler)

The Creations Dance Troupe performs for students during the Black History Month Closing Ceremony. (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

Students joined the Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization to build 88 beds for children living in poverty in Central New York. (Photo by Angela Ryan)

In the early evening hours, a snow-covered campus, including Crouse College and Maxwell Hall, is captured from the steps of the Newhouse Family Plaza. (Photo by Rano Dilmurodova)

The winning team celebrates after capturing the championship of the Black History Month Basketball Classic (Photo courtesy of the Barner-McDuffie House Instagram page)

A group photo of the 2025 Afropreneurship Celebration and Business Competition award winners. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ����� Libraries)

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship hosted a field trip to New York City for students in the Newhouse School’s and the Maxwell School’s Washington, D.C. programs. The group toured the United Nations headquarters, had lunch at a renowned Ukrainian restaurant and visited NBC News in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. (Photo courtesy of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship’s Instagram page)

���ϲ����� native Tom Kenny (front row center, wearing a green long-sleeved shirt), the iconic voice talent behind SpongeBob SquarePants, visited ���ϲ����� to meet with students and discuss what it takes to build a career in the creative arts. (Photo by Martin Walls)

Members of the Wind Ensemble practice inside the Setnor School of Music. (Photo courtesy of the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Facebook page)

During the 21st Annual WellsLink Leadership Program’s Transitions Ceremony, WellsLink Scholars from the previous year who have successfully transitioned to their second year on campus were honored. (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

Student members of the Black Reign Step Team perform during the University’s Black History Month Kickoff event. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

Falk College students listen to New Balance Marketing Director Dominick Fabrizio ’99 during a recent on-campus presentation. (Photo courtesy of Falk College’s Instagram page)

The keynote speaker for the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration was Sarah Willie-LeBreton, a sociologist and president of Smith College. (Photo by Amelia Beamish)

Students in the Newhouse Los Angeles immersive professional development program recently visited the set of the hit television show “Jeopardy!” (Photo courtesy of the Newhouse LA Instagram page)

Students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science met with alumni and industry partners during the Spring 2025 Engineering and Computer Science Career Fair. (Photo courtesy of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences’ Facebook page)

Students from the Newhouse School’s advanced media management graduate program traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend the Consumer Electronics Show, the largest tech and media trade show in the world. (Photo courtesy of the Newhouse School’s Facebook page)

Members of the campus community share a laugh while skating at the Clinton Square Ice Rink in downtown ���ϲ�����. (Photo courtesy ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

Otto stops to visit with friends. (Photo courtesy of @theottoorange)

Lights glow from within Crouse College. (Photo by Randy Carroll, staff member with Information Technology Services)

Students walk past the Hall of Languages on a snowy day (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook page)

The University’s Women in Leadership Initiative (WiL) recently launched its fourth Diane Lyden Murphy Cohort experience. This immersive learning experience is made up of emerging women leaders, including faculty, staff and administrators, from across the university. It combines experiential learning, hands-on assignments, one-on-one coaching and self-assessment to help women grow and thrive as leaders at ���ϲ�����. Learn more by visiting the WiL website. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook)

A student tries out a virtual reality experience during the grand opening of the Gaming and Esports Center in the Schine Student Center. (Photo by Jeremy Brinn)

Pictured from left to right during the grand opening of the Gaming and Esports Center are Chancellor Kent Syverud, Braeden Cheverie-Leonard ’26, vice president of the gaming and esports club, Gabriel Goodwin ’28, a Varsity Rocket League captain, and Brianna Nechifor ’26, who is pursuing an esports communications and management degree major. (Photo by Jeremy Brinn)

Executive Director of Esports Joey Gawrysiak addresses the crowd during the grand opening of the Gaming and Esports Center on campus. (Photo by Tiancheng Tang ’26)

Three students sit around a table and chat in the Schine Student Center during the first day of classes for the Winter 2025 semester. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook)

Students were welcomed back to campus with a fresh coating of snow. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ�����’s Facebook)

Students arrive in Madrid, Spain, to begin their semester with the Signature Seminar: Marine Ecology of the Mediterranean Sea. (Photo courtesy of ���ϲ����� Abroad’s Facebook)

Nothing is better than a sunny day in ���ϲ����� in the middle of winter. (Photo courtesy of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ Facebook)

Following a memorial service in Hendricks Chapel, Brian Konkol (center), vice president and dean of Hendricks Chapel, Devon Bartholomew (right), Baptist chaplain and Sensei JoAnn Cooke, Buddhist chaplain, lead a procession to the Place of Remembrance on Dec. 21, 2024. The service was held on the 36th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. The bombing claimed the lives of 270 people, including ���ϲ����� students returning from a semester of study abroad. (Photo by Qianzhen Li)

The flags in front of ���ϲ�����’s National Veterans Resource Center fly at half-staff in honor of former President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024). (Photo by Charlie Poag)

offer tax savings on eligible health-related expenses for faculty, staff and their eligible dependents, while offer employees the opportunity to contribute pre-tax dollars to an account to help pay for daycare and related expenses for a dependent child or adult.

HealthEquity is the University’s flexible spending account vendor. Faculty and staff with questions about eligible expenses or the reimbursement process can contact the HealthEquity customer care team at 877.924.3967 (TTY: 866.353.8058). A searchable list of and is available on HealthEquity’s website.

Twelve seniors have been named as the 2025 ���ϲ����� Scholars, the highest undergraduate honor the University bestows.

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

“We are proud to recognize our University Scholars for their many accomplishments. Not only have they achieved academic success, they have also embraced opportunities—like research and community service—to enhance and expand their undergraduate experience and make the most of their time here. As they prepare to graduate, we are looking forward to celebrating their future accomplishments and success,” says Interim Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Lois Agnew.

The 2025 ���ϲ����� Scholars are:

• Jonathan Collard de Beaufort, a biochemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Charlotte Ebel, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, a women and gender studies and German language, literature and culture major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Abigail Greenfield, a history major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a political philosophy major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Yuming Jiang, a mathematics and physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Sierra Kaplan, a political science major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a health humanities major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Emmy Njue, a finance and business analytics majors in the Whitman School of Management;
• Kerrin O’Grady, a biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Morgan Opp, a chemistry and biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Timothy Paek, a computer science major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Skyla Ross-Graham a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Yifan Shen, an architecture major in the School of Architecture, a music history and cultures major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and
• Sophia Znamierowski, a biology and neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Assignment Design Days are dedicated sessions that provide faculty with the opportunity to (re)design assignments that align with the University’s Shared Competencies. These sessions focus on creating transparent assignments that help students develop knowledge and skills related to the University’s learning goals.

Goals of Assignment Design Days

• Engage in iterative teaching and learning practices.
• (Re)Design assignments to align with competency outcomes.
• Create transparent assignment prompts that connect competency learning outcomes, course learning objectives and assignments.

Eligibility and Participation

All ���ϲ����� faculty members teaching courses tagged with one or more Shared Competencies, or those wishing to tag their�� courses, are eligible to participate. Participants will receive a $300 stipend for participating. During the sessions, faculty will map their course assignments to the Shared Competencies rubrics and create transparent assignments using the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework.

Session Schedule

Assignment Design Days are organized by competency:

• May 27, 2025
  • Ethics, Integrity, and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: 9:00 a.m.–noon
  • Critical and Creative Thinking: 1–4 p.m.
• May 28, 2025
  • Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills: 9 a.m.–noon
  • Civic and Global Responsibility: 1–4 p.m.
• May 29, 2025:
  • Communication Skills: 9 a.m.–noon
  • Information Literacy and Technological Agility: 1–4 p.m.

All sessions will be held in person at 400 Ostrom Ave., Executive Conference Room. Faculty interested in participating are encouraged to apply by May 1, 2025.

-Story by Naimah Rahman

Student outreach and tabling event hosted by the Office of Financial Literacy (Image credit: Smart Money)

The Office of Financial Literacy works year-round to offer accessible and equitable financial education to ���ϲ����� students and alumni with one-on-one peer counseling services, educational programming and free . Financial Literacy Awareness Month is celebrated annually across the nation in April and was created over a decade ago to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education.

Many University students often express concern with the rising cost of living. On top of this, with tax season, summer study abroad programs, internships and graduation fast approaching students may feel overwhelmed in managing their personal finances. The Office of Financial Literacy is focused on helping students manage such costs including tuition, personal expenses, credit and student loan debts, making the office an essential resource for students to take advantage of.

“Financial literacy brings clarity and certainty to both your immediate and long-term future,” says Karina Anderson, assistant director of financial literacy programs. “This April is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of empowering our students with the right financial knowledge to feel confident in navigating their journey to independence and achieving their goals.”

Here is a preview of some of the events that will be offered during Financial Literacy Week:

• Your Financial Map – Building a Sustainable Budget: Monday, April 7, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
• Borrowing and Credit Confidence – Building a Strong Financial Future: Tuesday, April 8, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Investing for Beginners: Thursday, April 10, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
• Panel Discussion: Balancing Finances & Mental Health: Thursday, April 10, 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Registration for these events and more can be found .

Staff Selection Process:

All ���ϲ����� staff members in good standing are eligible to apply. If you are interested in being considered for this important role, and submit it to svpchro@syr.edu by the deadline. Once all applications are reviewed, Chancellor Kent Syverud will be provided a list of up to three recommended candidates for final selection.

Important Dates:

• Application Deadline: March 31, 2025
• Representative Notification: The successful applicant will be notified in April
• Training for New Representatives: Training for staff, student, faculty and dean representatives will take place before the fall of 2025.

The creation of a staff representative position is a vital part of the Board’s commitment to hearing from all University constituencies. The Office of Human Resources strongly encourages all staff to consider applying for this opportunity to help shape the future of our university. They look forward to reviewing your applications and working together to ensure that many perspectives are represented at the highest levels of university governance.

Those are a few of the questions examined by a multidisciplinary panel of Maxwell School faculty experts during a recent “What’s at Stake” panel discussion hosted by the Center for Policy Research (CPR).

More than 250 people joined the virtual event held four days before the swearing in of Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. The same day, she sent her staff an email titled “Our Department’s Final Mission” fueling speculation that an executive order to abolish the Department of Education would soon follow. On March 11, the department announced it would cut its workforce nearly in half, to about 2,183 workers.

Sean Drake

Robert Bifulco, professor of public administration and international affairs, moderated the conversation with colleagues Elizabeth Martin, assistant professor of sociology; Michah Rothbart, associate professor of public administration and international affairs; and Sean Drake, assistant professor of sociology. All four panelists are senior research associates at CPR.

Robert Bifulco

To open the session, Bifulco provided some factual context about the Department of Education. In its 2024 fiscal year budget, he pointed out, the department administered programs totaling $268 billion—about 4 percent of the federal budget, a far smaller piece than agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Defense. About 60 percent of the Department of Education budget is spent on Pell grants and federal student loan programs; 17 percent on Title I grants to high poverty schools; and 14 percent to support the education of students with disabilities. “Each of these programs, which together account for over 90 percent of the department’s budget, was established prior to 1979, when the department itself was established,” said Bifulco, who serves as director of CPR’s Program on Educational Equity and Policy.

“President Trump claims the department has been overtaken by radicals, zealots and Marxists, that it promotes liberal ideologies in schools, and that it wastes taxpayers’ money,” Bifulco said. “But when you look at the overwhelming bulk of what the department focuses on and what its budget allocations go for, it’s not clear what most people would want to see cut.”

Martin, whose own research focuses on economic insecurity, credit and debt burdens and financial shocks, spoke to the broad impact of the Department of Education’s programs for students pursuing higher education.

Elizabeth Martin

“This is everything from Pell grants that help lower income students, to work study to student loans, both subsidized and unsubsidized,” she said. “So dismantling the Department of Education, moving the federal aid functions either to states or to the Department of Treasury, which is one proposal I’ve seen, would affect a lot of people. Something like 20 percent of all U.S. households have student loan debt; 30 to 40 percent of students who are currently enrolled are taking on loans every semester.”

One potential consequence of shifting student aid programs out of the federal government, she added, would be to increase gaps between states in higher education opportunities, particularly at public institutions.

“We see huge inequalities in appropriations per student, credit hour and tuition costs and merit- and need-based scholarships,” Martin said. “If federal aid or student loans are moved down to the state level, I imagine that we would see even more widening inequality between states.”

Shifting educational loans away from the federal government may also result in greater reliance on private loans—and the loss of key protections, pointed out Rothbart, who studies public finance and financial management particularly in education.

Michah Rothbart

“Federal student loans provide protections against inability to pay in some circumstances,” Rothbart said. “I could imagine a world where there would be a large increase in the use of private borrowing to pay for higher education, and then students would not have those protections as they move out in their careers.”

In the area of public school funding, Rothbart noted that cutting the Department of Education’s programs, or shifting them outside the federal government, could have unintended consequences on the department’s influence over policy.

“The federal government only provides a small portion of public school funding, but it leverages that to nudge educational priorities,” Rothbart said. “That approach has been in place for years, even predating the formation of the Department of Education. I think it’s important to note that the use of this funding to shape policies can be effective. It actually presents a catch-22 for conservative administrations like the one that’s currently in the office of the presidency, because if the federal government makes cuts to these programs, they could lose some of that leverage to incentivize their other priorities.”

Bifulco said the elimination of Department of Education programs that account for more than 90 percent of its spending would require congressional action. “I think that’s very unlikely,” he said. More likely, he said, is a shift of functions to other federal departments, for instance, moving the Office of Civil Rights out of the Department of Education into the Department of Justice. “That could have big effects on how civil rights are enforced, and what data is collected on civil rights,” he said.

Rothbart said the reshuffling of programs under federal departments “is actually a pretty fruitful discussion.” He pointed out several programs that fall under the purview of education yet are not overseen by the Department of Education. For instance, Head Start is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, national school meals programs are run by the Department of Agriculture, and the GI Bill is overseen by the Department of Veterans Administration. “You could imagine moving programs from other agencies into the Department of Education if it were a different administration,” he said, later adding, “There hasn’t been a major reshuffling of the federal government across agencies in a long, long time.”

Visit the to read the full story.

Story by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

I also wanted to join in thanking the ESFAO [Employee Services, Fiscal Affairs, and Operations Committee] members and Doug [Yung] for their work. We did meet with them at length just before spring break, and we’re going to be meeting with them again before we submit the FY26 budget to the Board of Trustees for final approval. The reason for that is it’s a more intense process this year than past years.

I want to emphasize some of the points that Doug made. We ran a balanced budget in FY24, which ended nine months ago. We are running a balanced budget in FY25, which will end in three months. It’s pretty late in the year, so it’s pretty easy to see we’re going to be fine. We’re going to propose a balanced budget for FY26, and I’m not worried about that. I was worried about it in August, which is why I said what I said to the Senate in August and what I said to the University leadership team and to the deans, because of some of the foreseeable forces, which Doug illustrated in his report. If we’d done nothing since last August, we’d be facing a 3% budget deficit. By the way, 3% translates into millions of dollars. But if we can’t handle a 3% budget deficit humanely as managers and as a community, we’re not a very effective financial community, I believe.

Actually, we have been planning for months how to handle this. Obviously, there’s been additional wrenches thrown in the work by what’s happened with the federal government the last 60 days. Those have been remarkable wrenches for almost all our peers. That’s why you’re seeing these sharp announcements of Johns Hopkins laying off thousands of staff, of freezes of faculty hiring, freezes of graduate admissions. Really, I think you’ll see more of them, since a lot of academic institutions like to behave in a herd, and think behaving in a herd is the safe thing. I think you’ll see lots of institutions, including most of the AAU [Association of American Universities] doing things like this in the next couple of weeks.

My point to the ESFAO Committee and to you all is that we are in a different position because, let’s say, we’re fortunate in the sense that we don’t have an academic medical center heavily dependent on federal grants and the other agencies of the federal government that are looking closely at universities. We are fortunate, in a way that I never thought I would say, that our grants and contracts are heavily shifted away compared to our peers from NIH [National Institutes of Health] and NSF [National Science Foundation], which have been the most strongly acting so far.

That’s put us in a stronger position, but we’re also in a stronger position because we’ve been planning for this for a long time. Actually, we have been financially responsible for a long time, and that means that, I just need to say it again, we are not going to do some of the things you’re seeing elsewhere. We’re not going to have large-scale layoffs. We’re not going to have across-the-board hiring freezes. We’re not going to have deep budget cuts or other drastic measures in graduate programs. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to be responsible as we’ve been all year in making a plane land with a balanced budget. Basically, what we’ve been doing since August is asking every unit, school, and college to identify efficiencies and realign their resources in ways that really make sense. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes, but they’ll be more consistent with the changes we do every year at ���ϲ����� in landing the plane or at least have been doing for recent times.

I think that calls for people to have a little bit of confidence. We are going to come back to the ESFAO with more concreteness as the plane nears landing in the next couple of weeks. The key moment, of course, is the presentation to the Board of Trustees committees going into the May full board meetings. Basically, it’s a boring headline for The Daily Orange and everybody else, but we’re going to propose a balanced ��budget for FY26. It’s going to be both sensible and humane, and there’s going to be opportunities to talk about it before it’s finalized. That’s basically the way it is, and I feel pretty blessed to be in that situation.

What I don’t feel blessed to be in is 60 days into this raft of changes coming in policies from the federal government. I don’t want to communicate complacency in what I’ve said already. In particular since we last met, the Department of Education has both lost half its workforce and has launched investigations related to antisemitism and racism into dozens of higher education institutions. It’s not the only part of the federal government that’s doing that, but the most significant one. ���ϲ����� is not one of the institutions being investigated, but our peers are, and we’re watching those other institutions closely. We’re watching what’s going on at Columbia with particular attention and concern because it’s not just the scale of what’s being asked of Columbia, but the substance, including the academic substance, that’s being requested of Columbia in order to benefit from federal funding. So, we’re paying attention to that.

On March 6, the faculty, students, and staff received a communication from [Provost] Lois [Agnew] and me and others regarding new guidance from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. Broadly speaking, that guidance took the position that consideration of race in any aspect of student academic or campus life is discrimination and a violation of Title XI, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That new policy went into effect on Feb. 28, two weeks after it was first communicated. This broad interpretation is being challenged in the courts, and we’re following that closely.

I just want to emphasize two things. ���ϲ����� will comply with the law as it develops, but we strongly believe all of our university programs do not discriminate against any group. We strongly believe none of our university programs discriminate against any group. That means we need to be careful and thoughtful in responding. We are working through our Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Mary Grace Almandrez in a Universitywide effort to determine our path forward under the new guidance. Rather than kind of knee-jerk responses, like we’re seeing Columbia forced to do, this includes a process by which we’re actually outreaching and consulting with faculty, staff, and students whose work has helped hold this place together as a university welcoming to all over the last years. That’s going to guide our long-term strategy.

It’s not something I can get done in a week. We have time to look at this closely. We are looking at it closely. We are consulting appropriately, but we’re doing it against, once again, a belief that at our core and at our best, which we have not always been at, we’re a university that welcomes all. How we do that in each era and under each administration has had to be savvy and has had to be wise. We’re in a situation where we have to figure out how to continue doing that now. I believe this community really wants us to continue doing that in the right way, and that’s what we’re feeling our way through.

I do expect, again, that there will be more changes coming from Washington in the next 40 days. It’s 53 days to Commencement. I expect in the next 40 days we’ll see more.

Dean Chandler-Olcott referred to “those persnickety accreditors.” I believe we will come to respect and need to defend our persnickety accreditors before the next 40 days are out. I say that as someone who chaired an accrediting body and was on the Middle States Commission as well. As persnickety as they are, they are largely driven by our peers looking closely at what it takes to deliver a great education to our students and to every student, not just some favored group. So, I think there’ll be more changes coming.

I think we’ll have to report more at the April 19 Senate meeting on the progress, both on the budget and on the response to federal issues. I’m very grateful to a really wide range of people with a wide range of views who’ve been helping us in the last two months. And I hope you keep hanging in there. Thank you.

Gretchen Ritter

“” will begin at 6 p.m. in Grant Auditorium in the Falk College Complex. Led by Regina Luttrell, senior associate dean and associate professor of public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and Jason Davis, research professor in the Office of Research and Creativity in the Newhouse School, the session will focus on the critical skills of detection, attribution and characterization, empowering participants to identify and counter deceptive narratives.

The lecture is part of the Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy��initiative, led by Gretchen Ritter, vice president of civic engagement and education. The initiative began with an inaugural community conversation in October and expanded this semester.

Regina Luttrell

This event is open to the University community and welcomes all who value informed citizenry and seek actionable strategies to promote a resilient, truth-centered democratic society.

“Part of being an engaged citizen is being well-informed on pertinent public issues. We want to help the members of our campus community to be engaged, thoughtful citizens by helping them to understand whether different sources of information are reliable and trustworthy or suspect and problematic,” says Ritter.

“In an era where trust in civil society is eroding and the shared civic sphere is under strain, this event underscores the importance of regaining public trust in news and information,” Davis says. “By fostering critical thinking and media literacy, attendees will discover how these tools are essential not only for navigating today’s complex information environment but also for safeguarding the principles of democracy.”

Jason Davis

“With disinformation everywhere, understanding its long-term impact is critical for protecting democracy, public trust, and informed decision-making,” says Luttrell. “My hope is that people walk away with a deeper understanding of how media manipulation and information ecosystems shape��our world and what they can do to assess, challenge and mitigate its harmful effects.”

Luttrell and Davis serve as co-directors of the Newhouse School’s . The lab serves as a multidisciplinary research center focusing on analytics, artificial intelligence, digital and emerging media as well as an active classroom, and shared lab environment for projects undertaken by faculty and students.

The invites the campus community to attend the fifth annual on Sunday, April 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Goldstein Auditorium, Schine Student Center.

This event is a collaboration between the Center for International Services and registered student organizations (RSOs) on campus, celebrating the many global communities that make up the University community. The festival will feature a global variety of food, cultural exhibits, artistic presentations and performances.

“The International Festival creates an opportunity for our campus community to connect with student organizations, build intercultural understanding, learn more about the cultural traditions of the student organizations participating and celebrate our student body,” says . “The students have put a lot of work into preparing for the festival and we are looking forward to a great event.”

Below is a list of participating RSOs:

The festival is free to attend and includes a punch card to enjoy a selection of food samples from the participating student organizations.

For more information, contact the at international@syr.edu or 315.443.2457.

2024-25 Student Employment Recognition Awards

Students, faculty and staff are invited to submit nominations for National Student Employment Week recognition awards through Friday, April 4. Complete details are available on the .

• Student Employee of the Year: Nominate student employees who have demonstrated outstanding work, initiative, professionalism and other remarkable qualities. Complete the to nominate undergraduate and graduate student employees.
• Student Employee Supervisor of the Year: Nominate a staff or faculty member who supervises student employees for the Supervisor of the Year Award. Please email the ’Cuse Works team and include the supervisor’s name, email, department and a description of why they should be considered for the award.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please .

Installation view of “Joiri Minaya: Unseeing the Tropics at the Museum”

“We are thrilled to host Joiri Minaya’s work at the museum in conversation with the permanent collection,” says museum Director Emily Dittman. “Her work invites visitors to examine their notions of the ‘tropics’ as well as expand that to thinking more broadly. We hope that this critical examination will provide a platform for conversations at the museum as well as in the community.”

When thinking of the “tropics,” the Caribbeans islands often come to mind. Palm-fringed horizons, sweeping ocean views and pristine beaches have become a visual shorthand for “tropicality” and suggest landscapes that are idyllic, untouched paradises.

The idea of the “tropics” dates to the 15th century, when Spanish and Anglo-European explorers and writers, and later, in the 19th century, photographers represented these regions as virgin paradises or dangerous territories, inhabited by peoples perceived as “primitive.” This framework has reduced the “tropics” to a narrow set of images that have shaped colonial legacies and commercial interests. “Joiri Minaya: Unseeing the Tropics at the Museum” challenges this idea. It encourages reconsideration of the historical and contemporary misrepresentations that shape our perceptions of tropical regions. By juxtaposing Minaya’s work, including video, installation, and photography, with 20th-century artworks from the museum’s collection, the exhibition invites an “unseeing” of the tropics.

The interpretive text in the exhibition is bilingual, providing both English and Spanish text for visitors. Support for this exhibition is provided by Centro de Estudio Hispánicos; Latino-Latin American Studies; and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences; and the Program on Latin America and The Caribbean (PLACA) in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

About the Artist

Joiri Minaya (born 1990) is a Dominican-United Statesian multidisciplinary artist whose recent works focus on destabilizing historic and contemporary representations of an imagined tropical identity. Minaya attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes Visuales in Santo Domingo (2009), Altos de Chavón School of Design (2011) and Parsons the New School for Design (2013). She has participated in residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Guttenberg Arts, Smack Mellon, the Bronx Museum’s AIM Program and the NYFA Mentoring Program for Immigrant Artists, Red Bull House of Art, the Lower East Side Printshop, ISCP, Art Omi, Vermont Studio Center, New Wave, Silver Art Projects and Fountainhead.

She has received awards, fellowships and grants from New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts, Jerome Hill, Artadia, the BRIC’s Colene Brown Art Prize, Socrates Sculpture Park, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation and the Nancy Graves Foundation, among other organizations. Minaya’s work is in the collections of the Santo Domingo Museo de Arte Moderno, the Centro León Jiménes, the Kemper Museum, El Museo del Barrio and several private collections.

Featured Events

On Opacity: Gallery Talk with Artist Joiri Minaya

March 18, 4:30 p.m., reception to follow

���ϲ����� Art Museum

Lines of Flight: Screening + Q&A with Miryam Charles and Joiri Minaya

March 20, 6:30 p.m.

Presented by Light Work

Watson Theater, 316 Waverly Ave.

Community Day

March 29, noon-4 p.m.

���ϲ����� Art Museum

Visit the museum’s website for more public programs surrounding the exhibition.

From left are Rina Corigliano-Hart, director of client engagement and outreach, OneGroup; Lindsay Weichert, regional president, Central New York, Community Bank; Meghan Florkowski, director, WISE Women’s Business Center; and Alex McKelvie, dean, Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

In honor of International Women’s Day, has donated $10,000 to at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. WISE is a Women’s Business Center dedicated to empowering Central New York’s entrepreneurs in all stages of business through comprehensive training programs, counseling and connections.

The donation will directly support WISE’s Accelerate Financial Management Program, a hands-on initiative that equips entrepreneurs with essential financial skills to build and sustain successful businesses. Covering key topics like budgeting, cash flow, financial statements and profitability strategies, the program ensures participants gain practical financial management skills tailored to their needs.

“As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we recognize the importance of empowering women through financial literacy and economic opportunity,” Community Financial System Inc. Director of Community and Corporate Relations Pam Brunet says. “Women make up a significant percentage of our workforce, and we are deeply committed to investing in initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for women in our communities.”

Women are a driving force within Community Financial System Inc., playing a vital role across its companies:

• , overall — 71% women
• , corporate — 51% women
• — 79% women
• — 46% women
• (BPAS) — 59% women
• — 72% women

“At WISE, we believe in the economic power of women entrepreneurs. This generous donation from Community Bank will directly support our local business owners, providing the essential financial tools and resources they need to succeed,” says Meghan Florkowski, director, WISE WBC. “By working together, we are empowering women to strengthen their financial management skills and build more sustainable businesses, ultimately contributing to the growth and vitality of our community.”

Community Bank donated $10,000 to the Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE) Women’s Business Center at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Those pictured include WISE staff and board members, as well as Community Bank and OneGroup staff.

At the 2025 ���ϲ����� Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Summit, GEN Agency and GEN NIL founder and CEO Rachel Maeng Brown will meet with ���ϲ����� student-athletes to present brand deal case studies and lead a content creation workshop with products from W by Jake Paul.

The 2025 ���ϲ����� Name, Image and Likeness Summit is a first-of-its-kind event organized by students for student-athletes. The ���ϲ����� NIL Summit will bring ���ϲ����� student-athletes together with corporate brands for an event consisting of networking, education and NIL development.

and GEN NIL founder and CEO , the 2024 CEO of the Year in Influencer Management and NIL Education, will present brand deal case studies and lead a content creation workshop with products from . Additionally, the sector of Morgan Stanley will educate student-athletes about financial literacy.

The NIL Summit will take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. March 28 in Grant Auditorium at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at ���ϲ�����.

Jeremy Jordan

“The ���ϲ����� NIL Summit demonstrates the impact and innovation of Falk College and its students,” says Falk College Dean . “This event is another example of the collaboration we have with ���ϲ����� Athletics to provide Falk students with learning experiences beyond the classroom, and it will directly benefit ���ϲ����� student-athletes with an educational opportunity with NIL industry leaders that includes on-site brand activations at a time when NIL is redefining collegiate sports.”

This exclusive student-athlete event is designed to bridge the gap between business leaders and encourage Name, Image and Likeness partnerships. Accordingly, attendees will gain valuable insight into NIL deal structures, financial literacy, personal branding strategies and partnership opportunities.

Corporate representatives will engage directly with student-athletes to build connections for potential collaborations. For example, the content creation station for student-athletes will have every student-athlete leave the event having activated a unique NIL deal with W by Jake Paul.

“We are grateful for the opportunity for our student-athletes to learn from industry leaders and participate in NIL activations,” says ���ϲ����� Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “The partnership we have with Falk College is expanding in many areas, including this event, led by its students, to help provide our student-athletes with continued education to ensure they are well-prepared to navigate and maximize their NIL opportunities.”

The 2025 ���ϲ����� NIL Summit is presented by ���ϲ�����’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics in partnership with the ���ϲ����� Sport Group and .

Story by Sue Edson, professor of practice, Department of Sport Management in the Falk College.

Details surrounding the test optional policy remain the same as for those who applied for admission since the policy was first established in 2021, including the important fact that students who choose not to submit standardized test scores will not be disadvantaged.

“Our comprehensive review process has always considered standardized test scores as just one factor,” says Maurice A. Harris, dean of Admissions. “With our test-optional policy, we place greater emphasis on other aspects of a student’s journey, including academic performance, the rigor of their chosen coursework, and their extracurricular involvement.”

Students who do not submit test scores will also remain eligible for merit scholarships.

Students who choose to submit test scores may share either self-reported or official scores. Students who self-report their scores will not be required to submit official score reports unless they are admitted and choose to enroll.

A delegation of 12 students from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs recently returned from Washington, D.C., where they participated in the International Model NATO under the guidance of Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the master of arts in international relations program.

Pictured from left to right are Col. Ben Schneller, Associate Professor Michael Williams, and students Joseph Reed, Casimir Wypyski, Angelica Molina, Austen Canal, Armita Hooman, Jake DeCarli, Megan Whipple, Caleb Mimms, Bella Biorac Haaja, Leah Harding, Ethan Engelhart. Not pictured is Ella Rozas.

The students represented Türkiye and Romania in the three-day simulation of the proceedings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The events, held at Howard University, are augmented by pre-conference study sessions and briefings at embassies.

“Model NATO provides a unique opportunity for students to develop and refine a professional skillset,” says Williams. “It’s no easy task to work under pressure to advance a common NATO agenda against the disparate national interests of each state. But every year, the students come back with the same comments: ‘that was hard, but awesome.’ Watching them learn in real time, and helping them along the way, is immensely rewarding.”

Howard University has hosted Model NATO for the past 40 years, in collaboration with Converse University, Northeastern University and the embassies of NATO member states. This year, 23 universities participated, with students attending from Sweden, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom.

This was the third time the Maxwell School participated. The trip was sponsored by Maxwell’s public administration and international affairs department and the Moynihan Institute’s Center for European Studies.

Alongside Williams, Lt. Col. Ben Scheller advised the Model NATO team on military matters, as he previously commanded a NATO battalion with service members from nine allied nations. He is a visiting scholar through the U.S. Army War College, studying at ���ϲ�����’s Institute for Security, Policy and Law for a year. As part of his professional development through the Army, Scheller takes courses through Maxwell and the College of Law and will return to command this August.

The student participants included:

• Joseph Reed, Caleb Mimms, Jake DeCarli, Meghan Whipple and Ethan Engelhart, all of whom are pursuing master’s degrees in international relations.
• Casimir Wypyski, Austen Canal, Armita Hooman, Ela Rozas and Angelica Molina, all of whom are pursuing master’s degrees in public administration and international relations.
• Leah Harding and Isabella Biorac Haaja, who are pursuing master’s degrees in public diplomacy and global communications through Maxwell and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Hooman was honored with the “Superior Delegation in Committee” award for her work on the

Armita Hooman was honored with the “Superior Delegation in Committee” award for her work on the Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee

Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee.

A highlight of Harding’s experience was speaking with a diplomat at the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. Even with her background covering NATO as a journalistfor Al Jazeera, Harding says that Model NATO gave her a fresh perspective on being part of the decision-making process.

“International Model NATO is all about role-playing,” says Harding. “You have to understand how your country operates and make decisions based on its historical positions, all while responding to real-time scenarios. But it meant more than just knowing its policies—it required interacting with other member states as if I were actually a Turkish diplomat.”

Through this experience, Harding learned to balance diplomacy with national interest, recognizing that decisions for a nation go beyond just policies—they also involve considering its presence, alliances and priorities.

Story by Mikayla Melo

All are welcome to attend and honor the important contributions of respected members of the University community. For more information about the service, contact Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901.

The names of those who have passed away will be read and candles will be lit collectively in their memory. The service will also include prayer, spoken remarks and music. Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available.

The service is inspired by the Remembrance Scholars’ motto of “Look Back, Act Forward,” a call to action to remember those we have lost and act forward in their memory.

The Service of Commemoration provides a moment to honor those who have recently passed away. “As we honor those who embodied the spirit and soul of our campus community, our time of ritual and reflection can bring hope and healing,” says Brian Konkol, vice president and dean of Hendricks Chapel.

If you know of someone who passed away between Jan. 1, 2024, and the present who should be honored, please forward their name and affiliation to Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu by Thursday, March 13.

Light Work’s Urban Video Project will present the exhibition “Lines of Flight” featuring short films by multimedia artist Joiri Minaya and filmmaker Miryam Charles.

Light Work’s Urban Video Project will present the exhibition “Lines of Flight” featuring short films by multimedia artist Joiri Minaya and filmmaker Miryam Charles. The exhibition explores the tangled trajectories of displacement, immigration, invasion, exploration and escape.

The exhibition will run from Feb. 27-May 24, 2025, as an architectural projection venue on the Everson Museum facade.

Additional work by Joiri Minaya will be on view at the ���ϲ����� Museum in the show “” through May 10, 2025.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Minaya and Charles will be present for a screening and Q&A on��Thursday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Watson Theater across from Light Work’s�� galleries.

“Labadee”
Joiri Minaya

“Labadee” is a short video documenting parts of a Royal Caribbean cruise trip in Labadee, Haiti, and the dynamics that unfold in this privately managed space, which is fenced off and leased to Royal Caribbean cruises until 2050. The subtitles in the video begin with text from the diary of Christopher Columbus when they first saw land, moving into a contemporary recount of the trip we’re seeing.

It meditates on the exploitation, self-exploitation, performance and access control created by the system of tourism in the Caribbean, and, in linking it to Columbus’ Invasion through the first sentences in the subtitles, it traces the lineage of these contemporary spaces to colonization.

“Fly, Fly Sadness”
Miryam Charles��

In this film, a nuclear explosion mysteriously transforms the voices of all the inhabitants of an island. A�� journalist travels to the island to learn more and finds herself transformed.

About the Artists

is a Dominican-U.S. multidisciplinary artist whose recent works focus on destabilizing historic and contemporary representations of an imagined tropical identity. Minaya attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes Visuales in Santo Domingo (2009), Altos de Chavón School of Design (2011) and Parsons the New School for Design (2013). She has participated in esteemed residency programs such as Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Smack Mellon, NYFA Mentoring Program for Immigrant Artists, Vermont Studio Center, and Fountainhead. She has received numerous awards, fellowships and grants, including NYSCA/NYFA, Jerome Hill, Socrates Sculpture Park, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, amongst other organizations.

is a Haitian-Canadian director, producer and cinematographer living in Montreal. She has produced several short and feature films. Her films have been presented in various festivals internationally. Her first feature film, “Cette Maison” (This House), was presented at the Berlinale, the AFI film festival and was included in the TIFF Top 10 of the year. Several of her short films and her feature are available to stream on the Criterion Channel. Her work explores themes related to exile and the legacies of colonization.

The Semiconductor Hub launched in November 2024 and included a semiconductor foundations course, one of the first of its kind in the country. It is supported by Micron’s $3 million investment in IVMF to develop a specialized track within the Onward to Opportunity career training program. Part of Micron’s $250 million Community Investment Framework commitment, the Semiconductor Hub aims to provide industry knowledge and preliminary training and support for military-connected individuals interested in a career in the semiconductor industry.

“One of the steepest barriers to the successful transition to civilian life is a limited understanding of how skills learned during military service translate to civilian jobs,” says George Ramsey, Micron senior program manager, military lead. “Micron has long made it a priority to help with that transition and hire veterans because we know they bring not just the necessary skillsets to work in our industry, but the teamwork and leadership skills that are essential to making Micron an industry leader. We’re thrilled that our work with SU and IVMF already is paying off for veterans and look forward to further building out the veteran workforce pipeline in Central New York and across the nation.”

“The IVMF is pleased to partner with Micron on the successful launch of the Semiconductor Hub within the Onward to Opportunity (O2O) program,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families. “Thanks to Micron’s generous support, transitioning servicemembers, veterans and military family members are now accessing high-quality, no-cost career preparation to enable them to enter and thrive in the semiconductor industry. This is a win-win for these individuals who will be better equipped to attain well-paying jobs in a high-growth field as well as companies like Micron that will benefit from their talent. ���ϲ����� and the IVMF look forward to continuing efforts to bolster the workforce required to support Micron’s Central New York investment.”

The inaugural cohort of 90 Onward to Opportunity participants is the first to complete a Central New York-based training program provided in conjunction with Micron. The group, which comes from military installations across the nation, includes two servicemembers stationed at Fort Drum. Additionally, an additional 204 participants are on track to receive their certificate in the coming months.

After launching the Semiconductor Hub in the first year of the Micron-SU partnership, IVMF has turned its focus for 2025 to building direct pipelines to complementary educational programs. This pipeline will help transitioning servicemembers, veterans and military spouses build skills to access future jobs at Micron and throughout the semiconductor industry.

The recognition of the first 90 participants to achieve their certificate in semiconductors came during the first-ever Micron Day at ���ϲ�����, highlighting how collaboration between the two entities is driving innovation in the semiconductor industry and creating exciting career pathways for students and community members.

Micron plans to make additional investments across the region that unlock new educational opportunities in the years to come,��including in the ���ϲ����� STEAM High School, a Micron cleanroom simulation lab at Onondaga Community College and the Advanced Technology Framework to help New York school districts and teachers build semiconductor and high-tech-related curriculum, among others.

Responsive to the MLBPA’s desire to expand opportunities for career growth to its thousands of players, the new cross-campus collaboration taps into the expertise of several of the University’s schools and colleges, including the new , the , the and the .

“My fellow deans and I are excited to partner with the Major League Baseball Players Association to provide the ���ϲ����� experience to those interested in pursuing our vast academic offerings,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan, whose initial discussions with the MLBPA inspired the creation of this new initiative. “This partnership reflects our collectively held value that higher education should be achievable for everyone, regardless of the demands of their profession or personal circumstances. For athletes and professionals with unpredictable schedules, our online programs offer the perfect balance of flexibility, robust academic support and real-world applicability—all without compromising their careers.”

“The Major League Baseball Players Association is thrilled to partner with ���ϲ����� to provide our members with exceptional educational opportunities,” says Chris Singleton, MLBPA special assistant for player resource programs and a former major league outfielder. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting players both on and off the field, ensuring they have access to world-class academic resources that empower their personal and professional growth.”

The MLBPA represents the 1,200 players on major league 40-man rosters, as well as approximately 5,500 minor league players. This new partnership creates opportunities for these players to pursue several noteworthy objectives, including the following:

• Skill Development and Post-Career Readiness: The partnership will align market-relevant curricula and programming with players’ post-career aspirations and needs, ensuring they acquire meaningful skills and knowledge.
• Research and Innovation: The MLBPA and ���ϲ����� will collaborate on research projects that inform progressive and advanced programming for professional athletes. These efforts may lead to the development of new technologies, products or processes, benefiting the MLBPA and other professional athletic organizations.
• Practical Experience: The partnership will provide ���ϲ����� students with opportunities for internships, co-op programs and hands-on projects with the MLBPA. This practical experience will enhance learning, make students more competitive and serve as a potential pipeline for talent to the MLBPA and other professional athlete associations.
• Networking Opportunities: Players will gain access to professional mentors associated with ���ϲ����� in sports, broadcasting and business, to aid them in post-playing career development and job opportunities.

Dedicated admission specialists and academic advisors will tailor academic pathways in support of the unique needs of each participant. These educational opportunities will be accessible through a number of formats, including online, on campus and at ���ϲ�����’s sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The University will also offer an online academic English program to prepare non-native English speakers for success in their non-credit programs, courses and workshops.

Visit the ���ϲ����� website to learn more about this innovative partnership.

Following the All-Star Food Fest on March 2 at the JMA Wireless Dome, the ���ϲ����� women’s basketball team will play Boston College in its last home game of the regular season.

A unique experience awaits all children 12 and under at the ���ϲ����� women’s basketball game on Sunday, March 2. The is an opportunity for children to experience international culture through food.

All children who have a ticket to the game are invited to arrive at the JMA Wireless Dome at 3 p.m. to taste test cuisine from eight countries and meet the student-athletes who handpicked the dishes. Each participant will receive a VIP pass and passport to learn about the student-athletes’ home countries and the food that is meaningful to them.

The All-Star Food Fest is a collaboration between , the , Campus Catering and .

Sarah Thomas

Kalamata’s Kitchen encourages families to experience the world through adventures with food. The All-Star Food Fest will allow children to taste, smell, and learn about the foods that are special to the students, building a strong bond between the athletes and the young fans and fostering their curiosity for further food exploration.

The featured dishes include sausage rolls from Australia, bangers and mash from Ireland, rasta pasta from Jamaica, Käsespätzle from Germany, egg empanadas from Uruguay, chicken empanadas from Puerto Rico, poutine from Canada and jollof from Liberia.

The first 50 children to experience the All-Star Food Fest will meet the author of Kalamata’s Kitchen books, Sarah Thomas, and receive a signed copy of her book.

The All-Star Food Fest will conclude at 3:55 p.m., leading into the Orange women’s 4 p.m. basketball game against Boston College and the program’s Senior Day. The Orange will honor its six departing seniors, Georgia Woolley, Saniaa Wilson, Kyra Wood, Izabel Varejão, Dominique Camp, and Lexi McNabb, during a postgame Senior Day ceremony.

Tickets for the basketball game, which includes a free All-Star Food Fest passport for children ages 12 and under, are available at .

“���ϲ����� Athletics’ mission is to field champion-caliber teams that bring home conference and national championships,” says John Wildhack ’80, director of athletics. “College athletics is evolving at warp speed, but one thing remains the same: ���ϲ����� Athletics will continue to cultivate outstanding student-athletes who win championships, succeed in the classroom and contribute meaningfully to our campus, their communities and society.”

College Athletics Landscape

This new campaign comes on the heels of and amid significant change across NCAA Division 1 athletics. This includes the advent of name, image and likeness (NIL), the increasing prevalence of student-athletes capitalizing on a nimbler transfer portal and the House vs. NCAA settlement, which will grant D1 institutions the ability to directly share revenue (up to $20.5 million) with student-athletes beginning July 1, 2025, pending its approval.

“In this new era of college athletics, it is abundantly clear that winning programs will be the ones that galvanize the support of their campuses, fan bases and communities,” adds Wildhack. “We are fortunate that the ���ϲ����� community, our Central New York community and Orange fans around the world have demonstrated their passionate commitment to our exceptional student-athletes and coaches. Their spirit, passion and support are critical for us to compete and win at the highest level.”

Champion ’CUSE

Champion ’CUSE captures the competitive spirit of ���ϲ����� alumni and fans, bringing Orange Nation together to elevate ’Cuse and share in the wins. As part of the campaign, ���ϲ����� Athletics will raise $50 million over the next three years to:

• Win Championships: pursue excellence at the highest level and win ACC and national championships, empowering student-athletes to reach their highest potential and excel on the biggest stages.
• Cultivate Champion-Caliber Teams: provide the resources necessary to attract and retain the nation’s best student-athletes and coaches and deliver state-of-the-art facilities and elite training resources that give our teams the competitive edge.
• Level Up the Student-Athlete Experience: support ���ϲ�����’s 550-plus student-athletes with comprehensive programs that prepare them to excel in competition, academics and their future careers.
• Strengthen the Orange Brand: elevate ���ϲ����� Athletics’ prominence on the national stage while uniting our community and inspiring the next generation through a commitment to breaking barriers and setting new records.

Get in the Game!

The campaign will engage the ���ϲ����� community and all ’Cuse fans, including alumni, parents, friends, season ticket holders, corporate leaders and community partners. Supporting ���ϲ����� Athletics is not just an investment in sports; it is an investment in the holistic development of the University’s 550-plus student-athletes by fostering resilience, discipline and leadership.

Champion ’CUSE offers multiple avenues for donors to “champion” ���ϲ����� Athletics. Donors can support ���ϲ����� Athletics’ greatest needs through its discretionary funds or direct their philanthropy to their preferred sports. Contributions to these funds are tax deductible.

The campaign needs the commitment and support of everyone in Orange Nation! To learn more or to make your contribution today, please visit cuse.com/championcuse or contact the ’Cuse Athletics Fund at caf@syr.edu or 315.443.1419.

Like some of you, I have been getting calls and messages every day from people in our community–faculty, students, staff, alumni, and parents. They usually are some variant of the question from reading about or reading rumors or news reports or social media about these developments, “How is this latest announcement going to affect me and people I care about at ���ϲ�����.” The subtext of each call is often: “Please reassure me and everyone that the University and its people are going to be OK, and you’re going to make that happen.”

So here it is: I, unfortunately, cannot guarantee certainty in this very uncertain environment. What I can do is assure you that the University and many people here are working hard every day and at night and on weekends to keep this University on course, true to its longstanding values, and welcoming to all people. How we do that this semester calls for thoughtful and wise strategy, not for knee-jerk abrupt responses. We are being thoughtful and careful; we are listening to the concerns we are hearing, including but not exclusively though the University Senate. A lot of people are doing their best to make sure the university and all its people will continue to thrive

In terms of one aspect of this, some of you may be aware that many of our peer universities are facing serious budget challenges due to changes in federal funding or suggested changes in federal funding that are being proposed or implemented. This week I am seeing other universities impose freezes on hiring and significant budget cuts. I know others are considering freezes on salaries.

As I reported at the January Senate meeting, our finances at ���ϲ����� remain strong. Our budget for this fiscal year, FY25, remains in balance, and I expect we will run a very small surplus when our year closes on June 30. Our budget planning is more difficult this year because of uncertainties and changes coming at us, but I also expect we will propose and approve a balanced budget for FY26, which starts on July 1 this summer. As I sit here today, I do not expect to impose blanket hiring freezes. I do not expect to freeze salaries or benefits. I do expect that we will be investing in key opportunities and initiatives that the University and its schools and colleges are pursuing. I believe there are relatively few universities that can confidently say those things right now, so that should be somewhat reassuring to all.

But all that said, our budgets are foreseeably going to be tighter in the coming year than they have been, and we need to be prudent in managing our expenses if we hope to continue investing in our people. We need to look carefully for opportunities to reduce expenses without sacrificing the quality of the experience for our students. University leaders across the board are working hard on this now, and will continue to do this right through the May board meeting, which culminates when the budget for FY26 is approved. Please understand that this is, therefore, not a normal year, including in budgeting, and that each of us have to contribute in working through this.

I will be coming to a meeting of the Senate’s Employee Services, Fiscal Affairs, and Operations Committee as soon as possible in the coming weeks to share data and talk through these budget issues with greater care. At the same time, I have asked that this committee help in conducting a study of parking and transportation services here at ���ϲ�����, working with our chief facilities officer and all stakeholders including those who expressed concern about this, to assess how our parking policies should be revised given changes in our housing, in our facilities, and in practices in the city and at other universities.

I know some of you are thinking it is odd for me to be talking about parking when so much more important is happening in the world. Yet many in our community have raised parking concerns, including through the University Senate. I think we have the bandwidth, including in the Senate, to move forward on this while also responding fairly to actionable changes from all directions, including from Washington.

I also need to share some news quickly. The Department of Public Safety Chief Craig Stone will be retiring at the end of July, and we’ll have a search starting quite soon for a successor. He’s been here three years and culminates a 40-year career in public safety service. While he’s been here, our DPS has achieved [CALEA] “advanced” accreditation. That’s very rare at universities or police departments and requires DPS to meet the highest standards for best practices, transparency, and accountability. I want to thank Chief Stone for his service. I assure you a search for a successor will commence shortly and want to hear from people interested in that search.

The University is hosting Micron Day next Tuesday [Feb. 25] in the Schine Student Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. I encourage you to come and learn more about what’s going on, including related to the University’s partnership with Micron. That includes a fireside chat with the chief people officer from Micron and with the corporate vice president of front-end U.S. expansion. This event will highlight opportunities for partnerships for students, faculty, staff, and the community. I encourage you to participate.

And since I don’t think it’s been acknowledged, I want to acknowledge that we lost a student this week. We lost first-year undergraduate student Christina Wobbe, who many knew as Elise. She was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in musical theater in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. She spent her first semester on campus assisting with the Drama Department’s production of “Pippin.” I want to both extend my condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew her, and especially to thank everybody who stepped up this weekend, students, faculty, staff to support her family and her friends in this very tough time.

Thank you. I will take questions after the provost’s remarks.

• Summer Tyler Fellows will craft a faculty-guided, independent project and may pursue research travel in any location outside of the United States.
• Fall Tyler Fellows will participate in the ���ϲ����� Abroad Santiago, Strasbourg or Central Europe programs and will design research projects related to those locations, with guidance from ���ϲ����� Abroad and SOURCE staff. The application deadline for these ���ϲ����� Abroad programs for the Fall 2025 semester is March 15.

Church in Strasbourg, France

Interested students should first email ugresearch@syr.edu to indicate interest in the Tyler Fellows Program, and then prepare a project proposal and apply through one of the two following SOURCE deadlines:

• Summer 2025 Tyler Fellows should apply through the (applications are due by Feb. 27)
• Fall 2025 Tyler Fellows should apply through the (applications are due by April 3)

Tyler Center Fellows will participate in additional cohort-building activities, including a “Research in Community” seminar with other Tyler Fellows from the University, along with the national cohort of Tyler Fellows from other institutions.

Student Charlotte Goodman studied through the Central Europe program

“We are delighted to have been awarded the Tyler Center grant and the ability to elevate our support for international student-driven discovery,” says Erika Wilkens, assistant provost and executive director of ���ϲ����� Abroad. “It is also a wonderful example of institutional collaboration to advance shared goals for student global engagement and experiential learning, and we are delighted to be working with SOURCE to make this happen.”

“The Tyler Center for Global Studies grant provides ���ϲ����� undergraduate students with a new level of support for innovative international research,” says SOURCE Director Kate Hanson. “SOURCE is thrilled to partner with ���ϲ����� Abroad to promote research opportunities through the Santiago, Strasbourg and Central Europe programs.”

SOURCE is available to assist students with developing research ideas, finding faculty mentors or preparing application materials. Contact the SOURCE team at ugresearch@syr.edu or 315.443.2091.

The Tyler Center for Global Studies, based out of Florida State University, works to cultivate a community of global scholars who shape the future through research, innovation and collaboration. The center makes grants to nonprofit post-secondary institutions in the United States.

Coral Silver

Silver is a second-year graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in art history and works as a graduate student associate in the Special Collections Research Center with ���ϲ����� Libraries. Their research often revolves around sculpture across several periods and locations, including the Ancient Mediterranean, the European Middle Ages and the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe and the United States. In addition, they are interested in the relationship between archaeology and art history, an interest which resulted from their summer spent in southern Turkey at the Antiochia ad Cragum Archaeological Research Project.

As the Palitz Art Scholar, Silver will study two works by Italian artist Ferdinando Vichi in the ���ϲ����� Art Museum collection. They will mainly concentrate their research on Vichi’s “Bust of Venus” to investigate the reason for its titling and the point during Vichi’s career when the sculpture was created to situate it within his oeuvre (body of work). This research will be included in their larger capstone research project, advised by Art History Associate Professor Romita Ray, investigating Antonio Canova’s “Funerary Monument to Maria Christina of Austria” from 1805.

Based on current conditions, the University expects to remain open and operational today.

Please note: ���ϲ����� recognizes that while it rarely closes for inclement weather, individuals, many of whom travel to campus from outside the City of ���ϲ�����, must take precautions and use good judgment when determining whether to travel to campus. Faculty, graduate students who teach courses, and staff concerned about their commute should contact their department chair or supervisor, respectively, to coordinate alternative work arrangements. Similarly, students commuting to campus should contact their professors if they have concerns about travel conditions from their residence.

Any change in the University’s operating status will be announced via the University’s emergency broadcast notification system and will carry the notice SU WEATHER ALERT. Please be sure your Orange Alert settings are always up to date in MySlice.

SU WEATHER ALERT information will be announced via the following communications channels:

• via text message;
• via a “crawl” on campus TV monitors and University websites;
• on X: and ;
• on Facebook: and ;
• on news.syr.edu and ; and
• via ���ϲ����� public radio station and other local media outlets.

Only ���ϲ�����’s Internal Communications and Media Relations teams are authorized to transmit to the news media and the campus community announcements about closings, work-schedule changes or class-start delays.

Based on current conditions, the University expects to remain open and operational today.

Although ���ϲ����� rarely closes for inclement weather, individuals, many of whom travel to campus from outside the City of ���ϲ�����, must make personal decisions based on a risk assessment related to travel. Employees are encouraged to take precautions and use good judgment when traveling to/from work. Faculty, graduate students who teach courses, and staff concerned about their safety should contact their department chair or supervisor, respectively.

Any change in the University’s operating status will be announced via the University’s emergency broadcast notification system and will carry the notice SU WEATHER ALERT. Please be sure your Orange Alert settings are always up to date in MySlice.

SU WEATHER ALERT information will be announced via the following communications channels:

• via text message;
• via a “crawl” on campus TV monitors and University websites;
• on X: and ;
• on Facebook: and ;
• on news.syr.edu and ; and
• via ���ϲ����� public radio station and other local media outlets.

Only ���ϲ�����’s Internal Communications and Media Relations teams are authorized to transmit to the news media and the campus community announcements about closings, work-schedule changes or class-start delays.

The 2024 One Show Young Ones student competition had thousands of entries from over 50 countries. Newhouse students picked up a Silver Cube Award, a Portfolio Award, two Merit Awards and 14 Shortlist Awards, earning the Newhouse School among U.S. undergraduate programs.

All of these award-winning campaigns were created in portfolio courses taught by professors of practice and in the advertising creative track at the Newhouse School.

“The students that won these 18 awards demonstrated fresh thinking and came up with original ideas that simply blew me away,” says White.

Brooke Hirsch One of Five Winners of a Cube Award in the New Artificial Intelligence Category

Brooke Hirsch ’24 was one of only five students to win an ADC Cube Award in the newly introduced artificial intelligence category of the One Show Young Ones ADC competition. Hirsch won the Silver Cube for her digital idea ““; silver is the highest award given in this category. Her idea, created for The New York Times, combats misinformation by using AI to detect and notify people of false AI content in real-time. The idea is simple yet groundbreaking: use AI to fight AI.

Hirsch was also named the in North America in the 2024 One Show Young Ones ADC competition. In addition to winning the Silver ADC Cube in the AI category, she won a Merit Award in the ADC Advertising Integrated category for “.” Read more about Hirsch’s award-winning “AI vs. AI” idea.

Ryan Garret Conner’s Portfolio One of Nine Awarded in Advertising Category

Ryan Garrett Conner won a Portfolio award for work that included his print campaign “Once is Enough” for Tums.

Ryan Garret Conner ’23 was one of just nine global winners in the advertising category of the One Show Young Ones Portfolio competition. Conner’s portfolio, which included a series of impactful campaigns, earned recognition across multiple categories. His “Once is Enough” campaign for Tums uses a striking visual approach to communicate the core message: “Only taste it once.”

Another one of Conner’s featured campaigns was his digital AI idea for Volvo called “” (OTL). Conner addressed a pressing real-world problem: many women walking home alone at night can be put in dangerous situations. The OTL app, a collaboration with copywriter Mackenzie Murphy ’23, would use generative AI to create personalized fake calls to provide women with a sense of security in potentially dangerous situations.

Conner’s other featured campaign, “” for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), creatively addresses animal extinction by tying the loss of Instagram followers to endangered species statistics.

Hirsch earned a Shortlist Award in the Portfolio competition as well.

Quincy Whipple and Ella Fiegner’s Dove Campaign Won a Merit Award

Quincy Whipple and Ella Fiegner won a Merit Award in the One Show Young Ones Brief category for their integrated campaign “Skin Stories” for Dove.

Quincy Whipple ’24 and Ella Fiegner ’24 won a Merit Award for their integrated campaign “” for Dove. This campaign highlights the stories behind wrinkles on a woman’s face, showing wrinkles are something to be proud of rather than something to be ashamed of.

Dove would sponsor female celebrities attending the Met Gala. Before the Met Gala, they would be on Vogue’s “Get Ready With Me” video series, where stars put on makeup for the red carpet. The twist? The celebrities apply no makeup and instead focus only on applying skincare products. The campaign extends to a digital movement with celebrities posting bare-faced selfies under the hashtag #MySkinStories.

The campaign would also include an art gallery in the Met displaying large photographs of real women and the stories behind their wrinkles.

Newhouse Creative Ad Student Work Won Shortlist Awards

Newhouse students also won 14 Shortlist Awards for a range of creative campaigns. Some of the highlights include the following:

“Ease of Assembly” Campaign

Ikea print campaign “Ease of Assembly“

Avery Schildhaus ’24 created the “Ease of Assembly” print campaign for Ikea, with catchy headlines that capture the brand’s DIY instructions.

“You Can’t Beat a Search Dog” Campaign

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation print campaign “You Can’t Beat a Search Dog”

Katelyn Hughes ’24 and Lang Delapa ’24 created the “You Can’t Beat a Search Dog” campaign for the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, highlighting the skills of search dogs.

“Whiff of Terror” Campaign

Listerine Strips print campaign “Whiff of Terror”

Lara Molinari ’24 and Marlana Bianchi ’24 created the “Whiff of Terror” campaign for Listerine. The campaign was inspired by the idea that certain foods cause bad breath and can be a monster in social situations.

Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Won 10 Shortlist Awards

• Meiling Xiong ’24, art director, and Maggie Mellon ’24, copywriter, won a Shortlist Award in the Integrated category for their integrated campaign for Duolingo titled “.”

• Remi Tsunoda ’24, art director, and Avery Schildhaus won a Shortlist Award in the Experiential category for their experiential campaign for Velveeta titled “.”

• Remi Tsunoda and Avery Schildhaus won a Shortlist Award in the Integrated category for their integrated campaign for Velveeta titled “.”

• Ryan Garret Conner and Mackenzie Murphy’s print ad campaign for WWF, titled “,” won a Shortlist Award in the Advertising Out of Home & Print category.

• Jack Wojtowicz ’24, art director, and Mikaela Kraker ’24, copywriter, won a Shortlist Award in the Advertising Integrated category for their integrated campaign for Duolingo titled “.”

• Ryan Garret Conner and Mackenzie Murphy’s integrated ad campaign for Volvo, titled “,” won a Shortlist Award in the Design for Good: Interactive category.

• Olivia Valcourt ’25, art director, won a Shortlist Award in the Design for Good: Advertising category for her print ad campaign for the Trevor Project titled “4X More Likely.”

• Ava Schefren ’24, art director, and Alex Lund ’24, copywriter, won a Shortlist Award in the Advertising Integrated category for their integrated campaign for Duolingo titled “.”

• Livvy Doe ’24, art director, and Emily Saad ’24, copywriter, won a Shortlist Award in the Advertising: Art Direction category for their print ad campaign for Tile titled “Creepy Crawlings.”

• Ella Fiegener and Quincy Whipple won a Shortlist Award in the Design for Good: Advertising category for their integrated campaign for Dove titled “.”

Nominations for the One University Assessment Awards are open through March 28.

The assessment awards recognize faculty, staff and students for their efforts to examine and enhance learning and campus operations.��The meaningful and sustainable practices with which they engage to provide students with an unsurpassed learning experience will be showcased.

“Assessment is a cornerstone of our commitment to providing an outstanding learning experience for our students,” says Julie Hasenwinkel, associate provost for academic programs. “I look forward to showcasing this work and celebrating the innovative and impactful assessment practices that our faculty and staff are implementing across campus,��to ensure excellence and continuous improvement.”

The sixth annual One University Assessment Celebration will be held Friday, April 25 at 2 p.m. in the School of Education Commons in Huntington Hall. Awards will be announced in the following categories:

• Assessment Champion
• Shared Competencies Champion
• Outstanding Assessment in an Academic, Co-Curricular and Functional Program/Unit
• Best Student, Faculty, and Staff Engagement Strategies
• Best Use of Results
• Collaborative Inquiry and Action

Visit the for more information, including award descriptions, past recipients and event photos. If you have any questions, please contact the Assessment Working Team.

Part of the , the R1 designation goes to the top tier of doctoral research universities in the U.S. ���ϲ����� is one of 187 institutions to hold the designation, which is based on a minimum annual research expenditure of $50 million and 70 or more research doctorates conferred per year.

The Carnegie Classifications, dating to 1973, are the industry standard for classifying schools by higher education researchers and others. The 2025 research activity designations involve an updated methodology “intended to better account for and reflect the multifaceted, wide-ranging research landscape of higher education institutions in America,” according to a on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education��website.

“Students tell us time and again that having a peer mentor… makes all the difference in their transition to college.”

Kal Srinivas

Research consistently shows that mentorship is a powerful driver of student success. A study by Gallup-Purdue found that college graduates who had a mentor were two times more likely to be engaged in their careers and increased overall well-being. Additionally, the National Mentoring Partnership reports that students with mentors are 55% more likely to enroll in college and 130% more likely to hold leadership positions.

“Students tell us time and again that having a peer mentor—someone who has been in their shoes, faced similar challenges and successfully navigated them—makes all the difference in their transition to college,” says Kal Srinivas, director of retention and student success. “Mentorship isn’t just about advice—it’s about having a trusted guide who helps new students build confidence, access resources and feel at home in the ���ϲ����� community.”

More than just a connection, Orange Mentor Connect is a transformative experience. “Mentorship strengthens students’ sense of belonging, expands their networks and builds essential skills for success,” says Julie Hasenwinkel, associate provost for academic programs. “This program is not just about helping new students—it’s also an incredible leadership opportunity for mentors, who gain valuable experience in coaching, communication and problem-solving.”

Administered by the , the program uses Mentor Collective’s smart-matching technology to pair students based on shared goals, interests and experiences. From there, mentors and mentees can connect through the platform in a way that works best for them—whether by text, video calls or in-person meetups.

For more information, visit the website or email mentoring@syr.edu.

The grant is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Computer and Information Science and Engineering directorate and more specifically, the Human-Centered Computing funding arm. It is for research into the project, “Mind Perception in AI Companionship: Testing the Assumptions of Social Theories.”

Jaime Banks

As principal investigator, Banks, who in April 2024 was named the , will lead an investigation into how language and social cognition shape the understanding of artificial intelligence. She will work with Caleb Carr, a professor of communications at Illinois State University, as co-principal investigator. iSchool Ph.D. student Zhixin Li will support their work.

The funding marks a significant milestone after two years of dedicated work in securing the grant, paving the way for a deep dive into social AI’s role in human lives. Over the next four years, Banks and her interdisciplinary team will explore the psychological and social dimensions of AI, addressing pressing questions about how people humanize and relate to the technologies.

Companies like����and�� are relatively new technologies, designed to stave off loneliness in people through the development of AI companions. Recent news regarding AI has been about internet tools that students and workers can use to help lighten their workloads or how they optimize algorithms to capture attention in all kinds of insidious ways. Less attention is given to Social AI—machines designed to quench humans’ inherent need to connect with others. That is a critical gap in scientific knowledge and technology literacy because social AI are increasingly integrated into everyday social media use, and, as thought to have been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, adopted as standalone technologies to help with loneliness.

The study looks at the social-cognitive processes involved in companion machines, from the way they are even referred to as “companions,” to the way they are designed to interact with users, to how they make users feel, Banks says. “We want to understand the subjective experience of seeing an AI companion as someone, and how that experience links to the positive or negative effects,” she says.

As Banks embarks on this research project, her work promises to contribute insights into the . By investigating the psychological and social factors that influence interactions with these technologies, Banks and her team aim to conduct rigorous scientific work—insights that may inform future developments in AI design as well as policy, practice, and ethics.

Sanfilippo announced his retirement in December, vacating the touchline as head coach of Baldwinsville Bees football after 40 years—before that post, he coached for eight years at ���ϲ�����’s Christian Brothers Academy—to provide the district with plenty of time to find a replacement. To date, that roster includes at least three of his former students.

Sanfilippo comes from an Upstate New York football dynasty: his father Joe was also a football coach with a storied development team.

“You always want what’s best for the kids,” he says. “The biggest thing in life is your long-lasting relationships, and believe it or not, some of my best friends played for me.”

The 1975 ���ϲ����� Football Letterwinner also has remained close to his former Orange teammates, maintaining a regular text thread with 12 of them: “Once you play there, you bleed Orange. You’re always a part of the SU family.”

Journey to ���ϲ�����

Sanfilippo says he’s been on the field since the age of five. By high school, he was playing as a Salamanca Warrior under his father, the late Joe Sanfilippo, himself a 40-year career head coach, serving 17 of those years with the Warriors, a development team from Cattaraugus County in Western New York.

Sanfilippo’s “no nonsense” coaching style has been tempered by his willingness to learn from younger assistant coaches and his concern for students under his care as they negotiate modern challenges.

Sanfilippo attended ���ϲ����� on a full scholarship, learning of the honor when then Head Coach Ben Schwartzwalder announced the news in person. “I came home and Schwartzwalder was sleeping in my dad’s chair,” Sanfilippo recalls. “He was a tremendous person. , like my father, which resonated with my parents.”

He played two years under Schwartzwalder, said to be the most successful football coach in the University’s history. With Schwartzwalder at the helm, ���ϲ����� produced 22 straight years of non-losing football. He led the SU team to an impressive record of 153 wins, 91 losses and three ties, including seven bowl games, and the only National Championship in the University’s history, won by the undefeated 1959 team.

Sanfilippo’s final two years were under Coach Frank Maloney. He says his time at ���ϲ����� centered around football, with winters and summers spent on off-season and pre-season workouts: “We stayed in the field house, what used to be the wrestling building. There were beds in there so we could stay all summer.”

Now 70, Sanfilippo remembers Manley Field House with dirt floors. It was said that a cloud of dirt would rise up in the Orange student section—affectionately known as the Manley Zoo—when fans stomped on the bleachers during games.

He remembers, too, grabbing trays from the dining hall with a group of his teammates to use as sleds, and stopping by Wimpy’s Wagon late at night. Wimpy’s was a food truck that would park at the base of DellPlain Hall. It faithfully arrived each evening from roughly 9 p.m. until late. Its most popular item, Sanfilippo recalls, was the “Cheese Jaw,” two burgers served side-by-side on a long, greasy Italian roll, covered in tons of cheese and onions.

Regulars, including Sanfilippo, were often college students on a night out because Wimpy’s was the only late-night option on campus, with nothing else open for blocks.

Learn Every Day

His coaching style, Sanfilippo says, was molded off the best qualities of all his former coaches. “Schwartzwalder kept it old school,” he says, adding Maloney’s style was similar, and, it has been said, his father had a no-nonsense approach.

Sanfilippo, too, has been described as an old-school coach—one who values integrity. He had one rule for his athletes: “Do the right thing.” If one of his players got in trouble, he’d ask, “Did you do the right thing?” If the answer was no, a consequence would be given. This rule, he says, is derived from how he was raised.

While he mainly agrees with the “old school” characterization, Sanfilippo believes as a coach he’s been very adept to changing times. “You must be adaptive,” he says. “I always work with a couple of young coaches. If you think you know it all, you’re dead in the water. You have to learn every day.”

His advice for teachers is the same that he gave the coaches he’s worked with: learn to delegate and learn from your mistakes. “My number one advice: Don’t do it all yourself,” Sanfilippo says. “And there’s nothing wrong with making a mistake. What’s wrong is if you don’t learn from the mistakes.”

Story by Ashley Kang ’04, G’11 (a proud alumna of the M.S. in Higher Education program)

In further preparation of building the educational infrastructure and advancing innovation to support Micron’s transformational presence in Central New York, ���ϲ����� will hold its first on Tuesday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Schine Student Center’s Panasci Lounge and Room 304A, B and C. The University is playing a key role in building and training the workforce of the future—through investments in a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility, attracting top semiconductor manufacturing researchers and faculty, and developing experiential student opportunities—to help power Micron’s leading-edge $100 billion memory megafab in Clay, New York.

The event, open to all University community members and the Central New York community, will focus on how the collaboration between Micron and the University is driving innovation in the semiconductor industry and creating exciting career pathways for students and community members. Attendees will get insights into the future of the semiconductor industry, information on educational and training pathways, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and educators. Those planning to attend are asked to or contact sumicron@syr.edu.

“I encourage any student, faculty or staff member—and members of our greater community—interested in learning more about how the University is engaging with Micron and community partners to come to Micron Day. There will be dynamic speakers, panels and exhibitions that should be both informative and entertaining, as well as networking,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation. “I hope that all participants walk away from Micron Day with a better understanding of the opportunities headed for our university and entire community—as well as a sense of how they can personally be a part of it.”

Highlights of the Day

• Alumni Perspectives: Valuable insights will be shared through a panel discussion featuring successful Micron employees who are ���ϲ����� alumni (9:10 to 9:40 a.m.).
• Industry Insights: Micron leaders will speak on supply chain innovations (10:05 to 10:40 a.m.), the transformative role of artificial intelligence in gaming (11:05 to 11:40 a.m.) and career opportunities at Micron (12:05 to 12:40 p.m.).
• Career Pathways: Exhibitors from University schools and colleges, workforce development partners, and community institutions will engage with attendees and inform them about local programs and training opportunities that align with Micron’s workforce needs (all day).
• Fireside Chat: Haynie will engage in a candid conversation with April Arnzen, Micron’s chief people officer, and Scott Gatzemeier, Micron’s corporate vice president of front-end U.S. expansion, on the company’s commitment to employee growth and development as well as Micron’s investments in the Central New York community to help prepare for the addition of the nearly 50,000 jobs forecasted once their plant is fully constructed (1:05 to 1:40 p.m.).

The event is part of the continuing collaboration between Micron and regional partners, including the University, and will highlight the work being done in advance of the establishment of the company’s state-of-the-art facility. Below, Haynie discusses the work underway and opportunities that will be realized for Central New York.

What does Micron mean for Central New York and ���ϲ�����?

One of our elected officials described it as “this generation’s Erie Canal moment,” and I think that is spot on. Micron coming to the region, along with the many supply chain companies that will follow, are an absolute game changer for everyone in Central New York.

This is an $100 billion investment and the impact on our economy will be tremendous—along the lines of 50,000 new jobs. It will lead to growth in population, new business creation and more. This growth will also pose challenges with respect to workforce, housing, child care and other issues, but ���ϲ����� stands ready to be part of the solution to make our Erie Canal moment a success for everyone involved.

Describe the collaboration taking place between Micron and ���ϲ�����.

���ϲ����� has committed to work as a partner with Micron in support of its New York expansion. The University’s collaboration with Micron is broad and deep, and is supported by many schools, colleges and units. For example, the College of Engineering and Computer Science is expanding aggressively and bringing on more faculty and staff to support more students studying fields that will prepare them for careers in the semiconductor industry.

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management has brought in Micron’s chief people officer to discuss career options for students with a business education background. The D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families is operating semiconductor industry career preparation pipeline programs for veterans and transitioning service members. And the Future Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium is a whole-of-the-university ecosystem of academic, skills training and partnership programs supporting a multi-faceted approach to investing in and providing talent and workforce development in New York state. There are many more examples I could cite, and that goes to highlight we are so fortunate to have great partners in Micron, Onondaga County and several other community organizations.

The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) has welcomed five new professors for the Spring 2025 semester. According to A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi, this group of innovative researchers brings important expertise to ���ϲ�����’s largest and oldest college.

“I am delighted that these new faculty members are joining A&S, bringing their research specializations and teaching excellence to benefit our students and contribute to knowledge in service of the public good,” Mortazavi says. “Together with the rest of our faculty, they will help us further our collective mission of solving the grand challenges we face today.”

Meet the new A&S professors

Li-En Jao, associate professor, biology, affiliated with BioInspired Institute

Li-En Jao

Instructional philosophy: I approach teaching in a similar manner as I study the assembly of cellular structures in my research—which seeks to understand the genesis of certain diseases such as cancer—as a systematic process of building knowledge while emphasizing the interconnections that make biology fascinating. Making abstract concepts tangible through clear examples and hands-on experiences helps students grasp both the molecular details and their broader significance in human health.

• Ph.D., cell and developmental biology, Rutgers University
• Specializations: cell biology, developmental biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, microscopy, zebrafish genetics, mass spectrometry, CRISPR gene editing, macromolecular assembly, biomolecular condensates, intracellular transport, mRNA metabolism and neurological disorders
• Previous position: associate professor, Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, UC Davis School of Medicine

Eun-Deok Kim, assistant professor, biology

Eun-Deok Kim

Instructional philosophy: I guide students to discover both the fine details and bigger picture of biology, just as I study how plant cells adapt and develop in changing environments, so that people can better understand how plants may adapt in the face of climate change.

I combine fundamental principles with hands-on experience using modern techniques, aiming to nurture students’ natural curiosity about how living things work and change. My goal is to guide them in connecting their knowledge to real-world challenges and crafting personalized pathways for their academic and professional growth.

• Ph.D., plant molecular biology, University of Texas at Austin
• Specializations: epigenetics, molecular genetics, plant biology, genomics, developmental biology and biochemistry
• Previous position: research scientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Chih Hung Lo, assistant professor, biology and neuroscience

Chih Hung Lo

Instructional philosophy: To help prepare the next generation of researchers with the potential to address brain-related illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, I foster interdisciplinary learning, empowering students to explore biology, engineering and medicine through theory and real-world applications. Through mentorship, I promote critical thinking and innovations, encourage independence and guide students in crafting personalized paths that merge foundational knowledge with practical problem-solving skills.

• Ph.D., biomedical engineering with minor in management of technology, University of Minnesota
• Specializations: neurobiology of aging, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, body-brain interaction, intrinsically disordered proteins, lysosome biology, receptor signaling, protein biophysics, biosensor engineering, nanobiotechnology and drug discovery
• Previous position: Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Key honor/award: ��in Biochemistry & Biophysics (2024)

Heather Meyer, assistant professor, biology, affiliated with BioInspired Institute

Heather Meyer

Instructional philosophy: Knowledge is not innate; it is acquired through personal experiences and by systematically testing the relationships between facts and theories. As an educator, my overarching goal is to provide students with the skills to observe and question the world around them and to research, evaluate and refine their own analyses. This way, students can better understand how their knowledge can be applied to help solving real-world challenges.

• Ph.D., genetics, genomics and development, Cornell University
• Specializations: plant biology, intrinsically disordered proteins, live cell-imaging, molecular genetics and biochemistry
• Previous position: senior scientist, Mozza

Caitlin Miller, professor of practice, Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute

Caitlin Miller

Instructional philosophy: My student-centered learning approach emphasizes critical thinking and problem-solving, important traits for those entering the forensics field. I aim to create supportive classroom and laboratory environments that foster creativity, inquiry and collaborative learning, helping students build confidence and appreciation for the scientific content.

• Ph.D., chemistry, ���ϲ�����
• Specializations: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, aptamer-based technology and biosensing
• Previous position: chief science officer, AptaMatrix Inc.
• Key award/honor: Faculty Unsung Hero Award, Le Moyne College (2020)

This story was written by Sean Grogan

The College of Law saw 86% of recent graduates—those who earned their degrees between 2022 and 2024—successfully pass the bar exam in the February or July 2024 administration.

These results highlight the effectiveness of ���ϲ����� Law’s strategic investments in bar preparation and academic support. “Our targeted initiatives are making a significant impact on student outcomes,” says Associate Dean of Students Kelly Curtis. “By strengthening academic support and bar preparation programs, we ensure our graduates have the best possible chance of success on the bar exam and in their legal careers.”

Over the past several years, the College has implemented key initiatives that position grads for the rigors of the exam and their legal careers. These include:

• Improved admissions profile with higher median LSAT scores and GPAs.
• Curricular enhancements designed to focus on bar-related coursework.
• Expanded academic success programming, offering earlier interventions and targeted support starting before the third year.
• New staff hires in the Office of Academic and Bar Success and increased resources focused on bar preparation.

The results speak for themselves: This marks a 15-year high for first-time bar takers. In February 2024, ���ϲ����� Law was ranked No. 8 for ultimate bar passage and No. 27 for first-time bar test takers by in its Winter 2024 edition. Additionally, for seven of the past eight graduating classes, the College’s ultimate bar passage rate exceeded 90%, demonstrating consistent, long-term success.

Building on this momentum, ���ϲ����� Law has partnered with Kaplan Bar Review to further enhance student readiness. “At ���ϲ����� Law, we are dedicated to equipping our students with the tools they need to excel academically and professionally,” says Dean Terence Lau L’98. “The partnership with Kaplan strengthens Dean Curtis’s comprehensive approach to bar preparation, ensuring that students receive structured support throughout their law school journey, culminating in a robust bar review program to set them up for success.” This partnership provides expanded resources and preparation strategies, ensuring even greater success for future graduates.

Looking ahead, ���ϲ����� Law is proactively preparing for the NextGen Bar Exam, which launches in July 2026. Faculty and administrators are actively working with students to adapt to this new era of attorney licensure, ensuring that ���ϲ����� graduates remain well-prepared.

���ϲ����� Law’s commitment to student success is evident not only in its strong bar passage rates but also in its forward-thinking approach to legal education. By continually enhancing programming and investing in student success, ���ϲ����� Law is setting the standard for bar exam preparation and legal education excellence.