Elections are held annually and are administered by the University Senate and the . Results are tabulated by the .

The committee has six this year. The positions are open to tenured full professors. Members serve two-year terms.

The committee was formed in spring 2014 to ensure that promotion and tenure processes are consistent. It also exists to ensure that the standards and procedures in the schools and colleges leading through approval by the vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, and to concurrence by the chancellor and Board of Trustees, are implemented similarly across campus.

Convened by the associate provost for faculty affairs, the committee’s membership includes the vice president for research (or another full professor designated by the provost) plus 12 faculty representatives from each of the schools and colleges.�� Committee members are charged with reviewing candidate cases and reading promotion and tenure files that the designates as containing substantive disagreements between layers of recommendation and that have a strong possibility of negative determination.��Committee members then counsel the provost and offer advisory votes but do not issue a formal report or consider appeals.

Amber Anand

Committee member , Edward Pettinella Professor of Finance in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, encourages participation in balloting as well as faculty service on the committee. “Promotion and tenure decisions are among the most consequential decisions made by the University,” he says. “The provost and the associate provost engage deeply with the committee. Because committee members review the entirety of a case, faculty voices are part of the deliberations close to the final decision-making. Serving on the committee comes with the additional benefit of learning about many initiatives designed to support early-career faculty at the University.”

Katherine McDonald

, senior associate dean for research and�� administration��and professor of public health in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, says her committee service has been gratifying.

“Serving on this committee is one of the most important things I have done at ���ϲ�����. Junctures when faculty are evaluated are among the more vulnerable times in our careers. Committee members carefully consider each dossier in its entirety, searching critically for evidence of accomplishments and the contexts that influenced them, then providing informed perspectives to the provost for consideration. I remain amazed at how much I have enjoyed being a part of this work,” she says.

All tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible to vote for representatives from their school or college. Eligible voters will receive ballot information via email from the University Senate on the first day of balloting.

Gretchen Ritter

Following a three-year tenure as vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, today announced she will step down from the role to take on a new opportunity that will allow her to leverage her areas of expertise and pursue her professional passion. Ritter will become the University’s vice president for civic engagement and education, effective July 1. An interim provost will be appointed shortly following consultation with key stakeholder groups.

“Gretchen arrived at ���ϲ����� in the midst of a global pandemic and made an immediate impact on our academic and research enterprise,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Among her most significant achievements, ���ϲ����� now has a new and has already begun implementing its ambitious priorities. Gretchen’s contributions as the University’s chief academic officer will be felt for many years to come, and I look forward to her continued impact in this new role.”

Ritter began as provost in the fall of 2021 and focused on opportunities for the University to advance key academic priorities. Under Ritter’s leadership, the University has accomplished the following:

• Collaborated across academic disciplines, schools and colleges to create “Leading with Distinction,” an academic strategic plan created by faculty, staff and students.
• Recruited and hired academic deans to lead five schools and colleges, as well as outstanding faculty scholars, including hiring two of the largest faculty cohorts in University history.
• Responded to, prepared for and navigated the challenges created by the Supreme Court ruling eliminating race-based admissions.
• Launched several centers and institutes designed to tackle complex national and global issues, including the and the Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing.
• Developed and implemented a robust strategy for protecting and empowering free speech, free expression and academic freedom, including providing leadership and oversight of the task force charged with creating the “.”
• Created programming addressing important issues facing society, including free speech, civil discourse, artificial intelligence (AI) and others. These include thought- and dialogue-provoking events with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Rumman Chowdhury, data scientist and AI expert, among others.
• Took action to transform and expand the .

“Serving as ���ϲ�����’s chief academic officer has been a great personal and professional honor and afforded me the opportunity to return to the state where I grew up and earned my undergraduate degree,” says Ritter. “I am immensely proud of what the University has accomplished in recent years, particularly as it relates to our work in free speech, research excellence and academic strategic planning. With a divisive campaign season underway and as we confront challenges related to free speech and academic freedom, I am excited to take on this new role and help ���ϲ����� navigate this inflection point in higher education. I am grateful for the meaningful relationships I have created here and look forward to collaborating with many of my talented peers on this important work.”

As vice president for civic engagement and education, Ritter will, among other things, facilitate programming and events to foster civil dialogue, promote free expression and discourse across diverse viewpoints; collaborate with faculty scholars, academic programs, centers and institutes and other units to advance appreciation for civic engagement and community service; and support the Academic Strategic Plan goal of supporting students in developing the skills and orientations needed to participate as resilient, engaged citizens. Ritter will also continue her academic pursuits as a professor of political science in the and as a faculty affiliate with the .

Ritter, a leading expert in the history of women’s constitutional rights and contemporary issues concerning democracy and citizenship in American politics, joined ���ϲ����� after serving as executive dean and vice provost for The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to her time at Ohio State, Ritter served as the Harold Tanner Dean of Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s largest college. She was the first female to serve as dean of the college. Ritter also previously spent 20 years at the University of Texas at Austin, where she served as vice provost of undergraduate education and faculty governance, co-chair of the Gender Equity Taskforce and director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies. She also taught at U.T. Austin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University, Cornell University and Harvard University. Ritter earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in political science from MIT.

Members are:

• , professor of accounting, Whitman J. Whitman School of Management
• , professor and associate chair of psychology, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)
• , professor of practice, Whitman School
• , professor of public affairs and international affairs, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• , professor of magazine, news and digital journalism, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• , associate professor of women’s and gender studies and director of undergraduate studies, A&S
• , professor of electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• , associate teaching professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition and director of undergraduate studies, A&S
• , associate teaching professor of public relations and graduate program director, Newhouse School
• , professor of public health, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
• , associate professor of architecture, School of Architecture
• , teaching professor of nutrition and graduate director, Falk College
• , professor of art education and teaching and leadership, College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and School of Education
• , professor of anthropology, Maxwell School
• , associate teaching professor and executive director of the Center for Online and Digital Learning, College of Professional Studies
• , associate professor of acting, VPA

“The PFSAC is tasked with providing key feedback and advice on faculty salary appeals and plays an important role in our efforts around salary transparency and equity,” Winders says. Members are jointly selected by Winders and the chair of the University Senate from a pool of nominees brought forward by deans and the senate agenda committee.

A for full-time faculty members seeking to appeal their current salary was recently established by the Office of Academic Affairs.

For each salary appeal, Winders will convene a subcommittee of nine PFSAC members based on disciplinary closeness with the faculty member whose case is under review. The subcommittee will not include faculty members who have had a prior role in a particular faculty salary appeals case or who come from the faculty member’s home department or unit.

The deadline for submitting faculty salary appeals for consideration by the PFSAC in this academic year is Friday, March 1. Appeals must first have been reviewed by the dean of the faculty member’s school or college.

is available online or by contacting the Office of Faculty Affairs at facultyaffairs@syr.edu.

Under the direction of Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter, a has been convened to guide the implementation process and ensure accountability in addressing major institutional commitments outlined in the plan. Provost Ritter is the chair of the committee.

In addition, five have been formed to focus on key aspects of the plan: curricular; diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; research transformation and STEM expansion; enrollment innovation; and veterans. Each thematic group is led by a chair and a lead or co-leads, who also serve on the steering committee.

The steering committee and thematic groups are inclusive of faculty, staff, students and administrators.

“‘Leading With Distinction’ reflects deep engagement from our University community. I am grateful to the individuals who are serving on the steering committee and thematic groups for their continued commitment to the plan and its successful implementation,” Provost Ritter says.

Members of the steering committee and thematic groups are listed on the . The site also includes the full text of “Leading With Distinction,” and will be updated throughout the implementation process.

“The selection of members to serve on the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Promotion and Tenure is essential to the University’s efforts to assure fairness and consistency across the promotion and tenure process. It also assists in assuring adherence to the highest academic standards of excellence and in providing a superb educational experience for our students,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer . “I encourage all eligible faculty to take part in the election process to help the University in its efforts on both of these forefront goals.”

The committee is composed of tenured professors drawn from 12 electorates aligned with the faculties of 10 of 11 schools and colleges plus two electorates from the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences has separate electorates for faculty in the sciences and in the humanities. The College of Professional Studies is not represented on the committee.

The online balloting identifies potential committee members from each of the electorates having open seats. Only tenured full professors are eligible to serve on the committee. Once balloting closes, a slate of three candidates from each electorate is forwarded to the provost for final committee selection. Committee members serve staggered two-year terms and are not eligible to serve two terms consecutively. Additional information about the committee, its composition and its operations can be found in the ��on the provost’s website.

Nominations are to be returned electronically. Balloting closes Feb. 1. Representatives from the Appointment and Promotions Committee of the University Senate will then identify the faculty endorsed by their colleagues who are willing to serve and then forward the list to Ritter, who will invite individuals to serve. The committee will be fully seated by March 1.

As Central New York begins to experience winter weather, we are writing to you today to provide you important information regarding how the University navigates and communicates about extreme weather conditions. We ask that you please review the enclosed information carefully.

In general, ���ϲ����� will remain open for business. However, we will always prioritize the safety and well-being of our community members when determining operating status. The University works with an independent weather service, Precision Weather Service, to inform our decisions about weather delays, closings or other operational changes. Input is also provided by Academic Affairs; Campus Facilities; Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services; and the Student Experience.

In the event of extreme weather and if a change in the University’s operating status becomes necessary, it will be announced via the University’s emergency broadcast notification system and will carry the notice SU WEATHER ALERT. To ensure you receive these messages, please confirm your Orange Alert settings are up to date in MySlice.

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

• via Orange Safe;
• via campus email;
• via text message;
• via a “crawl” on campus TV monitors and University websites;
• on Twitter: , and ;
• on Facebook: , and ;
• on and ; and
• via ���ϲ����� public radio station and other local media outlets.

Only ���ϲ�����’s Division of Communications is authorized to transmit to the campus community and the news media announcements about closings, work-schedule changes or class-start delays.

Although ���ϲ����� rarely closes for inclement weather, individuals must make personal decisions based on a risk assessment related to travel. We encourage all employees to take precautions and use good judgment when traveling to/from work. Faculty and staff concerned about travel conditions should contact their department chair or supervisor, respectively.

For information on winter weather preparedness, visit the .

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor and Provost

Chief Craig A. Stone
Department of Public Safety

Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, and Jamie Winders, associate provost for faculty affairs, discuss revamping the University’s Academic Strategic Plan and how it can set ���ϲ����� up for sustained success.

The ���ϲ����� campus community is embarking on an important five-year journey of self-discovery and self-improvement, to position itself as a leading global institution that attracts the best students and accomplished faculty who are respected thought leaders.

The goals are ambitious: creating an unsurpassed student experience that is guided and informed by extraordinary scholarship, research and discovery. The stakes are high: determining how ���ϲ����� can improve its academic excellence at every level while fostering a sense of welcome and belonging and ensuring the distinctive excellence, accessibility and collective success for all members of the campus community.

The impact of this revised ASP will be far-reaching. Besides setting the course for where the University is headed, the ASP will also be responsive to the cultural, economic, societal and governmental changes that impact the University and our world.

The ASP will set the course for the future of the University by addressing three key questions:

1. Where is the institution currently, what is ���ϲ����� really good at and in what areas could we improve to get even more proficient?
2. Where does the University want to go, and what values does it want to embody in the future?
3. How does the institution achieve that future state of academia, allowing students, faculty and staff to flourish and thrive on campus?

Check out episode 119 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, and Jamie Winders, associate provost for faculty affairs. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

The ASP is guided by three core pillars, with working groups dedicated to each:

• Research and Creative Excellence
• Educational Excellence and Student Success
• Public Impact

Additionally, four working groups formed to shape the process of implementing our shared and cross-cutting values:

1. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)
2. Global Engagement
3. Enrollment Strategy
4. Resource Sustainability and Budgeting

Recognizing the need to have all voices heard, the University’s students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to . Between Wednesday, Oct. 12, and Nov. 1, there are also a , valuable opportunities for members of the campus community to get involved and give their feedback on the plan.

Wanting to both educate the campus community and drum up excitement for the far-reaching impact of the ASP, , and , stopped by the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast to discuss the thought process behind the Academic Strategic Plan, how an ASP can set ���ϲ����� up for sustained success, why members of the campus community should get involved in deciding the future of the University and how this ASP differs from other higher education institutions.

Note: This conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marcelle Haddix

“Professor Haddix’s leadership will be critical in making progress toward our ambitious goals for academic excellence in a university welcoming to all,” says Ritter. “In this new role, she will help us meet the growing needs of students, faculty and academic leadership. I am confident that her distinction as a scholar, her experience as an academic leader, her considerable ability to connect with people and her broad community connections—both within the University and with the City of ���ϲ�����—will serve as a tremendous asset to the University and will help to round out my team of seasoned leaders in Academic Affairs.”

The associate provost for strategic initiatives is a new position that will play an important role in connecting Academic Affairs with the campus and surrounding community. Professor Haddix will serve as the principal liaison to and coordinator with the University Senate and liaison to the ���ϲ����� Libraries, the Office of Community Relations and the University’s many academic programs with community-based or experiential learning. She will also work to connect Academic Affairs with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Inclusive Leadership Assembly, the Women in Leadership Initiative and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Haddix will advance specific initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and oversee the First-Year Seminar and Women in Science and Engineering. She will also be the lead administrator overseeing Universitywide arts and humanities organizations, affiliates and research programs, coordinating activity for the many independent affiliates like La Casita and the Community Folk Art Center, and directly overseeing the ���ϲ����� Art Museum, Light Work, the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers, and the Lender Center for Social Justice.

“I am grateful for many opportunities across the span of my career that have enabled me to work with community members at ���ϲ����� and beyond. I have been able to work across disciplines and help lead in our most challenging times. What excites me about this new role is the potential to create these opportunities for our colleagues, students and community,” says Haddix.

Haddix is Distinguished Dean’s Professor of Literacy, Race and Justice in the reading and language arts department in the School of Education. Her scholarly interests focus on the experiences of students of color in literacy and English teaching and teacher education and the importance of centering Blackness in educational practices and community spaces. She facilitates literacy programs for adolescent and adult communities in ���ϲ�����, including the�� project for urban youth writers, for which she was recognized with the 2020 Orange Circle Award, and a Black women’s literary club and free library project. She is co-founder of the Sankofa Reproductive Health & Healing Center and a founding member of Cafe Sankofa Cooperative in ���ϲ�����’s South Side community.

Haddix is an affiliated faculty member in the departments of African American Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition. She holds courtesy appointments in the departments of Nutrition and Food Studies and Cultural Foundations of Education. She chaired the Department of Reading and Language Arts in the School of Education from 2015-21. She has served as coordinator for the doctoral programs in literacy, reading and language arts and as program coordinator for English education, as well as core faculty in the Renée Crown University Honors Program. She served as founding co-director of the Lender Center for Social Justice. She also served as chair of the Agenda Committee for the University Senate from 2019-21.

Haddix’s work is featured in��Research in the Teaching of English, English Education, Linguistics and Education; the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy;��and her book,��“Cultivating Racial and Linguistic Diversity in Literacy Teacher Education: Teachers Like Me,” which received the 2018 Outstanding Book Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She is a previous recipient of a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award and the Seinfeld Scholar Award. In 2021, Haddix received the Divergent Award for Excellence in Literacy Advocacy from the Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research. She is also past president of the Literacy Research Association.

With winter weather now upon us, it’s a good time to remind the campus community about how the University makes decisions and how you can stay informed about weather conditions and University operations. In general, we remain open for business even in challenging weather conditions, but we will always prioritize the safety and well-being of our community members when determining operating status.

The University works with an independent weather service, Precision Weather Service, to inform our decisions about weather delays, closings or other operational changes. Input is also provided by Academic Affairs; Business, Finance and Administrative Services; Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services; and the Student Experience.

In the event of extreme weather and if a change in the University’s operating status becomes necessary, it will be announced via the University’s emergency broadcast notification system and will carry the notice SU WEATHER ALERT. To ensure you receive these messages, please confirm your Orange Alert settings are up to date in MySlice.

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

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

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

Although ���ϲ����� rarely closes for inclement weather, individuals must make personal decisions based on a risk assessment related to travel. We encourage all employees to take precautions and use good judgment when traveling to/from work. Faculty and staff concerned about travel conditions should contact their department chair or supervisor, respectively.

For information on winter weather preparedness, visit the .

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor and Provost

Gwenn Judge
Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Please take a moment to review our message below outlining a number of resources available to you to help manage stress, anxiety and the demands of your classes.

We are reaching the point of the semester where you are balancing coursework, exams and projects on top of social and co-curricular activities. It’s common to feel stressed or overwhelmed or feel you aren’t able to juggle everything you need or want to do. It is important to take care of yourselves, and to care for one another. We want you to know the University has staff and a variety of resources to support you and help you be the best student you can be and succeed.

If you find yourself needing help, reach out to any of the resources outlined below. In addition to using the academic support available, this is a good time to prioritize your well-being. Practicing self-care includes getting enough sleep and taking breaks to engage in healthy activity, including exercise and mindfulness. Below are some resources to help you do that as you prepare for midterms. Asking for help and taking advantage of resources is one of the best ways to ensure your success.

Tutoring—Center for Learning and Student Success

The Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS), located on the lower level of Bird Library, offers many��free����to help students manage stress and academic deadlines during midterms.

Options include:

• ��to Conquer Procrastination by Tackling Assignments Mindfully and Reduce Stress by Approaching Your Next Exam Mindfully;
• One-on-one����in English and Mandarin help students construct concrete plans for succeeding in their coursework, from time management calendars to test-prep strategies; and
• ��to promote understanding of concepts and problems in large, historically challenging introductory courses.

Don’t see the academic support service you are looking for? Email CLASS@syr.edu for help finding relevant supports at CLASS or through other offices and academic departments on campus.

Disability Accommodations for Exams

The (CDR) provides academic resources and accommodations for students with disabilities and supports faculty in their role in the classroom.��Students can access or request accommodations through the Disability Student Portal, including signing up for their exams. Faculty can coordinate with CDR (and you) in implementing accommodations using the Disability Faculty Portal.��Both portals are found on

Asking for Help With Orange Success

helps you connect across your success network on campus, including faculty members and advisors. Students who need help can use the “Raise Your Hand” feature to provide more information on the assistance you need. From there, students will be connected to coordinated support and other resources on campus.

Stress Reduction, Mindfulness and Self-Care Resources

The Barnes Center at The Arch offers a host of resources that can help you relieve stress and practice self-care so you can be better prepared, rested and focused during midterms and throughout the year.

Below are just a few of the programs and services you can participate in to support your well-being:

• Schedule an appointment at the to practice mindfulness and use guided relaxation techniques, biofeedback tools and a massage chair while you wait.
• Participate in the for tips and tools on stress management, sleep management and more, including a .
• Visit the for pet therapy opportunities.
• Stay active! Try a , take a walk, run or stroll on the indoor track, or spend some time outside on an .
• Download the using your ���ϲ����� email address to access free, premium services to help manage mental health.
• Take a break and visit the or for an event.

If you find yourself struggling to manage stress or anxiety, please know there is staff ready to help. You can reach case managers at 315.443.4357 for consultation, support and referrals, and counselors at the Barnes Center at The Arch are available by calling 315.443.8000.

���ϲ����� is committed to your success. Please reach out and connect with these many resources that are here to support you.

Wishing you all the best this semester.

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Allen W. Groves
Senior Vice President for the Student Experience

Now that the 2019-20 academic year has come to a close, I want to extend my deep appreciation for your tremendous resilience and leadership this spring. I am especially grateful for your ongoing support of our students and your excellent work transitioning to remote instruction under very challenging circumstances.

We must now turn our attention to our planning efforts as we work to return to campus for the Fall 2020 semester. This is a significant undertaking and requires the collective effort of our community. Unlike past summers, when many of us embark on research, writing, travel and leisure, the next few months will require us to table other priorities and focus our attention and energies on preparing to welcome back our campus community. It will also require us to plan for a number of different scenarios, including as it relates to how we teach, research, learn, live and interact.

My message today focuses on:

• Fall 2020 Open Working Group
• Course Preparation for the 2020-21 Academic Year
• Research and Scholarship Support
• First-Year Seminar Curriculum Development

Fall 2020 Open Working Group

Under Chancellor Syverud’s direction, we have created the Fall 2020 Open Working Group. Interim Deputy Senior Vice President for Enrollment and the Student Experience Amanda Nicholson and I have been charged with leading this effort. This working group, which is made up of some 90 community members—including deans, associate deans, faculty and staff—will provide guidance, counsel and action plans to prepare all segments of the University for moving full speed ahead to return to residential instruction this fall. The Working Group will be supported by the following nine subcommittees:

• Academic Strategy/Contingency
• Athletics
• Communication Strategy and Planning
• Events and Alumni
• Infrastructure and Residence Life
• International Students
• Legal and Labor
• Public Health, Medical and Emergency Management
• Student Experience and Engagement

I am particularly pleased to share that Graduate School Dean Peter Vanable, Associate Provost Chris Johnson, University College Dean Michael Frasciello and Professor Marcelle Haddix, chair of the University Senate Agenda Committee, will lead the academic strategy and contingency subcommittee.

The working group and its subcommittees have already begun meeting and will be working intensely over the summer. We have tremendous confidence in the teams that are charged with this vital task. With the clear goal of opening in Fall 2020 in mind, we are still guided by public health directives, and the health and safety of all members of our campus community remain our top priority.

Course Preparation for the 2020-21 Academic Year

Our transition to remote instruction this spring was necessarily rushed. Under the circumstances, you all did an extraordinary job adapting in a short period of time. This fall, we intend to deliver an even better academic and extracurricular experience for our students. We need to be flexible and creative with our approach to in-person teaching as we implement new patterns of interaction in our classrooms and laboratories. Together, we must ensure our community’s safety, including ensuring that remote class participation is possible for students who are unable to be present in person. This will include planning to deliver quality online and hybrid teaching options for almost all of our courses. There are many resources available to support you in this work:

• The teams in the (CTLE) and the are available and eager to help you design your fall courses. The CTLE is also in the process of developing online teaching workshops. A workshop schedule will be provided soon.
• Every Tuesday and Thursday, sends an email to all faculty regarding technology and teaching tools and support. They have been working diligently to assist faculty in preparing for online summer courses and are transitioning to fall planning.
• Most importantly, we have brought on a great deal of new capacity in instructional design and digital course development. These new toolkits for planning online course components will be provided soon and technical staff will be available to help you leverage these resources. Your deans and department chairs will be in touch with you about their expectations, timeline and resources for developing a digital version of your fall courses.

Research and Scholarship Support

• The is ready to support faculty in restarting research once restrictions are modified or lifted. I encourage you to check the , which includes funding opportunities for research related to COVID-19.
• Although the ���ϲ����� Libraries buildings are currently physically closed, the Libraries team is fully engaged online via phone, chat, email and video to support teaching and research. They are eager to provide their expertise and assistance with enhanced online resources. Once it’s safe to do so, the staff will return to campus to provide access to the physical collections that are not online, through scanning and delivery services.

First-Year Seminar Curriculum Development

The University Senate ad hoc committee charged with creating a replacement course for the current SEM 100 is working to develop a one-credit course. I would like to thank the committee and tri-chairs Amanda Nicholson, Jeff Mangram and Katie McGerr for their leadership. Building on this work, we have established a faculty committee for the implementation of the first-year seminar course for Fall 2021, pending approval of the schools and colleges. Nine faculty members are serving on this committee, which is co-chaired by professors Cathryn Newton and Jeff Mangram. The committee will review the curriculum proposed by the Senate ad hoc committee and propose, if necessary, specific changes to the course syllabus; recommend the most appropriate staffing model for the course; and provide counsel to the provost on the desired qualifications of a program director.

We are mobilizing like never before and your continued engagement is vital to our collective success. Over the summer, you will hear regularly from me and other leaders about a myriad of important subjects. I also urge you to reach out to my office at provost@syr.edu with topics that you’d like me to address. We have much work ahead of us—but I know we are up to the challenge.

Sincerely,

John Liu
Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost

Provost Michele Wheatly

Provost Michele Wheatly delivered the morning keynote address at the Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network’s 2019 Equity in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Community Convening in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 8.

In her remarks, Wheatly recounted her own journey as a STEM practitioner and now as a University administrator, and how these experiences informed her advocacy for inclusive excellence in a variety of institutional contexts. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), ARC advances equity in STEM workplaces in the United States.

“At ���ϲ�����, the ADVANCE funding was an important part of the long-term trajectory towards inclusive excellence for our students and faculty,” Wheatly explained. When joining ���ϲ����� in 2016, Wheatly said she admired ���ϲ����� for its reputation. ���ϲ����� has welcomed people regardless of their sex, race, faith or national origin since its founding.

Wheatly has played an integral role in emphasizing ���ϲ�����’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility. During her time as provost, ���ϲ����� became one of 33 colleges and universities nationwide to receive the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive (HHMI) Excellence grant in 2018. The HHMI grant supports diversity and inclusion in science education. She addressed the challenges of recruiting and retaining high-achieving, low-income students from diverse backgrounds into undergraduate STEM programs through NSF’s Strategic Undergraduate STEM Talent Acceleration Initiative in 2017. In addition, Wheatly is one of the principal investigators for a $4 million NSF grant, awarded as part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. ���ϲ����� leads an effort among Upstate New York colleges to develop and implement strategies for augmenting the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing STEM programs of study and careers. Wheatly has advocated for gender equity and broadening access to STEM fields to underrepresented populations over the course of her career. A program she helped organize at West Virginia University, the Women’s Leadership Initiative, provided executive coaching to 150 women.

Wheatly credited her first administrative appointment as chair of biological sciences at Wright State University with helping define her advocacy for both gender equity and expanding opportunities for students with disabilities and those of color. “The focus on accessibility hit a chord with me,” she said.

In her remarks, Wheatly explained the importance of an institutional commitment to inclusivity as important to maintaining positive momentum and implementing lasting, systematic change.

The ARC Network is funded by the NSF ADVANCE Program. It helps organizations adopt and implement evidence-based systemic initiatives by institutions of higher education and other STEM organizations. The ARC Network achieves this through initiating authentic, intentional dialogue between researchers and practitioners, connects people with inclusive organizational principles and best practices, and accounts and incorporates intersectional perspectives throughout its work.

Kevin Richardson

Kevin Richardson was one of five teens—four African-American and one Hispanic, ages 14-16—who were arrested, interrogated and subsequently charged in the brutal beating and sexual assault of a 28-year-old woman in Manhattan’s Central Park in April 1989. While there was no physical evidence tying the teens to the crime, they were tried and convicted based on what they and their families claimed were coerced confessions.

The “Central Park Jogger” case inflamed racial tensions in New York City and drew nationwide attention. Richardson, 14 at the time of his arrest, served more than five years in a juvenile detention facility; three of the others did the same, held for between five and seven years. The 16-year-old, convicted as an adult, served 12 years in prison.

All five were later exonerated, in June 2002, when a convicted murderer and serial rapist serving a life sentence admitted that he was responsible for the attack. This was confirmed by DNA testing, and the convictions of the “Central Park Five” were vacated. They filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the City of New York that was settled in 2014 for $41 million.

Their story has received renewed attention by way of the Netflix four-part series which premiered this past May and has earned 16 Emmy Award nominations.

Richardson will visit ���ϲ����� and take part in an on-stage conversation—“Justice in America: A Discussion on the Exoneration of the Central Park 5”—on Monday, Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium.

Participating with Richardson in the conversation are Candice L. Carnage ’90, chief operating officer of , and Paula C. Johnson, ���ϲ����� professor of law and co-director of the .

“Justice in America” is free to ���ϲ����� students, faculty and staff, but tickets are required. Tickets—one general admission ticket per person with a valid SU I.D.—are available starting Aug. 21 in person at the Schine Box Office, now located in Room 119 in the Women’s Building. Box Office hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 9 p.m.

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. For more information or to request an accommodation, contact Alex Snow at adsnow@syr.edu.

The event is sponsored by Faculty Affairs in the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Advancement.

The previous day—Sunday, Sept. 8—Richardson will attend a 2 p.m. matinee performance of the ���ϲ����� Stage production “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” highlighting the Black male experience in America. Afterward, he is the guest of honor at a benefit reception for the across the street at the Community Folk Art Center, 805 E. Genesee St. in ���ϲ�����. The reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. The combination play-and-reception ticket is $75; food and drinks are included. Registration is .

About Kevin Richardson

In June, Oprah Winfrey interviewed “When They See Us” creator/director and the five men in the Central Park Jogger case—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, now known as the Exonerated Five—for a special released simultaneously on Netflix and Oprah’s OWN channel: “Oprah Winfrey Presents When They See Us Now.” In the interview, Richardson told Winfrey that he once dreamed of attending ���ϲ����� and playing the trumpet.

He never had a chance to fulfill that dream. Today, Richardson, 44, lives in New Jersey with his wife and children. He is a motivational speaker and an advocate for criminal justice reform. He works with , which employs various legal resources, foremost being DNA testing, to “free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.”

“Using my platform to raise awareness is therapeutic in a way that it’s touching others globally,” Richardson says. “I have dreams and aspirations to change the criminal landscape of this unjust society that we live in.”

About Candice L. Carnage

At The Bronx Defenders, Carnage has leveraged her love for numbers and problem solving into the chief operating officer role for the $40 million legal organization that redefined public defense and pioneered the holistic defense model.

Carnage is a versatile, high-energy executive with more than 25 years of nonprofit experience with such organizations as Columbia University, the Innocence Project, Amnesty International USA, the Ms. Foundation for Women and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Additionally, she worked in the private sector for Deloitte & Touche, LLP, Arista–Bad Boy Entertainment and Diversified Investment Advisors.

She is a hands-on leader with an extensive background in finance complemented by diverse talents in human capital, information technology, facilities and operations management.

Carnage is a 1990 graduate of ���ϲ�����, with a B.A. in economics and mathematics, and later earned an MBA at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. She is a member of the ���ϲ����� Multicultural Advancement Advisory Board.

About Paula C. Johnson

Johnson is a professor of law at the and author of several publications on race, gender and the criminal justice system. She co-founded and directs the Cold Case Justice Initiative, which investigates civil rights-era and contemporary racially motivated murders.

Johnson has held the Haywood Burns Chair in Civil Rights at CUNY Law School, the Sparks Chair at the University of Alabama School of Law and the ���ϲ����� College of Law Bond, Schoeneck and King Distinguished Professorship.

She is a member of the at ���ϲ����� and previously served as co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers. Her honors include the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation Woman of Courage Award in Honor of Mamie Till Mobley and the Unsung Heroine Award from the ���ϲ����� Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Committee.

The Unsurpassed Student Experience Diversity and Inclusion (USE D&I) Grant program was created in February to support diversity programs and practices that help deepen understanding and engagement across multiple areas of difference, including racial, ethnic, religious, disability, nationality and veteran status, among others.

Although the grant program originally called for five awards, organizers of the program decided to fund eight because of the high quality of the applications.

Following is a list of the winning proposals along with awardees and amount of funding:

• • Crosscultural Engagement of First-year Students, submitted by Ambika Krishnakumar, professor and chair of human development and family science in . This initiative is designed to provide first-year human development and family science majors with an opportunity to explore issues surrounding diversity and inclusion through opportunities for intercultural engagement. Participants will take part in a seminar course that will include active learning experiences that challenge them to engage with cultures and communities other than their own. Award: $5,000
  • Fostering Resiliency in Undergraduate Women of Color in STEM, submitted by Dawn Johnson, chair and associate professor, WiSE Leadership. This program seeks to help women STEM students of color develop the knowledge and strategies essential for personal resiliency and success. It will focus on building a sense of community and belonging and will help students develop a network of allies to support their individual success and foster an inclusive environment. $5,000
  • Haudenosaunee Influence on American Culture, submitted by Philip Arnold, associate professor and chair of religion in the . The proposal calls for creating a pilot course on diversity and inclusion that focuses on the Haudenosaunee and their influence on American culture. The program is described as a “signature experience” that taps into the significance of the University’s location in Onondaga Nation territory, and it will integrate coursework with field trips to the Skä·noñh-Great Law of Peace Center and the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, among other activities. Award: $5,000
  • Stories Untold, submitted by Katherine McGerr, assistant professor, Department of Drama, . This workshop series will increase contact between ���ϲ����� drama students and working artists whose stories—in their work or their pathway to making it—are underrepresented in the department. The program will bring to campus three working artists of varying disciplines whose work will supplement the department’s curriculum and productions. The guest artists will speak to classes, lead a workshop, and participate in a question-and-answer session with a smaller group of students. Award: $5,000
  • Disability, Aging, Trauma, and Veterans Issues in Healthcare, submitted by Stephen Kuusisto, University Professor, Cultural Foundations of Education in the . This interdisciplinary course will bring together health humanities and disability studies pedagogy and research methods for students interested in pursuing careers related to health, well-being and aging. The pilot course will focus on developing students’ skills in scientific reasoning, moral reasoning, moral imagination and the disability imaginary. It also will teach them how to cross disciplinary/professional boundaries as well as borders created by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender and sexuality, and disability. Award: $5,000
  • Diversity Dialogue, submitted by Deborah O’Malley, director of student affairs, . This initiative will engage up to 15 student leaders in a dialogue group with their peers to help foster recognition and understanding of individual and group differences. By engaging in the dialogue, participants will learn to appreciate different identities and life experiences, and enhance their ability to work in multicultural teams and thrive in diverse workplace settings. Award: $5,000
  • First-year Global Peers, submitted by Patricia Burak, director, Slutzker Center for International Services. This program would appoint a number of high-achieving students, both domestic and international, who have global experience to serve as “global peers” for First-Year Forums. Through their insights and their engagement with first-year students, they will help foster a sense of familiarity and enhanced understanding across cultural differences. Award: $4,736.
  • Project Transition, submitted by Robert Wilson, director, Office of Supportive Services. This initiative will focus on enhancing the student experience, persistence and graduation rates of first-generation and underserved students by addressing the role that families play. The program will develop programming and activities to better connect and engage families of first-generation students with the University and assist them in supporting their student through the transition from high school to college. Award: $4,300

The funded initiatives will be developed through the summer into a one-year pilot program ready to launch in the 2018-19 academic year. For more information on the USE D&I Grants, go to the grant web page.