Molly Egan, left, and Marlana Bianchi beam with excitement as they hold their 2024 Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix trophies, moments after being announced as the winners. (Photo courtesy of Mel White)

“���ϲ����� Creatives Win Future Lions Grand Prix with Spotify Sign Language Project,” read the Ad Age headline on June 19, 2024—a prestigious recognition for the S.I. Newhouse School of in one of the top trade publications in creative advertising.

Earlier that day, Molly Egan and Marlana Bianchi won the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix for their artificial intelligence idea for Spotify, created in their Portfolio III course in the Newhouse School taught by Professor .

“Winning the Grand Prix in the Cannes Future Lions competition is the most significant award the advertising department at Newhouse has ever received,” says , professor and chair of the Newhouse advertising department. “We couldn’t be prouder of Marlana and Molly’s huge accomplishment, along with their professor, Mel White.”

“We are dedicated to being the best undergraduate advertising program in the country and world, and this is clear evidence we are well on our way,” Russell says.

, dean of the Newhouse School says, “What wonderful news! I’m excited for our students and very grateful for the talented faculty that helped guide them toward this achievement.”

Egan and Bianchi’s Portfolio III instructor, White, guided them through the creation of “Break the Sound Barrier,” and her support was crucial to their success. She helped them refine the concept from 10 initial ideas they presented in class and sharpen its final execution.

In class before providing her students with the competition brief, White taught them how to create innovative campaigns using emerging technologies. In particular, she teaches them to utilize deepfake technology in positive ways to create impactful ideas that connect brands with their audiences.

The Innovative AI Idea Chosen by Spotify: “Break the Sound Barrier”

Marlana Bianchi (from left), Tye M. Comer, Chloe Wix, Molly Egan and Gemma Redgrave gather on stage after Bianchi and Egan received their Grand Prix trophies. (Photo courtesy of AKQA)

Egan and Bianchi addressed the competition brief from Spotify, which asked students how Spotify could spread positivity using technology to bring listeners closer to the creators and communities they love. The brief encouraged entries to use new technology and uplift underrepresented communities.

While brainstorming how to answer the brief, they realized music streaming platforms lacked features for the deaf community, making them less inclusive.

To solve this problem, they created an idea that adds deaf sign language performers like Justina Miles to all songs on Spotify, spearheading a music revolution.

They applied deepfake technology to scale deaf performances into all the 300-plus different sign languages for each song on the platform. This idea makes music streaming fully accessible to the deaf community, and it will only be available on Spotify.

Musicians would also have a choice to opt into “.” When a musician opts in, Spotify will generate them signing with deepfake technology. This will let musicians perform in all the world’s sign languages for the first time, bringing deaf fans closer to their favorite artists than ever before.

������the first article of this two-part series, Egan and Bianchi share the inspiration behind their digital AI idea for Spotify.

“There’s terrific craft to this execution. The name [‘Break the Sound Barrier’] is provocative. The writing in the case, sharp. And you tied it to culture in a way that lets Spotify know: the time to do this is now,” says Avi Steinbach ’14, creative director and writer at Ogilvy. Steinbach is an alumnus of Newhouse’s creative advertising program and is also a first-time Cannes Lions Grand Prix winner this year for “,” for which he was involved in every aspect of its creation.

Spotify Chose “Break the Sound Barrier” to Win Future Lions Grand Prix

“The idea that this feature could bring [the deaf community] closer to the artists that they love meets the brief perfectly,” says Tye M. Comer, creative director of Spotify advertising. “Also, the use of deepfake technology—genius. Because I don’t know about the rest of you, but everything that I’ve heard about deepfake technology absolutely terrifies me, right?”

“To take that, and to turn it on its head to create something that puts positivity in the world was just wonderful. And that’s the whole point of Future Lions,” Comer said.

Spotify chose the Grand Prix winner based on which idea they want to explore producing. They will collaborate with Egan and Bianchi to find ways to bring “” to life on their platform.

And the Winner Is…��

Marlana Bianchi and Molly Egan (top row, left) hold their Grand Prix trophies with the three other Future Lions winning teams from schools in England, Italy and Germany. (Photo courtesy of AKQA)

On the morning of the ceremony, Egan and Bianchi eagerly joined the three other winning teams to await the announcement of the Grand Prix winner on Spotify Beach at Cannes Lions.

Gemma Redgrave, global marketing director at advertising agency AKQA, presented the award with Comer and Chloe Wix, global director of product marketing at Spotify. Redgrave has overseen Future Lions since 2019, advocating for student creativity.

Until that moment, Egan and Bianchi had been sworn to secrecy about their status as Cannes Future Lions winners. With anticipation building, the defining moment of their Cannes experience arrived.

“The Grand Prix goes to… ‘Break the Sound Barrier.’”

“We ran onto the stage, floating on cloud nine. In that moment, our dreams came true,” Egan says.

Story by Molly Egan, a senior in the Newhouse School

On Jan. 29, we bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon and usher in the Year of the Snake, which, according to the Chinese Zodiac, represents harvest, spirituality and good fortune. Lunar New Year celebrations last up to 15 days and include such various customs as gathering with family, preparing traditional foods, artistic performances and the gifting of red envelopes to pass on good fortune and blessings to the younger generations.

Students enjoy the 2024 Orange After Dark/Center for International Services Celebration

For international students on campus looking for a taste of home or for anyone who simply wants to celebrate a new beginning based on the lunar calendar, check out the following selection of Lunar New Year events being held on campus.

Tuesday, Jan. 28—Asian American Journalists Association Celebration

The will hold a Lunar New Year Celebration in Newhouse 1 Room 303 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will be fun activities, delicious food and an amazing night planned for all!

Wednesday, Jan. 29: Food Services Pop-Up

Campus Dining centers will host pop-up events in all dining centers at dinnertime, with a build-your-own stir fry station featuring noodles, rice and extra toppings; dumplings and spring rolls.

Wednesday, Jan. 29: Newhouse International Students Association Tabling Event

The will host a tabling event in food.com, located on the second floor of Newhouse 3, from noon to 1 pm. Stop by to get your lucky red envelope and Asian treats to celebrate the Year of the Snake.

Friday, Jan. 31: School of Architecture Lunar New Year Celebration

A will be held in Slocum Hall from 5 to 7:30 p.m., organized by international students in the and Dean Michael Speaks.��Students can engage in a wide range of activities, such as knot tying, calligraphy, fortune scratch-offs, Chinese horoscopes and a photo booth. There will also be musical and vocal performances and a dancing dragon. Food, chocolate coins and traditional candies, and tea with Dean Speaks will be served.��A series of short faculty presentations on East Asian culture and architecture will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31: Orange After Dark/Center for International Services Lunar New Year Celebration

��The campus community is invited to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Orange After Dark and the from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. in 304 ABC Schine Student Center.��There will be a light Chinese buffet and activities, including making a Chinese lucky knot, creating PaperCut, origami, Wish Tree, chopstick bean relay race and calligraphy. Tickets can be obtained through the .

Friday, Feb. 7: Chinese United Student Association and Chinese Student and Scholars Association Chinese New Year Party

The and the will host a Chinese New Year Party at 6 p.m. in the Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium. There will be programs relating to Chinese culture, dance, martial arts and music.

Share Your Lunar New Year Photos With Us!

However you decide to celebrate—whether at the events mentioned above or elsewhere—send your photos to SU News! Email��newsphoto@syr.edu��and we’ll share a selection of Lunar New Year pictures in the weeks to come.

Weijia Jiang

CBS News and Stations is partnering with the to explore the growing challenges of navigating misinformation and disinformation.

Two days of programming that focus on questions about how to discern truth from falsehood begin Jan. 30, when journalists will take part in the “An Eye on Misinformation and Disinformation.” Among those scheduled to attend are CBS News’ senior White House correspondent����G’06, congressional correspondent����’98, reporter����’15 and CBS News Confirmed executive editor��.

Scott MacFarlane

The and workshop mark the start of a new partnership with CBS News and Stations that will provide more distinctive opportunities for Newhouse students to engage with alumni and learn from leaders in the field. Plans include collaborative content creation with the network and student engagement with CBS News and Stations journalists in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

Ali Bauman

“We are thrilled to work with Newhouse’s talented students and faculty, leveraging this relationship to foster meaningful discussions and prepare future journalists to navigate the complexities of reporting locally, nationally and globally,” says Laurie Orlando, SVP of Talent Strategy and Development, CBS News and Stations.

The collaboration highlights Newhouse’s enduring commitment to excellence in journalism education as the school��, says Newhouse Dean .

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Newhouse students to learn from some of the best reporters, editors and producers in the country, starting with our timely and intensive discussions about maintaining journalistic integrity while combatting disinformation,” Lodato says.��“On behalf of ���ϲ�����, let me express our deep gratitude to the CBS News and Stations team for sharing their time and insights about these critical topics.”

Rhona Tarrant

, senior associate dean at Newhouse, and��, a research professor, will work alongside the CBS News team during the masterclass to help students navigate the tools and techniques available to analyze misinformation and disinformation. The session will include interactive case studies, analysis of real-world examples and a hands-on interactive session where participants learn and apply practical techniques to combat misinformation and disinformation.

The 25 Newhouse students participating in the masterclass have been selected from an application process, which was open to Newhouse juniors, seniors or graduate students. As part of the visit to Newhouse, members of the CBS News and Stations team will also review student reels.

The 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Planning Committee is proud to announce the 2025 Unsung Hero Award winners: Andrea-Rose Oates ’26, James K. Duah-Agyeman G’99, Student Coalition on Race and Equity (SCORE), Laurence Segal and Jamie Jackson (posthumously).

The Unsung Hero Award is given to community members, students, faculty and staff who have made a positive impact on the lives of others but are not widely recognized for their contributions. The awards were created to honor Dr. King’s vision of creating positive change in a troubled world.

The award winners will be recognized at the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 26, featuring keynote speaker Sarah Willie-LeBreton, president of Smith College. Tickets for the celebration are available��.

The Unsung Heroes are:

Andrea-Rose Oates ’26 (���ϲ����� student)

Oates, a public relations major in the and policy studies major in the and , has dedicated her life to community service, leadership and social justice. She is the president and founder of “Girlz Rize,” a nonprofit initiative focused on fighting for girls’ education opportunities.

Through her work last summer with NBCUniversal, Oates amplified underrepresented voices by highlighting community challenges and successes. Her summer internships with Comcast and Hilco Redevelopment Partners demonstrated her ability to translate corporate resources into meaningful community outreach.

Oates’ leadership roles at ���ϲ����� have included serving as president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Iota Upsilon chapter; co-secretary for the Black Student Union; events chair for the Women in Communications Club; a member of the Newhouse Student Representative Committee and an account associate for Hill Communications. She is dedicated to fostering inclusive, collaborative spaces that inspire academic and social growth and sustainable, generational change.

“Andrea-Rose doesn’t merely identify problems; she acts, empowering others to take part in solutions,” says nominator Diya Gupta. “Her actions reflect Dr. King’s enduring call to serve others and create a world where equity and justice prevail.”

James Duah-Agyeman G’99 (���ϲ����� Faculty/Staff)

Duah-Agyeman, former director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and special advisor to the Men of Color Initiative, has a 38-year record of achievement at ���ϲ�����—as a graduate student, teacher, academic counselor, administrator and leader.

“There are many who talk the talk of service, inclusion and integrity, but in the context of engagement with the world, Dr. D has walked the walk again and again,” says nominator Barry L. Wells. “In the process, he has set a powerful example for students, faculty, staff, and community members in how one person can make a significant difference in the development and expansion of a community that values service and inclusion.”

Duah-Agyeman most recently led Multicultural Affairs in developing programs to advance inclusion on the SU campus by creating best-in-class programs like the WellsLink Leadership Program; Dimensions, a peer mentoring program for women of color; and the Men of Color Initiative. He was instrumental in piloting and introducing the Conversations About Race and Ethnicity (C.A.R.E.) intergroup dialogue programs on campus. He also advocated for inclusion through his community work with Interfaith Works of Central New York and the Ghana Society of CNY.

Student Coalition on Race and Equity (SCORE) (Youth Community Organization)

��The Student Coalition on Race and Equity (SCORE) was launched in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd. SCORE harnesses the talent and leadership skills of high school students across Onondaga County to combat oppression and foster equity. It empowers youth, known as SCORE leaders, to educate adults on topics related to race and equity, sharing insights from their unique perspectives as young people.

After completing five weeks of training in equity-based topics and being equipped with the skills necessary to facilitate interactive workshops, SCORE Leaders take on the role of educators, leading workshop sessions for community stakeholders each August. SCORE has provided workshops on implicit bias and Black history to almost 3,000 community members.

“SCORE is a powerful program that not only centers and draws from the creativity and expertise of youth, but it also engages youth in meaningfully powerful professional experience,” says nominator Jenny Dombroske. “Our community is fortunate to have this access to the insights of youth and the opportunity to learn some of the hardest lessons from them, so that we may contribute to the future that they want for themselves.”

Laurence Segal (Community Member)

Segal quietly fights every single day for cancer patients, the homeless, the downtrodden and people the rest of society cast aside, says his brother and nominator, Andrew Segal.

Laurence has been known to stop his car and help stranded motorists, using his own AAA card to help them. Through his organization, , he has returned millions of bottles and cans for cancer patients and research and pulled millions of pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House of CNY. He hosts multiple every month that impact thousands of people, and he constantly strives to make the world a better place.

This summer, Segal cleaned up trash on city streets and passed out hot meals, cold drinks, sanitizers, masks and first aid kits to people experiencing homelessness. He has spent countless hours with cancer patients holding their hands while they go through chemotherapy, radiation and long hospital stays.

“He makes a difference constantly, but just chooses to keep it silent,” Andrew Segal says. “He is the gem of our family, and a gem in CNY.”

Jamie Jackson (Special Posthumous Recognition)

Jackson, a longtime employee with ���ϲ�����’s Parking and Transportation Services, was in a unique position to connect with almost every person on campus for over 20 years. He was assigned to the Quad lot outside Hendricks Chapel, where he offered assistance to campus visitors and befriended many members of the campus community. Jackson passed away unexpectedly in September 2024.

He was a graduate of Onondaga Community College and a U.S. Navy and U.S. Army veteran. In his obituary, he was remembered as a “wonderful son, beloved husband, fantastic father, a devoted veteran, terrific brother, great friend, kind uncle, good outdoorsman, strong record keeper and avid sports fan.”

Dara Harper, communications director at Hendricks Chapel, got to know Jackson well.

“In my opinion, Jamie’s role on campus was utterly unsung. He, a veteran, a dad, a confidante, a judge, a quiet and constant friend, touched every person on campus,” she says. “To tell you that he was the parking attendant limits his story to a singular piece of who he was. And for many of us, he is still just right outside.”

Jackson’s loss is felt every day on the University campus. “Jamie embodied the kindness, fortitude and patience that we all should strive for in this world,” says Harper. “He was a GOOD man, which is just the simplest way of saying that he was a hero.”

The liberal arts offerings through the (A&S) and the have always equipped students with the critical and creative thinking skills needed throughout their lifetimes.

Today, thanks to an important revision of the foundational (LAC), the two schools will offer a reimagined, robust and contemporary curriculum that will prepare students for adaptability and success in a constantly evolving world. The new LAC, slated to be implemented in the Fall 2025 semester, will apply only to those students matriculating beginning in the fall of 2025.

The College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School will offer a reimagined, robust and contemporary curriculum that will prepare students for adaptability and success in a constantly evolving world.

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)

Continuing to innovate as a leading higher education institution for and gaming in the United States, ���ϲ����� has officially opened its new, state-of-the-art Gaming and Esports Center—an exciting arena for competitors and those new to the action to take part in this ever-growing, evolving sports field. The community gaming space elevates the esports offerings at the University in support of student engagement opportunities and first-of-its-kind academic programming.

Pictured from left to right are Chancellor Kent Syverud, Braeden Cheverie-Leonard ’26, Gabriel Goodwin ’28, and Brianna Nechifor ’26.

“This new best-in-class esports center is an important milestone in a project that is still underway to make us the best university for esports and gaming,” said ���ϲ����� Chancellor and President , during its opening celebration Friday. “No other university of our stature is investing in esports like we are. This gives ���ϲ����� a unique opportunity to level up while others aren’t even in the game.”

The 5,800-square-foot center inside the Schine Student Center is the second recreational gaming and esports facility on campus. The esports gaming room at the Barnes Center at The Arch has attracted more than 100,000 visits by students since opening in 2019.

The new facility will allow even more students the opportunity to try their hand at esports and gaming while strengthening the University’s commitment to leading the way in esports through the creation of a space that sets the University apart from its peer institutions.

Joey Gawrysiak

The Gaming and Esports Center offers something for every member of the University community, says , executive director of esports, including the first-of-its-kind esports communications and management degree program, offered jointly by the����and the��.

The center will house the University’s competitive esports varsity teams and feature a long, elevated stage with 10 computers where teams square off in competition. Each computer has a camera attached to the top for live streaming, and there are two long, video boards running in front of and behind the stage, perfect for displaying match stats, graphics and video replays to the crowd of spectators seated in front of the stage.

The facility is also meant for gamers of all levels and interests. There are 24 high-end personal computers and assorted console gaming on systems like Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox, along with virtual and augmented reality offerings, two racing simulators, classic arcade games and tabletop gaming.

“We’re setting a new standard for what esports and gaming can be, and ���ϲ����� is embracing the impact esports and gaming can have at an institution of higher education,” Gawrysiak says. “This space shows that we’re innovative and that we have an eye on the future of gaming and esports. We’re using esports and gaming as an educational opportunity, and this facility is a showcase of all things gaming for all members of our campus community.”

A member of the University community tries out one of the racing simulators housed in the new Gaming and Esports Center. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

The University and global esports and gaming organization have collaborated on a multi-year partnership designed to enhance student engagement opportunities and support the University’s esports degree program. Along with an opportunity to participate in an intensive, three-week study abroad program in South Korea, the partnership will bring Gen.G’s Campus Takeover conference and program to ���ϲ����� to celebrate the University’s Gaming and Esports Center.

The center also features a production area—where students can receive real-world experiences live streaming varsity and club esports competitions—and a space for student broadcasters to provide play-by-play and color commentary from the matches.

Will Delgado ’26 has been involved with esports since his first year on campus, first as a broadcaster and then as a content creator for the esports program’s social media channels. Delgado shot, edited and produced the esports promotional video that was shown during Friday’s grand opening.

Will Delgado

“This space is going to have a huge impact on the campus community. It will help educate and inform our students on the potential career opportunities presented by esports,” says Delgado, who is studying both supply chain management in the and television, radio and film in the .

“By getting involved with esports, students can walk away with career skills and experiences that will serve them well in this industry.�� I should know, as I want to merge my passions for gaming, esports and content creation into an esports career when I graduate,” says Delgado, who is a resident advisor for an esports-centric Living Learning Community in Haven Hall.

During the ceremony, ���ϲ�����’s Counter Strike 2 varsity team, which claimed a national championship from the National Association of Collegiate Esports, was honored with a trophy presentation that will proudly be displayed in the center. It’s the first of what Gawrysiak hopes is many trophies to come.

Later this summer, the University is launching construction on a competitive esports arena inside the Marley Building. The third esports venue on campus will provide real-world, professional experiences to esports student-athletes and to members of the esports academic degree program.

The Gaming and Esports Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and is located immediately next to the campus bookstore. All games and experiences are free to play for members of the University community.

Members of the University community watch a competition featuring members of the ���ϲ����� esports team. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

Serving as Universitywide faculty representatives, committee members advise the Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer and work to ensure consistent promotion and tenure processes and promote high academic standards. Members, who must be tenured full professors, serve two-year, staggered terms and are not eligible to serve consecutive terms.

Newly elected committee members are:

• , William Safire Professor of Modern Letters and University Professor, College of Arts and Sciences
• , director, electrical engineering and computer science graduate program, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• , Marjorie Cantor Professor of Aging Studies, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
• , associate dean for academic affairs, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• , Albert & Betty Hill Endowed Professor, Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• , Iris Magidson Endowed Professor of Design Leadership and director, School of Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts

Promotion and tenure cases that meet the criteria for review—for example, those that have substantial disagreement between layers of recommendation or a strong probability of a negative determination—are taken up by committee members. They offer an advisory vote to the provost but do not issue a formal report or consider appeals.

The committee is convened by Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Jamie Winders. Provost Lois Agnew is chair of the committee, and Vice President for Research Duncan Brown serves in an ex-officio capacity.

Josh Fine

The inaugural class of IDJC fellows for the Spring 2025 semester includes investigative reporter and producer Josh Fine and former U.S. Public Delegate to the United Nations Andrew Weinstein.

“We are thrilled to announce this new program and to have Josh Fine and Andrew Weinstein as our inaugural fellows,” says Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the IDJC and professor of practice of magazine, news and digital journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “This fellows program is designed to give thought leaders in the fields of journalism and public affairs an opportunity to delve more deeply into subjects that matter to all of us.”

The program provides workspace for fellows at IDJC headquarters in Washington, D.C., as well as access to University scholars and resources, and a stipend for their travel and projects. The fellows will convene events or pursue projects while developing nonpartisan thought leadership in issue areas that align with the IDJC’s mission to explore the challenges to—and connections between—democratic governance and journalism.

Fine, whose award-winning sports journalism has examined the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and the NFL, plans to use his time as a fellow to explore better ways to fund investigative sports journalism, with a focus on the challenges that go beyond the scoreboard and directly impact communities, including the public financing of stadiums, the health impact of certain high school programs and the profit behind youth sports.

“I’m delighted to be one of IDJC’s inaugural fellows,” says Fine. “As the journalism industry changes, it’s critical that accountability-based sports journalism endures. I’m grateful to have the support of ���ϲ����� to explore new ways to sustain this crucial work.”

Andrew Weinstein

Weinstein, who in addition to his role as public delegate, previously served on the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities during the Obama administration, will work to develop nonpartisan public dialogues and workshops aimed at addressing the rise in antisemitism, religion-based hatred and intolerance, and bridging divides between the American Jewish and Palestinian communities.

“I look forward to expanding on my work at the United Nations and am proud to do so in affiliation with such a prestigious academic institution. It’s an honor to help launch the Visiting Fellows program at the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship,” says Weinstein.

The launch of the IDJC Visiting Fellows program is made possible by a gift from Gary Greenberg ’72. For information on how to support or engage with the visiting fellows program, please email democracy@syr.edu.

The inaugural event, “Life Together: A Community Conversation for Election Season and Beyond,” was held on campus on Oct. 22. Hundreds of University community members, including students, staff and faculty representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives, engaged in facilitated dialogue on important issues related to democracy, civic engagement, economic opportunity and the political climate. The event featured a moderated discussion among experts, followed by small group conversations led by trained facilitators who also were members of the campus community.

University community members engage in conversation during the October 2024 Life Together event (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

The Life Together initiative is led by Gretchen Ritter, vice president for civic engagement and education; Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the ; and Tina Nabatchi, director of the Maxwell School’s (PARCC).

This next phase of the Life Together initiative includes several events planned for the Spring 2025 semester:

• Life Together Leadership Fellows: Ritter, in collaboration with PARCC, will lead a four-part training session for students, faculty and staff interested in developing the civic skills needed to promote democratic engagement in a diverse community. There will be four, two-hour required training sessions that focus on active listening, critical reasoning, inclusive advocacy and advancing the common good. for the Life Together Leadership Fellows program and are due by Jan. 31.
• “Civic Stories” Digital Storytelling Project: The project will collect and share personal and community-driven stories in the form of short video and audio recordings and reflective writing. “Civic Stories” aims to deepen our understanding and practice of civic engagement by humanizing complex issues, promoting empathy and connection, amplifying voices from marginalized communities, challenging assumptions and stereotypes, encouraging reflective dialogue, highlighting shared goals and collective action, and building civic identity and agency.
• Life Together Online Community Conversations Modules: Building on the fall’s facilitated community conversation, and in collaboration with PARCC and the College of Professional Studies, online modules will be developed that can be used to facilitate community conversations for members of the ���ϲ����� community who are not in residence in ���ϲ�����. The modules can also be used by instructors in various settings, such as part of the First Year Seminar curriculum for non-residential first-year students.
• Life Together Lecture Series: The series will bring speakers to campus who will deepen campus conversation and understanding around the initiative’s four critical civic engagement skills. Four colloquiums are expected to be offered in the spring.

��Further details on how the University community can participate will be shared early in the spring semester.

Audra Weiss

When Weiss was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, she became a passionate advocate for early cancer detection and diagnosis, and holistic care. Weiss died Dec. 31, 2024, at the age of 57. Her husband Jim Weiss ’87 and their two children, Ethan and Emily, were at her side. “Audra was a quiet yet powerful force who walked through life exuding grace, strength and class,” .

Audra Weiss graduated from the , while her husband graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the . Jim Weiss founded Real Chemistry in 2001.

In 2012, a gift from Audra and Jim Weiss established the at the Newhouse School. The Weiss Center’s goal is to ensure students are immersed and educated in the digital world as they prepare for careers across the communications industries.

Nine years later, the Weisses for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new, state-of-the-art classroom established by a gift from Real Chemistry. The Emerging Insights Lab is a social media command center that serves as a central hub for the interfacing of digital media monitored and studied by students and faculty.

“Audra Weiss’ support meant so much to ���ϲ�����. She will always be remembered at Newhouse for her dedication to helping our students succeed, collaborating with Jim on mentorships, career advice, classroom visits or the many other ways they gave back big and small,” said Newhouse Dean Mark Lodato. “We mourn her passing and extend our deepest condolences to Jim, Ethan, Emily and the rest of the Weiss family.”

Born and raised on Long Island in Coram, New York, Audra Weiss worked in healthcare communications after graduating from Whitman. She connected with Jim through a mutual friend—they worked in the same field and shared a love for ���ϲ�����, though they never met while at school. They were married for nearly 25 years.

“She knew from the get-go that she’d happily trade in her stellar professional career for a lifelong role of motherhood.  She welcomed Ethan and Emily into the world and devoted herself to her calling,” her family said.

“Audra’s intellect and brilliance shined in the backdrop of Jim’s entrepreneurial quest to build a leading global communications firm,” the family said.  “As an advisor and confidant, Audra made her mark on the business that would become Real Chemistry. To her, success was a vehicle to do good—giving back through the ‘Weiss Family Office.’”

After being diagnosed with cancer, Weiss became a staunch advocate for the care of those living with cancer. She shared her wisdom about her cancer journey and connected with the Dempsey Center, joining the board of the organization founded by actor Patrick Dempsey. The Dempsey Center provides personalized and comprehensive cancer care at no cost.

The Weiss family said it would continue to advocate for early cancer detection and diagnosis, as well as advocating for treating cancer “holistically, not just with pharmaceuticals but with wraparound care that makes the journey a much better experience for patients and their families.”

Services will be held Jan. 8 in San Francisco, California. The family said donations in Weiss’ memory can be made to the , , and the . Read Audra Weiss’ .

This year, out of 14 student winners nationwide, four are advertising majors. And two of them are from the .

Tori Aragi ’24 and Jordan Leveille ’24, art directors in the Newhouse creative advertising program, won for five advertising campaigns they created in Portfolio 1, the first course for at Newhouse. One campaign by Aragi came from Portfolio III, the final course in the creative advertising track. Aragi and Leveille’s first-ever advertising campaigns were shown in the March/April 2024 print edition of Communication Arts.

“The fun of Portfolio I is that many students come in with no experience,” says , a professor of practice and Aragi and Leveille’s instructor in Portfolio I. “They tell me they’ve never created an advertising campaign before, and I tell them, ‘The work created in this course often goes on to win creative advertising student awards.’ Time and time again, this proves to be true. In my Portfolio I course, I don’t just teach students how to create ad campaigns; I teach them how to create compelling campaigns that are memorable.”

The Award-Winning Campaigns

“Too Tired to Function” for Raycon Wireless Earbuds

Tori Aragi’s campaign with a print ad for Raycon Wireless Earbuds.

Aragi’s “Too Tired to Function” campaign for Raycon Wireless Earbuds includes three print ads and was developed in her Portfolio I course. It is one of her three campaigns featured in this year’s print edition of Communication Arts. This campaign highlights Raycon’s superior battery life by showing Apple AirPods “falling asleep” during inconvenient travel times and uses visual solution advertising to tell this story, altering visuals to communicate the concept of the ad campaign.

“This was my first-ever advertising campaign,” Aragi says. “Professor White taught me how to blend visuals and copy to create this compelling story.”

“Hydroscape” for Hydro Flask

Jordan Leveille’s campaign featured print ads for Hydro Flask.

Leveille’s “Hydroscape” campaign for Hydro Flask, created in Portfolio I, similarly uses a visual solution approach, transforming Hydro Flask bottles into frigid, icy landscapes to represent how well the product keeps liquids cold. This concept visually links Hydro Flasks to glaciers, a recognizable symbol of cold water.

“This is a clever way of visually showing how the water bottle keeps water cold for a very long time,” White says. “Jordan is strikingly adept at using visual solution advertising.”

“Bad Hair Day” for Aveeno

Jordan Leveille’s campaign featured print ads for Aveeno.

Leveille’s “Bad Hair Day” campaign for Aveeno, created in Portfolio I, takes a playful approach with its visual solution. It depicts the torment of dealing with untreated, damaged hair by transforming the hair into a monstrosity. This campaign shows how Aveeno’s Oat Milk Hair Treatment can “tame” unruly hair, thus positioning the product as the solution to achieving hydrated, healthy locks.

“Fries Over Friends” for McDonald’s

Tori Aragi’s campaign featured print ads for McDonald’s.

Aragi’s second featured campaign, “Fries Over Feelings,” created in Portfolio I, captures the universal sting of someone swiping your McDonald’s fries. Aragi turned this everyday betrayal into a memorable ad series, blending serious undertones with exaggerated humor. Her long-form ads amplify the drama of the stolen fries by incorporating clever comedic twists.

“Professor White’s guidance on copy-based advertising was crucial in developing this idea and its comedic touch,” says Aragi.

“I’m Thirsty” for charity: water

For charity: water, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean drinking water where many do not have access to it, Leveille came up with the idea in Portfolio I to create drinking water cans with no tab on them, making the water inside completely inaccessible. These cans would be placed in vending machines that appear to dispense free cans of water.

The can’s design is meant to give consumers a glimpse of what it’s like for people who lack access to clean drinking water, aiming to generate empathy for the 370 million individuals facing this challenge daily.��The cans lack tabs, so people cannot access the water. This design gives consumers a glimpse into experiencing first-hand, even if it’s just for a few seconds, what it’s like to have no access to clean drinking water.

Each can reads, “By making this can of water impossible to open, we have restricted your access to clean drinking water. Now you can relate to the 10% of our population who lack access to clean water daily. It shouldn’t be this difficult for anyone to quench their thirst.”

Jordan Leveille’s experiential idea for charity: water brings awareness to the fact that one in 10 people globally do not have access to clean water.

This campaign is notable for its innovative use of experiential advertising, creating a powerful and original experience for the consumer.

“The charity: water campaign tangibly recreates water inaccessibility through a completely sealed and visually identifiable can, allowing consumers to experience an issue that many typically don’t in their daily lives,” White says.

“Just Let It Go” for eBay

Aragi’s third campaign, “Just Let It Go” for eBay, was created in Portfolio III. Collaborating with copywriter Kayla Beck ’24, Aragi targeted Generation Z in the United Kingdom with this cheeky campaign.

Tori Aragi’s campaign featuring outdoor posters for eBay.

Through their research, Aragi and Beck said they found that Gen Z struggles to let go of preloved items, even when they have outgrown them. From there, the creative advertising students created a campaign that gives people the snarky shove they need to realize it is finally time to let go.

“Professor White always stressed the importance of simple ideas and cohesive campaigns, which helped me to create this project,” Aragi says.

2024 marks the sixth consecutive year Newhouse creative advertising students have won Communication Arts Students Showcase Awards.

Molly Egan (left) and Marlana Bianchi won the Grand Prix for their Spotify AI idea, “Break the Sound Barrier.” (Photo courtesy of AKQA)

This is part one of a two-part series documenting the first time Newhouse creative advertising students won the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix.

In June 2024, Newhouse School creative advertising students Molly Egan ’25 and Marlana Bianchi ’24 walked across the stage to claim the most prestigious student award in the world: the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France.

The Cannes Lions Awards are so prestigious, they are considered the Oscars of the advertising industry. And this year, ���ϲ����� made history as the first U.S. undergraduate university to win a Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix. In 2018, ���ϲ����� became the first U.S. undergraduate university to ever win a Cannes Future Lions award.

This year’s competition saw entries from 245 schools across 59 countries—three times the number of entries from the previous year.

Each year, the competition releases a brief for students to answer. The brief for the 2024 competition was for Spotify. Egan and Bianchi earned the award through their compelling entry, “,” designed to make music streaming inclusive for the deaf community.

“‘Break the Sound Barrier’ is phenomenal, bravo. My favorite ideas make me deeply jealous that I didn’t think of them. And they make me ask: ‘How has this not been done yet?’ Because it’s so good,” says Avi Steinbach ’14, creative director/writer at Ogilvy and alumnus of the Newhouse creative advertising program.

Steinbach also won his first Cannes Lions Grand Prix this year in the Social and Influencer Category for the “” campaign. He was involved in every aspect of its creation—from the initial concept and pitching CeraVe to the script, social concepts and Super Bowl spot.

The Inspiration Behind the AI Idea��

Egan and Bianchi said their goal was to make music streaming inclusive for the deaf community.

“Sometimes the best ideas are your first ideas,” says Bianchi. “For me, they often come late at night when I’m exhausted and falling asleep at my desk. This idea started like that, and then Molly and I built on it to create something truly unique.”

Egan said their inspiration began with what she called the unforgettable halftime show at the 2023 Super Bowl.

“Rihanna headlined, but she wasn’t the only performer to leave a lasting impression,” she says. “At that time, Marlana was studying abroad in Florence, Italy, and I was in my college house without ESPN, so we both ended up watching the show on YouTube. From our separate corners of the world, we were mesmerized. Rihanna was split screen with Justina Miles. Miles, a deaf sign language performer, didn’t just translate Riri’s music—she embodied it.”

With electrifying energy, Miles created a whole new dimension to the performance. She brought every lyric and note to life, performing each word while dancing to Rihanna’s beats. Her hands told the story, and her body caught the rhythm so precisely that it felt like she was channeling the core of Rihanna’s music, Egan said.

“Marlana and I couldn’t stop replaying her performance, captivated by how she brought the music to life for both deaf and hearing fans,” Egan added.

Little did they know, this was the first time a deaf sign language performer like Miles was invited to join the Super Bowl halftime show. This major move for music inclusivity is what inspired Egan and Bianchi’s award-winning idea.

Another source of inspiration was MasterCard’s “True Name” campaign, which was shared during their Portfolio III course taught by , professor of practice in advertising. The campaign inspired them to think about how ideas can move the needle on inclusivity. “True Name” lets transgender and nonbinary people display their chosen name on their banking cards, regardless of the name on their identification or birth certificate.

The Grand Prix-Winning Idea for Spotify

“Break the Sound Barrier” is a digital idea for Spotify that aims to make music streaming more inclusive to the deaf community by integrating deaf sign language performances into the platform, ensuring that music streaming is accessible to all users, regardless of their hearing ability.

By partnering with deaf performers like Miles and using deepfake technology, “Break the Sound Barrier” can scale deaf performances into over 300 sign languages for each song on the platform. This approach ensures that Spotify will be accessible to the deaf community.

The next part of their idea lets musicians choose to opt into “.” If a musician opts in, Spotify will generate them signing with deepfake technology. This will let musicians perform in all the world’s sign languages for the first time, bringing deaf fans closer to their favorite artists than ever before.

‘‘‘Break the Sound Barrier’ is just so simple. Real problem. Real solution. While so many agencies are trying to find ways to use deepfake and AI, this idea uses it to address a real issue. This idea also starts on the app, but I could see it extending in a number of ways [like real-life concerts]—another good sign of a huge idea,” says Steinbach.

To read the full story, visit .

Story by , senior in the Newhouse School

Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the esports degree program (left) and Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G (Photo courtesy of Gen.G)

���ϲ����� and global esports and gaming organization are collaborating on a multi-year partnership designed to enhance student engagement opportunities and support the University’s first-of-its-kind esports communications and management bachelor’s program.

The partnership will feature participation in the , which offers students the opportunity to take part in an intensive, three-week program to study in South Korea. The partnership will also bring Gen.G’s Campus Takeover conference and program to ���ϲ����� to celebrate the University’s soon-to-be-completed esports hub in the center of campus at the Schine Student Center. Campus Takeover events draw students, faculty, professional leaders and other stakeholders from around the world to discuss key issues and emerging trends in the esports and gaming industries.

���ϲ����� is the first��major university in the country to offer an esports bachelor’s program. The degree is offered jointly by the Newhouse School of Public Communications and��.

“As a leader in esports education, it is essential for ���ϲ����� to deliver to the right mix of academic excellence and hands-on experiences to our students,” says Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the . “Given Gen.G’s outstanding track record of delivering educational programming that resonates with students, we look forward to building this important partnership in a growing field.”

The Gen.G Practicum Abroad program will offer ���ϲ����� students an expansive hands-on learning experience in the heart of the esports industry in South Korea. The program led by Gen.G professionals includes custom esports programming, mentorship by industry professionals, special lectures, industry “lunch-and-learns” and professional networking, all while immersing students in Korean culture and its history in esports. Students will visit competitive organizations and gaming publisher studios.

Students will also take part in Gen.G’s award-winning Campus Takeover event, which will be hosted for the first time on the ���ϲ����� campus in��fall 2025. The free-to-enter conference will focus on supporting the esports ecosystem in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, promoting academic, broadcast and competitive excellence through informative panels and seminars featuring industry professionals. The Campus Takeover at ���ϲ����� will also be the first to feature an innovative business case study competition.

“���ϲ����� and Gen.G believe education plays a critical role in the future development of esports and gaming globally, so we’re committed to delivering hands-on experiences for the students who seek a rewarding career in our industry,” says Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G. Hur and Yugina Yan, the company’s assistant director of operations for education will serve as development advisors to the ���ϲ�����’s esports program.

Last spring, Gen.G hosted industry lectures for students in the Department of Sport Management in Falk College and a marketing lecture exclusively for ���ϲ����� esports students during the League of Legends World Championships in Berlin.

Gen.G’s commitment to education is celebrating its fifth year with its Gen.G Foundation, a $1 million pledge over the next 10 years to advance the importance of education in the esports and gaming industry. The foundation awards scholarships to more than 40 students across the United States. Gen.G also operates the Gen.G Global Academy, the world’s first fully integrated academic esports program in Korea.

About Gen.G

United under #TigerNation, Gen.G’s core mission is to help fans and athletes use the power of gaming and esports to get ahead in and beyond the competition. With an emphasis on education, DEI initiatives, and innovative partnerships, Gen.G is a commercial and thought leader, building a global, inclusive and cross-cultural future for gaming. Its unique portfolio of teams includes the Seoul Dynasty (Overwatch League), League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the Gen.G & Gen.G Black VALORANT teams, the PUBG Gen.G team, and the NBA2K’s Gen.G Tigers (the first non-NBA owned team in the NBA 2K League). Gen.G has also been a major proponent in seamlessly bringing in non-endemic brand partners to the world of gaming and esports, including 1Password, Burberry, Crocs, King’s Hawaiian, McDonald’s, Mobil1, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and more. Gen.G also operates the Gen.G Global Academy, the world’s first fully-integrated academic esports program in Korea. Gen.G’s teams, content creators and corporate staff work out of their offices in Los Angeles, Seoul and Shanghai. For more information, visit GenG.gg or follow on Twitter @GenG.

Ghael Fobes ’22, an alumnus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been named a 2025 Marshall Scholar.

The Marshall Scholarship program was created by an Act of British Parliament in 1953 as a living memorial to former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. George C. Marshall and American assistance provided following World War II. The scholarship allows up to three years of fully funded graduate study in any academic topic at any university in the United Kingdom. Fobes is one of 36 students selected from around the country and is ���ϲ�����’s seventh Marshall Scholar.

“Marshall Scholars continue to represent the very best of American society, dedicating their time and effort to address some of the great challenges of our time, from cyber security and artificial intelligence to advancing our knowledge of the universe,” says Dame Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the U.S. “The Marshall Scholarship remains an integral part of the U.K.-U.S. relationship, established through British gratitude to General Marshall at the end of WWII. We are delighted to welcome such a diverse and talented group of students to the U.K. next year as they continue their studies at some of the U.K.’s top academic institutions.”

Fobes plans to pursue two master’s degrees—in data and artificial intelligence (AI) ethics and in future governance—at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He began producing for NBC News as an intern in college and is currently an associate White House producer for NBC News in Washington, D.C. In his position, he has a firsthand perspective on the role that AI is playing in journalism today.

“I think the effects right now are pretty wide-ranging and pose some great opportunities and challenges,” Fobes says. “For example, we’ve been using artificial intelligence tools at NBC News to make transcription more efficient and effective. We also use them to help verify the provenance of social media content. As for challenges, I think anybody using social media has seen a flood in content created with generative AI. That presents significant obstacles to journalists’ ability to quickly determine the veracity��of content.”

Building upon his Marshall experience, Fobes hopes to return to NBC News ready to lead an innovation office embedded in the network’s newsgathering operation. “My goal is to develop ethical workflows that enhance our ability to gather and present news, focusing specifically on expanding efforts to combat digital misinformation,” he says.

As an undergraduate, Fobes majored in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School and minored in political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences. He was a ���ϲ����� Scholar and Commencement class speaker in 2022, and says he continues to carry his ���ϲ����� experience with him.

“My coursework and the faculty at Newhouse and Maxwell deepened my technical knowledge of broadcasting, sharpened my storytelling skills, and broadened my understanding of domestic and international politics,” he says.��“While a lot��of the learning behind my broadcast degree allowed me to hone my use of a camera, what was truly enriching was learning from Professor Les Rose about the subtleties��of interviewing and story development. It is not just about what catches someone’s eye, but is also about finding ways of introducing your audience to new people, places and perspectives.”

Fobes says his academic experience prepared him for working at NBC News. “It gives me a great foundation for approaching my Marshall Scholarship proposal for developing ethical newsgathering workflows with AI,” he says.

“I am especially grateful to ���ϲ����� for its focus on preparing students with professional development and networking opportunities, and for its satellite campuses in New York City and Washington, D.C,” he says. “Specifically, I’m thankful for Professor Cheryl Brody Franklin’s mentorship through the Newhouse NYC program and Professor Charlotte Grimes, who led the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting, which I was a part of for four years. They opened the door that allowed me to intern at NBC News throughout my time at SU.”

Fobes��also worked for the Daily Orange. He led the newspaper’s audio department, expanding its footprint as the founder, editor and host of “The Daily Orange” podcast.��“I am grateful to the Daily Orange for giving me the creative space and resources to launch our weekly podcast. Leading the podcast taught me how to pitch and integrate new technologies into the operations of a storied newspaper,” he says.

Fobes worked with the University’s Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) on his Marshall application.

“Ghael’s extraordinary record of service and leadership in his field—and his preparation for and commitment to graduate study in artificial intelligence ethics—made him an outstanding candidate for the Marshall Scholarship,” says Jolynn Parker, director of the CFSA.��“We are thrilled this award will help him achieve his goals.”

Fobes is grateful to Parker and CFSA. “I would not have known about, pursued or completed the application, much less gotten the award, without Jolynn’s encouragement and guidance,” he says. “I am also grateful for the professors who took the time to conduct mock interviews with me.”

Students interested in applying for national scholarships that require University endorsement, such as the Marshall Scholarship, should complete an “intent to apply” form with Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising by the end of June 2025 and plan to work with��.

The report finds President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaigns together outspent now President-elect Donald Trump on Facebook and Instagram by about 6-to-1 ($140 million to $24 million) between Sept. 1, 2023, and the Nov. 5, 2024, election. Meta owns the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.����

The fourth quarterly report from ���ϲ�����’s  (IDJC) also identifies more than $6 million in negative ads from groups backed by Elon Musk that accept unlimited sums from anonymous donors, a source of financing known as “dark money.” The ads, which undercut Harris, aired during the closing weeks of the campaign.����

The world’s richest man, Musk is CEO of Tesla and owns social media platform X. He has emerged as a close advisor to Trump.����

• The report looks at spending on Meta Platforms related to Musk-backed Progress 2028, Building America’s Future PAC, Future Coalition and FC PACs, Duty to America, Fair��Election Fund, RBG PAC and America PAC.��

• In addition to messaging about the economy and illegal immigration, the ads aim to erode support for Democrats among Black Americans who smoke menthol cigarettes;, and send conflicting, targeted messages about the Israel-Hamas war. For instance, in Michigan, ads played up Harris’ support for Israel to erode Arab and Muslim voters’ support for the vice president; while in Pennsylvania, ads emphasized Harris’ sympathy for Palestinians to turn off Jewish voters.��

��The ElectionGraph report provides a powerful—though only partial—measure of the volume of election-related messaging on social media, whether ads originated from the candidates’ own campaigns or the vast web of outside groups that range from truthful and transparent, to murky and conspiracy-minded, and everything in between.����

This is the final installment in a yearlong research project that seeks to identify misinformation trends in the U.S. presidential election. The project is supported by a grant and the use of analytics software from , the world’s leading graph database and analytics company.��

The ElectionGraph team’s efforts include pinpointing origins of messages and tracing misinformation by collecting and algorithmically classifying ads run on Facebook and Instagram. ElectionGraph also has developed a publicly accessible dashboard to explore its findings.��

“In the closing days of the election, shady groups with unclear motives ran duplicitous ads meant to manipulate the public’s understanding of candidate Harris’ policies,” says Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor in the School of Information Studies at ���ϲ����� and ElectionGraph’s lead researcher. “The fragmented information environment combined with weak regulation around campaign finance and disclosures on digital ads leaves the public vulnerable to actors who will say anything to try and win elections.”��

While Meta allows approved organizations to access ad data, such data is not required to be made available—and is not similarly trackable—on TikTok, Google, YouTube or Snapchat. The findings nevertheless provide a framework to visualize the fire hose of information and misinformation targeting voters from groups with a jumble of motives, ties and trustworthiness ahead of the 2024 election.��

Graph databases have emerged as a formidable ally in unmasking coordinated misinformation campaigns this election cycle, says Jim Webber, chief scientist at Neo4j. ��

“Using Neo4j, IDJC ElectionGraph researchers have illuminated vast networks of accounts acting in unison to amplify false narratives, even when those accounts tried to maintain a veneer of independence,” Webber says. “They were able to quickly see the forest through the trees and map out an intricate structure of this problematic content, which had the potential to deceive voters.”��

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship is a joint University initiative of the  and the .��

“Election ads on social media in the closing weeks of the campaign can be particularly influential, but also difficult in terms of voters’ ability to see whose money and influence is behind them, given lag times in reporting requirements,”says IDJC Kramer Director , a journalist and professor of practice at the Newhouse School.  ��

On this “‘Cuse Conversation,” Kathrine Switzer discusses making history as the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, why she’s never stopped advocating for the inclusion of women in sports and what it means to be a proud alumna.

Instead of wallowing in what could have potentially been the lowest moment of her life, Kathrine Switzer ’68, G’72, H’18 used the adversity she overcame during her historic run at the Boston Marathon as fuel to inspire women around the world.

Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to officially run and finish the Boston Marathon when she entered as K.V. Switzer using bib number 261, contended not only with the grueling course and frigid race conditions, but also a physical challenge from race director Jock Semple. Around mile four, Semple leapt out of the photographers’ press truck and headed straight for Switzer and her contingent of runners from ���ϲ�����.

Kathrine Switzer (wearing bib number 261) is harassed by Boston Marathon race director Jock Semple (in black) while she is running in the marathon. Switzer’s boyfriend at the time, Tom Miller (wearing bib number 390), delivers a block to Semple that frees up Switzer to continue running. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Herald)

As Semple tried to rip Switzer’s bib off the front and back of her grey ���ϲ����� track sweatshirt, Switzer was frightened. Her coach, Arnie Briggs, the University’s mailman and a veteran runner at the Boston Marathon, tried to convince Semple that Switzer belonged in the race, to no avail. Only after Switzer’s boyfriend, Tom Miller, a member of the Orange football and track and field teams, blocked Semple, was Switzer free to continue chasing down her pursuit of history.

In that moment, Switzer followed Briggs’ advice to run like hell, driven to prove Semple and the other doubters wrong by finishing the race. She hasn’t stopped running with a purpose since.

Kathrine Switzer

“As I was running, I realized that if these women had the opportunity, just the opportunity, that’s all they needed. And by the time I finished the race I said, ‘I’m going to prove myself, play by their rules and then change those rules,’” says Switzer, an emeritus member of the of Sport and Human Dynamics’ .

“From the worst things can come the best things and that’s what I tell students whenever I speak to classes. If something is wrong, there’s an opportunity to change it, and we can then reverse it. When you’re training for a marathon, you’re out there for hours by yourself. I loved to use that time to take on a problem and solve it,” says Switzer, who earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism from the and English from the , and a master’s degree in public relations from the Newhouse School.

After her triumph in Boston, Switzer would complete more than 40 marathons, including winning the New York City Marathon in 1974, and she was instrumental in getting the women’s marathon included in the Summer Olympics. Switzer’s global nonprofit, (an homage to her Boston race bib), has helped thousands of women discover their potential through the creation of local running clubs, educational programs, communication platforms and social running events.

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Switzer discusses making history as the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, why she’s never stopped advocating for the inclusion of women in sports and what it means to be a proud alumna whose running career was launched as a student on campus.

Check out�� featuring Switzer. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

How did you use the Boston Marathon experience to create more running opportunities for women?

Kathrine Switzer finishes the Boston Marathon in 1975 doing her personal best: 2:51.37. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Johnson)

I was raised by parents who said you know right from wrong, so always go for what’s right. I knew it was going to be time-consuming, but I knew it was important to both correct the error the establishment had made, but more than that, I wanted women to know how great you can feel when you’re running. When I was running, I felt empowered. I felt like I could overcome anything. Running is naturally empowering, it’s a super endorphin high, and I wanted women to experience that.

One of the issues I wanted to solve was getting the women’s marathon into the Summer Olympics. It came down to opportunities and I wanted to create these opportunities, so [once I was working for Avon Cosmetics] I created the Avon International Running Circuit, a series of races around the world that are for women only, where we could make every woman feel welcome and treat her like a hero.

Eventually, we had 400 races in 27 countries for over a million women around the world. We had the participation, we had the sponsorships, we had the media coverage and we had the international representation. In 1981, by a vote of nine to one, women’s marathon was voted into the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. That was an incredible feeling.

What has running given you?

Running has given me just about everything. It’s given me my religion, my husband, travel opportunities, my health and wellness, but the biggest thing it has given me is this��perspective on myself, this empowerment and belief in myself that I can do whatever I set out to accomplish.

What kind of impact has 261 Fearless had in empowering and lifting up other women through running?

We’ve already proved that, regardless of your age, your ability or your background, if you get out there and put one foot in front of the other, you’re going to become empowered. If you want to lift a woman up, show her how to run.

We need to do it at the grassroots level and invite women around the world to have a jog or a walk with one of our more than 500 trained coaches. We’re working village by village, city by city, country by country to spread the word on the life-changing benefits of running, and we’ve worked with nearly 7,000 women in 14 countries and five continents so far. 261 was perfect for this mission. It became a number that means being fearless in the face of adversity. People have told me that 261 Fearless has changed their lives and that they’re taking courage from what I did.

Note: This conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.

Kathrine Switzer speaks to students in Falk College Professor Lindsey Darvin’s Sport Management “Race, Gender and Diversity in Sport Organizations” class. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

As misinformation surges online, Hirsch became increasingly concerned with how AI has made the creation and spread of fake news easier than ever. Her innovative solution? Use the same technology driving misinformation to combat it.

Hirsch wondered, “what better way to protect people from false AI content than using AI to detect it?” This thought sparked her idea, which she cleverly titled “AI vs. AI.” Her two-minute����shows how this idea would work.

Creative advertising student Brooke Hirsch ’24 is one of 10 worldwide winners of the Clio Award for Student Innovation for her idea “AI vs. AI.”

This past May, 10 student ideas from around the world won a 2024 Clio Award for Student Innovation. Hirsch’s idea was one of them. Winning a Clio as a student or a professional in the industry is one of advertising’s highest honors, and Hirsch earned this distinction while a student in the�� in the Newhouse School.

“Brooke Hirsch created an innovative AI idea that would help move the needle on protecting people from believing deceptive AI content,” says , creative advertising professor of practice at Newhouse. “This student work was created after I gave a presentation in my Portfolio III course on how to effectively use emerging technologies for brands. Our creative advertising students learn how to create original ideas utilizing emerging technologies to solve problems, all so that they are prepared to work as copywriters or art directors in the advertising industry. Brooke nailed it. This idea is excellent.”

The Story Behind Her Win: How Did Hirsch Create “AI vs. AI?”

After her presentation on emerging technologies, White tasked her Portfolio III students with this brief: Create a digital idea using new technology for a global brand that solves a problem.

When brainstorming problems to solve, Hirsch recalled recent news coverage about how the deceptive use of AI is tricking people into believing that fake news is real. Coverage of AI’s problematic usage led Hirsch to pick AI-generated misinformation as the problem to address.

“I’m deeply concerned about the impact of AI,” Hirsch says. “That’s when I started thinking—what if we could turn AI against itself? I know that AI has the potential to be a powerful tool for social good. This led me to explore how we could harness it to combat the problem it’s created. That’s how the idea for ‘AI vs. AI’ was born.”

Hirsch’s NYT ad campaign calls out deceptive AI journalism and shows “AI vs. AI” as a revolutionary tool that detects and notifies people of AI-generated misinformation.

Hirsch chose The New York Times (NYT) as her brand because of its demonstrated commitment to safeguarding the truth. As Hirsch developed her idea, White helped her think about how each component of the digital idea would appear in the NYT app, asking “How will this feature work?” and “What’s the user experience from start to finish?” White also guided Hirsch to decide on the creative name of her idea.

“Professor White’s superpower is knowing when an idea is good,” Hirsch says. “The sentence to pit AI against AI was somewhere in one of my write-ups. It was just something that I wrote, and she was like, ‘that should be the name. That should be everywhere.’ It was just a sentence that I threw out there. For that to be the crux of the idea, I needed her to tell me that.”

As Hirsch worked on the idea, her Portfolio III mentor Carl Peterson gave her helpful feedback. In Portfolio III, White uses her industry connections to pair each student team with a creative director from a top ad agency to receive additional feedback on their work. Peterson, an award-winning creative director at Mischief—named Ad Age’s #1 Global Ad Agency of the Year and Creative Agency of the Year— introduced Hirsch to Droga5’s “The Truth is Hard” campaign, helping Hirsch to capture the Times’s voice in her “AI vs. AI” case video.

“The hardest part was making the case study video script because it’s all about getting the language right, Hirsch said. “Each brand has a specific voice, and The New York Times has a very specific voice. They’re witty but not goofy. It was a great experience to learn how to write for a brand as big as this one.”

How Does “AI vs. AI” Protect the Truth?

“The New York Times has always believed that the truth comes before anything,” Hirsch’s case study video starts. “But how do you find the truth when you can’t tell between what’s real and what’s fake?”

To fight in the war against AI, “AI vs. AI” would create a revolutionary AI tool that detects and notifies people of AI-created misinformation on their phones and computers, in real-time.

“AI vs. AI” would scan images for signs of AI creation or manipulation, articles for signs of AI writing that is deceptive and videos for deepfakes and AI voices that misportray people or information.

To get the word out, Hirsch created ads to get Americans to question the “news” they see. These ads would read “How do you know that AI didn’t write this article? Now you can find out. Spot AI using AI. Free with a NYT subscription.”

Banner ads would be placed on YouTube, where deepfakes circulate. These ads would read “There’s no way to tell what you’re watching is a deepfake. Until now. Spot AI using AI. Download the NYT app.”

Hirsch’s student idea “AI vs. AI” is about the preservation of human truth.

The case study video concludes: “In order to protect ourselves, we need to protect the truth. Because human truth is everything.”

Why Does This Matter?

In a world where people use their phones to rapidly access information, they rely on their social feeds for their news. The danger of AI-driven misinformation is that it is increasingly convincing and difficult to spot, making it a huge threat to those relying on social media for their information.

Hirsch’s idea protects people from this AI-driven misinformation by turning AI against itself, creating a tool that finds AI-generated misinformation. This tool is more important than ever, as it provides a vital method to safeguard our democracy from AI-driven deception.

Crucially, “AI vs. AI” does not infringe on the right to free speech. Instead, it helps people effectively dodge AI-driven misinformation by teaming up with a trusted source: The New York Times.

How the Creative Advertising Program Helps Students Succeed

Hirsch credited Newhouse’s creative advertising program for pushing students like her to achieve such extraordinary feats.

“The program pushes students to be creative and encourages them to stretch an idea as far as possible, with just the weight of the idea,” she says. “This program pushes you to start with a huge idea, and Professor White won’t let you go any further without one. I think that’s what makes the program create so many amazing creatives. I watched my classmates develop campaigns that you would imagine a huge agency to do, or are even better than what huge agencies do, because all the work stems from the power of an idea. This program demands you be creative with what you already know and what you can do.”

This story was written by Molly Egan.

Elizabeth Paulin

Student teams pitched their respective social impact ventures for a chance to win a total of $15,000 in prizes, supported by generous donations from Libraries’ donors. This year’s winners are:

• 1^st Place: $6,000 awarded to Elizabeth Paulin ’24 () of Paulin Capital.
• 2^nd place: $4,500 awarded to Jordan Pierre ’23, G’24 (), founder of Voice.
• 3^rd place: $3,000 awarded to Olutosin Alabi G’25 (), founder of Diabetech.
• Runner-Ups: $500 each awarded to Ava Lubkemann ’27 (), founder of ReVamped; Alie Savane ’25 (Arts and Sciences), founder of Beta Kola; and Dylan Bardsley ’26 (Whitman School) and Mark Leaf ’27 (Engineering and Computer Science), founders of Clarity.

These seniors have been involved as students taking the course in their first year of college, then as peer leaders for (FYS) for three subsequent years. The one-credit, 15-week required course engages students in��conversations, activities and assignments about making the transition to life on campus. It not only serves as an introductory course to ���ϲ�����, but also actively builds community, connects students to faculty/staff and each other, and encourages a positive transition to a new environment. Within that setting, students explore the topics of belonging, interdependence, wellness, development of identity, socialization, discrimination, bias and stereotypes.

First Year Seminar students Amya Jenkins, left, and Luis Gomez at an information table representing the program at Bird Library’s Welcome Fest. (Photo by Jimmy Luckman)

Since the program began in 2021, more than 500 faculty, staff and students have participated in FYS in various roles. They’ve served as����(faculty, staff and graduate students) or��as ��(undergraduate students). Lead instructors partner with peer leaders to guide seminar discussions for class sections. With some 4,000-plus new students in first-year classes, and with sections capped at 19 students to create an intimate, seminar atmosphere, 225 students were needed to fill the peer leader role in 2024.

Peer leaders are the embodiment of FYS and they are the connectors that are integral to the program, say , FYS director, and Jimmy Luckman, associate director. Peer leaders work in conjunction with lead instructors to guide discussions that are anchored around increasing students’ sense of belonging on campus.

“The program isn’t advanced only by faculty and staff; peer leaders are a big part of the FYS experience. They are connectors for FYS participants and they’re conduits who facilitate discussions on many issues while sharing the kinds of University resources that are available. They connect students where students want to be connected. Through discussions, they can transform the classroom experience, providing a space for sometimes difficult conversations, and that’s been a very strong thing,” Luckman says.

The past four years have been a time of growth for the program, as the previous FYS leaders, Schantz and her team have built “a great foundation,” she says. “Now, we are looking ahead and seeing how to enrich the peer leader experience.”

In addition to monthly leadership development meetings for peer leaders, Luckman says the team is considering creating a peer leader development model and potentially expanding leadership opportunities for the students. ��They are also conducting focus groups to obtain feedback on the peer leader role and may form a peer leader alumni group. They also hired a coordinator to supervise peer leaders and manage the myriad details of hiring and tracking a 200-plus student workforce.

In addition to working with First Year Seminar classes, peer leaders commit time to community service projects, such as a “Blessings in a Backpack” food initiative to help local school children.

While hundreds of peer leaders are needed each year, Luckman says it has not been difficult to recruit for those roles because students love working with fellow students and they understand the value community-building work adds to their background and experience. Many also recognize the role as a chance to develop leadership skills and want to take advantage of that, Luckman says.

The team asked for peer leader feedback to continue to enhance the position and the co-facilitation model the course follows. Schantz says the responses showed the importance of the lead instructor and peer leader in creating a positive atmosphere in the course. Another factor that influenced peer leaders returning to their roles in subsequent years is the respectful environment that peer leaders form with their students.

Four students who took FYS their first year on campus and then stayed on as peer leaders for the next three years are set to graduate this spring. They shared with SU News their reasons for deciding to remain in those roles and what the program has meant to them since their earliest days at the University.

Mariana Godinez-Andraca

Mariana Godinez-Andraca, a dual public relations/psychology major in the and the , is an international student from Mexico City. She likes that FYS embraces “uncomfortable” conversations, such as discussions about cultural awareness, microaggressions and learning to have empathy for others, she says.

“What I value most is that FYS embraces these conversations wholeheartedly, creating a space where students can open up, challenge their beliefs and grow into more empathetic individuals.” She says she has appreciated “sharing my experiences and cultural background…in a space where we actively listen to each other and where everyone’s stories and perspectives enrich our understanding, broadening my own cultural awareness while giving me a meaningful platform to share my journey. I hope I leave an impression that encourages others to embrace diversity and engage more thoughtfully with the world around them.”

Aaron Hong

Aaron Hong, a finance and accounting major in the , credits FYS for helping him overcome difficulty returning to in-person classes after almost two years of virtual learning during COVID. Coming from a mostly white community in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hong says he appreciated the focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. “As a person of Asian heritage, those conversations are very important to me. This experience gave me a different lens on diversity. Having the opportunity to have those conversations and to share those experiences is pretty important.”

Adira Ramirez

Adira Ramirez, a library studies and information management and technology student in the , says participating in FYS for four years has helped her become skilled in how to talk to people in different ways, confidently address a public audience and “better understand people and explain to them who I am in a more cohesive way.”

She says learning about the concept of intersectionality—where everyone has multiple layers of identity that comprise who they are—”has taken me by storm. It’s our lens. It teaches who your audience is, how we learn things, how we view the world and how the world views us.”

N​ehilah Grand-Pierre, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the Newhouse School, finds the give-and-take between FYS participants and peer leaders invigorating and gratifying.

Nehilah Grand-Pierre

When FYS participants were offered the opportunity to ask peer leaders any question about any topic, she says one participant asked how to discover one’s self-worth while in college. “I said the best way is to not define your self-worth through other people. I told how studying abroad in London forced me to stop defining myself by the activities and relationships I had on main campus, and instead define myself by my reactions to all the new things I was experiencing. I said what happens to you doesn’t define you, but how you react to those situations does. I recognized that as a senior, I had so much experience to pull from, and I saw how real experiences helped drive discussions.”

Applications for peer leader positions are now being accepted for the 2025 sessions, says Luckman. Interested students who want to become a peer leader can apply by early December through the Handshake website. More information is available by emailing�� firstyear@syr.edu��or contacting the program office at 315.443.9035.

Anthony Adornato, an associate professor of (BDJ) in the , has been named a Fulbright Specialist to train journalists in Kosovo on best practices for reporting across platforms.

Anthony Adornato

The BDJ department chair, will travel to the southeast European country in the summer of 2025 for the nearly three-week Fulbright Specialist assignment. Adornato will train staff at Radio Television of Kosovo on new trends in media and communication.

�ճ�� , which is part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It is designed to (two to six weeks) for faculty and professionals from the United States.

Previously, Adornato was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2020 and spent a semester teaching and conducting research at universities in Milan. Adornato explored the impact of mobile and social media on journalism and journalism education in Italy.

Applications for students interested in studying abroad during the Fall 2025 semester open on Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. EST. (Photo by Ross Oscar Knight)

It’s almost time to apply for fall 2025 study abroad programs. Learn more about what students can expect during a fall semester abroad.

Exclusive Fall-Only Programs

The fall semester provides unique study abroad opportunities for students in various academic disciplines and degree plans. Programs like Exploring Central Europe, Engineering in Strasbourg and Spanish Immersion in Santiago are specifically designed for the fall semester. Filled with immersive learning experiences, built-in program travel and unique courses, the fall is an ideal time to explore opportunities abroad.

The fall semester provides unique study abroad opportunities for students in a variety of different academic disciplines and degree plans.

Around the globe, many ���ϲ����� Abroad programs fit into unique degree paths. Drama majors and computer science students can enhance their skills in ��through program tracks that align with their major.

Second- or third-year students on a pre-health track or studying biology, biochemistry or chemistry are encouraged to explore , with a range of STEM-based courses and extracurricular activities. Second-year engineering students can set their sights on a semester abroad in ��while taking classes at INSA, a top-rated engineering university in France.

, embarking on its tenth year as a ���ϲ����� study abroad program, is exclusively offered in the fall. Based in Wroclaw, Poland, students join a traveling learning community based in the heart of Central Europe and travel to Prague, Berlin and other nearby cities throughout the semester. Students act as action researchers and investigate sites tied to World War II, the Holocaust and Soviet totalitarian rule, studying politics, international relations, history, human rights and atrocity studies.

In the fall, the offers a full Spanish immersion semester with courses in Spanish taken at local Chilean universities. With an optional pre-semester program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, students can experience the vibrant Argentine political culture before beginning the semester in Santiago. Buenos Aries offers breathtaking views of Patagonia, Chilean coastlines and urban cities, and an opportunity to explore the rich Latin American culture.

The Benefits of Fall Study Abroad

The fall semester is an opportune time to take advantage of study abroad opportunities. Due to more flexibility with fall programs, students are more likely to be accepted into their preferred program and housing arrangement, and there are numerous available specifically for fall programs, including Fall-Only Supplemental Aid up to 10%.

Studying abroad in Europe in the fall also offers students the chance to experience once-in-a-lifetime events like the Christmas/Holiday markets in Strasbourg and Poland, local festivals, political events and more.

The Student Perspective

Sophia Moore ‘25 says the fall semester she spent studying abroad at the Santiago Center was “life-changing” and filled with new friendships, cultures and connections.

Sophia Moore ’25, who is studying television, radio and film in the while minoring in Spanish, spent the Fall 2023 semester in Santiago, Chile. Interested in improving her Spanish and learning about Chilean culture, Moore entered the semester with an open mind and was eager to learn more about Latin American culture while absorbing the Spanish language around her.

From embarking on the program’s iconic Signature Seminar in Buenos Aires to meeting new friends and classmates, Moore’s semester abroad got off to a good start. “Buenos Aires, Santiago, and all the other locations I visited while abroad were some of the most stunning, culturally rich places I’ve ever visited, and that in itself was enough to excite me for the semester,” Moore says.

While studying at local universities, friendships were formed in culturally enriching courses. With travel to Patagonia, Cusco, Peru and Montevideo, Moore’s semester was filled with new cities, new friendships, new cultures and new connections. “My semester in Santiago was life-changing. The city itself is modern, clean and well-connected. I look back fondly on my mornings spent commuting to school and feeling like a local,” Moore says.

Preparing to Study Abroad

Fall 2025 program applications open on Friday, Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. EST and can be found on the . The application deadline for most programs is March 15, 2025, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. All students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as some programs have limited space. For specific deadlines, students should refer to each program’s application page.

For more information about fall programs, students can with an international program advisor or make a general advising appointment to explore multiple options. Advising appointments take place virtually or at the ���ϲ����� Abroad satellite office, located on the lower level of Bird Library in room 002.

Students present research at SOURCE Explore 2024

The program takes place on Jan. 24, Jan. 31, Feb. 7 and Feb. 14, with the final presentation on Feb. 28 from 2 to 4 p.m. All cohorts, except “Mapping Stories, Making Change with ���ϲ����� Community Geography” take place from 2 to 4 p.m. The Community Geography cohort will meet on Fridays from noon to 2 p.m.

The six SOURCE Explore programs being offered are:

• “Mapping Stories, Making Change with ���ϲ����� Community Geography:” Learn how maps help us visualize and share pressing stories like the impacts of climate change, the global pandemic, housing inequalities and ongoing racial injustice (among many more).
• “Analyzing Media and Popular Culture Through a Social Justice Lens with Newhouse’s CODE^SHIFT Lab:” Learn how to examine media texts (such as news stories, social media posts, movies, TV shows, music videos or advertisements) from a social justice lens to become more mindful media users.
• “Culture Clubs: Researching Communities of Interest:” Explore traces of human culture, activity and ideas through archival materials like photographs, scrapbooks and diaries, homemade fliers and pamphlets, notes and ephemera to better understand what constitutes “community” from mainstream offshoots to counterculture and subculture groups, to organizations of extreme niche interest. This cohort will be offered through the Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center.
• “3D Printing and Advanced Manufacturing*:” Learn how to utilize computer aided design (CAD) and 3D printers in academic research for precise modeling and rapid prototyping of complex structures.
• “Discovering Connections: Using Graph Theory to Solve Real-World Network Challenges*:” Learn how to model networks as graphs and apply key concepts like shortest paths, network flows and connectivity to explore how mathematical models can help solve real problems.
• “Exploring the Building Blocks of Life*:” Learn how DNA, the building block of life, is a key component of life science research through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a common laboratory technique that amplifies DNA sequences of interest.

The three STEM Explore programs* are offered in partnership with the����program; students meeting the LSAMP����are strongly encouraged to apply.

Of the SOURCE Explore experience in spring 2024, one student shared that they learned “how to be more open-minded and adaptable when doing research,” including “how to navigate looking at archival, first-hand sources.” The student explained, “I didn’t have much experience with this prior, as I mainly used online databases and second-hand sources to complete projects. This led me to a third skill that I developed, which was how to narrow down my search and ask relevant questions.”

Interested students should by Dec. 5.

The event, “Lender Conversation in Los Angeles: Seeking Racial Equity in the Entertainment Industry,” was hosted by the and was held at the NeueHouse Hollywood. It was attended by about 100 Southern California-area alumni, entertainment industry leaders and other invited guests.

Moderating the panel was journalist and TV host ’99, an alumna of the (VPA) and its Communication and Rhetorical Studies program. Nottingham has worked as a reporter covering national and international breaking news, entertainment and politics. She was joined by four alumni panelists:

• ’88, president of domestic marketing at Universal Pictures and previous president of domestic theatrical marketing for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Caines is an alumnus of the Newhouse School of Public Communications and an instructor in the school’s Newhouse LA program
• ’85, an Emmy-nominated writer for film and television and a VPA alumnus
• ’07, an actress, writer and producer who graduated from VPA. She is known for her recent comedic role on the hit NBC sitcom “A.P. Bio”
• ’20, an associate attorney in the entertainment transactions group at Mitchell Silberberg & Krupp, LLP. She earned her undergraduate degree from VPA’s Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries.

, Lender Center director, says the conversation “provided valuable insights into how racial inequity continues to exist within the entertainment industry, as well as offering promising paths towards reducing these barriers. We hope to use what we’ve learned here to help craft new paths towards closing the racial wealth gap in other industries.”

The Los Angeles event was the fourth in a series of conversations hosted by the Lender Center to bring experts and thought leaders together to improve understanding of and present ideas to help mitigate the racial wealth gap’s community impacts. Those events and other research initiatives are made possible by a $2.7 million grant from MetLife Foundation. The funding has also supported three research symposia, three postdoctoral scholars and 15 faculty grants for research on the topic.

“Lender Center’s work with support from MetLife Foundation generated important new thought leadership, boosted awareness of racial wealth equity issues and created valuable new partnerships with key institutions and organizations,” says Phillips. “We have discovered many new possibilities for addressing how the wealth gap affects communities, and those ideas have provided worthwhile new understandings.”

These photos show highlights of the event.

Lender Center for Social Justice Director Kendall Phillips, far left, who is also a professor in the Communication and Rhetorical Studies program at VPA, introduces the conversation panelists, all entertainment industry executives and alumni of the University. From left are Danielle Nottingham ’99, Lyric Lewis ’97, Rob Edwards ’85, Bryse Thornwell ’20 and Dwight Caines ’88.

The event drew 100 guests, including numerous alumni and entertainment-�� industry guests. Panelist Dwight Caines ’88, at left, speaks with David Oh G ’00, ’07, now an associate professor of communications at the Newhouse School of Public Communications; and Joan Adler, G’76, assistant vice president of regional programs at the University’s Los Angeles center.

Jason Poles ’99, the University’s director of advancement for the Southwest region, speaks with fellow alumnus and basketball team player Antonio “Scoop” Jardine G’12.

Tari Wariebi ’10, enjoys a reception conversation. The alumnus graduated with dual majors in communication and rhetorical studies from the College of Visual and Performing Arts and writing and rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The panel provided opportunities for attendees to hear directly from entertainment leaders about their experiences with the racial wealth gap in that industry. Rob Edwards ’85, left, an Emmy-nominated writer and an adjunct instructor for the Newhouse School of Public Communications, spoke with this guest.

Jason Poles, ’99, left, the University’s advancement director for the Southwest region, chats with alumni attendees Christina Ledo ’11, center, an international relations major at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and Tiffany Bender-Abdallah ’11, a communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The Los Angeles event brought together faculty, staff, entertainment industry panelists and alumni. Kendall Phillips, Lender Center director, at left, and David Oh G’00, ’07, second from left, an associate professor for the Newhouse School of Public Communications, met with Anna Proulx, Visual and Performing Arts program director for the ���ϲ����� Los Angeles semester program, and right, Allison Gold ’15, a College of Visual and Performing Arts graduate.

Tyler Gentry ’25, a ���ϲ����� student in the ��Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries, spoke during the question segment of the evening’s event. Seated behind him is Tiffany Bender-Abdallah ’11.

Posing for a finale photo on the stage as the event concluded are, from left, Leonard Garner Jr., Kendall Phillips, panel moderator Danielle Nottingham and panel members Lyric Lewis, Rob Edwards, Bryse Thornwell and Dwight Caines.

The six recipients are the following:

• Dominique Camp ’24 (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics), founder of clothing brand Camp Collective, will use the funds for the organization’s first collection inventory, photo shoot and mockup designs.
  

  Dominique Camp

• Olutosin (Tosin) Alabi G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Diabetech, will use the grant to develop a proof-of-concept prototype for the smart sensor/bandage for diabetic foot ulcer monitoring.
• Aidan Turner ’25 (School of Architecture), founder of clothing brand Grater Things, will use the grant for legal services, including project and membership agreements and privacy policy, as well as website development and product research expenses.
• Antonio (Tony) Goncalves ’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), founder of fitness app GymIn, will be using the grant to incorporate and other legal business processes.
• Lars Jendruschewitz ’27 (Whitman School and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founder of Photos by Lars, will use the funds for equipment.
• Ania Kapllani ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), founder of Sunset Music, will use the grant to register as an LLC and to create a logo and website.

Applications must specifically define the need with identified outcomes to be achieved within a set time. Initial money in the fund was provided by Jeffrey Rich L’67, partner at Rich Michaelson Magaliff LLP, and a member of the ���ϲ����� Libraries Advisory Board. Rich provided a multi-year pledge of $25,000 per year for five years from 2020 to 2025. “I wanted to contribute in a way that directly supports student new ventures and removes any obstacles to startup development,” Rich says.

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Jason Davis and Jenny Stromer-Galley offer up tips and tools you can use to help spot misinformation, share advice to help us be better-informed consumers of information and social media, and analyze the latest research on misinformation trends in the upcoming presidential election.

With the increase of misinformation and disinformation on the internet and social media, our brains struggle to process what we’re seeing and whether an image, a video clip or a story is real or not.

Faculty members and have studied the trends and created tools to help discern what’s real and what is synthetic when it comes to content posted online and on social media.

Stromer-Galley is an expert in political campaigns and misinformation and is a professor in the ; Davis is an expert on misinformation and disinformation detection. He is a research professor with the Office of Research and Creative Activity in the , and is also co-director of the .

“Depending on where people are getting their information, the quality and credibility of that information could be quite low,” Stromer-Galley says. “It leaves the public more vulnerable to state actors who are trying to engage in disinformation campaigns or U.S.-based malignant actors who are trying to manipulate the public for their own ends.”

“Our brains have not evolved as fast as the technology, and so we are still as vulnerable as we ever were to the same sorts of approaches at being deceived, intentionally or unintentionally,” Davis says. “With this new digital landscape and digital speed and scale, we need digital tools to help us protect ourselves from ourselves sometimes, and sometimes from that malicious information ecosystem.”

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Stromer-Galley and Davis offer up tips and tools you can use to help spot misinformation, share advice to help us be better-informed consumers of information and social media, and analyze the latest research on misinformation trends in the upcoming presidential election.

Check out featuring Davis and Stromer-Galley. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

Semantic Forensics Helping Detect What’s Real and What’s Fake

Davis is involved with the Semantic Forensics program, whose work is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Through his efforts with DARPA, Davis is helping to advance research into the detection of disinformation and misinformation in the media.

Jason Davis

Semantic forensics is the understanding of not just whether something is real or fake, Davis says, but also delves into the why. What was the intent? Who was the target?

In its fourth year of concentrating on this research area, Davis has been developing digital tools that identify synthetic, manipulated media. The program evaluates the detectors being used, striving to understand what they can and can’t do when it comes to identifying synthetic media, as well as how effective they are at spotting real or synthetic content.

“We can say with confidence that this detector works for detecting these kinds of fake, synthetic images at a 98% accuracy, and it is capable of doing this but not being able to do that. They’re not a panacea, but here’s what they can do, so we learn how to use these detection devices properly and use them appropriately,” Davis says. “Then there’s the development of the tools and the modeling of the threat landscape. How do we create controlled versions of what we know is going on out there in the wild so that we can study, train and better understand our capabilities.”

Investigating Social Media Spending Trends and Messaging Behind Political Ads

Stromer-Galley, who leads the University’s ��team, has studied misinformation trends in this presidential race and other top 2024 contests.

Jenny Stromer-Galley

After the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the summer, the ElectionGraph team explored the money being spent by the candidates, political action committees, political parties and unknown actors that mentioned presidential candidates in advertisements on both Facebook and Instagram.

The aim was to “visualize the firehose of information and misinformation coming at voters from groups with a jumble of motives, ties and trustworthiness ahead of the 2024 elections,” Stromer-Galley says.

The findings showed that:

• negative social media advertising in the presidential race increased after the assassination attempt;
• nearly 3,500 Facebook pages from outside organizations spent $55 million over the past year in an effort to influence the public this election season; and
• there was a pattern of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” among some outside organizations, including a large network of Facebook pages running ads (costing an estimated $5 million) aimed at scamming the public under the guise of supporting a presidential candidate’s campaign that garnered roughly 234 million impressions.

“To our surprise, there was a large network of individuals and organizations that we didn’t know who was behind this that were running scam ads targeted to people who are activated and excited about the presidential election. They were capitalizing on their enthusiasm by turning over their credit cards and then they’re getting scammed,” Stromer-Galley says. “While Facebook is trying to take down those pages, the scammers continue to stay a step ahead.”

Tips to Ward Off Misinformation

When you find yourself aimlessly scrolling through social media without thinking about the validity of what you just saw, that act makes you fully engaged in the platform and susceptible to misinformation or disinformation.

Users are encouraged to embrace cognitive friction when scrolling, because, according to both Davis and Stromer-Galley, the social media apps are designed for you to absorb content at face value, without applying deeper thought to who was behind the post or what their intent might be. By increasing friction, you take the proactive step of slowing down and contemplating the legitimacy of a post.

Both Davis and Stromer-Galley say that the best defense to misinformation and disinformation campaigns is knowledge, urging people to get their news from a wide-range of diverse, traditional media outlets, and to not solely rely on social media as a reliable news source.

Knowing that students have questions about the voting process, and hoping to improve awareness and engagement around voting, the University’s ��has put together a [PDF] that outlines the specific deadlines and requirements for students.

Included in the “’Cuse Otto Vote” guide is information about the following:

• how to register to vote and when your state’s voter registration deadline is
• whether you need to request an absentee ballot and the requirements you must meet to be eligible
• how to get your ballot sent to campus and information on changing your mailing address and whether you should list your campus mailing address
• postmark and absentee ballot return deadlines for every state and which states offer online ballot tracking
• how to cast your ballot on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, if you plan on voting in ���ϲ�����

María Quiñones Rios

“It’s important that we acknowledge that voting is a right and we should all exercise that right,” says María Quiñones Rios ’25, SA’s communications director who is studying public relations in the .

“This was about making sure our students have all the information they need to make sure they can vote in the upcoming elections, and that they know their vote will count,” Rios says. “We see a lot of young people be disillusioned with politics in the United States and it’s really important to let students know that they do have a voice and that their voice is their vote.”

Additionally, SA has collaborated with the to ensure current students have the proper access to participate in the upcoming elections. NYPIRG has been conducting tabling in the Schine Student Center encouraging students to register to vote.

The SA is the official student governing and advocacy body for the nearly 16,000 ���ϲ����� and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry undergraduates.

Students in New York with additional questions about the voter registration process can visit the .

Morgan Foss

Growing up on a cattle farm in Alden, New York, a rural community 30 minutes east of Buffalo, gave Morgan Foss G’20 an understanding of agriculture, food production and life on a farm.

The master’s degree in��public relations Foss graduated with from the gave her a strong foundation of communication, writing, relationship-building and strategic thinking.

Today, she puts it all together as program manager for the Buffalo Bills Foundation, the nonprofit arm of her hometown football franchise. The foundation supports a wide breadth of initiatives dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Western New York region, but its primary focus is addressing child hunger, food access and supporting healthy eating.

“Buffalo is the sixth most segregated metropolitan region in the country and 1 in 5 children—1 in 8 people overall—are food insecure,” Foss says, illuminating the importance of her work with the foundation. “There are many food deserts within the city and in surrounding communities, despite there being many agricultural areas, like where I grew up.”

The supports several nonprofit organizations and programs that uplift the food system and provide healthy foods to underserved families. Foss is one of three employees who liaise with the foundation’s board of directors to respond to funding requests and direct resources to the many hunger-fighting organizations doing the work.

“The Bills organization has such a large platform and influence in the Western New York region. So in this position, I can connect the community’s needs with resources and bring awareness to specific causes.”

A Pandemic-Inspired Pivot

While Foss was always drawn to nonprofit and community-based work, she went to Newhouse intent on entering entertainment public relations after completing an undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama.

In the spring of 2020, she was planning to visit Los Angeles for the entertainment immersion experience and was pursuing an internship in Nashville with Sony Music Entertainment, and then … we all know what happened next.

Foss (left) and Buffalo Bills Foundation president Thomasina Stenhouse, Ph.D., visit the Providence Farm Collective, an Orchard Park-based organization that cultivates farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems.

“All of a sudden I was finishing up my master’s degree, teaching undergraduate courses online and doing a virtual internship all from my childhood bedroom while simultaneously working on my family farm,” Foss says.

Not only were her personal plans put on hold, but the entire PR and entertainment industry was a question mark as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. With so much uncertainty, Foss began looking for opportunities closer to home, ultimately leading to her dream career with the Bills.

“It was a crazy time and while many businesses closed, my family farm and the agriculture industry trudged forward to ensure food was produced and stocked on shelves,” says Foss. “The pandemic certainly changed the trajectory of my career, but I’m grateful for it.” She emphasizes that her experience in 2020 built life skills that have wildly benefited her career—including adaptability, organization, being innovative with her time and space and the ability to build relationships through a screen.

Giving Back and Living the Dream

Foss was named community relations coordinator with the Bills in 2022. Now in her third season with the organization, she has been promoted to Bills Foundation program manager, overseeing the distribution of foundation grants to nonprofits across the community.

Foss has also worked on initiatives promoting cancer awareness, military appreciation and social justice (in partnership with the National Football League’s Crucial Catch, Salute to Service and Inspire Change initiatives), as well as CPR education and AED awareness, youth sports and physical fitness and numerous other causes championed by players.

The Bills recently wrapped up their annual Huddle of Hunger Initiative, which collected over 31,000 pounds of food and raised more than $150,000 to support 20 local charities, including FeedMore WNY and its 400 hunger-relief agencies serving the four counties surrounding Highmark Stadium. “For this year’s food drive, we had 16 rookie players and six veteran players participate and a massive turnout,” Foss says. “The Buffalo Bills players are amazing and very dedicated to the community where they play.”

Foss with her partner, Tre, and son, Tino, at Bills training camp this summer

Besides the technical and interpersonal skills she developed at Newhouse, Foss says one of the best takeaways has been the group of friends and fellow alumni she connected with during the master’s program.

“I have a group chat with my best friends from the program,” Foss says. “Going through this experience together of graduating during the pandemic was unique, and we know we can count on each other to discuss our careers—areas we might want to grow in and navigating challenges or transitions. I love having peers who are on the same wavelength and seeing my friends growing and doing amazing work in their industries and their fields.”

Earlier this year, Foss had her first baby, a son named Valentino—Tino for short—and returned to her role part-time for the 2024 season. She is thrilled to be back in the business of connecting the foundation’s resources and the Bills players with the people and organizations in her community doing incredible work.

“Just so far this season [in addition to Huddle for Hunger], we’ve brought players to Dave and Buster’s to hang out with families affected by cancer, we’ve made sandwiches and handed out food with players at St. Luke’s Missionary Church, we’re getting ready for Veterans and Native Heritage Month celebrations in November. We do a lot with different youth organizations and that’s probably my favorite part of the job—just seeing kids light up after meeting their idol,” Foss says.

To learn more about the work of Foss and the Buffalo Bills Foundation, visit .

From an early age, Mark Radel ’28 always demonstrated compassion for his peers. As a precocious 9-year-old, Mark would rush onto the basketball court (accompanied by the coaches) whenever someone got hurt to check in and offer a helping hand.

Luke Radel ’26 says empathy is his brother’s superpower. “Mark is overflowing with empathy, and he has a great ability to know if somebody is having a bad day, and what he can do to help them through it,” Luke says, with a proud smile—and that trait will serve Mark well as he strives for a career in sports and exercise science as an athletic trainer.

Mark’s career ambition is being supported by , an initiative from the�� that sets a high standard among inclusive higher education programs, making higher education more accessible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through individualized and inclusive coursework, student-centered planning, internships, and social and extracurricular activities.

“I want to help people. I’m loving learning about the body, and how what we eat helps make us strong, and when I graduate, I want to work with my football team, the Buffalo Bills, as a trainer,” says Mark, a sports and exercise science major at the University who was born with Down syndrome.

When Luke (left) attended ���ϲ����� and study both political science and broadcast and digital journalism, Mark decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

An Unbreakable Bond

Mark’s benevolent spirit helped Luke during his darkest days. While visiting colleges with his family in Boston, Massachusetts, Luke, an aspiring broadcast journalist, was out to dinner when he discovered his voice had left him. Realizing there was a potential health problem, Luke checked into Massachusetts General Hospital for observation.

Within a few hours, the doctors gave Luke their diagnosis: Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma. With his head spinning, Luke began undergoing chemotherapy sessions twice a month for six months, oftentimes for five or more hours per visit. What got him through those trying times?

“Mark was by my side, and his compassion was so helpful. Plus, he gives the best hugs. Whenever I was having a bad day, those hugs were just amazing and turned my day around,” says Luke, whose cancer is in remission. “Mark’s had his fair share of health struggles, and in that moment, I realized what Mark overcomes every day just to keep going, all the work he does to go to school and live his life. If he’s taking on that daunting situation every single day, I can take care of my chemotherapy.”

When Luke decided to attend ���ϲ����� and study both political science in the and broadcast and digital journalism in the , Mark decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps, applying to and being granted admission into InclusiveU’s highly competitive program.

Their unbreakable bond was further strengthened as roommates on campus. Luke helps Mark with his homework and with prepping his meals, and configured Mark’s Google Maps app on his phone with the relevant directions needed for Mark to traverse campus on a daily basis.

Luke and Mark Radel during their shared class in the Falk College. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

“Mark is Mr. Independent on campus. He doesn’t want to rely on someone else to help him get across campus. He’s done an amazing job of navigating everything it takes to be a student,” Luke says. “I’m really grateful to be at an institution like ���ϲ����� that is always striving to ensure everybody has access to the opportunities they need to succeed and feel welcome in these spaces.”

Life-Changing Opportunities

From the moment Mark came into his life, Luke has embraced advocating on behalf of his brother, fighting to ensure he was given access to every possible opportunity. It’s part of the Radel family’s genetic makeup. Their father, Patrick, was an attorney who helped people with mental and developmental disabilities be included in their elementary and high school’s educational programs, and their mother, Mary, created a support group, , that raises awareness and educates and connects parents of children born with Down syndrome to resources.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, which, Luke says, is the perfect time for members of the University to learn how people with Down syndrome are valuable contributors to the University community.

“People with Down syndrome are more alike than they are different from us. Mark needs to be in environments that will push him outside of his comfort zone and push the limits of what a person with Down syndrome can accomplish,” Luke says. “You’ll be helping Mark by interacting with him, but you’re also helping yourself gain a better understanding of how people with Down syndrome see and interact with the world around them.

Inspired to become a broadcast journalist from his efforts advocating on Mark’s behalf, Luke has amassed an impressive portfolio as a broadcast journalist, recently covering both the Republican and Democratic national conventions and serving as a in Utica, New York.

Luke hopes to use his dual degrees to continue telling impactful stories that make a difference, including his brother’s inspirational journey to ���ϲ�����.

When Mark got his acceptance letter into InclusiveU I cried tears of joy. I was so excited for him, and I have loved being able to share in the ���ϲ����� journey with Mark, Luke says.

“I always wanted to go to college, and being here with my brother has been amazing. This experience has changed my life,” Mark says.

Sports as a Unifying Force

A lifelong fan of playing sports, Mark Radel enjoys participating in the Special Olympics Unified Sports club basketball team on campus. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

The table tennis area in the lounge of Luke’s off-campus apartment complex is getting quite the workout on a Tuesday morning before they both have class in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. Good-natured comments fly back and forth whenever a point is scored. Their friendly matches, typically a best two-out-of-three affair, offer insights into their dynamic.

“It’s fun to play sports and I like learning new things while I am playing,” Mark says. “And I like to beat Luke. We always have fun when we play.”

“Oh yeah, this is always fun whenever we play [table tennis]. Mark loves watching and playing sports because it’s exciting and fun for him, and it’s a great way to stay active and also be part of a team and a community. Mark just loves being around people,” Luke adds.

Outside of their sibling showdowns in table tennis, Mark also participates in the Special Olympics Unified Sports club basketball team on campus, practicing every Sunday in the Women’s Building.

Surrounded by friends, Mark takes great pride in his basketball abilities. “It’s fun to shoot, dribble the ball and then pass it to my teammates, but what I’m really good at is shooting and scoring,” Mark says with a smile—but more than his performance, he enjoys the camaraderie and friendships that form with his peers.

“It’s the best. We cheer each other on, cheer for big shots and we all want everyone to play well and have fun,” Mark says. “I play better when my teammates are cheering me on, yelling ‘Mark, Mark, Mark!’ It makes me happy and motivates me.”

Brothers Mark (left) and Luke Radel share an unbreakable bond, one that has only strengthened during their time at ���ϲ�����.

An avid fan of the ���ϲ����� football team, Luke and Mark eagerly await each home game. Mark can often be found yelling and cheering on the team while wearing his No. 6 ���ϲ����� jersey, originally purchased to honor former starting quarterback Garrett Shrader ’23, but this year, the jersey is a nod to current starting quarterback Kyle McCord ’25.

From his seats in the 300 section inside the JMA Wireless Dome, fans flock to Mark’s infectious attitude, exchanging fist bumps and high-fives every time ���ϲ����� comes up with a big play.

“It’s really cool and it makes me feel great to know I’m making new friends while we’re cheering on ���ϲ�����,” Mark says.

“Mark has such a big smile on his face when he’s interacting with our fans, and it makes me so happy to see his joy,” Luke adds.

The new station, “,” is “a thrilling and significant breakthrough” for the growing Spanish-speaking community in the area, says , executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community and director of the University’s . “The station is poised to become a vital resource, reflecting the vibrant mix of Hispanic and Latino cultures and effectively engaging these populations like no other local or regional medium does.”

Paniagua and many others at the University were integral to the development of the station. She first got involved in the summer of 2023 when WCNY CEO and President approached her wondering if a Spanish-language radio station was available in the area. When he discovered there wasn’t one, Gelman asked Paniagua to help him assess the community’s interest in filling that void.

Gelman formed a community task force, which he co-chaired with Paniagua and WCNY-FM Station Manager . Over many months, more than two dozen task force members planned the station’s structure, helped developed funding, sought collaborators and generated programming ideas.

Teresita Paniagua, left, the University’s executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community, speaks to students at an event celebrating Hispanic culture. Paniagua was instrumental in spurring community interest in and involvement to help bring about WCNY’s Spanish-language radio station.

Several University faculty members and instructors from the College of Arts and Sciences, including , associate teaching professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Spanish language coordinator, and , Spanish instructor, participated in the task force efforts.

Also involved in other ways were , Spanish department professor and chair; , Spanish professor; , assistant teaching professor of film in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; , development director for ���ϲ����� Stage; , professor of Spanish at Onondaga Community College; Josefa Álvarez Valadés, ��Spanish professor at LeMoyne College; and , a Newhouse School of Public Communications alumnus and former radio/TV producer who is an associate professor of communications at SUNY Oswego.

As part of the task force’s fact-finding, Paniagua enlisted Whitman School of Management students Nicolas Cela Marxuach ’25, Zachary Levine ’25 and Jonah Griffin ’24 to develop and distribute a community interest survey, which the students circulated to several hundred local residents at community events. She says 98% of respondents supported the idea. The survey also provided insights into audience demographics and programming ideas—including sports, community news, talk shows, music and faith-based content.

There are upwards of 1,000 Spanish-speaking radio stations in the U.S. but Pulso Central is the first of its kind in Central New York. The region is home to some 18,000 Spanish-speaking households, with Spanish-speaking people making up about 10.5% of the area’s population and comprising a segment of the community that has grown 30% over the past decade, according to research done by WCNY.

A Learning Resource

Pulso Central also provides a unique learning opportunity and “an extraordinary new pedagogical tool for experiential education” for the University’s students, says Ticio Quesada.

M. Emma Ticio Quesada, center, a professor in ���ϲ�����’s Spanish department, uses WCNY’s radio station studio as an experiential learning space and resource for her courses.

Five students from her immersive course, Community Outreach: Language in Action, are interning at the station. The students, Lailah Ali-Valentine, Adam Baltaxe, Kimberlyn Lopez Herrera, Nicolas Bernardino Greiner-Guzman and Jade Aulestia recently created their first podcast.

Ticio Quesada says she also expects students in SPA 300: Our Community Voices, an course, to benefit from the same kind of internship opportunity. The course connects native and non-native Spanish speakers, inspires them to contribute to the local community, and promotes inclusion and social justice.

Partnering Results

Miranda Traudt, the University’s assistant provost for arts and community programming, says the task force is a good example of the positive outcomes that can result when members of the University and local communities work together to achieve specific goals. “This project continues La Casita’s meaningful engagement with Hispanic communities in Central New York and helps fulfill its mission through work in the arts, media, cultural heritage preservation and research adding to the high quality of life,” she says.

Several dozen community members helped WCNY form and air the area’s first Spanish-language radio station. They included, from left, Mitch Gelman, WCNY president and CEO; M. Emma Ticio Quesada, ���ϲ����� professor of Spanish; Stephanie Gonzalez Rawlings, content producer; and DJ Lorenz (Renzo Quesada), music host. (Photo by Eric Hayden, WCNY)

Game Changer

Paniagua believes the station “can be a game changer,” not only in providing news and information about and for the Latina/Hispanic community but also by “helping to change long-established stereotypes and present a whole new world of possibilities for the people of this community,” she says. “There are many wonderful stories about people who have established their lives in this community and I hope Pulso Central can be a showcase for those stories.”

Launch Event Oct. 24

An official launch event, “,” will be held Thursday, Oct. 24, at WCNY studios and La Casita.

“WCNY is thrilled to help launch Pulso Central,” Gelman says. “Our goal is to provide a platform that will come alive with music and talk that engages listeners and fosters community connection.”

The station reaches listeners in 19 counties. Pulso Central airs on WCNY 91.3 HD-2 in ���ϲ�����, WUNY 89.5 HD-2 in Utica and WJNY 90.9 HD-2 in Watertown. It is accessible online at and streaming on the Pulso Central app.

Researchers also found continued patterns of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” among some outside organizations, including a large network of Facebook pages running ads aimed at scamming the public. The analysis found an estimated $5 million spent on ads that are potential scams, or roughly 4% of the overall ad spending by outside organizations. This translates into about 234 million impressions.

The ElectionGraph project seeks to identify misinformation trends in the U.S. presidential election and other top 2024 contests.

These are among the findings in the third quarterly report from the at the University’s����(IDJC). The report examines ads on Meta platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram, mentioning primary and general election presidential candidates between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024.

The latest report found the Democratic ticket (Biden-Harris, then Harris-Walz) outspending the Trump campaign 10-to-1—or roughly $50 million to $5 million—on Facebook and Instagram between September 2023 and August 2024. That gap expanded to 12-to-1 in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania. But Trump outpaced Biden’s and Harris’ campaigns combined by about 5-to-1 in ads categorized as “uncivil.”

The data shows a 4-to-1 difference in impressions on the social media platforms, or about 1 billion impressions for the Democratic ticket compared with 250 million impressions for the GOP. This gap doesn’t take into account Trump-related spending on messaging on social platform X, Trump’s Truth Social network or other media platforms.

In addition to campaigns’ spending, nearly 3,500 Facebook pages from outside organizations have spent $55 million over the past year in an effort to influence the public this election season.

ElectionGraph seeks to identify misinformation trends in the U.S. presidential election and other top 2024 contests. The project is supported by a grant and use of analytics software from , the world’s leading graph database and analytics company.

The ElectionGraph team’s efforts include pinpointing origins of messages and tracing misinformation by collecting and algorithmically classifying ads run on Facebook and Instagram. ElectionGraph also has developed a publicly accessible dashboard to explore its findings.

While Meta allows approved organizations to access ad data, such data is not required to be made available—and is not similarly trackable—on TikTok, Google, YouTube or Snapchat. The findings nevertheless provide a framework to visualize the fire hose of information and misinformation targeting voters from groups with a jumble of motives, ties and trustworthiness ahead of the 2024 elections.

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship is a joint University initiative of the and the .

“My concern with the ongoing scams running on Facebook and Instagram is that they look like legitimate advertisements, but they are full of falsehoods and even deepfakes, further polluting the information environment and deceiving voters,”��says , a professor in the School of Information Studies and ElectionGraph’s lead researcher.

Social media scams that exploit heightened sentiments during important moments like elections have become widespread, says Jim Webber, chief scientist at Neo4j.

“This important research, enabled by Neo4j, can help voters and policymakers to distinguish legitimate actors from malicious ones hidden within complex networks,” Webber says. “Without this technology, achieving such insights would be almost impossible.”

Adds IDJC Kramer Director : “Real, bipartisan concerns about election-related violence—accentuated by assassination attempts against former President Trump—have proved no match for the magnetic pull of negative, uncivil and attack-ad campaigning that Trump himself and his rivals consider too useful to set aside.” Talev is a journalist and professor of practice in the Newhouse School.

When then-high school junior Isabelle “Izzy” Kaplan visited ���ϲ����� in March 2023, the University had just announced it would be offering a new, first-of-its-kind degree program focused on esports starting in the fall of 2024. The program would be offered jointly by the and the .

Kaplan was already interested in majoring in communications, but she also enjoyed playing esports and was excited when she heard about this new major during her visit. When she later told her mother that she wanted to attend ���ϲ����� and enter this groundbreaking program, Emily Kaplan wondered what took her daughter so long.

“My parents support me being happy; they want the best for me,” Kaplan says. “They were there when I was told about this program, and they saw how my eyes lit up. When I mentioned it to my mom, she said, ‘You know, I’m surprised you’re just saying something about it now because I saw how you first looked, and I’d thought you’d immediately jump on that.’”

Kaplan, who’s from Long Island, New York, is now a member of the inaugural esports class. The program is unique because it features three tracks that combine elements of Falk College and the Newhouse School – esports business and management, esports communications, and esports media and design – and as Kaplan starts her academic career, she’s leaning toward the communications track.

But for now, first things first, and Kaplan is one of about 20 students taking Esports Executive Director and Professor of Practice ’s Introduction to Esports class. Gawrysiak says the introductory class is designed to help students understand the esports ecosystem how it operates in society and at ���ϲ�����, and to get them excited about the major because of the hands-on opportunities they’ll experience throughout all of their courses.

Esports Executive Director and Professor of Practice Joey Gawrysiak, shown here teaching the Introduction to Esports class, says ���ϲ�����’s esports program was built to prepare students for a successful career in esports and various other professions.

“An esports education is not about just classroom learning, and it’s not just about preparing students to work in esports,” says Gawrysiak, who built the esports program at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, before coming to ���ϲ�����. “It’s about preparing them to have a very successful career by the time they graduate in whatever career it might be, whether it’s esports, esports adjacent, the entertainment industry, traditional sports, broadcast journalism, business, or whatever they might want to get into.”

As she navigates her first semester on campus, Kaplan is splitting her time with Newhouse and Falk, taking basic courses such as Communications 117 and 100 with Newhouse and Principles of Sport Management with Falk. To learn more about why Kaplan chose ���ϲ����� and the esports major, we sat down with her for this Q&A.

How did you get interested in esports? Had you ever considered a career involving esports?

I was 3 or 4 years old when I got my first video game. We loved playing Mario Kart and all the Super Mario games, and it’s been present in my life ever since.

I didn’t think about taking a career approach to it until about last year, because I actually found out about it when I toured ���ϲ����� for the first time. I was interested in communications, I was looking at Newhouse, and I met someone who was working on developing the (esports) program.

This was before any of these people (the esports staff) were here. So, it was still just an idea being developed and they said it’s a very new program, very experimental. Not a lot of other schools have tried it to this level, and I thought that was cool because I love video games, and I’m interested in the fact that it’s communications.

What was the discussion like with your parents when you told them you wanted to be an esports major?

They like innovation, and this was brand new. They were a little worried because especially over (COVID) quarantine, everyone was a bit of a hermit, and I was on video games a lot. And they were concerned that maybe I’d be playing it too much here.

But then I started explaining to them that it wasn’t really the playing aspect – it was more the communications, forming connections, and networking – and they were interested. They thought I could really do something with this, and they thought it was also super cool that this field is becoming more balanced with males and females.

Would you like to get more involved with the management and production side of esports events on campus?

Yes, I’d love to be involved. I’m helping right now with the development of a club team, which will hopefully be a varsity team next year.

And it’s not just me. Everything here is very group-oriented. You’re never alone doing this kind of stuff, which is nice, and I never feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. There’s always some sort of guidance or someone else who’s also clueless so you don’t feel as bad!

My main goal is to obviously be friendly with everyone here, but also find connections and network through this very connected area because everyone seems to know everyone in this. It’s a little scary, but it’s also super cool and convenient.

What do you envision your next four years will be like in this major?

For me and the program in general, everything is going to be very experimental because this is year one, it’s still brand new and so fresh. And I think that’s exciting because it’s a pilot program and everything’s still being developed. Classes are still being developed.

There are three paths that you could take with this, so that’s all still being figured out. And no one fully knows where you’re going to end up. But the fact that there’s a lot of flexibility with this makes it very interesting.

It’s going to be a good learning experience, not just as a student, but probably for everyone working here. And I think it’ll be successful.

This spring, Kaplan will have an opportunity to take the Business of Esports class with Gawrysiak, and the Esports Production class with Esports Communications and Management Co-Director and Newhouse Professor and College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor . Gawrysiak says the students will be encouraged to engage in the program outside of the classroom by joining a team, helping to manage a team, managing one of the esports and gaming centers on campus, or taking advantage of travel abroad opportunities.

To learn more about the esports program, tracks of study, and experiential learning opportunities, please visit the web page.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Sachs will be joined by members of the feminist filmmaking
group The Abortion Clinic Film Collective and local reproductive justice advocates for
“Communities of Care: Documenting Reproductive Justice in a Post-Roe Country,” a film
screening and panel talk at Light Work (316 Waverly Ave., on the SU campus) on Thursday,
Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m.

About “This Side of Salina”

Four Black women from ���ϲ�����, New York, reflect on sexuality, youthful regret, emotional vulnerability, raising a daughter and working in reproductive health services. In a series of their own choreographed vignettes, each woman thoughtfully engages with the neighborhoods she’s known all of her life. Two performers flip through classic 1960s titles by Black authors in a bookstore. Others sit in a hat store finding time to pour into each other, as mentors and confidantes. These are businesses that are owned by local Black women, and they know it. In Brady Market, a community grocery, they playfully shop and chat with ease and confidence. They dance to their own rhythms in the outdoor plaza of the Everson Museum of Art. Together they look down at the city from its highest point and ponder how to battle the inequities of the place that they call home.

Sachs is an American experimental filmmaker and poet based in Brooklyn, New York.
Working from a feminist perspective, she has created cinematic works that defy genre through
the use of hybrid forms, incorporating elements of documentary, performance and collage into
self-reflexive explorations of broader historical experience. Her films have screened at the
Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Wexner Center for the Arts, and festivals such as New
York Film Festival, Oberhausen Int’l Short Film Festival, Punto de Vista, Sundance, Viennale
and Doclisboa. Retrospectives of her work have been presented at Museum of the Moving
Image, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Cork Film Festival, Havana Film Festival, among others. In 2021,
both Edison Film Festival and Prismatic Ground Film Festival at the Maysles Documentary
Center gave her awards for her lifetime achievements in the experimental and documentary
fields. In 2014, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in the Creative Arts. In 2019, Tender
Buttons Press published her first book of poetry, “Year by Year Poems.”

Related Programming

All programs are free and open to the public.

“Living to Tell: Using Filmmaking as a Tool for Reproductive Justice”
Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
Salt City Market Community Room, 484 S. Salina St.
484 S. Salina St.
Free,

“Communities of Care: Documenting Reproductive Justice in a Post-Roe Country”
Thursday, Oct. 17,�� 5:30 p.m.
Light Work, Watson Theater, 316 Waverly Ave.

Communities of Care is sponsored by the ���ϲ����� Humanities Center as part of
���ϲ����� Symposium 2024-25: Community and by the Lender Center for Social Justice.
at ���ϲ�����. This program is also partnered with the Department of Women’s and
Gender Studies and the CODE^SHIFT lab in the Newhouse School, both at ���ϲ�����
University.

Living to Tell is co-presented with Engaged Humanities Network, an engaged scholarship
initiative of ���ϲ�����.

Laufey performed “From the Start” and other hits from her decorated album “Bewitched.”(Photo by Arnold Turner)

Grammy Award-winning artist captivated the crowd at an invite-only launch party for ���ϲ�����’s new music business master’s program at Spotify Studios in Los Angeles.

Laufey performed “From the Start” and other hits from her decorated album “Bewitched” at the event Tuesday night, which also saw the announcement of a new scholarship in the artist’s name that supports international students or those in need of financial aid in the Bandier music business master’s program.

The , starting classes in summer 2025, expands on the success of the prestigious undergraduate program in the recording and entertainment industries in the . Both degree programs are named after Martin Bandier ’62, the legendary music publishing executive and University Life Trustee. The master’s program was created in partnership with the , and reflects a true, cross-disciplinary, hands-on approach to study.

The Laufey Scholarship for Graduate Students will provide $100,000 over the next 10 years to the Bandier program.

In February, Laufey won the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album award at the 2024 Grammys. She has deep connections to the Bandier program through her core team, which includes manager Max Gredinger ’13, of Foundations Music; attorney Harry Roberts ’12, of Mark Music & Media Law; and publisher Gabz Landman ’12, of Warner Chappell Music.

The team also includes digital marketing manager Izzy Newirth ’23 and management coordinator Kaylee Barrett ’24, of Foundations.

“I’m incredibly proud to support this scholarship and be part of such an important moment for the Bandier program. The talent, knowledge and passion that my team brings to our work every day are a direct result of the incredible education they received at ���ϲ�����,” Laufey said.

“I hope this scholarship will help future students find the same success and fulfillment in the music industry,” Laufey added.

The is regularly recognized as one of the top undergraduate music business programs in the country. Billboard magazine’s list of the world’s top music business schools has always included the Bandier program.

Laufey (left) and Bill Werde, director of the Bandier undergraduate program (Photo by Arnold Turner)

Created in 2006 in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Setnor School of Music, the Bandier program was the brainchild of three Newhouse alumni: Rob Light ’78, John Sykes ’77 and the late Phil Quartararo ’77, who suggested the concept to Martin Bandier.

The program established a solid foundation and grew at VPA before moving to Newhouse in 2017. Bandier students still take classes at VPA, as well as the .

The new will offer students the same top features that set apart the undergraduate program, delivering hands-on experiences and training for cutting-edge skills needed to make students job-ready upon graduation, as well as providing access to the large and loyal networks of Bandier and Newhouse alumni.

A comprehensive curriculum will cover topics, including music law, copyright, social media and the latest data tools used by top industry professionals. A key feature of the program will be a semester based in Los Angeles that provides students with valuable industry experience.

The new master’s program will be led by Bill Werde, director of the Bandier undergraduate program and former editorial director of Billboard.

“An overwhelming percentage of our undergrads are leveraging the skills, network and experiences built in the Bandier program into jobs upon graduation,” Werde said. “We look forward to welcoming these new graduate students into our community and working with them to develop the core that they need to succeed.”

Mark J. Lodato, dean of the Newhouse School, expressed gratitude to Laufey and her team for their commitment to helping Bandier master’s students succeed.

“Through the Bandier master’s program, students aspiring to work in the music industry will have exciting opportunities to hone the skills they learn in the classroom in real-world settings,” Lodato said. “We are so grateful to the Bandier alumni, who play pivotal roles working with such a gifted artist like Laufey, for setting examples for career success.”

Chancellor Syverud speaks at the opening of the University’s new center in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24. (Photo by Shannon Finney)

The opening of a new ���ϲ����� center in Washington, D.C., was celebrated by members of the University community at a special event Sept. 24.

“This city is a place our students want to be. It’s a place they want to live. And it’s a place they want to build their futures and careers after they graduate,” said Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Our students studying away here benefit from ���ϲ�����’s academic strength and deep connections in policy, government, media and law.”

The center, located at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, will serve students, faculty, staff and alumni. Building on an already thriving presence in the nation’s capital, the center will enhance the University’s global influence and impact.

Mike Tirico ’88, host and play-by-play commentator with NBC Sports, hosted the event. Speakers included Chancellor Syverud, Interim Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Lois Agnew, and Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation J. Michael Haynie.

The centerpiece of the event was a panel discussion examining the changing landscape of collegiate sports and public policy. Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the ���ϲ����� Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, moderated the discussion. Panelists were James Phillips, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Felisha Legette-Jack ’89, ���ϲ����� women’s basketball coach, and Tirico.

From left: Mike Tirico, Felisha Legette-Jack, James Phillips and Margaret Talev participate in a panel discussion on the changing landscape of collegiate sports and public policy on Sept. 24. (Photo by Shannon Finney)

Expanded Opportunities

The Washington, D.C., center houses the and serves as a home base for study away programs offered by the , and , through which hundreds of students live, learn and work in the city every year. Washington is home to more than 15,000 alumni, many of whom connect with students as teachers, mentors and internship supervisors.

The center will support the continued growth of study away programming across the University’s schools and colleges, as envisioned in the academic strategic plan, “.”

“We now begin a new chapter in that already successful story,” Provost Agnew said. “This space is more than just a building. It is ���ϲ�����’s academic home in one of the most important cities in the world. It will serve as a hub for students, faculty and staff, positioning them as change makers and thought leaders on some of the most important issues of our time.”

Students joined alumnus broadcaster Mike Tirico (sixth from left, front) and Newhouse School Director of Washington Programs Beverly Kirk (fourth from right) to celebrate the opening of 1333 New Hampshire Ave., the University’s new dedicated space in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shannon Finney)

The center will also enhance the work of the (IVMF), which has a satellite office in the building. Haynie noted that IVMF has contributed more than 1,750 research publications, engagements and products for public benefit, with much of that work focused on the federal level.

“I am confident that with a permanent presence in Washington, the institute’s impact will grow considerably and accrue to the benefit of those who have worn the nation’s cloth and their families,” he said.

The center includes classrooms, student lounges, conference and interview rooms and a multipurpose space, as well as satellite offices for the and the Division of Advancement and External Affairs. It features the Greenberg Welcome Center, named for alumnus and Life Trustee Paul Greenberg ’65, whose philanthropy supported the 1990 opening of Greenberg House, the University’s first outpost in Washington.

Beth and Steve Ballentine

When Steven “Steve” W. Ballentine ’83 recalls his years playing club volleyball at ���ϲ�����, he remembers the fun, comradery and deeply satisfying sense of belonging it created for him. He also remembers the challenges: “Club sports didn’t receive University funding back then. I remember each of us on the team had to chip in $5 so we could travel to play at the University of Rochester. We brought our sleeping bags to my parents’ home and slept there when we travelled to Philadelphia.”

Those memories helped lay the foundation for the most recent gift from Steve and his wife, Beth (Shuman) Ballentine ’83, both of whom love sports and their alma mater. The nearly $2 million gift is part of the and will be used to create a dedicated field with lights for club sports and an endowed fund to support club sports programs and participants who might need help with fees, equipment and travel expenses.�� In recognition of this transformational gift, ���ϲ�����’s Club Sports Program has been named the Ballentine Club Sports Program.

Steve, an investment advisor by profession, and Beth, a published writer and essayist, describe sports as “very important to us as a family,” with both of them playing on sports teams throughout adulthood. Beth played on a women’s ice hockey team for nearly 20 years. Steve is a competitive tennis player. “We’ve made lifelong friends through sports,” says Beth. “For me, it’s about physical health, connections with people and sisterhood.”

The couple has also maintained strong connections to their alma mater through service and philanthropy. They provided lead gifts for the establishment of the Ballentine Investment Institute at the Whitman School of Management and have supported other initiatives in the and Athletics. Beth majored in advertising at the . Steve received a degree in business administration with dual majors in finance and accounting from the Whitman School, where he is a member of the Advisory Council. He has been a member of the University’s Board of Trustees since 1998, currently serving on the Executive, Investment and Endowment and Athletics Committees.

“Steve and Beth’s support will create an even more outstanding experience for the hundreds of students every year who find a place of belonging at ���ϲ����� through club sports,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Their generosity will help nurture student success beyond the classroom. It will also encourage more students to integrate fitness, teamwork, and leadership into their Orange experience. I am grateful to the Ballentines for a gift that will improve students’ wellbeing and enhance the student experience.”

As chair of the Board of Trustee’s Athletics Committee, Steve is especially appreciative of the impact athletics has on the student experience. “Growing up, I played everything until I wasn’t good enough to play it at the varsity/JV level, then moved on to another sport—from baseball and basketball to volleyball and bowling. There are so many young people like me who weren’t sports superstars, who played sports in high school and who really miss that part of their lives when they get to college. Finances can stand in their way of participating in club sports.�� Beth and I saw the need to address that.”

There are currently 45 at the University, with more than 1,500 students participating. Most teams are ��organized by student leaders and supported by club sports staff in the Student Experience Division. The Ballentines met with student leaders of the club sport teams to better understand how their financial support could have the greatest impact.�� “It was an incredibly eye opening and impressive experience,” says Steve. “They are entrepreneurial leaders, raising funds to book transportation for the teams, sharing ideas, learning from each other.” Beth was impressed by their dedication to helping others and “essentially doing a part-time job for which they don’t get paid, while managing a full course load.”

The Ballentine Club Sports Program Endowed Fund, established through this ��gift, will help ensure teams have the resources to enhance participation in post-season competition and playoffs and team leaders have the tools to manage their programs more effectively. “We’re big on teaching someone to fish rather than just handing them the fish,” says Steve. That idea was also foundational to the previous creation of , which provided students with the kinds of tools, training and resources to prepare them for a career in finance. Steve’s own career in the financial industry began as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America. In 1989, he founded his own investment management firm, Ballentine Capital Management Inc.

The Ballentine Field for Club Sports will be located on South Campus on grounds that are across from the Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion. “There will be irrigation and lights, so players can practice or compete after classes, when the sun goes down,” says Steve.

The Ballentines look forward to seeing the growth of club sports that present “a huge opportunity for students from all walks of life to come together” and excel beyond the classroom.

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 Forever Orange: The Campaign for ���ϲ�����

Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for ���ϲ����� is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit����to learn more.

Sinead Feeney O’Connor performing in her class’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

When enrolling in an English class about Shakespeare, you might imagine that the course will involve reading, writing and discussing the famous playwright and his plays. In professor of English�� class, ENG 411: Doing Shakespeare, which was offered in Spring 2024, this was just the beginning. Shirilan wanted students to explore for themselves how theatrical practice and production generate different modes of inquiry than text study alone. By engaging in hands-on and active learning, the experience aimed to enhance students’ problem-solving abilities, boost their confidence and encourage their creativity—soft skills which are crucial for success after graduation.

“The idea of the course, simply, is that students learn Shakespeare by ‘doing Shakespeare,’” says Shirilan. “I issued an invitation to make of this course what they willed, and what they willed was a full production of a play chosen, as we strove to do with every decision, collectively.”

Learning by Doing

Shirilan’s inspiration for this course draws from the educational technique of “learning by doing,” a teaching methodology where students retain information through active learning and hands-on experience. In “Doing Shakespeare,” students were presented with a full range of options for the scale and scope of production to pursue.

“They chose to mount a full show, or aim towards it, understanding that we would be working collaboratively and distributing the labors across as many hands as were able and willing,” says Shirilan. “Everyone was involved in multiple areas of production. Everyone acted, most students took responsibility for a production element, including props, costume and sound design.”

Together the students conceived of, organized and performed a full theatrical production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The crew, many of whom had little to no prior theater experience, included Tate Abrahmason, Maurissa DEmello, Sinead Feeney O’Connor, Anderson Fuentes, Valerie Goldstein, Eva Greene, Victoria Lafarge, Jenny Lee, Ailis McVearry, Blair Seaman, Alexandra Steward and Cricket Withall.

Before moving into production, students spent the first half of the semester largely devoted to text study, table work, vision work and research. During the second half of the semester, the team went into production mode, blocking, rehearsing and producing the play. The semester concluded with a full theatrical performance at ���ϲ����� Stage.

Professor Stephanie Shirilan reviewing the script during a rehearsal.

Wearing Many Hats

“Doing Shakespeare” offered students a unique opportunity to have a hand in every aspect of the performance, from design to direction.

Valerie Goldstein ’24, who majored in policy studies in the College of Arts and Sciences | Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and minored in applied data analytics in the School of Information Studies, went into the experience thinking it would mostly involve acting, but was delighted to discover the wide range of skills she would ultimately utilize.

“I played Bottom and Oberon and was an assistant director, producer, projections designer and did other odd jobs like creating the daily rehearsal schedule, carpool system and tech to-do lists,” says Goldstein. “There were so many lessons in problem-solving and actually following through and creating something that I never would have learned in a traditional classroom.”

After graduation, Goldstein accepted a position with��. As she embarks on a career in teaching and education policy, she says taking part in a course involving performance-based learning—where students apply their knowledge and skills to execute a task—will inform her own instructional techniques.

Valerie Goldstein (right) playing the role of Bottom during the class’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“I think there are better ways to engage students than having them study something abstractly all the time,” says Goldstein. “This class gave me an opportunity to explore a new pedagogy that I may be able to implement in my own profession.”

Blair Seaman ’24, who majored in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, was an assistant director and played Titania and Hippolyta in the production. Rounding out her time at ���ϲ����� with an acting role in a Shakespeare play marked a full circle moment for her as she had previously participated in a children’s Shakespeare troupe in her hometown.

“The theater had a huge impact on me deciding to come to ���ϲ����� to study journalism, as I wanted to fuse my love for storytelling with a passion for helping others,” says Seaman. “As much as I loved my degree, I had truly missed performing, and so, I eagerly jumped at the chance to take a class called ‘Doing Shakespeare.’”

She notes that the class was the perfect way to end her four years at ���ϲ�����, and on a more personal level, provided an opportunity to memorialize her mother, who passed away when Seaman was a sophomore at ���ϲ�����.

“[My mother] always sat front row in every production I had previously been a part of, and in a way, it felt like a gift to her to perform in one last show,” Seaman says. “As I said goodbye to my college experience, I was able to return to a passion of mine that was built up through her love.”

Honoring a Classmate

While the performance marked a time to celebrate the culmination of the team’s hard work, it also presented a moment to honor a classmate who gave so much to the production but was unable to participate in the finale due to health reasons. Ailis McVearry ’24 assumed various duties during the semester, from working as an assistant director to head of costuming to starring as Oberon and Theseus.

In support of their classmate, students collected contributions and donated proceeds from the final performance to defray transportation and other costs related to her care.

“Our final production honored her and the beautiful work she poured into this class both on and off the stage,” says Shirilan. “We hope that the money we raised can be used to provide comfort to her during this difficult time, assisting with medical bills and other essentials.”

A Performance for the Ages

According to Shirilan, the culminating performance marked a milestone for the English department and the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), as it was likely the first full theatrical performance put on by an A&S class at ���ϲ����� Stage. A testament to their hard work, shows were nearly sold out before opening night.

“The final performance was truly a triumph,” recalls Shirilan. “I was consistently amazed by the insights and discoveries made through this process, a success that reflects the astonishing commitment, capability and courage of this team.”

With the high level of interest shown by students for this class, Shirilan is exploring possibilities for expanding the course as a 6-credit offering to facilitate running it as another full production experience. She is scheduled to teach it in Spring 2025 as a 3-credit course, for which students will collectively decide the scope and scale of production.

Watch the class’s performance of “.”

Chancellor Kent Syverud (left) and Newhouse School Dean Mark J. Lodato flank Donald Newhouse after the plaza at the Newhouse complex was renamed for his family to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

The welcomed Donald Newhouse and his family back to ���ϲ����� to mark the with an afternoon full of celebratory events highlighted by the renaming of the plaza in between the school’s three buildings in the family’s honor.

The festivities Wednesday included a special luncheon, a tour of the complex for the family and a ceremony on the plaza, where Chancellor Kent Syverud and Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato unveiled the new name as hundreds watched from the Einhorn Family Walk.

The owner of Advance Publications, Donald Newhouse, is the patriarch of one of the first families of American publishing. Advance was founded by his father, Samuel I. Newhouse, in 1922.

Donald Newhouse delivers remarks during the 60th anniversary ceremony. (Photo by Malcolm Taylor)

In remarks on the plaza, Donald Newhouse recounted how he observed a meeting in the late 1950s between his father and then-University Chancellor William P. Tolley during which the idea for what would become the Newhouse School was conceived.

Donald Newhouse was one of the honored guests on Aug. 5, 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson joined S.I. Newhouse to . That day also happened to be Donald Newhouse’s 35th birthday.

“I am fortunate to have the chance in the same month that I celebrate my 95th birthday, to look back with overwhelming pride at the record of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. It is one of the great joys of my life,” Donald Newhouse said Wednesday.

“Thank you all for helping me celebrate this anniversary, and for your role in realizing the dream of my father and Chancellor Tolley.”

The Newhouse family is one of the largest donors in the University’s history, including the $75 million pledge by the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation to the Newhouse School in 2020. That pledge was the single largest gift in the University’s history.

“There are so many amazing alumni of this school that I’ve met all over the world—editors, broadcasters, leaders in print, cable news and network newsrooms. They founded and led radio stations, PR agencies, advertising firms, countless ventures in the business, digital music and entertainment industries,” said before unveiling the plaza’s new name.

“All of them amazing people, all made possible because of the transformational gifts of Donald Newhouse and the Newhouse Foundation,” he added. “You’ve really, in a meaningful sense, shaped the trajectory of the University, the Newhouse School and most importantly, the careers of tens of thousands of our students and our graduates and faculty.”

Today, the Newhouse School offers and more than a dozen covering the gamut of fields in media and communications. The school also its first fully online bachelor’s program, in strategic communications, this year.

But what will not change, Lodato said, is an unwavering dedication to journalism education.

pledged to continue to work with newsrooms and journalism organizations on key issues like filling news deserts, and striving to ensure the diversity of newsroom staffs and leadership accurately reflects the communities they serve.

He cited expanded opportunities for students to hone their skills through study-away semesters in , or , or special trips such as of the recent Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions for professional media outlets.

Newhouse also combined the broadcast and digital journalism, and magazine, news and digital journalism programs, into starting this fall following state approval, the result of years of discussion with faculty.

Students will still choose one of two tracks under the new journalism major structure—broadcast and digital journalism, or magazine, news and digital journalism. But Lodato noted the change is reflective of how the Newhouse School pivots to meet the needs of an industry which increasingly is looking for journalists who can tell stories on multiple platforms.

“I can think of no better way of recognizing the vision and generosity of Mr. Newhouse and his extraordinary family than to reinforce our steadfast commitment to journalism and journalism education,” Lodato said.

Hundreds of people gathered on the Einhorn Family Walk for the ceremony to honor the Newhouse School’s 60th anniversary. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)

Newhouse was joined Wednesday by several members of his family, including sons Steven and Michael, the co-presidents of Advance. Larry Kramer ’72, vice chair of the University Board of Trustees, offered remarks at the luncheon, as did Newhouse Dean Emeritus and , Kramer Director of the ���ϲ����� , and a professor of practice of journalism at the Newhouse School.

David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, spoke during a videotaped message.

Marie Achkar, a senior in broadcast and digital journalism, spoke on behalf of students at the luncheon. Jada Knight, a senior in television, radio and film, spoke on students’ behalf during the plaza ceremony, which was followed by a reception for the family, students, faculty, staff and alumni.

New Student Association President German Nolivos ’26 (right) and Vice President Reed Granger ’26 strive to get as many student voices as possible involved in the decision-making process on campus.

Listen. Learn. Lead.

Those three simple verbs were repeatedly emphasized by German Nolivos ’26 and Reed Granger ’26 during the spring general elections.

German Nolivos

Hammering home an effective message to ���ϲ�����’s student body was especially important since Nolivos and Granger were running unopposed. With no competition, the duo was essentially guaranteed to assume leadership roles as president and vice president. But they did not intend to simply coast to victory.

Rather, they worked tirelessly to convey the important role SA plays as a bridge that listens to student concerns and works with the administration to resolve them.

“We wanted the students to understand that we cannot effectively work without their input. We want to leave our mark on student government by focusing on these recognized student organizations and multicultural organizations that have been looking for help from the student body and the SA. We can strengthen the relationship between our students and student government,” says Nolivos, a Posse Leadership Scholar and first-generation college student studying political science in the and and public relations in the��.

“We needed to convince students to engage with the Student Association, and we campaigned on those values of listening, learning and leading. Our goal is to advocate for new policies that are effective in resolving the issues our students face, and to let the student body know how truly important our advocacy is,” adds Granger, who is studying photography in the Newhouse School and political science in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences.

Reed Granger

The message was well-received, as Nolivos and Granger were elected president and vice president, respectively, after garnering more than 90% of the votes. The SA is the official student governing and advocacy body for the nearly 16,000 ���ϲ����� and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry undergraduates.

Nolivos and Granger have held previous leadership roles on campus, and they are excited to hold these positions while striving to get as many student voices as possible involved in the decision-making process on campus.

The “listen, learn, lead” motto extends beyond a campaign slogan, influencing Nolivos and Granger’s main objectives as elected student leaders. For this upcoming academic year, their main goals include:

• listening to the voices of traditionally underrepresented student populations;
• learning from and engaging with the collective diversity on campus;
• leading by continuing to foster an inclusive, accessible and welcoming campus for all;
• improving campus safety, especially on South Campus;
• enhancing the quality of the food in the dining halls and continuing to provide students access to food through complimentary grocery trolley runs;
• helping the University reduce its carbon footprint while striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2032; and
• creating changes that will enhance the student experience for all.

Nolivos and Granger sat down with SU News to discuss their goals for the academic year, offer their advice to new students on campus and share how their time at ���ϲ����� has fueled their growth as student leaders.

What will make this a successful academic year?

German Nolivos: My goal is always to empower the students who work under me, to make sure the Student Association’s 100 members know that they’re appreciated, and that the work they’re doing has an impact on our campus. For this year to be successful, we want the campus community to know who we are and that the Student Association can be a valuable resource for our students.

Reed Granger: To spread the word of Student Association to more students than ever before and continuing the good relationship we have with our administration. Being able to improve on what previous student leaders have done while continuing to advocate for the student body.

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started your ���ϲ����� journey?

Granger: Time management. I don’t know if there’s an overall secret to time management, but I wish that before my first day, somebody told me about how to manage my time. Given my areas of study and my involvement on campus, everything I do, every meeting I have goes through my Google Calendar, even homework assignments. And I encourage new students to make sure you have some free time.

Nolivos: In the first couple of weeks on campus, it’s important that you build up your support system. You’re going to have opportunities to meet people from all over the world. Make sure you really take the time to find the people that you want to be there with you for this journey. This is the opportunity to become the person that you want to become. It’s a new chapter in your life. Give this 100% of your attention. One thing that helped me my first year was extracurriculars. Discovering your community will help you feel more connected to campus.

German Nolivos ’26 (left) and Reed Granger ’26 conveyed the important role the Student Association plays as a bridge that listens to student concerns and works with the administration to resolve them.

Are there any common mistakes for first-year students to avoid?

Nolivos: Think about the classes you’re taking, especially your required classes, and figure out which classes you should take first to set you up for future success. And from a social perspective, make sure that you’re treating this as the first page of the rest of your life. Be transparent with yourself on this journey. Be an open book with everything. You’re going to find people from different paths of life and different experiences than you. Make sure you’re always respectful of other people’s opinions and experiences and learn from them.

Granger: Don’t join too many clubs or take too many classes, you’re just overwhelming yourself while you’re still trying to learn what it means to be an undergraduate at ���ϲ�����. You can lose your sense of self while you’re trying to figure out who you are. Don’t put too much on your shoulders when you first get here.

How has ���ϲ����� helped you become the person you are today?

Granger: I’m a fully changed person since my first year. This campus has given me elements of friendship that I never experienced in high school as I figure out what I seek in friendships. Who do I want to spend time with? Why do I want to spend time with them? The true value of friendship and what it can do for your life is something that I truly have learned in the past two years here. Also the importance of making connections, whether with your classmates or your professors. So many of these connections are either involved in your career path or are going to be involved. Learn to maintain those connections. That’s one way the ���ϲ����� experience has changed me for the better.

Nolivos: I’m a political refugee. I arrived in this country six years ago. I always had trouble trusting myself and my abilities, and felt I was always going to be behind my peers. But ���ϲ����� made me realize how much power I have and how far I can push myself to become the person I want to become. ���ϲ����� has given me the tools to build that future for myself.

Martin Bandier

Both degree programs are named after Martin Bandier ’62, the legendary music publishing executive and University Life Trustee. The is regularly recognized as one of the preeminent undergraduate music business programs in the country.

The new will offer students the same top features that set apart the undergraduate program, delivering hands-on experiences, training for cutting-edge skills needed to make students job-ready upon graduation and access to the large and loyal networks of Bandier and Newhouse alumni.

Billboard magazine has never published its list of the world’s top music business schools without including the Bandier program.

“Our goal at the Bandier program has always been to be the premier music business school, offering the most comprehensive and cutting-edge education while forging top-tier industry connections,” Bandier says. “With this new master’s program, we’re taking it to the next level, shaping future music leaders who are equipped, connected and ready to make their mark.”

Bill Werde

Launching in fall 2025, the Bandier music business master’s program provides a true multidisciplinary education to prepare students for their first job in the music industry. The comprehensive program will cover subjects that include the fundamental rights, royalties and deal-making approaches of the modern music business, across the label, publishing, management, streaming and live sectors, and all genres.

The core music business instruction will allow students to be well-versed on the basics of everything from music law and copyright to current social media and data tools in use by top companies today. Students will also be able to spend a to work in the heart of the music industry.

The new master’s program will be overseen by , who is also director of the Before joining the Newhouse School, Werde served as editorial director of Billboard, which won a 2010 Ellie Award for Digital Media from the American Society of Magazine Editors during Werde’s tenure. Under his direction, Billboard also earned Eddie Awards for Best Media and Entertainment Publication from Folio magazine in 2006 and 2007.

Mark J. Lodato

“Breaking into the music industry can be daunting. If you have great instincts and passion for what fans love in music and how those tastes evolve, the new music business master’s program will give you all the access, skills and network you need for an incredibly fulfilling career in the music industry,” Werde says. “The Bandier program will open doors for students for the rest of their lives.”

The program presents “a fantastic opportunity for college graduates to acquire the dynamic skills and gain the hands-on experiences that will help them succeed in the thriving music business,” Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato says. “We are eternally grateful at ���ϲ����� for the support of Marty Bandier and his enthusiasm to help the Newhouse School provide a first-class education for students aspiring to work in the recording and entertainment industries.”

A new features a Newhouse School timeline and more information about the school’s history. The site will be updated throughout the year with anniversary-related virtual events and in-person alumni gatherings, such as Orange Central weekend.

The Newhouse 1 building was dedicated Aug. 5, 1964, during a ceremony on the Newhouse plaza featuring President Lyndon B. Johnson. The night before the dedication, S.I. Newhouse spoke during a dinner at the Hotel ���ϲ����� to mark the momentous occasion.

“It is right and fitting that such a communications center be located within a dynamic university with world-embracing interests,” Newhouse said at the dinner. “The many fields of study provide an unparalleled opportunity for the interplay of creative talents of the first rank.”

The Newhouse School draws upon those prescient words to mark this milestone year and connect our storied history with our long-standing, forward-thinking philosophy.

Unparalleled Opportunity

The Newhouse School is proud of its ability to pivot and adjust to give students the skillset needed to thrive in the ever-evolving field of communications. Moving forward, this means in part renewing a commitment to expand partnerships and collaborations to pursue research and creative activities for students and faculty; and developing excellence and expertise in technology-driven communication tools and practices, specifically in advanced and emerging media.

World-Embracing Interests

Experiential learning opportunities around the country and globe allow Newhouse students to hone the skills they learn in the classroom from our award-winning faculty, while also helping them build their career networks. Newhouse is committed to expanding access for all Newhouse students through school programs in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and University programs worldwide.

President Lyndon B. Johnson cuts the ribbon at the Newhouse 1 dedication ceremony on Aug. 5, 1964. (Newhouse School at ���ϲ����� archival photo)

Creative Talents

The success of the Newhouse School is embodied through the generations of alumni who have walked through the halls of Newhouse and proceeded to write, produce, create and lead in their respective fields. The “Newhouse Network” supports the legacy of the Newhouse family not only through charitable giving, but by coming back to ���ϲ����� to speak with students; offering internships, networking opportunities and job leads; and lending guidance and feedback via advisory boards and personal connections with faculty and staff.

“Newhouse remains rooted in journalism. It’s in our DNA,” Dean Mark Lodato says. “At the same time, one of the reasons our school has succeeded for so long—and graduated generations of communications professionals—is a philosophy to embrace change and lead the way in forging new frontiers.”

“Our Newhouse School community looks forward to celebrating the legacy of excellence that is rooted in the vision, generosity and commitment of S.I. Newhouse and his family.”

The awardees are:

• , professor and director of the graduate program in magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School of Public Communications
• , assistant teaching professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition in the College of Arts and Sciences
• , assistant teaching professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition in the College of Arts and Sciences

They are among 400 faculty and professionals awarded fellowships to work in more than 135 countries in the coming year.

Harriet Brown

Brown, who is also a longtime magazine writer and author of several nonfiction books, plans to travel��to Israel in the spring to continue her research and reporting about families whose children use medically prescribed cannabis to treat health issues such as seizures, cancer and autism spectrum disorder. She wants to learn more about the cutting-edge research taking place there and connect to the strong network of parents who advocate for medically prescribed cannabis to treat their children’s conditions. She will also teach a course on how to report and write accurately on scientific topics at the .

In addition to research contacts, Brown believes that it is important for Americans to maintain academic, citizen and government connections with Israel, given the call by some to sever all ties in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. She says that, as a Jewish academic on an American campus, she has been negatively affected by that perspective. “Change doesn’t come from simply shutting people down,” Brown says. “Part of the reason I want to do this is because I feel like maybe I can build some bridges and dispel some myths about life in Israel. I feel strongly that there is a need for those connections, especially for academic ones.”

Robin McCrary

McCrary will visit the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in the spring to teach and conduct research about how public health humanities education can help close trust gaps between health care practitioners and marginalized patients and populations. He hopes interactions with faculty, students and health care professionals in a different country with a different health care system will enhance how he teaches health humanities to ���ϲ����� student who are preparing for careers in health care and medicine.

He will also teach Cross-Cultural Care Traditions, a course designed to improve two-way dialogue between patients and providers by exploring how different cultures understand and influence health care and illness, including differing attitudes toward medical treatment, varying perceptions on living and dying, Indigenous and non-Western forms of care and diverse spiritualities. He aims to help students better understand the disability, minority, non-Western, gender identity and sexual-orientation contexts patients bring to their health care provider interactions.

Volunteering with immigrant, newcomer and refugee populations in ���ϲ����� has helped McCrary formulate the course content, he says. “Given their different backgrounds, those groups have provided me with insight regarding the context of how they understand care traditions. For those entering the health professions, I believe it’s not just about what our students can learn but also how they bring themselves to the contexts of the care that they provide patients.”

Amy Murphy

Murphy will be in the Slovak Republic from September through January 2025 to research how the communist government’s suppression of literature during its 40-year rule impacted Slovak society and citizens.

Her research will include looking at the underground movement that helped Slovak people obtain literature and maintain high literacy levels during that time. She will work with faculty��at ��and speak with students, faculty and families to understand how Slovak citizens maintained literacy and continued to access information at a time when it was dangerous to do so. “We��take for granted the educational freedoms we have here, but the people who were part of that movement could have gone to jail for helping others obtain information at that time,” Murphy says.��She will also teach a course for students who plan to become teachers of English or translators. The art writing course��has a broad cultural component, and she wants to see how students��interpret various aspects of American culture.

Murphy applied for the fellowship after learning that her great-grandfather, who came to the U.S. at age 15 to mine coal and silver in Colorado, was from Slovakia, and not Austria, as her family had always thought. “I wanted to understand his story, more about the people who stayed there and the whole underground literature movement. It is part of what has helped that country maintain a very high level of literacy,” she says.

• Anthony D’Angelo (Newhouse):
• Lindsey Darvin (Falk): I
• Sylvia Sierra (VPA):
• Farhana Sultana (Maxwell):
• Charles Driscoll (Engineering and Computer Science):
• Margaret Talev (Newhouse/Maxwell): () | (NPR) |
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• Melinda Dermody (Libraries):
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• Margaret Thompson (Maxwell): | (Oakland, CA)
• Mona Bhan, (Maxwell):
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• Grant Reeher (Maxwell): | | | again | (Spain) | ��
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• Matt Huber (Maxwell): I
• Ken Marfilius (Falk): Podcast –
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To get in touch and learn more about ���ϲ����� faculty members available for interviews, please contact��media@syr.edu.

Noah Eagle is handling play-by-play duties for NBC’s coverage of Team USA men’s and women’s basketball at the Summer Olympics.

The Super Bowl. French Open tennis. Primetime college football and basketball games between nationally ranked opponents. The radio play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.

In the ever-competitive field of sports broadcasting, what Noah Eagle ’19 has accomplished in his six-year professional career is quite impressive. In May, Eagle’s hard work was recognized by his peers, as he won the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On Air after his debut season calling “Big Ten Saturday Night,” the weekly primetime Big Ten football game broadcast on NBC and Peacock.

Noah Eagle (center) won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Emerging On Air after his debut season calling “Big Ten Saturday Night,” the weekly primetime Big Ten football game broadcast on NBC and Peacock. He’s pictured with sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen (left) and color commentator Todd Blackledge.

Eagle’s ascension has been meteoric—the Clippers hired him right after he graduated with a broadcast and digital journalism degree from the —and he’s just scratching the surface of his potential. His next assignment takes him to Paris, France, as the play-by-play broadcaster for Team USA men’s and women’s basketball at the Summer Olympics.

For someone who grew up a “massive” fan of the NBA, broadcasting Team USA games at the Olympics is a “special honor,” says Eagle. Especially since he will call games involving NBA players he has long admired—like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry—and will be on the mic as the U.S. women’s team pursues their unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.

“Basketball has been a passion of mine for a long time, and when I look at this specific assignment, it’s a dream come true. Watching Team USA at the Olympics helped grow my love for the sport, especially the ‘Redeem Team’ in 2008 that brought back the gold medal for the U.S. I remember parking myself on the couch during those Olympics and watching LeBron James play with Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Carmelo Anthony, ���ϲ����� basketball royalty. Those were legends of the game. Now, I’m calling Team USA games with LeBron, K.D. and Steph, who are legends of the game. There’s something special about calling basketball games while representing your country,” Eagle says.

The father-son sportscasting duo of Ian Eagle ’90 (left) and Noah Eagle ’19

Sportscasting and a love for ���ϲ����� runs in the family. Noah’s father, Ian ’90, has handled play-by-play for CBS Sports’ NFL games since 1998 and concluded his first year as the network’s lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. His mother, Alisa (Terry) Eagle ’90, earned a retailing degree from what is now the , and his sister, Erin ’21, earned an advertising degree from Newhouse.

“When I’m calling games, I’ve always got an orange wristband on my right wrist that shows my Orange connection,” Eagle says. “There’s always so much love to the ’Cuse. As my mom always says, ���ϲ����� is our happy place.”

Before the Olympics began, Eagle sat down with SU News to discuss his “surreal” career journey, how he’s preparing to call Team USA’s basketball games and the lessons he learned from his debut performance at the Olympics in 2021.

At the age of 27, you’ve already worked the Super Bowl, served as the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, called French Open tennis action and broadcast countless college football and basketball games. How would you describe your ascension in sportscasting?

Noah Eagle

It’s quite surreal. I never anticipated my career going this way, but that’s what I love about this field. You never know the path you’re going to take. Everybody’s sportscasting path is different based on timing and circumstances. I was fortunate to not only have something open up [the Clippers radio play-by-play job] but to have people who believed in me and put my name out there for that job. Olivia Stomski [director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center and professor of broadcast and digital journalism and television, radio and film] is at the top of that list, and I had so many great mentors around campus who played a massive role in my career.

I’ve gotten lucky that I’ve gotten chances to do some big things, and my viewpoint has always been if you get the chance to do the big thing, you better step up and knock it out of the park. I’ve loved every second and hope this journey continues for a long time.

How have you been preparing for the Games?

Learning about every team and putting my broadcast boards together [with key facts and figures for each team]. Before that, I read a book on the original Dream Team because I wanted to make sure I knew my history of why there weren’t professionals allowed on the United States’ teams before 1992, why they changed that rule and how that decision has impacted the Olympics. Now, it’s preparing for the men’s and women’s competitions, making sure I’m knowledgeable about the teams and players.

It’s an honor to call basketball games at the Olympics, but my preparation is no different than if I was preparing to call a high school, college or NBA game. You put the team together on your broadcast board and make sure you have all the information you think you might need. Preparing gets easier with each game because you’ve got a much better sense of the teams based on the flow of how these games go.

What lessons did you learn from your first Olympic assignment in 2021 calling 3-on-3 basketball from NBC’s headquarters?

Because of being prepared for any outcome, you’d better be ready to deliver a memorable call for the big moments that matter the most, the moments that are guaranteed to live on the longest in the gold medal games. It can’t just be the standard, run-of-the-mill call. I don’t necessarily spend the night before thinking about what I’m going to say, but before our broadcast starts, I have a general idea of the direction I’m going to go. If you’re trying to think of it in the moment, that’s when things can go awry.

Students game in the esports room at the Barnes Center at The Arch.

But the program’s first year was anything but a “zero” as ���ϲ����� won the Emerging Program of the Year Award at the (NACE) National Convention from July 17-19 in Winter Park, Florida, just outside of Orlando.

In addition to the program award, two ���ϲ����� students—Kamron Manii ’24 and Braeden Cheverie-Leonard ’26—won awards and five other representatives from ���ϲ����� were named award finalists.

“In year zero, ���ϲ����� esports was nominated and recognized across the board from students to staff for their contributions to the overall collegiate esports industry,” says Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the esports degree program. “We are proud of what we are building here at ���ϲ����� and want to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible by a collegiate esports program.”

���ϲ�����’s program employs a holistic, experiential learning-based approach that prepares students for career success in various industries, leveraging the largest collection of faculty and staff members of any esports program on a college campus. The , offered jointly by the and the , is among the first of its kind at a major university.

NACE is the only nonprofit membership association of colleges and universities with varsity esports programs. Over 260 schools across the United States and Canada compete for NACE championships every year across a variety of esports titles, and this past spring ���ϲ����� captured the NACE .

Here’s more about ���ϲ�����’s award winners from the 2024 NACE National Convention:

• Emerging Program of the Year: This award is presented to a program that has been active for two years or less, is on the path to excellence and has displayed outstanding achievements competitively, academically or within their community. ���ϲ����� checked all these boxes, and Gawrysiak describes the program’s successful first year in an episode of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast.
• Player of the Year (Counter-Strike 2): Manii, who majored in forensic science and psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, received this award as a student-athlete who showed outstanding impact both on and off the game and was a leader who supported his team in multiple ways.
• Student Leadership Award: Braeden Cheverie-Leonard, a sport management major in Falk, received this honor for demonstrating exceptional leadership among his peers and exhibiting outstanding contributions to his collegiate esports community. In this , Cheverie-Leonard takes you on a whirlwind tour of his favorite spots on campus, including the esports room at the Barnes Center at The Arch.

Here are the ���ϲ����� award finalists:

• Broadcast Talent of the Year: Daniel Saligman ’27, a dual major in television, radio and film in the Newhouse School and linguistic studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, was a finalist for this award, which recognizes a student who brought insight and electricity to a broadcast as an on-air talent.
• Coach of the Year (Counter-Strike 2): Director of Esports Competition Travis Yang was a finalist for this award that is presented to an individual serving in a coaching capacity who displays outstanding abilities in the development of their team both competitively and holistically.
• Support Staff of the Year: Program Manager Nikita Bair was a finalist for this honor awarded to a non-program director for outstanding leadership, mentorship and contributions to their program’s success.
• Emerging Director of the Year: Director of Production and Outreach Sean Kelly was a finalist for this award given to an individual with fewer than two years’ experience in collegiate esports as a full-time program director who displays outstanding abilities in the development of their program, whether it be competitively, academically or within their community.

For more about Yang, Bair and Kelly, read the news about them joining the program earlier this year.

• Scholar of the Year: Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor in the Department of Sport Management in the Falk College, has emerged as a national leader in the movement for greater equity in esports and computer gaming. In , Darvin discusses the impact of her research and the course she teaches that is a requirement for all esports majors, Race, Gender and Diversity in Sport Organizations.

Visit the ��to learn more about the esports communications and management degree.

The approaching academic year will be filled with growing spaces that foster esports student experiences virtually and in-person, for both seasoned competitors and first-time gamers. Highlights include the anticipated spring 2025 opening of the dedicated Schine Student Center esports space.

Sydney Bergan ’23 will cover the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris as an audience editor for USA Today.

The internship that launched Sydney Bergan ’23 on a path to covering the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, France, started off on an unexpected trajectory.

As a junior at ���ϲ�����, Bergan landed an internship through the prestigious Dow Jones News Fund with McClatchy, but instead of serving as a reporter—which was her career ambition—Bergan was assigned to the digital media program as an audience engagement intern.

Bergan spent 10 days enhancing her digital media literacy skills at Arizona State University, taking curated stories and repackaging them for different audiences. From there, Bergan worked as an intern for The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer. Before long, The Sacramento Bee hired her as an audience editor while she was still enrolled in classes at ���ϲ�����. Now, she’s an audience editor for USA Today.

Being an audience editor was the perfect blend of content creation and newsworthiness. Bergan excelled by understanding how to create stories that resonate with audiences, and she enjoyed having conversations with people about what types of content they want to see.

Sydney Bergan

“I thought of myself as a reporter and I always knew I loved people and telling their stories,” says Bergan, who earned a magazine, news and digital journalism degree from the .

“But once I started, I just fell in love with the audience engagement work. I love the content creation and curation side of journalism. It allows me to be creative. I do a lot of content design for USA Today, coming up with stories that will reach our audiences wherever they’re looking for their content. I love looking at the analytics to see what stories, videos or graphics perform well and which ones don’t. It’s all so fascinating.”

Her next assignment will take her to Paris to create content around the Summer Olympics for USA Today. It’s a dream come true for Bergan.

“I love the Olympics. Always have. It’s crazy I’ll be covering the Summer Olympics! It just feels so surreal,” Bergan says. “I worked hard to get here, and I know I’ve got this, but there’s some imposter syndrome at play. This is a big deal. I’m working with journalists who have covered the Olympics many times before. I’m the new kid on the block and am just trying to learn as much as I can and soak it all in.”

Before she arrives in Paris, Bergan sat down with SU News to discuss her content strategy for the Olympics, the must-have interview or piece of content she’s hoping to create and the valuable lessons she learned on campus.

What does the job of an audience editor entail?

In the simplest terms, my job is to get eyes on articles and content in unique and creative ways through platforms like our website and our social media. We’re the behind-the-scenes people who use our news judgment and understanding of the platforms to determine where content will perform the best.

A lot of people say they feel they have more than enough content to consume out there, but they have a hard time breaking it down and understanding it. We do a lot in the social media video space through explainer posts on our Instagram and Facebook pages that help break down complex issues into the five things you need to know.

What’s your Olympic content strategy?

You don’t know what the big story is until you get there. I’ll be doing a lot of cultural content, showing the audience the sights and sounds of Paris during the Olympics. You have this iconic European city playing host to an iconic event. Part of my job is figuring out what people who aren’t there would want to see. What is it like to be in Paris while the Olympics are going on? What’s the food like? What’s the atmosphere? What are people talking about? What’s on the mind of the Olympians? Every day is going to be fun and exciting, and I’m ready to make videos and content that resonates with people.

What’s one must-have interview or piece of Olympic content you want to create?

If I could talk to [gymnast] Simone Biles or [swimmer] Katie Ledecky, sign me up! But they are obviously in high demand. I’m just really excited to see the venues and show our audience how integrated they are into the city. Beach volleyball is being played underneath the Eiffel Tower. Marathon runners are literally running through the city. Equestrian is happening at the Château de Versailles. There’s so many different, fascinating utilizations of this space and I just want to do it all.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from your time on campus?

News judgment. News judgment is very hard to come by, recognizing what deserves the spotlight. Those skills have been essential every day of my career and it all comes back to the years of training we had at ���ϲ����� and in the Newhouse School. The class activities where you identify the lead of a particular situation. Working as an editor for The Daily Orange, I was coming up with stories all the time. All that practice became muscle memory and now it’s part of my toolkit. Had I not spent all that time learning what a lead should look like and what is the most important news story of the day, I wouldn’t have that strong news judgment I have today.

Mike Tirico ’88, NBC’s voice of the Olympics, talks about getting ready for the games, his commitment to helping our young broadcast students and his love for ���ϲ�����.

When the Olympic Games begin later this month, one of the University’s best-known alums will be front and center. In many ways it’s a role Mike Tirico ’88 knew he wanted at an early age.

“My mom will tell you, even as a little kid, I was walking around pretending to be a sportscaster,” he says. “This is what I wanted to do in life.”

As the athletes prepare for competition, Tirico is preparing to anchor NBC’s daily Olympics coverage as he’s done since 2016. But as most broadcast fans know, Olympics studio host is only part of the Tirico portfolio, which includes “Sunday Night Football,” PGA golf, and thoroughbred and Indy racing among others. Those sports he knows well. This summer he’ll be put to the test with new Olympic sports, all while trying to avoid making waves.

“Surfing is happening in Tahiti at the Olympics, I put up my hand to volunteer to be the surfing correspondent,” says Tirico, who adds with a smile that “for some reason, they went with Colin Jost from ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I don’t know what I should read into that but it’s fine.”

Break dancing is another sport new to the games and according to Tirico a sign of the athletic times. “It does speak to what the Olympics does in trying to reach out to new generations and keep the youth of the world involved,” he says. “There was a time that snowboarding came in the Olympics and people were asking why. Now, snowboarding is one of the cornerstones of the Winter Olympics.”

In this “’Cuse Conversations” podcast, Tirico talks about getting ready for the games, his sleep schedule while in Paris (it’s rough), his commitment to helping our young broadcast students and, as a first-generation student who met and married his wife here, his love for ���ϲ�����.

Check out podcast featuring Tirico. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

What are your most memorable moments from the Games?

This would be the fifth Olympic Games I cover, the fourth as the primetime host and watching Americans win gold medals in person, those stick out for me. When we say the Olympics brings the world together, I don’t mean to be too Pollyanna about it because the Olympics are flawed in many ways, they are impacted by politics and corruption and all this stuff that’s happened, those stories have been well reported for years. But just the fact that there’s somebody in South Sudan who is training the same way somebody is training in South San Francisco for the same event and they get to meet in the middle and figure out who’s better, that’s still really freaking cool for me.

With 30 different Olympic sports and more than 10,000 athletes, and knowing your busy sports coverage schedule, how do you find the time to prepare?

Mike Tirico

If I’ve learned anything, it’s you can’t be prepared for everything at the Olympics. The key is to know how to access it and, oftentimes, that is our research team. The unheralded heroes of Olympic coverage for generations have been and continue to be the research teams who work year-round on the details of the competition.

In the lead up to it, it’s go over all the stuff so you know where it is but don’t memorize it because you can’t. You can’t know everything about each of the 10,000-plus athletes or every sport, all the 200-plus countries or delegations that will come down the river, in this case, the opening ceremony in France.

So, it is learn how to prepare for it and really focus in on the stuff we cover the most—swimming, ��gymnastics, track and field, basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer. Know that and then know the big athletes, the 50 or so that will become somewhat familiar names to households around America.

In many ways you are not starting from scratch here, are you?

You’re not starting from zero, you’re starting from, “Okay, I remember this in Tokyo and let’s just build on that.” And I think, during the years now as well, maybe I wouldn’t have been paying attention to the world swimming championships that were on, but now that I know this is my job and I’m getting ready for this Olympics, which gets you ready for the next one, you pay more attention. The global athletes, international athletes are on my radar way before I open up a book and say, “Okay, today is swimming day, let’s start cramming for swimming.” It helps significantly to have some gray hair in the chair.

Mike, you and I have been friends for many years, having worked together at WTVH in ���ϲ�����. If we could go back, what would you say to young Mike, the sportscaster at TV5?

I wish I could tell younger Mike to have a little broader view and be adventurous more. I think being adventurous as a journalist is impactful and I think, over time, we start to feel that a bit more. I think you know you’ve done the job, you’ve established yourself. It’s so hard to fake confidence but that’s what you have to do at an early age. I’m 21, 22, here I am trying to ask Jim Boeheim a question. Jim Boeheim, at that point, knew a thousand times more about basketball than I did and I’m trying to ask an impactful question and make a difference and I wish I would’ve had a little more ability to fake my confidence and get through that stuff back then. And that, if you’re prepared, you’re going to be all right and you don’t have to doubt yourself.

Note: This conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.

Students in Brad Horn’s Managing Global Brands of Sport: An International Public Relations Study class learned about global sport through the communication lens during a three-week immersion experience in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Historically, the Olympics have provided countless memorable athletic achievements—the Miracle on Ice men’s hockey team upsetting the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York; the Dream Team capturing gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain; gymnast Kerri Strug shrugging off an ankle injury to lead Team USA to its first-ever team gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, just to name a few.

And while there are sure to be impressive performances when the world’s best athletes converge in Paris, France, for the upcoming Summer Olympics, the Games are also an opportunity to showcase the global power of sport, which is the focal point of recently concluded Managing Global Brands of Sport: An International Public Relations Study class, held for three weeks in Lausanne, Switzerland, as part of an immersion experience for students.

Brad Horn

“We focus on how to bridge the gap between what Americans know about sports in our country compared to global sport through communications,” says Horn, associate dean for strategic initiatives and professor of practice in public relations in the .

“Look ahead to what the U.S. is going to see in sport. We’re hosting the 2026 World Cup, the 2028 Summer Olympics are being held in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics potentially will be hosted in Lake Placid. This is a decade where those working in U.S. sports will be working with and dealing with global sport entities like never before, and there’s a big knowledge gap. I want to do my part to help prepare students to better understand that landscape.”

Horn’s professional background in communications and public relations includes working for more than 20 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) and with the Baseball Hall of Fame, serving as an ambassador at the World Series, the World Baseball Classic, the All-Star game and MLB International before heading up communication and education for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“This idea of global sport has always been part of my DNA,” says Horn, who sat down with SU News to discuss the objectives of his class, the important takeaways and how his students leave with a broadened understanding of the global power of sport.

Describe the goals and important takeaways of the class.

Students pose on the floor of the Union Cycliste Internationale’s headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland.

This is an immersion into global sport through the communication lens. We look at how organizations communicate through their sport or their sport’s governing body about cultural and geopolitical issues with stakeholders around the globe. The idea is to give students various perspectives from organizations like the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, the International Testing Agency, anti-doping agencies, FIBA, the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the Union Cycliste Internationale and more. These were some of the bigger organizations we visited this year.

Our students also work a two-day Hosts and Federations Summit, where 300 delegates came to Lausanne to pitch their cities on major sporting events, to pitch their sport to match with a city or to pitch their rights to sell these sporting events. It gives students a chance to look at sport in an entirely different way than what we think about in the U.S., which is so focused on the four major sports [football, basketball, baseball and hockey] and on college sports. They get to study how global sport governance works and how communication is developed at a central office. It’s an immersion that gives them a front row seat into global sport communication.

How did you incorporate the upcoming Summer Olympics into your class?

We’re trying to understand the origins of sport in places like Greece, Switzerland, China and Australia. The origins are not in the four major sports in America, which are so young compared to the historical lens of the Olympiad. We look at the lessons we’ve learned during the modern Olympics by bringing people together across cultures. We look at moments like the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany, when Adolf Hitler used the Olympics as his propaganda and Jesse Owens, the great Black American track and field athlete, refused to interact with Hitler and his racist agenda while winning four gold medals.

We spend time trying to understand the idea of Olympism, a philosophy that emphasizes the wholeness of body, will and mind, combining sport with culture and education. We examine how the media prepares for the Games, the questions the press could be asking the host country and how people are representing their nations from a media standpoint.

We then look at how the Olympics create this idea that sport unites us during a time when the world is so polarized. As communicators, there are two questions we always want to answer in public relations: Who are we trying to reach and what are we trying to get them to do? In sport, we’re not just trying to get a box score out there and hope fans see it. We’re trying to think deeply about passion and fan engagement and how we can unlock this fandom.

Influenced primarily by an American viewpoint on sports, what are some of the reactions students have when they come over for this immersion experience?

These students realize that the U.S. is not the center of the sports world. We went to the Centre for Sport and Human Rights to help students understand that not everything that glitters is gold when it comes to sport. There are human rights atrocities and violations of athletes’ rights. There are violations of worker rights when stadiums are being built for competitions. Migrant workers died building stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar.

These issues are all becoming bigger with each passing day. I feel very passionate about this immersion experience because it truly gives students a sense that sport is a lot more than just the NBA Finals, the Super Bowl or seeing a great Aaron Judge home run. Globally, sports are tied into societies and into national pride, and communicating across those cultures is really challenging.

The work is the result of comprehensive research through the ElectionGraph project from the University’s ��(IDJC). In conjunction with the , IDJC ElectionGraph researchers released a report that found about 2,200 webpages have run ads on Facebook and Instagram between Sept. 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024.

The ads, which mentioned President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump or other presidential primary candidates, have collectively exceeded 1 billion impressions.

Jennifer Stromer-Galley

Though a majority of the pages analyzed appear tied to legitimate groups, a portion of the pages appear to be “inauthentic influencers” who are secretly coordinating and running identical videos or messages. Several of these groups include false or misleading information in their ads, the report found.

The research also captured evidence of a deepfake featuring manipulated audio of figures, including Trump and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. And the findings detailed different political issues on which conservative and progressive-leaning pages are focusing their ad spends.

For conservative pages, immigration has been the top issue, surpassing the economy, while the economy was the top issue for progressive pages. Accounting for all pages regardless of leaning, ads related to the economy received the most ad dollars.

This is the second , which seeks to identify misinformation trends in the U.S. presidential election and other top 2024 contests.��The project is supported by a grant and use of analytics software from , the world’s leading graph database and analytics company.

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship is a joint University initiative of the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The IDJC ElectionGraph team’s efforts included pinpointing origins of messages and tracing misinformation by collecting and algorithmically classifying ads run on Facebook and Instagram, as well as social media posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.

Johanna Dunaway

The network of authentic and inauthentic actors identified in the research represents just a fraction of all coordinated pages related to elections. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is the only social media group that grants approved organizations access to ad data. This data is not required to be disclosed and is not similarly trackable on TikTok, Google, YouTube or Snapchat, according to the report.

“What this research reveals is the surprising number of actors we know very little about who are spending money targeting voters with messaging on social media where there is little transparency,” says Jennifer Stromer-Galley, professor in the School of Information Studies and lead researcher for the project.

“It underscores that tech platforms need to do more to allow academics and journalists access to platform data so that political actors can be held to account with the American public,” Stromer-Galley says.

Johanna Dunaway, IDJC research director and a professor of political science in the Maxwell School, says that what stands out from the analysis is the reminder that the election information environment is more confusing than ever.

“Even as some things stay the same—like emphasis on the economy and more focus on advocacy and attacks than issues—opaque messaging from��random one-off groups or complex hidden networks with��questionable motives��makes it��increasingly difficult to identify credible messages and sources in��the��cacophony��of campaign-related��information,” Dunaway says.

Margaret Talev

The prevalence of inauthentic groups, scams and deepfake voices just within the parameters of the search shows a massive amount of manipulation and misinformation targeting Americans through the political information consumed online, says Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the IDJC, professor of practice in the Newhouse School and a journalist.

“This is a situation of ‘voter beware’ but also ‘consumer beware’ because sometimes what looks like a bid for your vote may actually be a bid for your identity or your credit card information,” Talev says.

Jim Webber, Neo4j’s chief scientist, says that covert operations by coordinated networks in digital civic spaces is a dangerous modern reality—while the company’s graph technology is enabling IDJC’s researchers “to uncover the hidden patterns and actions of those covert actors” and identify misinformation and misleading content.

Each wave of findings from the is based on interviews with roughly 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Ipsos through its probability-based KnowledgePanel.

Initial findings released Thursday found that Republicans were more invested in watching the first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump than Democrats or independents.

Based on a survey conducted May 17-19, 75% of Republicans said they were likely to watch the debate, compared with 61% of Democrats and 58% of independents.

“This project will help IDJC researchers expand our understanding of media consumption and an increasingly polarized electorate in a rapidly changing news climate,” says , Kramer Director of the IDJC and professor of practice of magazine, news and digital journalism at the .

The is a joint University initiative of the Newhouse School and the . Based in Washington, D.C., the institute engages in nonpartisan research, teaching and public dialogue aimed at strengthening trust in news media, governance and society.

“While many polls are focused on the horse race, this gives us the opportunity to understand how this election cycle is shaping Americans’ perspectives about patriotism, partisanship and the importance of democracy,” says , IDJC research director and professor of political science at Maxwell.

, IDJC senior researcher, says “Our hope is that we can learn more about the relationships between identity, trust in media and attitudes toward democracy that shape the stakes of the election—not merely try to predict the election.” Darr also is an associate professor of communications at Newhouse.

The IDJC also offers foundational courses taught in the nation’s capital in civics, media literacy and ethics, and works with the Maxwell and Newhouse schools to facilitate internships, networking opportunities with alumni and other educational experiences for ���ϲ����� students.

The polling partnership with Ipsos will provide another avenue to teach students about survey research and demographic trends in society, Talev says.

“These are such important tools for aspiring journalists to have in their skillset,” she says. “It’s critical for reporters and writers to understand how voters feel and perceive developments on the trail to cover the campaign with proper context and authority.”

Talev also is a senior contributor at Axios and Thursday.

On this episode, Joey Gawrysiak discusses the evolution of the esports program on campus, the progress made in its first year, the expanded opportunities available to students and what’s planned for the future.

Beginning in the fall, ���ϲ�����’s will welcome admitted students to campus for classes.

This past academic year served as “Year Zero” for the esports degree program, which employs a holistic, experiential learning-based approach that will prepare students for career success in various industries, leveraging the largest collection of faculty and staff members of any esports program on a college campus.

It’s an all-encompassing venture, including both the academic degree program and the competitive teams that vie for national championships in their respective games.

Academically, students who embark on this first-of-its-kind esports communications and management program, offered jointly by the����and the��, will pursue one of three tracks:

• esports business and management, covering such topics as sport promotion, sport venue management and finance for emerging enterprises;
• esports communications, including coursework in virtual reality storytelling, esports and advertising, public relations principles and sports in the metaverse; or
• esports media and design, focused on 3D animation, game experience design and virtual production.

Competitively, ���ϲ����� fielded its first varsity esports squad in January, with the Orange winning a national championship in the Counter-Strike game and experiencing plenty of success across other varsity and club sports teams.

Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of the esports degree program, was hired last August to bring his visionary research and skills to campus, helping ���ϲ����� capitalize on the tremendous popularity of esports while continuing to offer students innovative career options in emerging fields.

Joey Gawrysiak

“Students will get a world-class education from esports-specific faculty that are at the top of their field in researching and teaching esports, with industry connections that will help you find an experience, a capstone, an internship and a job. That’s part of your educational journey,” says Gawrysiak, who developed one of the first esports degrees in the country at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He notes that the best-in-class esports facilities currently underway on campus will create standout opportunities for students to engage with esports and gaming.

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Gawrysiak discusses the evolution of the esports program on campus, the progress made in its first year, the expanded opportunities available to students and what’s planned for the future.

Check out featuring Gawrysiak.�� A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

A long, distinguished career has taken Army Colonel Pia W. Rogers L’01, G’01 to assignments around the globe and led to her current position at the Pentagon.

Pia W. Rogers

On Friday, June 28, she we will return to where her professional journey began, ���ϲ�����, to give the keynote address at the 2024 master of public administration convocation ceremony, as the school celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Rogers plans to talk about her path in the 22 years since earning a Maxwell M.P.A., as well as her commitment to public service and her advice for graduates. “Today my energy is derived from those around me—subordinates, peers and superiors—and how we, collectively, improve our foxhole,” she says.

After being commissioned at ���ϲ����� through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program and earning her undergraduate degree in journalism from the Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1998, Rogers went on to complete the J.D./M.P.A. dual-degree program in 2001.

She joined the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2002 and has been an active-duty soldier for 22 years. During that time, she has been stationed at numerous locations across the globe, including Taegu, South Korea; Kabul, Afghanistan; and Bolslawiac, Poland. In the U.S., she has worked in Maryland, Virginia, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and now, at the Pentagon, where she serves as the chief of legislation, investigations and nominations for the Office of the Chief Legislative Liaison, U.S. Army.

Maxwell’s M.P.A. program was the first program of its kind in the nation and was one of the original educational offerings of the Maxwell School when it opened in Slocum Hall on Oct. 3, 1924, thanks to the vision and support of George Holmes Maxwell. The yearlong program runs from July to June and has consistently been ranked No. 1 by peers surveyed for U.S. News & World Report. It blends theory and practice to prepare service-oriented leaders for careers in a wide-range of fields in the public and private sectors.

The convocation ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Hendricks Chapel with welcoming remarks by Patrick Edwards G’24 M.P.A. and a graduating student address by Omer Keles G’24.

At the conclusion of the keynote and student addresses, the Brady K. Howell Maxwell Alumni Award will be presented to Judith Douglas ’77, G’81. Douglas is the industry chair of the Collaboration Council for the American Council for Technology, Industry Advisory Council Executive Committee.

Douglas’ public service leadership spans federal, state and local levels of government, as well as nonprofit organizations, academia and private industry. She is being honored for her innovative and collaborative contributions across industries and her ongoing involvement as an alumna.

• Robert Thompson (Newhouse): ��, , , ,
• Carl Schramm (iSchool):
• Osamah Khalil, (Maxwell): |
• Gregory Germain (Law): |
• Cameron Miller (Whitman):
• Dennis Deninger (Falk):
• Bill Werde (Newhouse):
• Hamid Ekbia (Maxwell):
• Thomas Constable and John Dean (Whitman): ����
• Jun Li (Maxwell):
• Alan Allport (Maxwell): I ��
• Vanessa Marquette (University Communications):
• Emily Thorson (Maxwell):
• David Driesen (Law):
• Lee McKnight (iSchool):
• Jack Graves (Law):
• J. Christopher Hamilton (Newhouse):
• Lindsey Darvin (Falk):
• George Theoharis (Education):
• Austin Kocher (TRAC): ,
• Jeffrey Karson (Arts & Sciences) and Robert Wysocki (Visual and Performing Arts):
• Ryan Griffiths (Maxwell): ��
• Robert Murrett (Law/Maxwell):
• Pat Penfield (Whitman) : , , , ,����
• Sylvia Sierra (VPA) :
• Lisa Manning (Arts & Sciences): ��
• Roy Gutterman (Newhouse): , , I I
• Jacob Bendix (Maxwell):
• Jing Lei (Education):
• Lauryn Gouldin (Law):
• Dean Cole Smith (Engineering and Computer Science):

To get in touch and learn more about ���ϲ����� faculty members available for interviews, please contact��media@syr.edu.

The Retention and Student Success team receives the “Best Use of Results” award from Lois Agnew, associate provost for academic programs. From left: Hope Smalling, Radell Roberts, Lois Agnew, Kal Srinivas, Samantha Trumble, ShawnMarie Parry, Priyasha Sinha Roy ’24 and Prabin Raj Shrestha ’24

Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (IE) presented awards to several faculty and staff members, students, offices and programs during the One University Assessment Celebration on April 26, in the School of Education, Education Commons.

In her opening remarks, Lois Agnew, associate provost for Academic Programs, highlighted the importance of celebrating the various ways faculty, staff and students have engaged in assessment practices, illuminating our strengths but also reinforcing a commitment to continuous improvement. Awards were given in five categories:

• Assessment Champion: Recognizing campus community members who advocate for meaningful assessment to enrich the student experience and who have made outstanding contributions to the University’s culture of improvement.
• Outstanding Assessment: Recognizing a distinguished academic, co-curricular and functional area for overall robust assessment.
• Best Engagement Strategies: Recognizing programs/units for engaging faculty, staff and students to participate and contribute to the assessment process.
• Best Use of Results: Recognizing an academic, co-curricular and functional area for how assessment results are used in making decisions.
• Collaborative Inquiry and Action: A new award recognizing a unit that collaborates with others outside of their primary school, college or division to use assessment methods and data, resulting in actions to improve student learning and campus operations.

This year’s recipients included:

• Assessment Champion | Academic: Blythe Bennett, program manager, School of Information Studies
• Assessment Champion | Co-Curricular/Functional: Jessica Newsom, assistant director, Living Learning Communities
• Assessment Champion | Shared Competencies: Maureen Thompson, undergraduate director and associate professor, Department of Public Health, Falk College
• Outstanding Assessment | Academic Programs: Forensic Science Undergraduate and Graduate Programs, Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)
• Outstanding Assessment | Co-Curricular: Student Outreach and Support, Student Experience
• Outstanding Assessment | Functional: Future Professoriate Program, Graduate School
• Best Faculty Engagement Strategies: Human Development and Family Science program, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Falk College
• Best Staff Engagement Strategies: College of Professional Studies Dean’s Office
• Best Student Engagement Strategies: Living Learning Communities, Student Experience
• Best Use of Results | Academic: Film program, Department of Film and Media Arts, College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA)
• Best Use of Results | Co-Curricular: ���ϲ����� Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (The SOURCE)
• Best Use of Results | Functional: Retention and Student Success
• Collaborative Inquiry and Action: Barnes Center at The Arch

After the awards, 2023 Assessment Leadership Institute participants were recognized for their poster presentations detailing assessment activities over the past year:

• Keonte Coleman, director of assessment and program review and assistant professor, Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Nadeem Ghani, assistant teaching professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS)
• Dimitar Gueorguiev, Chinese studies program director and associate professor, Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Jody Nyboer, associate professor, School of Design, VPA
• Kathleen Roland-Silverstein, associate professor, presenting with Isabel Hampton ’24 and Katie Weber ’24, Sentor School of Music, VPA
• Darwin Tsen, Chinese language minor coordinator and assistant teaching professor, Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, A&S
• Andrea Willis, director of academic programs, College of Professional Studies

Recipients of the inaugural “Student Engagement in Assessment” grant were also acknowledged for their poster presentations showcasing the collaborative experiences of students, faculty and staff:

• Biomedical and Chemical Engineering: Tessa DeCicco ’25, Kerrin O’Grady ’25, Jade Carter ’24, Carly Ward ’24, Natalie Petryk ’21, Bridget Sides ’25, Mia Paynton ’25 and Doug Yung, associate teaching professor, Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program director, ECS
• Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS): Student Success Advisory Council, which includes Eadin Block ’26; Margot MacKechnie ’26; Gary Shteyman ’26; Karen Toole, coordinator of academic support, Center for Disability Resources; Tasha Terzini, advisor, A&S; Kate Bussell, assistant director of academic expectations CLASS; and George Athanas, associate director, CLASS
• New Student Programs: Winnie Naggar ’24 and Butch Hallmark, interim director, New Student Programs
• Retention and Student Success: Prabin Raj Shrestha ’24 and Hope Smalling, functional business analyst, Retention and Student Success

Jerry Edmonds, senior assistant provost, shared final remarks. He noted that ���ϲ����� achieved “two important milestones this year. It is the fifth annual celebration highlighting the dedicated efforts of faculty, staff and students to assess and improve, as well as 10 years since the University embarked on a campus-wide initiative of systematically collecting evidence to inform decision-making across our campus.” He concluded with thanks and appreciation for everyone’s continued efforts.

Visit the�� for event photos, presentation materials highlighting recipients’ achievements and posters.

Story by Laura Harrington, associate director, Institutional Effectiveness��

The symposium included a networking breakfast and panel discussion with young startup founders who have successfully raised funds: Sean Lattimore ’23, founder of Suptho; Aidan Meany, founder of Found Surface; Ben Haber, founder of Monark Markets; and Matt Schneider, founder of e-States.

The panel was followed by an open session where student entrepreneurs learned about the various types of early-stage investors, including a distinguished panel from across the country, including Libraries Advisory Board member and angel investor, Yvonne Hyland; Andrew Schwartz ’20, Zenyatta Capital co-founder; Andy Reed, ESD–NY Ventures director; Sashi Tripathi, Nurture VC managing director; Dustin Doucette, director of Upstate Venture Connect; and David Tsung, co-founder of Oculus VC, a local venture capital firm. The symposium wrapped up with a lightning round of elevator pitches by current LaunchPad student founders to the panelist judges.

Student startups competed for the People’s Choice Awards during the Blackstone LaunchPad’s first Investor-Ready Symposium.

The following student startups were the People’s Choice awardees for the event:

• First place: Sam Hogan, founder of HireBird, from SUNY Albany’s Blackstone LaunchPad
• Second place: Natasha Brao ’22 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), G’23, G’24 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Shooka Sauce
• Third place (tie): Frank Marin ’24 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), founder of Marhold Space Systems; and Yaneeka Nichols ’26 (School of Information Studies), founder of SNDER
• Honorable mentions: Motolani Oladitan ’24 (College of Arts and Sciences), founder of Tá Beautie; Neil Adams ’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founder of Band Launch Media; and Chris Cherniakov, founder of Telemetree, from Colgate University.

Funds for the awards were generously donated by Andrew Schwartz ’20.

Prior to the symposium, the LaunchPad hosted a series of workshops designed to prepare students to meet potential investors on the topics of contract negotiation; due diligence-data room preparation; term sheet overview; and financial instruments review.

Johanna Dunaway, professor of political science in the and research director of the ���ϲ����� (IDJC), has been named a 2024 Carnegie Fellow. She is one of 28 distinguished scholars and writers selected as a Carnegie Fellow to study political polarization.

“We are incredibly proud of Professor Dunaway and her work,” says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School. “Her research, teaching and scholarly leadership on this issue have already brought great benefit to our understanding of the impact of changing news coverage and consumption on our democracy. This fellowship will expand that already important work and benefit our society at large.”

Johanna Dunaway

As recipients of the so-called “brainy award,” Carnegie Fellows will receive a grant of up to $200,000 for research seeking to understand the causes of polarization in our society and what can be done to address this challenge. The award is for up to two years, with fellows typically working on a book or major study.

Dunaway will use her award to further her research on the relationship between changing news focus and political polarization. The project will specifically examine the roots and consequences of affective polarization, with a focus on the role of changing media environments, and how both are tied to anti-democratic behaviors.

“I am honored to receive this fellowship and look forward to conducting the research,” says Dunaway. “By helping us better understand the conditions under which the news environment fuels the influence of affective polarization on political reasoning and behavior, I am hopeful this project will address a critical gap in our ability to understand it as a threat to democracy.”

Dunaway’s Carnegie project builds on earlier polarization and media examinations. In 2018 she and two other scholars, including Associate Professor of Communications Josh P. Darr, studied voting patterns in communities with shuttered newspapers. Their work was published in the Journal of Communication and was followed by a book co-authored with Darr based on new research related to the impact of the original findings, “Home Style Opinion: How Local Newspapers Can Slow Polarization” (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

The Carnegie Corporation of New York selected this year’s fellows from over 360 applicants—a record number for the program. Founded in 2015, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program provides the most generous stipend of its kind for research in the humanities and social sciences.

Dunaway joins a growing list of Maxwell faculty who have earned this prestigious award, including Shana Gadarian, professor of political science and associate dean for research, in 2021; Thomas Keck, professor of political science and the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, in 2019; and Jennifer Karas Montez, University Professor, professor of sociology and the Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies, in 2018.

Research from the project found that the millions paid for more than 24,000 ad buys and about 5,500 unique ads on Facebook and Instagram between Sept. 1, 2023, and Feb. 29, 2024. This amounts to an estimated 869 million impressions in the months leading up to, and during, the presidential primaries. The majority of ads involved Biden or Trump, the report found.����

The Biden and Trump campaigns spent another roughly $10 million on paid social media content, drawing 303 million impressions, though the incumbent outspent Trump about 7-to-1 on these platforms.����

This is the produced via by a $250,000 grant from , the world’s leading graph database and analytics company. The grant allows ElectionGraph researchers to use Neo4j’s graph database and analytics software to identify misinformation trends in the U.S. presidential election and other top 2024 contests.��

The research team’s efforts focus on dissecting misinformation themes—pinpointing origins of messages and tracing misinformation by collecting and algorithmically classifying ads run on Facebook and Instagram, as well as social media posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter. The project will also gather input from journalists and the public about the 2024 presidential election, and races for U.S. Senate and key congressional districts.��

The first set of findings released today demonstrate the importance of requiring social media platforms to disclose details about election advertising and messaging, says Jennifer Stromer-Galley, senior associate dean and professor at the School of Information Studies. An expert in political campaigns and misinformation, Stromer-Galley leads the IDJC ElectionGraph research team. ��

“Revealing details about ads and messaging on social media platforms is vital to provide the public with transparency and context,” Stromer-Galley says. “Failure to do so can make voters more vulnerable to manipulation without any sort of accountability.”��

Organizations that ran ads ranged from well-known political action committees, political party groups or other candidates, to obscure players with harder-to-trace ties and agendas, the report found. The analysis identifies the top 30 spenders that each mention Biden and Trump, and examines patterns in how groups apply the honorific of “President” when referring to either candidate.��

The report captures a fraction of overall U.S. election-related content across all social media platforms. While Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, currently allows approved organizations to access ad data, it is not required to be made available—and not similarly trackable—on TikTok, Google, YouTube or Snapchat.��

“These findings give us a glimpse at the firehose of information and misinformation coming at voters from groups with a jumble of motives, ties and trustworthiness ahead of the 2024 elections,” says Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the IDJC, professor of practice at the Newhouse School of Public Communications and a journalist.

The challenge faced by digital researchers and computational journalists in unearthing the consequences of AI-driven misinformation on democracy is enormous, says Jim Webber, chief scientist at Neo4j. ��

“Graph technology is an essential enabler to those seeking to uncover hidden patterns and networks of those looking to manipulate democratic populations,” Webber says.

“We at Neo4j are proud to support ���ϲ�����’s mission to help journalists and citizens separate fact from fake news so that the voting public can make informed decisions as they go to the polls.”��

The����funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries.

The 2024 recipients are:

• Caroline Barraco G’24, a history master’s degree student in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, English teaching assistantship (ETA), Spain
• Olivia Budelmann ’23 (mathematics; environment, sustainability and policy; and Spanish language, literature and culture in the College of Arts and Sciences), ETA, Andorra
• Jaemon Crosby ’24, an acting major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), study award, United Kingdom—London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA, classical acting)
• Avital Datskovsky, a Ph.D. student in anthropology in the Maxwell School, research award, India
• Jessica Hogbin, a Ph.D. student in history in the Maxwell School, research award, Italy
• Lindsey Kernen ’23 (psychology in A&S and citizenship and civic engagement in the Maxwell School), study award, United Kingdom—University of Strathclyde
• Yasmin Nayrouz ’24, an English and textual studies major in A&S, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, study award, United Kingdom—University of Sussex
• Anthony Ornelaz G’24, a creative writing M.F.A. student in A&S,��ETA, Poland
• Alec Rovensky ’21 (School of Architecture), study award, Germany—Technische Universität Berlin
• Adriana Rozas Rivera G’21 (magazine, news and digital journalism, Newhouse School), ETA, Spain
• Zelikha Shoja G’24, an art video student in VPA, research award, Tajikistan
• Julianne Strauss ’23 (inclusive elementary and special education, School of Education) G’24 (literacy education), ETA, Spain
• Elizabeth Vanek G’24, a clinical mental health counseling student in the School of Education, ETA, Mexico
• Ciara Young ’24, an international relations and anthropology major in the Maxwell School | A&S and linguistics major in A&S and member of the Renée Crown Honors Program, ETA, Korea

The 2024 alternates are:

• Huleymatu Barrie ’22 (international relations in the Maxwell School | A&S, ETA, Ghana
• Ian Ferguson, a Ph.D. student in history in the Maxwell School, research award, Kenya
• Liam Goff, a senior broadcast and digital journalism major in the Newhouse School, ETA, Germany
• Mary Matthews, a senior international relations major in the Maxwell School | A&S, ETA, Estonia
• Laura Roman Lopez G’24, a master’s degree student in magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School, ETA, Argentina

Jaemon Crosby

Crosby, while studying at LAMDA, hopes to bring a new perspective and diversify the world of classical acting, as classical texts and acting historically have been written for and performed by white men.

Jaemon Crosby

“Some of these texts, for example Shakespeare, convey a bigger message and an experience that is not unique to just one race or gender, but to everyone,” Crosby says. “There has been a big revamp in the use of classical texts and bringing them to modern eyes, and I want to be a part of that. … I have always been very drawn to language, rhetoric and the power of listening. I hope this training will help me bring that into works that are performed today and give me a new perspective and interpretation of texts to bring into auditions as I begin my acting career.”

Crosby hopes he can be a role model for younger Black kids in that they may see themselves in classical texts. “Representation is very important in television, theatre and film,” he says. “I want to act and play roles that go against stereotypes of what a Black man is and show what we can be and the power in our Blackness.”

He also hopes that in the future, the connections he makes during his time in the U.K. will aid him in producing shows both in the United States and the U.K. “In my time during my previous semester abroad in London (through ���ϲ����� Abroad), I saw so many beautiful, specific and bold plays that are telling important stories that all should see,” Crosby says. “Theatre should tell stories that allow people to see themselves in them and relate, tell untold stories, educate and make people feel less alone. Everyone should have access to that. There are amazing shows I think should be brought to the U.S., and their messages shared with everyone. I want to be a part of that, and this training and the connections I make will help me get there.”

Jessica Hogbin

Jessica Hogbin

During her Fulbright year in Italy, Hogbin will conduct research for her dissertation, which studies how melancholy—a now-defunct medical category from humoral theory—was used and abused by Renaissance scholars and physicians to express and explain mental health and the mind. Her project, “Innumerable Melancholies: Medicine, Mental Health and Human Nature in Renaissance Italy, 1450-1650,” engages with the deeply interconnected relationship between medicine, narratives around mental health and politics in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Hogbin will conduct research in several archives and libraries in the Veneto region of Italy, including the Historic Archive of the University of Padua, the Marciana Library, and the State Archives of Padua and Venice.

“Through this study, I aim to explore the increasing presumption that it was a patient’s responsibility to care for their own mind and body, along with stereotypes that claimed certain people were more likely by birth and social status to be victims of melancholy, concepts that continue to affect how mental health is imagined to this day,” she says. “I am greatly looking forward to spending this Fulbright year building my dissertation project, conversing with Italian scholars and eating plenty of gelato.”

Hogbin plans to transform her dissertation into a book project in the future. “I hope to take everything that I learn during my Fulbright year, both academically and culturally, back into the classroom, where I am looking forward to sharing this information with my students and allowing the content that I find to shape my lessons.”

Lindsay Kernen

During her Fulbright year, Kernen will pursue a master’s degree in work and organizational psychology at the University of Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, Scotland.

Lindsay Kernen

Her research will focus on interpersonal relationships in organizations and how diverse groups have the power to produce creative, innovative and profitable outcomes as opposed to conventional top-down management styles.

“I hope to bridge theory and practice, promoting the importance of community involvement in psychological research. I’m looking forward to partnering with an organization in Glasgow to improve employee well-being and satisfaction,” she says. “I’m so excited to have a year dedicated to community-based learning and I hope this leaves me exposed to many diverse perspectives in the psychology field and beyond.”

Beyond her Fulbright year, Kernen plans to embark upon a career dedicated to connecting psychological research that informs employee wellbeing with organizational practices and to raise awareness of the benefits of inclusive group dialogue for innovative workplaces. “This experience will allow me to dig deep into these topics while providing many opportunities to collaborate with local organizations to implement these strategies while learning from the local community and diverse cultures,” she says.

In addition to her studies, Kernen plans to attend meetings for worship at the local Quaker meetinghouse and enjoy Glasgow’s vibrant music and arts scene.

Julianne Strauss

Julianne Strauss

During her Fulbright year, Strauss will be an English teaching assistant in the La Rioja region of Spain. “I hope to find ways to promote inclusive education within the classrooms I teach in and in the school community,” says Strauss. “I also want to instill a love of reading in my students and use inclusive children’s literature that I read in my own U.S. classrooms to promote English learning.”

Strauss, who studied in Madrid during her junior year through ���ϲ����� Abroad, hopes to grow as a Spanish speaker and immerse herself in Spanish culture. “I have not had the chance to visit this region previously, so I want to explore all of my new home,” she says.

She plans to use this Fulbright year as a chance to expand her teaching experiences to students who are learning English as a second language. “I want to bring this experience home and draw upon it to support my future students in the Central New York or New York City region,” she says.

Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising at 315.443.2759 or cfsa@syr.edu. The campus deadline for the 2024-25 application cycle is Sept. 10.

Traci Geisler, director of Blackstone LaunchPad at ���ϲ����� Libraries, and Bruce Kingma, professor of entrepreneurship in the School of Information Studies and Whitman School of Management, co-organizers of the 2024 RvD iPrize and Spirt of Entrepreneurship Award.

Winners of the Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize for Student Entrepreneurship competition and the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award were announced at the student entrepreneurship competition held April 12 at Bird Library. The competition was coordinated by the Blackstone LaunchPad at ���ϲ����� Libraries (LaunchPad) and Bruce Kingma, professor of entrepreneurship at the School of Information Studies (iSchool) and Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

The following 10 student startup teams each won $2,000 in RvD funding:

• Brielle Young ’26 (iSchool), founder of Aggregate, an online platform that enables small-scale farmers to sell directly to customers via the Internet.
• Olutosin “Tosin” Alabi G’24 (Whitman School), founder of DiabeTech, a healthcare startup developing an innovative smart bandage solution for managing diabetic foot ulcers.
• Mariah Brown ’25 (Whitman School) and Fernanda Kligerman, founders of Dormbank, a used goods store which specializes in supplying college students with reduced cost dorm goods, appliances and home electronics.
• Jonah Wassersug ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), Alexa Shoiock ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Tomoyoshi Takita ’26 (iSchool), founders of GEN, an AI-powered personal stylist and shopper.
• Waqar Hussain G’24 (Whitman School), founder of Iconic.cloud, offering small to medium enterprises a streamlined cloud server management solution, enabling them to easily deploy and scale their digital products on dedicated cloud platforms.
• Motolani Oladitan ’24 (College of Arts and Sciences), founder of Latita Wellness (Tà), a virtual marketplace connecting African beauty and wellness brands with the diaspora by making it easier for consumers to discover and purchase high-quality, authentic African products.
• Elizabeth Paulin ’25 (Arts and Sciences), founder of Paulin Ventures, a venture capital firm uniquely focused on investing in early-stage startups founded by diverse and disabled entrepreneurs—an underserved market with immense untapped potential.
• Xheneta Sopjani G’24 (Whitman School), founder of Revive, a powerful skincare device that combines advanced technologies to stimulate collagen, tighten facial muscles and reduce wrinkles.
• Natasha Brao G’24 (Whitman School), founder of Root & Seed Brands, which launched its first product, Shooka Sauce, a commercially packaged good brand that celebrates the mixing and melding of cultural cuisines to promote creative, adaptable cooking and bringing new experiences to the modern table.
• John Bol Ajak Deng G’25 (Newhouse School), founder of The HumBol Fund, which aims to give academically gifted South Sudanese students from Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya a sense of hope through scholarships and a network of private school partners to pursue their education in the U.S.

The Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award is awarded to students who best exemplify the spirit of entrepreneurship. Prizes honor the memory of Hunter Brooks Watson, an SU student who died tragically in a distracted driving accident. The winners of $2,000 each are:

• Adya Parida ’25 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Ryan Brouchoud ’25 (Maxwell School), founders of AdaptEd, a technology company that offers AI-powered adaptive learning software designed to support students with different learning styles.
• Bintou Manneh ’24 (iSchool), Maram Ahmed ’24 (iSchool), Marangelis Uben ’24 (iSchool) and Ashley Romero ’24 (Arts and Sciences), founders of BearBot, a stuffed toy that acts as a reading tool for children, fostering a safe and comforting learning environment.
• Mariah Brown ’25 (Whitman School) and Fernanda Kligerman, founders of Dormbank, a used goods store which specializes in supplying college students with reduced cost dorm goods, appliances and home electronics.
• Za’Tozia Duffie G’25 (Newhouse School), founder of MirrorZ60, an innovative mirror designed to revolutionize personal hair care, providing users with visibility to the back of their heads.
• Jordan Pierre G’25 (Whitman School), founder of VOICE, fostering a community that empowers and uplifts marginalized students, enabling them to unearth their voices, recognize their collective agency in effecting change, and harness their platforms to cultivate community solidarity—all through the medium of storytelling.

��The award competition highlights the University’s entrepreneurial focus. Raymond von Dran, who served as dean of the School of Information Studies from 1995 until his passing in 2007, was a longtime academic entrepreneur and staunch supporter of student innovation. Gisela von Dran, Raymond’s wife and the former director of the School of Information Studies’ library and information science master’s program, served as one of this year’s judges.

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award began in 2018 through the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund. Speaking on behalf of Hunter’s memory was John “Jack” Rose ’24 (Whitman School) of Management), this year’s Hunter Brooks Watson Remembrance Scholar, along with Hunter’s parents, Jerry Watson and Judith Fister, who joined from McLean, Virginia.

Thirty-five students have been chosen as the 2024-25 ���ϲ����� Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, now in their 35th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through ���ϲ����� who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Those students were among the 270 people who perished in the bombing. The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by gifts from alumni, friends, parents and corporations.

Significant support for the Remembrance Scholarships has been provided by Jean Thompson ’66 and ���ϲ����� Life Trustee Richard L. Thompson G’67 in memory of Jean Taylor Phelan Terry ’43 and John F. Phelan, Jean Thompson’s parents; by Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Steven Barnes ’82 and Deborah Barnes; by The ���ϲ����� Association of Zeta Psi in memory of Alexander Lowenstein; and by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation.

Selection Process

Remembrance Scholars are chosen in their junior year through a competitive selection process. Applicants submitted an essay and a reflective response in multimedia, artistic, musical or written format as part of a comprehensive application. The application evaluation committee is composed of University faculty and staff and current Remembrance Scholars. The $5,000 scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholarship, leadership and service to the community.

Additionally, two students from Lockerbie come to ���ϲ����� each year for one year of study through the ���ϲ�����-Lockerbie Scholarships, also in their 35th year. The scholarships are jointly funded by ���ϲ����� and the Lockerbie Trust. Cameron Colville and Anna Newbould were recently selected as the 2024-25 Lockerbie Scholars.

“Remembrance Scholars represent ���ϲ����� at its best through their academic achievements, their leadership skills and their contributions to the University,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “They reflect the talent and promise of those students whose memories they honor. We are very proud to call them members of our University community.”

The Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars plan the Remembrance activities held at the University each year. The scholars will be recognized during a convocation in the fall.

The 2024-25 Remembrance Scholars, their hometowns, majors and schools and colleges are the following:

• Alba Aljiboury of ���ϲ�����, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), an information management and technology major in the School of Information Studies and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Linda Baguma of Iowa City, Iowa, a double major in international relations and political science in the Maxwell School and A&S and member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Adam Baltaxe of Arlington, Virginia, an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a Spanish major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Tanner Boshart of Jackson, New Jersey, an economics major and history major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a finance major in the Whitman School of Management and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Danis Cammett of Washington, D.C., an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S, applied data analytics major in the School of Information Studies, a member of the Crown Honors Program and a member of the University’s Army Reserve Officer Training Program;
• Natalie Dolenga of Lincolnshire, Illinois, an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Charlotte Ebel of Urbana, Illinois, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, a women’s and gender studies and German major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Luke Elliott of Leesburg, Virginia, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mason Garbus of Hannibal, New York, a music education major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and the School of Education;
• Joshua Garvin of Houston, Texas, a music industry major in VPA;
• Tabitha Hulme of Saratoga, California, a public health major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and health humanities major in A&S;
• Abigail Jones of Mashpee, Massachusetts, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Rajan Joshi of Dallas, Texas, an economics major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Sierra Kaplan of New York, New York, a health humanities major in A&S; a political science major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Kelsey Leary of Mahopac, New York, an art photography major in VPA;
• Nadia Lyngdoh-Sommer of Singapore, a sociology major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a law, society and policy major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Sophia Moore of Burbank, California, a television, radio and film major in the Newhouse School, a sociology major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Zachary Murray of Kingston, Jamaica, a political science and policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a modern foreign languages major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Ryan Myers of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mark Nzasi of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Cheryl Olanga of Nairobi, Kenya, a computer science major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS);
• Adya Parida of Odisha, India, a computer science major in ECS and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Jenna Poma of Queens, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Tia Poquette of Brooklyn, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S:
• Alekhya Rajasekaran of Visalia, California, a biotechnology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Olivia Reid of Richmond, California, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mason Romero of Olathe, Kansas, a music education major in VPA and the School of Education, a music history and cultures major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Alie Savane of Bronx, New York, a biology major in A&S;
• Abigael Scott of Plattsburgh, New York, a neuroscience and biology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Yifan “Ivan” Shen of Shanghai, China, a student in the School of Architecture, a music history and cultures major in A&S, and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Justine Smith of Somerville, New Jersey, a political science and policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Joshua Spodek of Wayne, New Jersey, a history major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a social studies education major in the Maxwell School and the School of Education and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Alyssa Sutherland of St. Louis, Missouri, a public health major in the Falk College; a women’s and gender studies major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Evelina Torres of Houston, Texas, a political science major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program; and
• Leondra Tyler of Cicero, New York, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S.

Graduate-level learning, research and creative activities can also occur throughout the community as students work with local residents of all ages and backgrounds through partnerships with a variety of local organizations.

Graduate-level learning, research and creative activities take place in classrooms, labs and studios on the ���ϲ����� campus, but they also occur throughout the community as graduate students work with local residents of all ages and backgrounds through partnerships with a variety of local organizations.

The and the (EHN) in the College of Arts and Sciences are two campus resources that help graduate students find volunteer opportunities and carry out community-based research initiatives.

The Shaw Center is the University’s hub for experiential learning, matching student volunteers with community needs. Administrative coordinator says volunteers work at the University’s and other community locations, including the , , and (SCSD) schools.

EHN annual research assistantships and summer and winter fellowships provide arts and humanities that align with graduate scholarship, coursework and community-building. About 35 graduate students are currently involved across a range of programs, says , EHN founder and director.

Lauren Ashby

Lauren Ashby, a Ph.D. student in sociology, works with Data Warriors, a club at SCSD’s Nottingham High School that uses math and mapping to advance social justice and address local issues. She previously ran a summer research program for SCSD students on geographic information systems (technology that creates, analyzes and plots data to a map).

The community engagement and participatory research Ashby’s EHN-associated projects provide are important to her research, which looks at educational segregation and inequality, she says. “I have been able to work with incredible high school students who want to make real change in their communities. I’m diving right into what I am passionate about and I share that beyond academic spaces. Partnering with students pushes scholarship in new directions and provides new insights,” she says.

Lauren Cooper

Lauren Cooper, a Ph.D. candidate in English, specializes in the climate history of the Romantic period and its relationship to Romantic literature. She works mainly with first-generation immigrants, new Americans and other traditionally underserved populations.��Through her work with Write Out, she has helped area youth share their stories��while also enjoying literature. Her “Ecologies of Writing” project, she partnered with to offer students a way to respond to human-induced environmental and climate change.

Community-engaged projects provide a needed real-world lens to balance climate crisis and environmental justice questions against the literary responses to those issues, Cooper says. “Engaged humanities work provides a really valuable mode of making sure we’re centering questions and voices grounded in our contemporary moment and the community around us, even as we conduct specialized research,” she says.

Caroline Dollar

Caroline Dollar, a master’s student in public administration in the , started reading with kindergarteners and second graders at SCSD’s Delaware Primary School through the United Way of Central New York’s program. She travels to and from the school using Shaw Center transportation.

Learning about some of the challenges many SCSD children face, Dollar felt moved to help address them, she says. “I love to read, and I enjoy sharing that love with the students, so I decided to get involved with the community. I honestly just feel good about spending a little bit of my time each week giving back and connecting with the kids.”������

Graduate film student Monae Kyhara leads students in a filmmaking workshop activity.

Monae Kyhara, a master’s film student in the (VPA), helped pilot a filmmaking workshop, “Teens with a Movie Camera.” She worked with Evan Bode G’23, a VPA film and media arts graduate who is now a VPA instructor.

The project encouraged teens to use their smartphones as an artistic instrument and a form of self-expression.

Monae Kyhara

The experience was an enlightening and rewarding one, she says. “It allowed us to expand artist conversations with young artists and was an opportunity for both parties to learn from each other and grow in our love of the arts through pedagogy and practice.

Diana Varo Lucero volunteers at La Casita Cultural Center to read stories with young children. (Photo by Edward Reynolds)

Hosting Shaw Center weekly story times at La Casita Cultural Center helped Diana Varo Lucero, a master’s multimedia, photography and design student in the , stay connected to her community. She is producing a documentary for her master’s project. ��

Diana Varo Lucero

“I chose to volunteer because part of my values as a storyteller and a creative is to use my platform to give back to my community and provide a space for other people to tell their stories,” Lucero says. “I think that to create impact, we must actively become involved with our communities. La Casita has given me the space to learn and become involved. I have met welcoming people, built a supportive community and have discovered my ability to work with different age groups. I’m also still able to work towards contributing to local communities.”