������ Chancellor Kent Syverud and Chancellor-Elect J. Michael Haynie today announced the members of the search committee charged with identifying the next dean of , the University’s center for religious and spiritual life. The search comes as Hendricks Chapel approaches its centennial in 2030 and prepares to complete a new strategic plan under incoming leadership.

“Hendricks Chapel touches every corner of campus life,” says Chancellor Syverud. “It is our center for faith and spiritual life, hosts some of our most treasured ceremonies and events, and is home to our world-class choir and music program. And every day, it is a place where students have found connection and belonging. We need a strong leader who will build on what makes Hendricks Chapel special and bring people together in new ways.”

“Hendricks Chapel’s next dean will inherit a remarkable legacy and a profound responsibility,” says Chancellor-elect Haynie. “We are looking for a leader who understands the spiritual, cultural and communal dimensions of this role, who can steward our traditions with care and imagination and who will inspire the next generation of students to find their place within this community. The next dean comes to this role with a clear and exciting charge: complete a new strategic plan and lead Hendricks Chapel toward its centennial in 2030.”

Search Committee Members

The committee is co-chaired by Dawn Singleton, vice president for the student experience, and David Aitken ’94, G’97, chair of the Hendricks Chapel Advisory Board.

Other members of the search committee are:

• Gisele Marcus ’89, voting trustee, Board of Trustees
• Joan Nicholson ’71, G’89, life trustee, Board of Trustees, and member, Hendricks Chapel Advisory Board
• John Papazoglou, senior vice president and chief operations officer
• Ingrid Coutts ’92, member, Hendricks Chapel Advisory Board
• Jillian Juni, executive director, Syracuse Hillel
• Gerry Waterman, Catholic chaplain
• Martha Sutter G’83, teaching professor, Setnor School of Music, and senior associate dean of academic affairs, College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Tom Barkley, professor, Whitman School of Management, and advisor, Christian Staff and Faculty Association
• Mian Muhammad Abdul Hamid ’25, graduate student and convener, Student Assembly of Interfaith Leaders
• Alana Mitchell ’27, undergraduate student, Christian Outreach member and Hendricks Chapel hospitality associate

Campus Engagement Opportunities

The committee will lead a series of Zoom listening sessions with campus and community stakeholders as follows:

• Friday, April 10, 2:30-3:30 p.m. (open to all constituencies)
• Monday, April 13, 3-4 p.m. (student-focused)
• Wednesday, April 15, 2-3 p.m. (open to all constituencies)

All community members are welcome to for any session that fits their schedule.

Community members can also provide . Both exercises will help the search committee develop a clear picture of what the community needs most from the chapel’s next dean. That input will directly inform the recruitment process and candidate interviews.

The search firm WittKieffer will work with the committee to identify finalist candidates. The committee will engage with each finalist and provide Chancellor-Elect Haynie with input to support his final decision. The goal is to have a new dean in place by the start of the Fall 2026 semester.

A new documentary exploring the history of and the role of faith across the ������ community premiered this week on Fox Nation.

“” tells the story of Hendricks as the spiritual heart of campus, home to five world religions and 16 chaplains serving a diverse student body. The 25-minute film is hosted by Hall, a foreign affairs correspondent for Fox.

In the film, Chancellor Kent Syverud reflects on how faith at Syracuse extends well beyond the building itself. “It’s not the building,” he said. “This is a community, and it’s been a booming, vibrant community for all faiths, and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve had a solid community experience in recent years when many universities have been torn apart.”

Former Hendricks Dean Brian Konkol spoke with Hall about the chapel’s unique role as both a sacred space and a hub for campus life, from major performances and events to People’s Place coffee shop and the Coach Mac Food Pantry.

Faith, Leadership and Athletics

The documentary also captures the intersection of faith and athletics. Hall interviewed football coach Fran Brown and women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack about their personal faith journeys and how those experiences shape their leadership on and off the field. Athletics Chaplain William Payne discussed his work supporting student-athletes as they navigate the demands of academics and competition.

The film also turns to one of the most solemn chapters in the University’s history. The University’s connection to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, is woven into the film. The 1988 tragedy claimed the lives of 35 ������ students, one of the most devastating losses in the University’s history. The Fox team visited the Remembrance Wall on campus to honor their memory.

Visually, the documentary draws on a range of campus scenes: students studying outside on sunny days, the football team walking across the Quad on game days, candlelight vigils outside Hendricks, chaplains leading services and Otto’s Army rallying inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

In addition to the feature documentary, Fox Nation produced a on the renovated and expanded St. Thomas More Chapel and ������ Catholic Center, which reopened in 2025. The crew also visited the .

Names on the Wall

Another stop on campus carried personal significance for Hall. At the , Hall visited a memorial wall honoring more than 2,500 journalists killed in the line of duty. While covering the war in Ukraine, he was severely injured in a missile attack that killed two of his colleagues. He lost a leg, part of his other foot, an eye and the use of one hand, and later documented his recovery in his books “” and “.” During his visit to the wall, he saw the names of his colleagues, photojournalist and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, etched into the memorial.

The Newhouse connection runs deeper still for the production. Fox team members included alumni Tania Joseph ’18, a Newhouse graduate in broadcast and digital journalism, and Jayson Jones ’19, who earned a master’s degree in communications from Newhouse.

“” marks the series’ inaugural season. Alongside the Hendricks episode, the series features St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and the Brigade of Midshipmen Chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The documentary is available to stream with a paid Fox Nation subscription.

A time-honored celebration of academic achievement, leadership and military history was on full display at the JMA Wireless Dome during the 109th Chancellor’s Review and Awards Ceremony on March 27.

The annual tradition brought together students, faculty, staff, alumni and University stakeholders to recognize the accomplishments and success of cadets from the University’s Army and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs.

The event is one of ������’s oldest traditions, originating in 1917 under the direction of then-Chancellor James R. Day. Among the cadets reviewed in that inaugural ceremony was future Chancellor William Pearson Tolley, who would later play a critical role in expanding access to higher education for veterans through his contributions to the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill.

This year’s ceremony featured a formal inspection of the troops by Chancellor Kent Syverud, ��and the presentation of awards recognizing academic, leadership and civic excellence. Both University leadership and representatives from local veteran service organizations were on hand to present awards to the deserving cadets.

“Over the course of time our success is attributed to our military-connected students, and how they achieve their post-graduation goals,” says retired U.S. Army Colonel Ron Novack, executive director of the (OVMA). “Those ROTC cadets who are graduating in five weeks are going to take a very big step in their personal and professional lives. They’re going to go out and lead, they’re going to take the values that they learn from their families, their parents, the values they learn here at ������, and the values of the Army and the Air Force, and they’re going to go out and lead with distinction.�� We couldn’t be prouder of them as they go out and embark on their careers.”

Top Cadets Recognized for Leadership and Academic Excellence

Among the highest honors presented were the General Edward C. Meyer Leadership Award and the Professor John A. and Dean Marion Meyer Scholar Award, given to top-performing cadets in the Army and Air Force ROTC respectively.

This year, the General Edward C. Meyer Leadership Award was presented to Sophia Terlecky ’26, a U.S. Army ROTC cadet, for demonstrating exceptional officer potential and leadership. Terlecky, a Buffalo, New York,�� native, is enrolled�� in the . She also serves as the cadet battalion commander for the Stalwart Battalion, and will receive a commission in the U.S. Army alongside 24 other ������ Army ROTC cadets in May.

For the Air Force, The Professor John A. and Dean Marion Meyer Scholar Award was presented to Matthew Gratch, a cross-town ROTC cadet from Le Moyne College, for exemplary performance and inspirational leadership. Gratch, who is studying political science at Le Moyne, also serves as the mission support flight commander for Detachment 535 and will commission into the Air Force as an acquisitions manager.

“Being my fourth and final one, it hits a little different than it did in other years,” says U.S. Air Force ROTC Cadet James Hrdy ’26, a senior in the . “This program really challenges you, it’s taught me to appreciate certain things and I’m looking forward to working in the U.S. Air Force.”

The ceremony closed with a formal pass in review, a military tradition symbolizing honor and respect, as the cadets marched in formation across the field in front of their families and University leaders to showcase the military precision of basic unit drill and individual standards of each cadet.

To view a photo gallery of this year’s event, visit the .

The 10th Annual One University Awards Ceremony, an event to honor members of the ������ community who are making a difference through academics, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service, will be held Friday, April 17, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

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

Emeriti faculty who retired in 2025 and employees who celebrated years of service milestone anniversaries in 2025 will also be recognized. This year’s University Scholars, Senior Class and School and College Marshals, and Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars will also be honored.

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

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

Spring break is behind us. Winter obviously is not, but we do just have over seven weeks to Commencement at this point. There’s a lot to accomplish between now and then and a lot happening.

This is my 119th and second-to-last Senate meeting. I expect to make some valedictory remarks on Syracuse and shared governance at our last Senate meeting in April.

I also expect to step down as Chancellor sometime after Commencement.

I want to join in congratulating our new Chancellor-elect, Mike Haynie. I want to record that I have asked a lot of Mike over the last 12 years, and he has consistently delivered for our university. Chancellor-elect Haynie’s two decades of extraordinary experience and commitment at Syracuse, I think, make him an ideal leader for ������ at this moment. I know the University is going to thrive under his guidance.

I want to extend my gratitude as well to everybody from the University Senate, the faculty, the staff, and the students who served on the Chancellor Search Committee.

It’s clear to me from the outside that this was a thoughtful, deliberate, collaborative, and exhausting process. And I thank you for all the time put into it. I am committed to doing everything in my power to position the University and Chancellor-elect Haynie for success in these last weeks of the semester. I believe the best way the Senate can help is to give Chancellor-elect Haynie some grace through the transition, which I can testify is somewhat overwhelming at Syracuse. And just please be prepared to help when called upon.

His first official order of business was helping select and announce Bryan Blair as the University’s new athletics director. Bryan joins Syracuse from the University of Toledo, where he served as the vice president and director of athletics since 2022. Bryan has earned national claim as an innovator in the changing athletics landscape, while achieving both competitive and academic success. He co-chaired the search process for Toledo’s executive vice president and provost. His experience includes leadership roles at Washington State, at Rice University, and at the University of South Carolina, where he earned a law degree. He completed his undergraduate studies at Wofford College, where he was also a D-1 student athlete on the football team. In its January report, the Senate Athletics Policy Committee outlined many challenges for Syracuse and Syracuse Athletics. That now includes a new one, which is the search for a new men’s basketball coach. From everything I’ve learned about him, Bryan Blair is the right person to lead Orange Athletics forward at this moment.

I want to follow up with two shared governance matters. First, I am meeting with the Senate’s Athletic Policy Committee Friday to go over the recommendations in their January 2026 report. There’s been a lot that’s happened this semester in the intercollegiate athletics landscape.

And second, I want to report that, assuming the Senate approves the resolution on parking at its April meeting, I intend to move forward with all four operational recommendations outlined in the report and with the governance recommendation to establish a permanent standing advisory council on parking. If appropriate, I’d like to get that done and established prior to the end of the semester, but certainly working with Chancellor-elect Haynie to have that up and running at the beginning of the fall semester.

I’m grateful for all the work of the folks on that parking council. I know it was a long project.

Thank you, everybody. I will take questions following Provost Agnew’s remarks.

It’s been a long winter. I suspect I’m not the only one on this [Senate meeting] Zoom call who is ready for spring break to start at the end of next week.

I think I should start by just saying thank you to everybody for all the work getting the University to this point of the semester, including the work in this Senate meeting. I’m very grateful. I realize it’s on top of many other obligations to our students and our research and our service. I say that because I know that March 1 is Sunday, and I do not expect it realistic that all of our units are going to pick their senators by March 1 and have elections.

I do want to report on the chancellor’s search and remind you I’m recused and have recused from that process. I know the search committee has been very active recently. I thank the Senators who serve on that committee. My understanding is that we can expect an announcement of the new chancellor next month. I do want to reiterate that I expect the new chancellor to take office no later than the end of June.

I know for all of us, there’s a lot of planes to land between now and the end of June, including getting 6,000 students successfully graduated. I just want to assure you that I’m committed to doing everything in my power in the next couple months to get those things done and to set up the University and the new chancellor for success in the years ahead.

We also have a search now for a new athletics director. Earlier this month Athletics Director John Wildhack announced his retirement effective July 1. John has been an outstanding partner through a sea of change in intercollegiate athletics. I point out that he’s been a particularly excellent leader in focusing on the academic achievement of our student athletes—which has never been better—and the cooperation between athletics and the academic units, which I think has never been better. He has also had to help transform our athletics facilities and lead us through a myriad of changes in intercollegiate athletics in the country, including countless challenges facing the ACC, in which he’s been a leader. I am very grateful to him.

The search committee has been appointed. I am recused from that as well because of my new position that I will be assuming in July. They’ve hired a search consultant. I know that process has to go quickly, given the market for athletic directors, but also has to be coordinated with the chancellor search, so the new chancellor is involved.

I also, by the way, expect that there will be a search for a new dean of Hendricks Chapel announced shortly, with the goal there being to have a new dean for Hendricks Chapel in place at the start of the academic year in fall 2026.

I guess the other thing to say is just that I’m aware and Senator Van Gulick mentioned the vote of the arts and sciences faculty around portfolio review and program closure. I’m aware of that. I do believe deeply that, as part of shared governance, we need to listen to each other as issues arise, including the issues that we talked about today. I also believe it’s not also the case that no program can be closed if the faculty in that program vote against it or the faculty in some unit vote against it, because as a practical matter, that would be quite a problem for the University as a whole and historically hasn’t been how it’s worked.

I think we have to recognize that we have a very thorough portfolio review process. We have a lot of confidence in the Academic Affairs team that’s been working on that, and the many faculty who have been working on it. I do believe the best approach is to engage in good faith on the merits of the program closure issues and portfolio review issues that are raised in that process. Thanks.

Thanks to the Athletics Policy Committee for their report. If there’s any Power-Four-Conference university in the country that claims all the money for athletics is coming from within athletics efforts, I think they’re not being transparent. I will tell you; the answer is some of the money is coming from the university, and most athletic departments are running deficits because of this spiral we’re in. But we’ll be more transparent than that. I think that’s the least surprising thing I can say today. I’ll explain my apparently unique position that collective bargaining ought to be part of the toolkit available in figuring out a global solution to college sports, which I believe, but apparently is controversial. I couldn’t agree more that the solution has to consider the interests of all student-athletes, including all Olympic and women’s sports.

Let me just say thanks for all the work of the committees. It sounds like there’s a lot of work to come, especially from curriculum, which is the core of what the Senate does in many ways. Thank you to those folks, and thank you for the intersectional equity report. We have been working hard on getting the Title VI office up and running, and I think [Associate Vice President and Dean of Students] Sheriah Dixon will be coming to report to that committee too. There’s a lot of shared governance work to do in the next five months this semester. I’m fully full-time, all-the-time focused on Syracuse during that period.

I want to recognize the tragic passing of Kayla Corrigan on Christmas Eve. She was a senior in the Whitman School, a marketing management major, a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority, and deeply engaged in so much campus life. I thank Dean McKelvie of Whitman and the folks at Hendricks Chapel and the Corrigan family who are preparing a memorial service later this semester.

I also want to thank Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz for stepping up as the interim dean of Hendricks Chapel as Brian Konkol has become the president of Valparaiso University. She’s been associate dean since 2018 and helping this university in so many ways for decades. Thank you, Rebecca, who is a senator by the way.

Athletics Policy Committee Co-Chair John Wolohan referenced the Economic Impact Report. It came out earlier this month. It was completed by the same independent firm that did this study in 2017. Some quick highlights:

• The University now contributes $1.8 billion annually to the Syracuse and Central New York economy. That’s up from $1.1 billion the last time we studied in 2017.
• We now support 35,132 jobs directly attributable to the University in Central New York, which is one of every 13 jobs in the region.
• Our startup and spinoff companies also generate nearly $1 billion in annual regional economic impact.

From my point of view, those numbers are important, but the most important thing about these numbers is that the University really continues to thrive in interesting times, and it’s really helping Central New York to thrive in these times.

When I started here 12 years ago, I explained my view that the greatest contribution the University could make to the community and the region was to be a thriving, engaged international research university. I think that’s happened and continues to happen. What I mean by that is when we’re thriving, we recruit and we retain amazing, engaged people who contribute in a million ways to the community here. Today that’s more than 30,000 people in this region who live here and contribute economically and in civic engagement.

Two quick examples to celebrate. One is, to embarrass him, Brice Nordquist, who is the immediate past agenda committee chair and who, of course, is a beloved writing teacher, dean’s professor of community engagement, and Senate leader, but also helped found the Engage Humanities Network and has chaired the board of the Northside Learning Center, which provides incredible services to refugees here.

The other one to point out is that our new mayor, the new leader of Syracuse, is Sharon Owens. She’s an SU graduate, and we’re so proud of her. Community outreach is what she learned as a student here, and the value of servant leadership. Our partnership with the new mayor and her team is strong and will yield, I think, great things for the city and the region.

I also want to quickly comment on parking. We had some reports from the Parking and Transportation Advisory Council just before Christmas to the Senate. I want to emphasize there’s more issues to address, but there’s some things we can implement from that report quickly, including the recommendation on creating an established standing group to advise on parking issues, like the Employee Benefits Assessment Council. We do need that to be reviewed and adopted by the Senate, but I’m ready to implement it as soon as the Senate’s reviewed and any revisions have occurred. I would like to get that done this semester, and I think the agenda committee is working on that.

Lastly, I’ll just say this is my final semester as Chancellor. I’m very committed to this place, especially full-time for the next five months, but also very committed to helping Syracuse in any way I can thereafter. Thanks so much.

Dear Orange Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Families, and Friends:

Today marks the start of a new semester, a time of fresh possibilities and new chapters. It is in that spirit that I share news of a new chapter of my own. In late August I announced my intention to step down as Chancellor and President of ������ this coming June. Since then, I have given considerable thought to what’s next, both professionally and personally. While few opportunities could draw me away from Central New York, I have been offered and accepted the position of President of the University of Michigan.

This is truly a homecoming for Dr. Ruth Chen and me. We met at Michigan as students, and together we hold four degrees from there. I served on the faculty for 10 years and began my career in administration at Michigan. The University of Michigan shaped the trajectory of our lives and in so many ways prepared us for our 12 years at Syracuse. For someone who has spent their life in service to higher education, this call to return to the university that first inspired my path is profoundly meaningful.

Dr. Chen and I have been deeply blessed by our years at ������. This remarkable community has given us more than we could ever have imagined—lifelong friendships, opportunities to teach and learn from extraordinary students, and the privilege of working alongside faculty and staff who embody the very best of higher education. It is the people at Syracuse who make this a truly great university. We will always consider Syracuse home and will forever remain part of the Orange family.

I will continue serving as your chancellor through June 2026 as originally planned. The Board of Trustees’ search for the University’s next leader continues, and I remain fully committed to advancing our priorities and ensuring a smooth transition during these remaining months.

My commitment to ������ remains unwavering. We have important work ahead, and I look forward to continuing the momentum that has been inspired by all of you. Thank you for making our time at ������ such a rewarding chapter of our lives.

Sincerely,

Chancellor Kent Syverud

Thanks, Professor Coleman. I’m just going to quickly reflect on the fall semester and what’s coming at us in the spring semester.

First, I want to acknowledge the passing of architecture professor Fei Wang, who directed the School of Architecture’s China program for more than a decade and recruited hundreds of wonderful students to study at Syracuse. Professor Wang was a great mentor, prolific writer, creator, and passionate contributor to the global debate on architecture. I know that they’re planning a campus memorial event for early spring semester. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Also, we read the resolution fairly quickly for Brian Konkol. I just wanted to personally comment that I think almost everyone who’s worked with him thinks Valparaiso University is very fortunate in its new president. This university, not just Hendricks Chapel, but this whole university is a better and stronger place than he found it when he came here more than nine years ago. He’s done so much in that time for so many people. I wish him well, and I know that all of you feel the same, if you’ve had a chance to work with him, I’m grateful.

The fall semester is over. This is the first day of the holiday break for our students. I noticed that Reed and Logan and Qeti [students], among others, are still working. Thank you for participating. I know that many of our faculty and our graduate teaching assistants and staff have a lot of work to do to get grades in by Dec. 30. I know that many folks here are working full tilt right through Orange Appreciation Days, especially in facilities and in advancement, and I thank everybody for the semester.

Just to shout out some specific successes to end the semester feeling good about some things.

• The Falk College of Sport officially launched. It was the first of its kind in the country, and that took a lot of effort from people not only in Falk but in Maxwell, Arts and Sciences, and Education. I’m grateful to all of them.
• We opened the Center for the Creator of Economy, drawing on strengths in entrepreneurship, media and communications, athletics, and digital infrastructure. I’m particularly grateful to the Whitman and Newhouse folks for pioneering that.
• We became one of the first universities in the country to provide Claude AI access to every student, faculty, and staff member. It’s become the fastest adopted software licensed in the history of the University with more than 5,200 active users today.
• Construction is now underway on three new residence halls and a new hotel. Lots of cranes are going up, even today. All four facilities are expected to be operational by fall of 2027 and will very positively, I believe, transform our campus experience and our student experience.

I also want to thank the Parking and Transportation Advisory Council for today’s report and recommendation. I believe that shared governance can be slow, but it does produce results. I just want to say again, it will produce results this academic year because I want it to get results before I step down as chancellor in June.

On the budget, folks need to know that we stand pretty well currently. The FY26 budget remains balanced. FY26 ends on June 30, and I think we’ll remain balanced until then. That sounds like a little thing, but it is not, particularly given what’s happening in the world and with our peers. It’s required a lot of nimble leadership by schools and colleges and deans and department chairs and unit leaders and many others. I’m very grateful for that work that has left us not in the position that so many of our peers are experiencing. I do believe the next chancellor will take the helm with a fairly sound fiscal foundation and a lot of positive momentum on various fronts.

I wanted to talk about what’s coming at us next semester that we haven’t talked about. At some point in the next semester, the search committee will be announcing a new chancellor. I know many of you are nervous about this. I certainly hear the anxiety from various fronts. I want to say one last thing to you about what it’s like to be announced as a new chancellor at ������ because I remember that vividly from 12 years ago. It involves suddenly and abruptly a huge number of one-on-one conversations with all sorts of folks, including those on this screen, about the University and what you should know about the University.

It’s a lot of three-to-five-minute meetings that feel like speed dating, except you’re the only one on one side of the table and everybody in the University is on the other. And it’s interspersed with frequent requests to speak to all kinds of audiences about your profound thoughts about the University. So, speed date, speed date, speed date. Speak to the chemistry department about chemistry. Speed date, speed date, speed date. Speak to the community about Syracuse in the community. Speed date, speed date. Surprise! You’re at the inauguration of the mayor, and it’s outdoors in January. It is overwhelming.

And it’s made a little more overwhelming by one unique thing to Syracuse that is not true anywhere else I’ve ever been, which is that you lose your first name when you become president of this university. Even people you’ve known for 20 years, like the dean of the law school, you’ll say to her, “Hannah, I’ve known you for 20 years. I’m Kent.” And she will respond, “Yes, Chancellor,” and then call you chancellor forevermore. That seems to be true, not just for people working or being within the University, but everybody within a 50-mile radius, which is somewhat depersonalizing on an interesting level.

All I’d ask you is be aware that this new person, when announced, is going to be overwhelmed. I’d ask you to give grace to this person for at least a couple weeks and to realize that it would be good for you to prepare a little bit how you can help this person in micro things as well as major things. Someday I hope the Chancellor at ������ will be known by their first name here, like they are at every other university on the planet that I’ve experienced.

I look forward to the last semester stewarding this place, alongside so many of you who I know care so much about this place. I wish you happy holidays and a break filled with peace and joy. Thanks a lot.

For Rano Dilmurodova G’26, her first American Thanksgiving didn’t happen at a family table in someone’s home. Instead, the international relations student from Uzbekistan found herself among 600 others at the International Thanksgiving Celebration, in the JMA Wireless Dome on Nov. 20, discovering what she calls “one of my most memorable moments at Syracuse.”

“It made me feel truly connected to our international community. I had the chance to meet brilliant students and experts, exchange ideas about global development and learn more about each other’s cultures,” says Dilmurodova. “It was a beautiful moment to reflect on the past year and feel grateful for all of our collective efforts and experiences.”

She’s not alone in that sentiment. For 41 years, ������’s International Thanksgiving Celebration has transformed homesickness into community for thousands of international students—a tradition believed to be unique among U.S. universities.

A Legacy of Welcome

The celebration traces back to the 1980s when the late Rev. T.E. Koshy, then the University’s Evangelical Christian chaplain, and his wife, Dr. Indira Koshy, recognized a simple need: international students missed home during the holidays.

As an international student himself, Koshy understood the challenges of being far from home and family. Today, the family’s involvement continues through their son Jay, current Evangelical Christian chaplain, and grandson Josh ’24, both serving as table hosts at the event.

This year’s event, sponsored by the and the , honored Dr. Ruth Chen, professor of practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, with a tribute video and ceramic bowl created by Peter Beasecker, professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Dr. Chen has overseen the International Thanksgiving Celebration and championed international students throughout her 12 years at Syracuse. Dr. Chen and Chancellor Kent Syverud will conclude their service to the University in June 2026.

“I really feel that I am home, even though I am on the other side of the earth,” says Ruohan Xu ’23, G’24, reflecting on Chen’s impact.

More Than a Meal

While Food Services served traditional turkey and fixings—including Kosher, Halal and vegetarian options—the evening also offered a spirit of community and family. Table hosts from faculty, staff and community members engaged students in conversations about both American traditions and their own cultures.

The ceremonial turkey carving by Associate Director Joe Sidoni drew eager photographers, while the Hendricks Chapel Choir performed under Professor José “Peppie” Calvar’s direction. Regina Jones of the Oneida Nation Turtle Clan delivered the Native American blessing, acknowledging the land’s original inhabitants.

Joseph Cobbinah, a linguistics master’s student from Ghana who emceed the event, had only heard about Thanksgiving from afar before experiencing it firsthand. “I realized the importance of spending quality time with loved ones and sharing warmth with friends,” he says. “I’m proud to be part of the ������ Orange family.”

For longtime table hosts like Suresh and Ramani Thiagarajan, the joy comes from watching students recognize they’re valued. “They appreciate all the effort put in to make them special and acknowledge that they are a special gift to the University from various parts of the world,” Suresh says.

As international students navigate being thousands of miles from home, this uniquely Syracuse tradition proves that family isn’t just about who you’re born to—it’s also about the tables where you’re welcomed.

For community member Cindy Inserra, the University’s International Thanksgiving Celebration for first-year undergraduate students is a family event.

Inserra’s family owns Syracuse Banana, a local distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables and a longtime donor to the celebration. Her in-laws began hosting a table at the very first celebration 41 years ago. Inserra and her husband then began hosting a table years ago with their young daughter.

Now, their 3-year-old twin granddaughters are asking when they can begin hosting a table.

Inserra says the the experience has been “monumental” to her family,�� becoming their own favorite family event. Her daughter, Nicolette, made a lifelong friend while hosting a table with her grandfather many years ago, and they are still in touch.

“There is such a feeling of gratitude in teaching new students about our American Thanksgiving tradition,” Inserra says.

“I love when I get questioned about the stuffing ingredients and how the gravy goes over everything on your plate,” she adds. “By the time we get to the spray whipped cream and how that works, we are all laughing and we all feel like family. I love this tradition with my family and my SU family. It connects us in so many ways, and I am proud to be a part of this wonderful experience.”

This year’s celebration will be held on Thursday, Nov. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Miron Victory Court at the JMA Wireless Dome, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Email invitations have been sent to the University’s international student community; interested students must register in advance.

Started by the University in the 1980s by the late Rev. T.E. Koshy, the celebration is intended to introduce new international students to the American Thanksgiving experience. The celebration is sponsored by the and the .

“Each year, we look forward to extending the invitation to our international student community to come share a meal in gratitude and experience a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with friends old and new,” says Dr. Ruth Chen, professor of practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, who will co-host the celebration with the Center for International Services. “It is an important part of ������’s mission to be a university that is inclusive and welcoming to all—and this annual tradition is one example of how we meet that mission with renewed energy and enjoyment.”

The meal, provided by , is served family-style and will include such traditional Thanksgiving fare as turkey and dressing (also known as “stuffing”), cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Kosher and Halal turkey will be available, as well as a variety of vegetable dishes for vegans or vegetarians. Students can indicate their dietary preferences when they register. Table hosts—faculty, staff and community members—will engage attendees in conversation and answer questions about the history and traditions of Thanksgiving.

“The International Thanksgiving Celebration is such a wonderful event and definitely a personal favorite,” says Meriel Stokoe, director of events and activities at the Center for International Services. “It is so nice to see the University community come together to share the traditions of Thanksgiving with our international students, right down to how to get the whipped cream out of the can! I am very grateful to Dr. Chen for co-hosting this event with the Center for International Services.”

With questions or for more information, contact Kelley Champa at 315.443.4439 or kachampa@syr.edu.

Today I will share brief updates. First, just some gratitude to folks who helped make both Orange Central and Family Weekend very successful. We had 1,000 alumni and their families here on campus for Homecoming events all over the University. Our family weekend was the largest in recent years, with 6,100 parents and families on campus. You all really showcased our people and our campus, and I thank you.

I wanted to update you on employee benefits. Open Enrollment begins on Monday, Nov. 3. We continue to offer very highly competitive, comprehensive health benefits. Health care costs continue to rise. The University has been absorbing and continues to absorb the majority of these increases. Human Resources has been working diligently to balance the rising costs with affordability for people. The good news is that there will be no increases to deductibles, co-pays, or coinsurance for any benefit plan. The bad news is that employee health care contributions will increase by 9% across all coverage tiers. Those increases are lower than national trends, lower than at peer institutions and other local employers, though still significant. I’d like to point out that employees with lower household incomes may qualify for Schedule B, which offers lower employee contributions. The University is going to hold costs steady for all other benefit plans, including dental and vision.

I thank the Employee Benefits Assessment Council, which worked hard on this. It was created through University Senate recommendations. It coordinated with the Human Resources team. The council has reviewed and is in support of these changes.

The second update is on parking. The Parking and Transportation Services Advisory Group has been meeting weekly. It’s been making good progress since the last Senate meeting. Co-chair and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala and his team have been providing a lot of data, budget, and operational details to educate the group. The focus right now has been on developing parking solutions for the University’s lowest earners, including part-time and adjunct faculty. I think they are making meaningful progress on that. I want to thank Pete, co-chair Deirdre Joyce, and all the members that have been making that rapid progress.�� Both an undergraduate and a graduate student have been added to the group and will attend the next meeting.

Third, I want to address AI. Last month, we became one of the first universities in the nation to provide every student, faculty, and staff member with AI access through Claude by Anthropic. Claude has the fastest-adopted software that the University has ever licensed. We had more than 3,500 members of our community register and now have access to Claude. People are using this AI platform in very different and some innovative ways to work faster. Our community is benefiting from some new AI features too. Last week, there was an update that allows users to integrate Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, directly into Claude. We had 350 attendees participating in Information Technology Services’ AI at Work session on Oct. 9, which featured a discussion on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use AI at work. I believe our community needs to embrace this opportunity to be on the leading edge of how we teach, learn, and work in this area. I urge you to create your account and explore Claude. You can register by going to .

I also want to say that the Chancellor’s search, I’m informed, is well underway. The position description has been finalized and is available on the Chancellor Search website. It was created based on the input received through all the community engagement sessions earlier this semester and in response to a campus survey. The search committee, in partnership with search firm Spencer Stuart, has begun reviewing candidates. They tell me that work will carry them into the new year. Again, I’m recused from this.

Finally, I want to close with a reminder that this is Remembrance Week when we honor those lost in Pan Am Flight 103. We are now this week welcoming 10 students from the Lockerbie Academy in Scotland. They spent the weekend in New York City, and they arrived on campus on Monday. They are accompanied by Headteacher Brian Asher and Deputy Headteacher Kerry Currie, who was a Lockerbie Scholar here many years ago. Just earlier today the Lockerbie Scholars joined the Remembrance Scholars for the “Sitting in Solidarity” event on the Quad. There are a lot more events this week, but I especially encourage everybody to attend the Rose-Laying Ceremony and Convocation on Friday at the Place of Remembrance in front of the Hall of Languages. That starts at 2 p.m.

I am going to answer questions after provost’s remarks. Thank you.

The University has entered a historic collaborative relationship to steward the Oren Lyons Collection through the Libraries’ (SCRC). This landmark agreement of custodianship of the archival papers of Faithkeeper Oren Lyons is the most significant collection of its kind and was celebrated at a ceremonial event on Sept. 26 on the Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle.

Oren R. Lyons ’58, H’93 and SCRC have collaborated to define shared responsibilities for organizing, accessing, preserving and interpreting the collection, while reaffirming Indigenous nations’ rights to manage and control culturally sensitive materials. This collection marks the University as a trusted repository for Haudenosaunee collections, building on academic leadership and Lyons’ global work, establishing an international model for institutional-Indigenous partnerships.

“Oren Lyons has had a deeply profound impact—not just on ������ but on all who have had the privilege to know him over the years,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “From his days as an All-American goalie on our undefeated 1957 lacrosse team to becoming a global voice for Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship, Oren has shown us what it means to live with purpose and principle. As we accept the great responsibility of stewarding his life’s collection, I am deeply humbled by the trust he has placed in his alma mater. He has taught us all to think not just about tomorrow, but about future generations.”

Lyons is a world-renowned faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation, an Army veteran, a University student-athlete alumnus, an award-winning lacrosse player, professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, an artist, an author and a pivotal figure in international advocacy and diplomacy. The Oren Lyons Collection is composed of archival material documenting Lyons’ engagement in education, lacrosse, the arts and advocacy for environmental protection and Indigenous rights. Included will be his personal and professional papers along with an extensive collection of photographs, videos and audio recordings.

“������ Libraries is honored to be granted custodianship of Faithkeeper Oren Lyons’ papers. This is a monumental opportunity for scholarship and research around not only Indigenous studies, but also activism, art, lacrosse, history and environmental studies,” says David Seaman, dean of the Libraries and University Librarian.

The agreement was guided by the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (First Archivist Circle, 2007) which includes recognition of Indigenous sovereignty; respect for cultural values, spiritual beliefs and traditional knowledge systems; the right of Indigenous nations to define access restrictions or contextual framing of materials; and collaboration in descriptive practices to reflect Indigenous worldviews.

“Oren Lyons’ collection, and his trust in our institution, will enable ������ to serve as a research model, to help create more viable relationships around the world with Indigenous peoples and the land,” says Philip Arnold, professor of religion in the College of Arts and Sciences. “This will ensure that the Haudenosaunee teachings will continue. This is an awesome responsibility and opportunity.”

Good afternoon. Welcome to a new year of University Senate. This is my last “first” senate meeting of the year as chancellor. I had to miss the last Senate meeting of this past year, which I regret. I have now attended and taken questions at 95 full Senate meetings and lots of committee meetings, and I intend to do that during my last year, with one exception, which I want to alert you to. I have recused myself from the chancellor search process, and I intend to recuse myself from Senate discussions of the search as well, where appropriate. Heather will alert me when it’s appropriate for me to step out. If anybody needs to understand why that’s the right thing to do, I can explain it at another time.

Today I’m going to provide brief updates. I have four slides on University finances, enrollment, and fundraising. I’m going to say a little bit about new leadership and shared governance, and then I’m going to talk a little bit about the academic portfolio. I’ve got one point of personal privilege at the end. I’ll try and do this within my timeframe.

Remembering Community Members

Before all that, we lost three people I knew well, and they should be recognized in the Senate. I’d like to say a little bit about each of them.

• First, iSchool Dean Emeritus Liz Liddy devoted 44 years to Syracuse as a student, faculty member, dean, and interim provost. She really was a wonderful teacher, a wonderful mentor, so essential to the iSchool, a scholar. Her life and her contributions will be honored at a Celebration of Life on Monday, Sept. 29, in Hendricks Chapel at 4 p.m.
• Second, Professor Deborah Pellow, who was my friend but, much more importantly, was a passionate anthropologist and educator who spent 40 years on our faculty as a scholar and a teacher. She passed away. There was a beautiful memorial service last week in Hendricks Chapel for Deborah to celebrate her life and her career. I want to thank a lot of people who worked to make that happen. I cannot name them all, but I know Lori Brown was one of the ring leaders. I just say thanks to those who captured her accurately.
• Finally, Tiana Mangakahia, who was most well known for being a player on the women’s basketball team. A lot of us saw her play and watched her joy in playing. She was a double alumnus. She earned her master’s in sport venue and event management from the Falk College. She was a remarkable student, athlete, and person, and she passed away last week after a struggle with breast cancer that started while she was a student here.

Please join me in keeping Liz, Deborah, Tiana, their family, friends, and everyone who knew and loved them in your thoughts.

I know a lot of you are following closely the financial news coming from across higher education, and it’s grim. Many of our peers are running serious deficits and are experiencing deep budget cuts and large-scale layoffs. That is not the story here, although it’s not a happy story entirely here either. It would be hubris to say that we’re doing better than them because we’re smarter or better.

What’s important to understand is that we are at the moment so far as a whole is weathering storms pretty well here, even though some of our schools, colleges, and units are facing more challenging circumstances than others and more than usual. This is in part due to missed enrollment targets, shifts in discount rates, and other factors. I recognize that some of our deans are navigating difficult financial realities. That underscores why we have been making, and are continuing to make, tough choices to shore up our financial position. We really have to continue to take the necessary steps to insulate ourselves from whatever comes our way. I think that kind of discipline has so far left us in a better position than many of our peers.

To reflect on that, I’m showing the budget on this slide. The University closed FY25 with a $2.9 million surplus in its operating budget. That’s a very small percentage of our total budget, less than two-tenths of one percent. For FY26, we are projecting a balanced budget with a very small surplus of $100,000 on a $1.9 billion budget. It was extremely difficult to get to a balanced result in FY25. It will be more difficult to keep it balanced in FY26.

Very, very few R-1 universities are running a genuinely balanced operating budget this year. I think there’s much more volatility in the budget than in previous years, and we must remain alert and nimble.

Our endowment grew by more than 9% last year, reaching $2.266 billion as of July 31, 2025. We worried a lot about federal laws governing endowments, and particularly taxation of endowments. We monitored that closely, but the so-called Big Beautiful Bill does not apply to Syracuse in this area as our endowment per student remains below the threshold.

If we go to fundraising for this past year, it went well. Historically, ������’s fundraising always drops dramatically once a campaign ends. Our campaign ended on Dec. 31, 2024. It’s really important given the challenges we’re facing for that not to happen this time, and it hasn’t happened so far. We closed FY25 at 107% of our new business goals and 106% of our cashflow goals.

We’ve been running well ahead of last year, this year as well, FY26. We’re just one quarter into it.

The fundraising and advancement team is focused on four bridge initiatives that will make sure we maintain our fundraising during this period between campaigns. They focus on financial aid, STEM, entrepreneurial leadership, and athletics. In particular, the financial aid initiative has been going well. Since April, the Syracuse Promise effort has already created 14 new endowed scholarships and made a dozen major gifts to existing scholarship funds.

Turning to enrollment: for the fifth consecutive year, the University had record undergraduate applications, with 47,169 to be precise. The Fall Census will be finalized later this month, but preliminary data shows our total enrollment is going to settle this year probably around 21,820 students. That includes undergraduate, graduate, and professional enrollment. It does not include the tens of thousands of students in non-degree programs at ������. Our traditionally measured enrollment is falling by about 3.5% this year. It’s driven largely by declines in international and master’s enrollment.

Overall undergraduate enrollment exceeded our goals. Law and doctoral enrollments are on track. Our new undergraduate class includes 3,945 undergraduates, which is 195 above goal. They are academically accomplished, with a 3.7 average GPA and mean SAT of 1351.

The percentage of international enrollment in the entering undergraduate class has decreased to 5%. Two years ago, it was 12%, to give you a sense of the change.

The decline in international students studying in the U.S. also impacted our master’s enrollment. We’re about 41 students below goal overall in our master’s enrollment, and that’s largely because international students, especially from China, had trouble getting visas in the United States. It is not likely to change. We haven’t seen much changing about that this year.

This fall the Academic Affairs team, the deans, the faculty welcomed 68 new full-time and 83 new part-time faculty. I met most of them, and they are incredible. We’re pretty unique in welcoming a large class of incoming new faculty because of so many hiring freezes or slowdowns elsewhere. I urge you to get to know them and their work.

We also welcomed Michael Bunker as our new associate vice president and chief of campus safety and emergency management services. He is a Coast Guard veteran with more than 20 years of leadership experience in public safety, most recently at the University of Denver.

Chief Human Resources Officer Andy Gordon has moved into a new role as senior advisor to me on priority strategic initiatives. I am grateful to Andy for his more than 10 years of service and for his outstanding work, particularly with the Senate to establish the Employee Benefits Advisory Council. Alex Dietrich, a Navy veteran, who most recently served as associate vice president for talent strategy and human resources operations, is serving as interim chief human resources officer.

I shared with the community today, and I want to share again with you, my decision regarding the role of Provost Lois Agnew. After I received a lot of thoughtful feedback from this community, I concluded that it is in the University’s best interest to remove the word “interim” from Lois Agnew’s title and to extend her service as provost through December 2026, or at most June 2027, at the discretion of my successor. This allows the next chancellor to participate in the selection of a long-term provost this coming year.

The feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of this course of action. I heard about Lois’ outstanding leadership, character, and effectiveness, as well as the importance of continuity at this time. I recognize, however, that some have raised valid concerns about precedent and process.

I want to underscore that this is an exceptional circumstance, tied directly to the timing of my own transition. The next provost search will fully follow our shared governance practices.

In the meantime, I am really confident that Lois will continue to guide our academic mission with the integrity and dedication she has demonstrated so far. So, I congratulate her on that.

On shared governance, I always talk about shared governance at the first Senate meeting of the year because there’s new senators, people who haven’t experienced shared governance, and fewer people who come to this university from elsewhere have experienced shared governance.

I’ve answered a lot of tough questions from the University Senate over the past 12 years. I’m grateful to you for asking them, for probing, for challenging, for not accepting the status quo, and for being an active participant in shared governance at this university. I’m grateful because it means you care about this place.

That’s one thing I’ve experienced in this body, that everyone in this room, everyone who participates, actually cares about this place and wants it to be better. So, I again urge us to approach our work this year with the assumption that each of us is acting in good faith and trying to make the University better.

It has been a brutal year for shared governance at schools in the United States, and that warns us that leadership at Syracuse means that we need to make it visibly work this year here and show it can work. We won’t always agree on exactly how to do that, but I believe discussion even of those disagreements on how to do that is healthy, and marks a healthy institution.

In that spirit, I’d like to share updates on three shared governance topics that came out of the Senate last year that I was involved in or advised about: parking, free speech, and academic affairs.

On parking, we just had a report, and I thank Deirdre [Joyce] for that. I think I followed the counsel of the Senate in helping set up and charge the working group and giving the authority. I really thank Deirdre and Pete and the whole group on their first report, and their willingness to do this work.

I think we all know the reason this group was created and this charge. I really look forward to receiving a report and recommendations, and I know they’ll be presented to the University Senate. My one worry here, as with many issues in the Senate, is how long it takes for things to be resolved. I do urge us to realize that while all parking issues may be interrelated, it’s okay to break off some of them and make recommendations on something along the way. I say that just because my ability to implement has a timeline.

On free speech, I have received a report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Free Speech and understand the committee’s plans to provide further recommendations this year. I am grateful for the committee’s commitment to advancing free speech on campus. I appreciate the Senate’s advisory role in this.

I will carefully consider any recommendations as the University makes policy decisions around free expression in the future. In the meantime, I assure you, for a bunch of reasons, that these issues have my full attention and concern right now.

I want to address the current environment we are living in. Let me just say that since October of 2023, when the world changed in dramatic ways, our approach at this university has been to try and make sure that we meet three necessary conditions for ������ to thrive. Not sufficient conditions, but necessary ones. A lot of the sufficient conditions are what people working out there every day work at, but the necessary conditions are these:

• First, we have to maintain safety for all our students and all our community—emphasis on all.
• Second, as an institution, we have to comply with the law, and that includes Title VI, the First Amendment, and due process.
• And third, we must uphold the longstanding values of this institution, which go back more than a century. These have remained our values even as the world changes and as law changes.

I recognize that it has gotten harder each month since October 2023 to meet all three of these conditions and walk that tight rope. Many of you have made sacrifices to determine the right individual steps to keep this place safe and consistent with our values. I am acutely aware of how hard it’s been for each of us, and I don’t think it’s going to get easier.

All that said, ethical judgment calls come up a lot. I think they come up for some of you. They certainly come up for me most days now. What I can tell you is that I call them as I see them in the interest of the whole University, not according to anyone’s party line and not based on my own personal interests. That’s what I have tried to do over the past 12 years, and that’s certainly what I intend to do as long as I am chancellor.

Last week I attended the Senate Academic Affairs Committee meeting. I got questions about academic budgets, portfolio review, the honors program, diversity and inclusion, and the Chancellor search. Thanks to chairs Matt Huber and Peggy Thompson for including me in their meeting. I encouraged the committee to keep focused on the academic freedom and free speech issues, and not just the ones I just discussed with you.

Just a few words about Portfolio Review because I think you’re going to hear about it from Provost Agnew shortly on this. I just need to provide a little context.

Higher education faces federal funding disruptions, lawsuits, and declining international enrollment—and new challenges are emerging. At many peer institutions, the responses have been rushed and reactive. I do think at Syracuse, we have the chance to be proactive and deliberate about this. Syracuse is financially stable today, but I’m not complacent about that.

The one purpose of the Academic Portfolio Review is to strengthen high-quality, high-demand programs and take a hard look at those that may be falling short. Our people are best positioned to guide these choices. I believe that. I encourage students, faculty, and staff to be active participants in the process, including at the school and college level.

Finally, my point of personal privilege. Many of you have reached out to me in recent weeks. I appreciate your support and words of encouragement. I got lots of these interesting queries about why I am choosing to finish up now, this year.

It’s just this: I now have served two full five-year terms and a two-year extension, and after fulfilling those commitments and one additional semester in the spring, I felt the time was right to conclude my tenure in this role.

I love this university. And I believe it is in reasonably good shape to select and recruit a new chancellor. While I’ll no longer be chancellor, after a sabbatical, I am excited to continue teaching courses here, as I have been doing every semester since I was announced as chancellor 12 years ago.

That’s because the students here are amazing.

For the rest of this year, we still have a lot to accomplish. This will be an important year for ������. The Board of Trustees will lead the process to select our next leader, while we still have to navigate everything going on in higher education. I think you all received an email from the co-chairs of the search committee earlier this week announcing various ways to engage with the search. All I can say is, please participate in the process. This is not a good time to be a free rider. This is a good time to participate in the process.

I thank everybody for your involvement in shared governance. I thank you for your ongoing commitment to our university, to the students, and to our future. I look forward to working with you in my final year stewarding this great university. Thank you.

You could say that Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala literally grew up at ������.

His father, John Sala, came to the University in the early 1960s for a facilities career that would span more than 30 years. As children, Pete and his brothers often tagged along with their father. Years later, Pete would join the staff himself, continuing the family’s legacy of hard work and dedication to Syracuse for more than four decades.

This fall, the University recognized that legacy with the dedication of the Sala Family Plaza, located outside Miron Victory Court and the JMA Wireless Dome. Permanent markers in the space—a plaque, a plaza sign and astroturf with 50- and 44-yard lines—acknowledge the Sala family’s impact. The project was made possible through the support of Chancellor Kent Syverud, the Board of Trustees, University leaders and community partners.

“When you think of service, hard work, and unwavering commitment to ������, few people embody those ideals as profoundly as Pete, John and the Sala family,” Chancellor Syverud said. “For more than seventy years, their extraordinary dedication and love for ������ have shaped a campus that is more beautiful, more functional, and more welcoming for generations of Orange students, faculty, staff, alumni, and fans. The Sala Family Plaza will forever remind us of their enduring legacy.”

Taking on Archbold Stadium

A skilled groundskeeper, John learned the trade at Cornell University and, with his father, built the golf course at Pompey Hills Country Club in the 1950s. When Syracuse needed help rehabbing the football field at Archbold Stadium, John got the call.

Facilities leaders were so impressed with his knowledge and work ethic, he was hired as a foreman on the University’s grounds crew. He rose to superintendent and director with Physical Plant (now Facilities Services), overseeing a dramatic campus transformation. New residence halls, academic buildings, Marshall Square Mall, Archbold Theatre and the Schine Student Center all came under his watch.

Most significantly, John was instrumental in the design and construction of the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome), located at the heart of campus. The Dome celebrates its 45th anniversary this month.

Establishing a Family Legacy

John brought his three sons—John, Pete and Larry—to campus on game days, parking them at the top of Archbold Stadium while he worked. They often ended up in the office of legendary football Coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who supplied them with sandwiches and drinks.

Trustee Cliff Ensley ’69, ’70, G’71, a former football player, recalls the quality of the field John helped restore. “It was the nicest, most beautiful field I ever played on, and probably the best in the country,” Ensley said.

Plans for the Dome were frequently spread across the Sala family’s living room table. John often responded to late-night calls, and in the winter, shoveled snow from the Dome’s inflatable roof. His late wife, Jennie, and their children strongly supported his work.

John retired in 1992, but the tradition continued through Pete. Pete’s wife, Laurie, and their son Jake ’21, G’23, now a Dome staff member, are part of the Syracuse story. Four of John and Jennie’s five children attended SU, along with four of their grandsons.

Pete’s own career began with a call from his dad in 1981. Preparing for a Rolling Stones concert in the Dome, John asked Pete, home for Thanksgiving break, to round up some friends and help build the stage. Pete delivered 20 recruits, and soon after was offered a part-time job. He joined full time in June 1982.

The Torch Is Passed to a New Generation

Over 44 years at Syracuse, Pete has become deeply involved in shaping the campus. He has overseen the construction of Ernie Davis Hall, the Einhorn Family Walk, the Barnes Center at The Arch, the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building, the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, the Clifford J. Ensley Athletic Center, and the Dome’s renovation to enhance the player and fan experience. Between 2000 and 2010, the University hosted four NCAA regional tournaments, the most of any venue in the country.

As managing director of the Dome, Pete has also overseen large-scale events that draw the community to campus, including concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Pink, and fan-favorite Monster Jam.

University Trustee Christine Larsen ’84 spoke of the family’s impact, particularly Pete’s leadership on the rebuilt Dome and Miron Victory Court. “I’m proud to say the Sala Plaza will always serve as our front yard, welcoming everyone,” she said.

For Pete, much of the credit goes to his team. “Nobody on this campus has a better staff than me,” he said. “I thank you; I can’t do it without you.”

Michael Veley, former Rhonda S. Falk Professor of Sport Management in the David B. Falk College of Sport, credits Pete with expanding opportunities beyond athletics. In 2005, they created a hands-on experiential learning component that evolved into a graduate program in sport facility and event management.

“This has resulted in dozens of our graduates managing facilities like Soldier Field in Chicago, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and several major college venues,” Veley said.

“The evolution of sport management from a small department to the Falk College of Sport, the first of its kind in the nation, simply would not be possible today if not for Pete’s engagement and commitment to academic excellence over the last 20 years,” Veley said.