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Bea González and J. Michael Haynie to oversee new, expanded portfolios

As ������ continues to implement the bold concepts contained within the Academic Strategic Plan and Campus Framework, Bea González and J. Michael Haynie, two key members of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s executive team, are taking on new, expanded portfolios.

González, currently dean of University College, special assistant to the chancellor and liaison to the Posse Foundation Scholarship Program, has been named vice president for community engagement. The Board of Trustees Executive Committee will be asked to approve Gonzalez’s appointment at its next meeting. She will be responsible for leading and advancing the University’s community investment efforts. As a result, González will step down as dean of University College in February 2017.

“Bea is perfectly situated to create new partnerships and build on existing relationships with local governments and municipalities, foundations, corporations and nonprofit organizations,” says Chancellor Syverud. “Bea has been a champion of our community, and of students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences for nearly four decades. There is no one better to lead ������’s robust and impactful portfolio of community-connected initiatives.”

In this new role, González is tasked with conceptualizing, creating and implementing new strategies and partnerships to the benefit of the University and community stakeholders. Her work will also build on the success of past initiatives aimed at strengthening the ������ community and enhancing the University’s reach.

“������ has a long and proud history of partnering with and supporting local communities and regional initiatives,” says González. “This is an exciting new chapter in my career. I look forward to working closely with University leadership and community stakeholders to take our investment in local communities to the next level. Enhancing the lives of all members of our community has and will always be at the heart of my professional work.”

In addition to her many years of leadership at ������, González has a distinguished public service record, having been elected to public office three times. In 2001, she became the first Latino/a to be elected president of the City of Syracuse Common Council. She also served on the Syracuse City School District’s Board of Education.

In her new position, González will report to and collaborate closely with Chancellor Syverud and Haynie, who was named vice chancellor of strategic initiatives and innovations in June.

To better align the University’s leadership with its evolving strategic vision, Haynie’s new portfolio now includes leadership of the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, oversight of University College and the restructuring and management of the University’s Office of Government and Community Relations. Haynie will continue to lead the University’s veterans and military affairs initiative, a key component of Syracuse’s Academic Strategic Plan.

“Mike’s dedication to ensuring ������’s continued growth and success is evident by his willingness to take on a number of critically important roles and responsibilities,” says Chancellor Syverud. “As vice chancellor of strategic initiatives and innovation, Mike will help usher in a new era of innovative thinking and strategic vision that directly responds to the changing needs of students—both traditional and non-traditional, undergraduate and graduate. ������ is fortunate to have Mike’s leadership and I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

In the coming weeks and months, Haynie will focus on assessing, reorganizing and redefining the structure and strategic direction of the Office of Government and Community Relations to better advance the University’s interests at all levels of federal, state and local government and nearby communities and surrounding neighborhoods. Haynie will also work to align the University’s longstanding commitment to nontraditional learners with opportunities for expanded scale, scope and reach of University College programming. Haynie’s first order of business will be working with González—in collaboration with Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly—to identify interim leadership at University College. A search for its next dean will commence in the spring.

“University College is as important to the Central New York region as it is to ������,” says Haynie. “Supporting continued education and empowering lifelong learning are intrinsic to the ������ vision and mission. I am humbled to be taking on this new, expanded role and look forward to supporting the bold aspirations in our academic strategic plan while simultaneously promoting interdisciplinary collaboration to better serve faculty, students and community stakeholders.”

Haynie, who served for 14 years as an officer in the United States Air Force, also serves as the executive director of ������’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and as the Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship at ������’s Whitman School of Management. He joined the faculty at ������ in 2006, and shortly thereafter founded the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a program designed to empower veterans through entrepreneurship.