When Hadwen C. Fuller II crossed the stage at the Graduate Convocation this spring, the loudest cheers didn’t come from his wife and three sons.

They came from a group of classmates young enough to be his grandchildren.

A few months earlier, Fuller had walked into a weeklong January course in Washington, D.C., carrying a brand-new laptop he’d only recently learned how to use, a healthy dose of skepticism about artificial intelligence and unfinished business that dated back to the Nixon administration.

The three credits earned from that course—Public Management of Technology Development—finally allowed Fuller to complete the M.P.A. degree he had started at the Maxwell School more than 50 years ago.

“I’ve always liked to finish what I start,” Fuller says.

That persistence has defined much of his life.

He grew up in the Oswego County town of Parish, New York, population 411. His grandfather, despite never graduating from high school, climbed from local politics to the New York State Assembly and, eventually, Congress. Fuller absorbed that example and arrived at Íű±ŹĂĆ thinking seriously about a future in government.

After earning a political science degree from Maxwell in 1970, Fuller enrolled in the . In his second year, he added a public administration degree at Maxwell because it matched his interest in leadership and public service.

He finished law school in 1973. The M.P.A. stalled six credits short.

For many people, that unfinished degree would have faded into ancient history. Fuller carried it around like a pebble in his shoe.

“It just kind of gnawed at me that I never completed it,” he says.

Over the next five decades, Fuller built a varied and successful professional career. Shortly after law school, he served as justice of the peace in Parish, processing thousands of cases after state police flooded the area with traffic enforcement teams. He worked in his family’s Sunoco gasoline distributorship, eventually selling the business during the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics while helping coordinate corporate fundraising tied to the Games. Most of his professional life has been spent in the aviation fuel industry, launching and running companies of his own.

Along the way, he took another swipe at the Maxwell degree. In 1996, he petitioned to re-enroll and completed a three-credit course on management of the U.S. Forestry Service.

“I planned to enroll in another class to finish it up,” Fuller says. “It just never happened.”

A Chance Encounter

Until a dinner conversation changed everything.

Last fall, Fuller attended an event hosted by the Onondaga Historical Association, where he serves on the board. One of the guests was , newly arrived at Maxwell as professor of practice in public administration and international affairs and the Phanstiel Chair in Leadership.

At some point during the evening, Fuller casually mentioned he was “almost” a Maxwell alumnus. Parmeter quickly learned Fuller was only one course away from finishing the degree he had started in the early 1970s. By coincidence, Parmeter himself was teaching a one-week, three-credit course in Washington that January.

“Would you like to finish your degree?” Parmeter asked.

Fuller thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

Soon, Assistant Dean of Online Programs was digging through decades-old records and untangling the academic equivalent of an archaeological dig. Expired credits needed reinstating. Approvals had to move through faculty leadership, the Graduate School and the registrar. Fuller had to be transferred into the executive M.P.A. program.

And then there was the technology.

“From soup to nuts, he needed help with everything,” Bartkowiak says with a laugh. “But he was a very good sport about it.”

Despite decades of business success, Fuller had largely managed to avoid becoming computer savvy. Bartkowiak convinced him he needed a laptop.

After a trip to Best Buy, Fuller launched into what amounted to a crash course in modern technology, teaching himself how to use the computer while diving headfirst into AI.

By January, he arrived in Washington equal parts prepared and panicked.

Back in the Classroom

His classmates included M.P.A. students, international relations students, law students and U.S. State Department fellows. Nearly all of them were decades younger. Fuller worried he would slow down group work or embarrass himself trying to keep up.

Instead, he became an integral member of the class.

Lauren Grosso G’26 initially thought Fuller was a guest speaker before realizing he was a fellow student. “I couldn’t believe that someone with that level of experience still wanted to be in a classroom, still wanting to learn,” she says. “That shifted something for me, not just how I saw Had, but how I see things in general. No matter how much experience you have or how much you know, there’s always more to learn.”

The course itself focused on public policy scenarios set in 2030, challenging students to use AI tools to solve complex problems while also evaluating the technology’s weaknesses and risks. For Fuller, it became a revelation.

“It’s like you have the smartest person in the world sitting next to you,” he says of AI. “They don’t get tired. They’re up all night. And you can ask them dumb questions because they don’t care.”

Still, Fuller wasn’t simply absorbing lessons. He was teaching them too.

Íű±ŹĂĆ Libraries recognized its student employees with an awards celebration on April 20. The Libraries typically employs about 150 undergraduate and graduate students each year to contribute to the safety of Libraries’ spaces, the quality and repair of collections, and service support to patrons and student entrepreneurs.

Supervisors nominate student employees who have demonstrated dedicated service over time and significant contributions that have made a lasting impact on the Libraries.

The Libraries recognize these students through the generous support of Kathy and Stanley Walters, the family of Patricia Kutner Strait and the many donors to the Libraries Dean’s Fund.

In addition, this year the Libraries acknowledges Carole and Glenn Johnston for their gift in honor of their daughter, Beth Ann Johnson, who was killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

“We are incredibly fortunate to work alongside our library student employees, whose energy, commitment and talent strengthen our community every day. In my role, I see firsthand the meaningful impact they have across our organization. Many of these students stay with us throughout their time at Íű±ŹĂĆ, growing into trusted and valued members of the SU Libraries community,” says David Seaman, dean of the Libraries and University Librarian.

2026 student award recipients and their respective Libraries departments are:

Kathy and Stanley Walters Student Employee Scholarship Awards

• Souleymane Bah ’26 (College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Niah Edwards ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), public services student, Special Collections Research Center
• Grace Hoffman G’26 (College of Law), graduate assistant, Access and Resource Sharing
• Ava Lubkemann ’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), Orange Innovation Scholar, Strategic Initiatives
• Duyen Thum Pham ’26 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), student assistant, Access and Resource Sharing
• Katie Ryder ’26 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), preservation assistant, Access and Resource Sharing
• Alexander Schulz G’26 (School of Information Studies), Information Literacy Scholar, Information Literacy

Patricia Kutner Strait Student Scholarship Awards

• Mason Burley ’27 (School of Education), preservation assistant, Access and Resource Sharing
• Alani Henderson ’26 (College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Anna Shuff G’26 (School of Information Studies), graduate student archivist, Special Collections Research Center
• Anthony Thomas ’26 (School of Information Studies), innovation mentor/marketing team lead, LaunchPad
• Sreynoch ‘Jess’ Van ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), photographer/videographer, Marketing and Communications

Dean’s Commendations Awards (in memory of Pan Am 103 victim Beth Ann Johnson)

• Hadja Fatoumata Barry ’26 (School of Information Studies), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Joel Carpenter G’26 (School of Information Studies), Information Literacy Scholar, Information Literacy
• James Harman ’26 (School of Information Studies), student worker, Access and Resource Sharing
• Iman Jamison G’26 (School of Information Studies), graduate instruction assistant, Special Collections Research Center
• Calvin Silver ’26 (School of Information Studies), public services reference, Special Collections Research Center
• Grace Suhadolnik ’26 (School of Information Studies), student worker, Learning and Academic Engagement
• Camren Wych’26 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security

Honorable Recognitions:

• Khadija Kante ’26 (Arts and Sciences), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Philomena Kern’26 (School of Information Studies), student archival processing assistant, Special Collections Research Center
• Hannah Marosi G’26 (School of Information Studies), collections team graduate student worker, Department of Research and Scholarship
• Alexus Rowe ’26 (Arts and Sciences), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Mera Singh ’26 (School of Information Studies), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Fatumata ‘Nima’ Sow ’26 (School of Information Studies), floor monitor, Libraries Facilities and Security
• Haven Travis G’26 (School of Information Studies), graduate student assistant, Access and Resource Sharing
• Jiaying Wang ’26 (Arts and Sciences), public services student employee, Special Collections Research Center

Not everyone interested in pursuing a law degree lives in a large metropolitan area or near a bustling college town. In fact, many students enrolled in the College of Law’s hybrid online (JDi) program are located in faraway places, whether a small Alaskan city, an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or rural areas throughout the U.S.

For many of them, remaining in their communities is not just practical but purposeful due to personal obligations or a long-held desire to serve their communities.

Meet four recent graduates from out-of-the-way places who have successfully joined the legal profession through the JDi program.

Dawnelle Forsythe L’26, Oahu, Hawaii

As a native of Hawaii, Dawnelle Forsythe lives in a small city of 44,000 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Back in the early 2000s, she wanted to become a lawyer, but the only law school in Hawaii was on Oahu, and the travel and expense was prohibitive.

Instead, she went to work for the County of Hawaii Office of Housing and later the State of Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home Lands under the , which helps provide affordable housing to qualified native Hawaiians.

However, in 2019, two pivotal events made Forsythe reconsider law school. She says the first was “fate” when she saw an article about a newly established hybrid JDi program that could enable her to earn a law degree without leaving home.

Around the same time, she accompanied her husband to observe a protest centering around the construction of a massive at the top of Mauna Kea, the Big Island’s highest mountain and an area considered sacred by the native people.

When they arrived, more than 100 protestors had formed a protective human wall in front of the kƫpunas (revered elders). The kƫpunas had sought to halt the construction of the 18-story telescope atop Mauna Kea and were blocking the road from construction vehicles, while the crowd chanted in support of preserving land put in trust for the Hawaiian people to ensure the continuation of their culture. As Forsythe watched, state troopers began removing those blocking the road.

“Some of the troopers were related to the aunties and uncles they were arresting, and many on both sides were crying together,” Forsythe says. “It was such a somber event, and it made a lasting impact on me. I decided then that I had to go to law school to be an advocate for my ‘Ohana’ (family), the people of my community.”

She quit her job at a hospital to focus on the JDi program. “Not only would it allow me to stay at home, but I was drawn to its trial advocacy program that would help me become an attorney ready to go into court and advocate for people,” she says.

Forsythe is now thrilled she found “her New York Ohana” made up of the “geniuses in her cohort,” as well as faculty she admires, including Distinguished Professor of Law Nina Kohn and Associate Dean for Academic Programs Shannon Gardner.

Forsythe is committed to soon using her law degree pro bono to help Hawaiian residents, particularly those facing land rights cases who lack money for legal representation.

“It isn’t about making money; it’s about something that will totally fulfill my heart,” she says. “I’m excited to finally reach my goal of becoming a lawyer, and I know that it would not have been possible without Syracuse Law’s JDi program.”

Sarah Frank Roberts L’22, Kenai, Alaska

There are no law schools in Alaska, so when Sarah Frank Roberts decided to pursue a law degree, she knew her options were limited. A mother of six, Roberts lives with her husband and family in Kenai, Alaska, a town of about 5,000 people, most of whom work in the fishing or oil and gas industries.

When Roberts discovered the JDi program, it seemed to be a solution. She could take classes and get her work done after her children went to sleep, and the four-hour time difference between Alaska and New York was manageable. She was accepted into the program’s second cohort since its founding in 2019.

“The experience was rigorous,” Roberts says. “There was no hiding in the back of the room when professors like  could see your face up close on the screen. I certainly got the same high level of education that those in an on-campus program received.”

According to Roberts, there is a huge need for lawyers, particularly public defenders and district attorneys, in Alaska, but with no law schools, people tend to leave to go to school and never return. Roberts was able to stay because of the JDi program, and today she is an assistant public advocate and conflict counselor for the state of Alaska, focusing on family issues like custody and guardianship.

“I get to help people, many of whom have made a lot of mistakes but still deserve representation,” Roberts says.

Megan Poole L’23, Cortland, New York

Megan Poole grew up on a dairy farm in Cortland County, New York, but, knowing the challenges of farming, her parents encouraged her to pursue a different career.

After earning an undergraduate degree in criminology, Poole wanted to be a probation officer but didn’t get the position she originally intended. Instead, she says, “Rejection is divine redirection,” and decided to take the LSAT and pursue law school.

In the meantime, she was offered a job in the Cortland County Department of Social Services (DSS) as a case worker handling foster care, child protective services and adoption cases. She still wanted to go to law school, but she was “too heartbroken to leave” the difficult job of helping families in need. However, when she found the JDi program, she realized she could pursue a law degree while continuing her job with DSS and helping on the family farm.

“The JDi program was certainly just as difficult as an on-campus program,” says Poole, who enjoyed the required in-person residencies, where she was able to interact with fellow students and faculty both on-campus and in various other cities.

After completing the JDi program, she continued to work at the DSS in Cortland. About a year later, the Hon. A.L. Beth O’Connor, a family court judge in the 6^th Judicial District of New York, which includes Cortland County, reached out to Poole about being her court attorney.

“I see both the terrible and the good, but that’s part of the job,” she says. “I think I’m making a big difference in my community, particularly for people who don’t have the resources for good legal counsel, and the JDi program was a big part of making that possible.”

An added bonus of becoming a lawyer was the opportunity for Poole, her mother and sister to turn the family farm into Spring Valley Views, a woman-owned LLC, with plans to expand it into a venue and campground.

Tania Rivera Bullard L’25, Houston County, Georgia

Tania Rivera Bullard earned an undergraduate degree in psychology, figuring she would be a social worker like her mother. Instead, Rivera Bullard decided to pursue a path offered to military spouses to become a paralegal. As she studied for her paralegal certification, she started to think, “Why can’t I be a lawyer?”

Interested in being a public defender or a civil rights attorney, she was accepted into a JD at an on-campus law school that required a four-hour round-trip commute from her home in rural Georgia. However, a complicated pregnancy made it impossible, and she was forced to defer her start. Rivera Bullard began looking for alternatives and found the JDi program, which would allow her to remain with her family while pursuing a law degree.

Not long after, Rivera Bullard, then the mother of a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old, began the JDi program and found it manageable. “I became a night owl,” she explains. “After the kids went to sleep, I would concentrate on asynchronous work and getting my reading done, and I spent long hours on the phone with my dear friend Nathan McKay L’26, my study partner, who made such a difference for me. It certainly was a careful balancing act, but if you’re willing to find the time, you can make it happen.”

After finishing her law degree and passing the Alabama bar exam, she went to work as an assistant public defender for the Houston County (GA) Public Defenders’ Office.

“As a public defender, you handle felony cases that nobody else wants, and, arguably, you’re experiencing the toughest, scariest times of people’s lives. I get to help them through a system that, to many, feels like it is set up to fail them,” Rivera Bullard says. “At the end of the day, I go home and feel good about the work I’ve done in my community. The Syracuse JDi program really made it possible for me to achieve my goals.”

A distinguished scientist and educator, a physician and healthcare innovator, a pioneering entrepreneur, a ground-breaking academic leader, a distinguished public servant and a transformative national leader in higher education will be recognized with honorary degrees from Íű±ŹĂĆ at the .

Dr. Ruth Chen, a professor of practice in biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Íű±ŹĂĆ; Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and the Alan and Marlene Norton Presidential Chair at Upstate Medical University; Clifford J. Ensley ’69, ’70, G’71, founder and chief executive officer of Leisure Merchandising Corporation; Linda M. LeMura G’83, G’87, president of Le Moyne College; Joanne M. Mahoney ’87, L’90, president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; and Chancellor Kent Syverud, the 12th chancellor and president of Íű±ŹĂĆ, will be honored for their outstanding professional contributions, achievements and service to their communities and the public good.

Dr. Ruth Chen
Doctor of Science

An environmental toxicologist, Dr. Chen has built a distinguished career at the intersection of environmental science, public health and policy, and has had an indelible impact on the Íű±ŹĂĆ community and Central New York through her commitment to students, scholarship, service and the public good.

Dr. Chen holds a Ph.D. and M.P.H. in environmental toxicology from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in biomedical sciences from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Prior to academia, she served as state toxicologist for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, where she was responsible for risk assessment and risk management decisions across programs in permit, remediation, corrective action, combustion facilities, toxic substances and landfills. She provided expert counsel to multiple state divisions on issues of human health and toxicology while simultaneously managing Tennessee’s Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program. She secured federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency, and was a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), working on pharmacokinetics.

Before joining Íű±ŹĂĆ, Dr. Chen served on the faculty at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University in St. Louis, where she led a professional engineering master’s degree program and an international education program. At Syracuse, she is admired for her ability to translate complex topics into accessible and inspiring learning experiences, with courses that bridge theory and application and empower students to see engineering as a vocation.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Chen’s leadership has strengthened student and community life in extraordinary ways. She has championed an award-winning International Student Success Model and hosts an annual International Thanksgiving Celebration for students who cannot travel home for the holidays. She is an advocate for Women in Science and Engineering and a consistent presence at student performances and athletics, ensuring every student feels they have a place at the University.

Dr. Chen’s impact extends well beyond campus. She has served on the boards of United Way, Interfaith Works and Syracuse Stage. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped procure masks for the community. She launched Operation Orange Warmup, the University’s winter coat drive, and through her support of local nonprofits, she has turned generosity into action across Central New York.

Dr. Mantosh Dewan
Doctor of Science

A physician scientist who has made significant contributions to clinical psychiatry, neuroimaging, psychotherapy and mental health systems, Dewan has dedicated his career to advancing medical education, expanding access to mental healthcare and serving the Central New York community.

Dewan began his career at SUNY Upstate in 1975 as a mixed medicine/psychiatry intern, becoming chief resident in psychiatry before joining the faculty as an assistant professor. Over the decades he has served as director of undergraduate education, director of residency training and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and as interim dean of the College of Medicine from 2016 to 2017.

His scholarly output encompasses more than 80 papers, 35 books and book chapters, and hundreds of presentations on topics ranging from brain imaging and the economics of mental healthcare to psychotherapy and medical education. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration. He is co-editor two books: “The Difficult to Treat Psychiatric Patient” and “The Art and Science of Brief Psychotherapies,” a best seller now in its third edition, translated into five languages and chosen for the American Psychiatric Association’s Core Competencies in Psychotherapy Series.

Dewan’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic was transformational. Under his direction, Upstate developed the world’s most sensitive saliva diagnostic test and provided over four million tests to 60 of the 64 SUNY campuses, enabling all of SUNY to remain open and in-person. Íű±ŹĂĆ partnered directly with Upstate in this critical effort. Reflecting Dewan’s vision for leveraging technology to expand access to care, Upstate provides tele-psychiatry diagnostic and treatment services to students at 56 SUNY campuses. More recently, Dewan launched Upstate Biotech Ventures with $6 million in seed funding to cultivate biotech companies incubated at the medical center.

Listed in The Best Doctors in America and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Dewan has received numerous honors, including the APA’s George Tarjan Award, designation as an “Exemplary Chair” by SUNY, Íű±ŹĂĆ’s Chancellor’s Medal in 2021 and an honorary degree from Onondaga Community College. He is also an affiliated professor at Jönköping University in Sweden.

Dewan’s career reflects intellectual curiosity, innovation, ethical leadership and a deep commitment to using science and medicine in service to society. His accolades and leadership reflect a career that has made profound contributions to science and to improve the well-being of the Central New York community.

Clifford J. Ensley ’69, ’70, G’71
Doctor of Humane Letters

A dedicated University trustee, accomplished entrepreneur and a celebrated student-athlete, Ensley has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to his alma mater through service, philanthropy and unwavering Orange spirit.

Ensley arrived at Syracuse as a walk-on with the football team after no Division I programs recruited him. His tenacity on the practice field earned him a scholarship from head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, and by his sophomore year he was starting on the varsity squad.

Ensley went on to become the last three-sport letter winner in Íű±ŹĂĆ history, earning letters in football, wrestling and lacrosse. He was an honorable mention All-American in football, set interception and special teams records as a defensive back and delivered a record-setting 76-yard punt return for a touchdown against Navy.

He was captain and most valuable player of the lacrosse team and was named the 1969 Íű±ŹĂĆ Athlete of the Year, joining a distinguished list that includes Jim Brown ’57, Ernie Davis ’62, Floyd Little ’67, H’19, Dave Bing ’66, H’06 and Larry Csonka ’68. Ensley received the Letter Winner of Distinction Award from Íű±ŹĂĆ Athletics and the Varsity Club in 1993 and the Dritz Rookie Trustee of the Year Award in 2018. A champion of volunteerism, he also founded Athletes Who Care in 2022, an organization that partners with Syracuse student-athletes to support charitable causes and community organizations in Central New York.

Ensley earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the and an MBA from the . He was a member of the U.S. Army ROTC and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After his military service, Ensley entered the luggage industry. Drawing on his education, his experience in retail luggage sales and a perseverance built on the playing fields, he launched his idea for a wholesale luggage and accessories manufacturing business in 1978 with $2,500. The founder and chief executive officer of Leisure Merchandising Corporation grew the business into a multimillion-dollar enterprise with a brand presence in thousands of retail locations.

Elected to the Board of Trustees in 2015, Ensley currently serves on the Athletics, Advancement and External Affairs, and Facilities committees. Together with his wife, Sue, he has provided lead gifts for the Ensley Athletic Center, the Chris Gedney Endowed Football Scholarship and the Orange Forever Endowed Memorial Fund, which provides keepsake blankets to the families of every deceased former student-athlete. They have also lent their support to initiatives in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the Whitman School, the Maxwell School, the Catholic Center and the Sala Family Plaza, among other numerous initiatives.

Linda M. LeMura G’83, G’87
Doctor of Humane Letters

LeMura’s career has been defined by groundbreaking leadership, scientific excellence and an unwavering commitment to educational equity and access.

LeMura graduated from Bishop Grimes High School as a three-sport athlete and honors student. She earned both a master’s degree (1983) in physical education and a Ph.D. (1987) in applied physiology from the at Íű±ŹĂĆ, where her academic training laid the foundation for a distinguished career. Her research in pediatric obesity, pediatric applied physiology and lipid and energy metabolism has produced more than 30 peer-reviewed articles, two books and 26 externally funded grant proposals. She has served as a research consultant for both the U.S. and Italian Olympic committees. She has consistently included students as co-investigators and co-authors in her work, highlighting her work as a mentor and a commitment to the next generation of scientists.

After serving as a professor, research scientist and graduate program director at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, LeMura joined Le Moyne College in 2003 and held leadership roles as dean of arts and sciences and provost before making history in 2014 as the first female layperson to serve as president of a Jesuit institution of higher education in the U.S. Her appointment opened pathways for women’s leadership across Jesuit higher education, with 10 additional women now serving in presidential roles at Jesuit institutions.

Under her leadership, Le Moyne has raised roughly $200 million, achieved eight consecutive years of record enrollment and led the college’s strategic transition to NCAA Division I athletics as a full member of the Northeast Conference.

LeMura co-chairs the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council. She was actively engaged in the Central New York’s efforts to bring Micron’s microchip manufacturing facility to the area and has aligned Le Moyne to the resulting workforce demand through new semiconductor-focused programs and the college’s ERIE 21 partnership with Micron.

She holds board positions with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and the International Association of Jesuit Universities. Her awards include the 2023 Íű±ŹĂĆ Tolley Medal, selected by the School of Education; the 2019 Syracuse Key4Women Achieve Award; the 2017 Temple Adath Yeshurun Citizen of the Year Award; the 2017 Bishop’s Award from the Diocese of Syracuse Catholic Charities and recognition as a 2016 New York State Senate Woman of Distinction.

The relationship between Íű±ŹĂĆ and Le Moyne College has grown in collaboration during LeMura’s presidency through joint academic initiatives, community engagement projects and shared commitments to excellence.

Joanne M. Mahoney ’87, L’90
Doctor of Laws

Mahoney has built a career defined by her commitment to community, environmental stewardship and the advancement of Central New York. She earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing management from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 1987 and a juris doctor from the College of Law in 1990. She credits her legal education as the foundation of her career in public leadership. Her late father, Bernard J. Mahoney L’69, was also a graduate of the College of Law.

Mahoney began her legal career in private practice at Harris Beach before serving for five years as a criminal prosecutor in the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. She went on to serve on the Syracuse Common Council from 2000-03. In 2008, she became the first woman elected Onondaga County Executive, a position she held for three terms while overseeing a county government serving approximately 460,000 residents.

During her tenure, she created the nationally acclaimed Save the Rain green infrastructure program and helped lead efforts that transformed Onondaga Lake to swimmable water quality. She maintained the county’s highest bond ratings among all New York State counties and championed the Say Yes to Education partnership. Governing Magazine named her Public Official of the Year in 2011.

In November 2020, Mahoney was appointed president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 110-year history. Under her leadership, SUNY ESF has risen in the Princeton Review’s rankings of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges.

She serves as co-chair of SUNY’s systemwide Sustainability Advisory Council and has sustained the historic partnership between SUNY ESF and Íű±ŹĂĆ, ensuring collaborative academic programs, shared student opportunities and joint diplomas.

Mahoney has also served as chair of the New York State Thruway Authority, where she oversaw completion of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, one of the nation’s largest infrastructure projects. She currently serves on the College of Law’s Board of Advisors and has supported the Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75 Endowed Law Scholarship and WAER.

Chancellor Kent D. Syverud
Doctor of Laws

Chancellor Syverud has led Íű±ŹĂĆ through 12 years of transformational change, reshaping the campus, strengthening research and academic excellence, and expanding Íű±ŹĂĆ’s impact in Central New York and beyond.

Hailing from Irondequoit, New York, Chancellor Syverud earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, a law degree magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School and a master’s in economics from the University of Michigan. He counts among his closest mentors the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, for whom he clerked. His career in legal education spans three decades, including deanships at Vanderbilt University Law School and Washington University School of Law. An elected member of the American Law Institute, he received the 2024 TIAA Institute Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, one of the highest national honors in higher education.

Since becoming chancellor in 2014, Chancellor Syverud has placed students at the center of the University’s mission. Under his leadership, Syracuse has seen record applications and enrollment, invested over $100 million in student life—including the Barnes Center at The Arch, a renovated Schine Student Center, two new residence halls and a transformed JMA Wireless Dome—and expanded global learning programs across five international centers and domestic sites in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Chancellor Syverud played a central role in Central New York’s economic resurgence, including the University’s work to attract Micron Technology to build its largest American fabrication facility in the region. He directed the hiring of more than 700 faculty, helped the University achieve Research 1 status and oversaw the Forever Orange Campaign, which raised more than $1.59 billion—the largest fundraising effort in University history—as the endowment more than doubled to over $2 billion.

His dedication to veterans and military families stands among his most profound contributions. The expansion of Íű±ŹĂĆ’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the creation of the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building set a national standard for research, policy development and support to those who have served, and veteran enrollment has more than tripled since 2014. Throughout his chancellorship, Chancellor Syverud has continued to teach negotiation courses at the College of Law and the Whitman School of Management, embodying the teacher-scholar ideal.

Chancellor Syverud’s commitment to service extends beyond the University. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Coast Conference, having previously served as its president, and as an ex officio trustee of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He is a trustee of Crouse Hospital and of Le Moyne College, and, by appointment of the governor of New York, serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

Students filled the jury box inside the Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in the ‘s Dineen Hall earlier this semester, sketchbooks out, to capture live arguments during a session of the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals hosted on the Syracuse campus.

For the students, six of them seniors majoring in illustration in the , it was their first experience serving as courtroom sketch artists for a legal proceeding.

, assistant teaching professor in VPA, says the collaboration with the College of Law on Feb. 27 was just the latest opportunity he’s sought out for illustration students to introduce them to different types of live drawing activities. Once the collaboration with the College of Law was arranged, he encouraged juniors and seniors he teaches to participate.

“When you’re an illustration major, there’s a lot of fields that you can enter into,” he says. “So, for me, courtroom sketching is something they can do if they want to or just live sketching. But I think for them, it gets them practicing their craft.”

The networking opportunity is also a big piece of the experience, he says.

“It gets them talking, and it gets them to really engage with other people outside of the art world, gets them to have an audience see their work,” Ladd says.

The collaboration was such a success that VPA students were invited back again to act as courtroom artists for another law school event. Five of the students who participated in February’s event told Íű±ŹĂĆ Today they were drawn to participating to practice their skills and explore the role as a profession.

Below, they share more about the experience:

What was it like?

Juli Muldoon ’26: I enjoy drawing from life and capturing people’s expressions. I figured a courtroom would be an interesting place to do so, and I was right!

Emma Lee ’26: It was interesting seeing how formal the event was and the interactions between the judges and participants. It was somewhat stressful at first not knowing how long each person would be at the podium or how long I would have to capture them. As the proceeding went on I got more of an understanding of how long each person would be at the podium and got more comfortable with my materials. I was able to focus more on drawing portraits of people, which I enjoyed the most.

Rene Vetter ’26: It was very nerve-wracking, especially since the proceeding was related to the military. Everyone was dressed up and in uniform, so I felt out of place with my drawing board and pens. When the court clerk called us all to rise as the judges walked in, the reality of the situation hit me. It was stressful to have so many eyes watching you and curious about how you are drawing them.

Brynne Baird ’26: Everyone was welcoming and enthusiastic about having all of us there. They let us sit in the jury box, so we were able to see faces and expressions clearer. It is just like in the movies!

Julia English ’26: The courtroom was very professional. At first, I was nervous and intimidated, but eventually I felt like I was a part of the trial. I almost felt like I was watching a movie.

What was the best part of participating?

Muldoon: Getting to show everyone my drawings at the end of the proceeding. Getting positive reactions to my work keeps me motivated to create.

Lee: Almost everyone who participated came up to us to see what we drew. They were all super excited and interested in what we had made. They said the whole time they had been curious what they were going to look like. Many of them had never been drawn before, so it was fun to see their reactions to our sketches.

Vetter: Getting to show the participants my drawings. I usually do more humorous drawings, so I would show them my portrait and they would laugh really hard. I was nervous to show the judges my drawings of them, as I didn’t want them to take offense, but they ended up loving them.

Baird: Being able to practice real observational drawing in a realistic context.

English: Everyone reacting to our drawings. Everyone was so kind and took pictures of our art.

What was the most challenging part?

Muldoon: Probably working under pressure. Drawing moving subjects is already a challenge, and working while people watch you can be stressful.

Lee: Wanting to draw as much as possible and capture as much as possible, while also not getting tired of constantly drawing. As the proceeding went on, I got more comfortable.

Vetter: The time was limited, and I wanted to make sure to capture as many participants as possible. There were also a few times where a participant would only have a limited time in front of the judges on the main floor. I never knew if I would have five minutes or 15 to draw a subject, and once they left the floor, it was more difficult to get a good look at them.

Baird: Usually we are in a classroom with a model that gives us dynamic poses for several minutes at a time. But in a courtroom, people move around, which makes it challenging to draw specific poses.

English: At first, I struggled to draw while watching the trial. Once I got used to it, my nerves went away.

Did this change or impact the way you think about your own illustrations or career path? 

Muldoon: I hadn’t considered court sketching as a career, but this opportunity has definitely made me interested. I would love to do more court work in the future.

Lee: It definitely made me more interested in pursuing courtroom sketching as a career. It was also encouraging hearing how excited everyone was about the sketches and seeing their reactions.

Vetter: Definitely yes. I had so much fun that I am hoping to be able to do it again. It was also rewarding to share my artwork with people outside of creative spheres. It is easy to get caught up in creative competitiveness when I am only surrounded with other creatives, but I forget people outside of that are even more impressed by my work. It was a good reminder of my own appreciation for illustration and art in a busy time in my academic career.

Baird: I have other ideas of where I would like my career path to go, but if an opportunity like this comes along again where I could do this full time I would love to do it!

English: I would consider working as a courtroom sketch artist professionally if provided the chance!

Professor has developed an artificial intelligence bot that uses curated, course-specific materials to assist students in mastering the applicable legal rules and their application. These digital “coaches” are available 24/7 to assist students in understanding challenging concepts and then to quiz students on their application, providing immediate feedback in a variety of question and answer formats. Thus far, Graves has deployed the concept in his evidence and contracts courses.

Graves uses OpenAI’s private custom GPT feature, which allows him to provide students with an interactive experience that is narrowly tailored to his specific course. Graves accomplishes this with a comprehensive set of instructions (i.e., prompts) telling the custom coach exactly what to do—providing guardrails to keep it focused on the objective of assisting students in this course—and uploading copies of the course text and other key instructional materials that facilitate Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). This domain-specific RAG layer increases the accuracy of the coach’s responses in the context of this specific course and dramatically reduces the potential for errors, as compared to a generic Large Language Model (LLM) trained on generic data of varying quality.

This “walled garden” of course-specific material addresses the common issue with LLM AI platforms that indiscriminately draw from all information on the internet.

“The LLMs pick up a good deal of erroneous information from unreliable sources, and they miss a lot of really good information that’s behind firewalls,” Graves says. “The bot has been instructed to respond to students when they ask for answers by walking them through in a Socratic-style dialog much as I might in class or office hours. When assisting students, the coach relies first and foremost on the information uploaded in its RAG layer, not only helping to explain and quiz the students on accurate course doctrine, but pointing students directly to appropriate sources within the course text itself.”

Of course, the key to this approach is a collaborative relationship between Graves and the publisher of his course textbooks. While Graves is a co-author of his contracts textbook, the copyright is held by West Academic (the publisher of both the Learning Evidence and Learning Contracts textbooks used by Graves).  Graves worked closely with West Academic in developing an approach that would appropriately protect all copyrighted material uploaded to the coach’s RAG layer, and his use of both Learning Evidence and Learning Contracts is done under license from West Academic.

The use of the primary course text within the RAG layer effectively expands the value of the text far beyond the initially assigned readings. At the core of the coach’s domain-specific content, the textbook continues to anchor the coach’s role in assisting and quizzing students as they better learn to apply that content.

Supplementing the Teacher’s Role

Graves says, “the teacher’s role is not being outsourced to the coach—it is being supplemented in new ways for which narrowly tailored AI is uniquely suited.”

“The Coach does not replace basic course prep or attendance,” he says. “It is purely a supplement to these traditional teaching and learning tools—albeit a very effective one, arguably far more effective than traditional generic study aids or generic LLMs often used by students today. Perhaps most valuable is the coach’s ability to provide students with unlimited opportunities to apply the course material in a variety of assessment formats, all of which are subject to immediate feedback. At the end of the day, this is often the single most effective teaching and learning tool for law students, and the coach provides this tool in a manner that is always available and fully aligned with course content and course outcomes.”

Students access the coach through a dedicated course link, which provides for private interaction between student and coach, unless the student voluntarily decides to share the unique link generated by a specific conversation. The initial privacy of the conversation encourages students to ask questions they might otherwise be uncomfortable raising (the proverbial “dumb question,” which is often anything but).

It also allows students to use the coach in collaborative study sessions or to forward a conversation to Graves for further exploration. This latter feature is particularly useful in terms of quality control of both student prompts and responses by the coach.

“During the past two semesters, I’ve seen a few responses from the coach that could be improved and one blatant error,” Grave says. “However, the vast majority of interactive challenges arose from imperfect student prompts.”

Thus, the students get two additional benefits from using the coach: they learn the importance of effective inputs (prompts) and they learn the importance of verifying outputs.

Continuing to Fine-Tune the Tool

While the evidence and contract coaches have proven very accurate (Graves directly tests them regularly himself, in addition to frequent student feedback), AI remains imperfect, and the professor has continued to “fine-tune” his bots by uploading additional course-specific material based on his own testing and observations of student/coach interactions.

Graves teaches exclusively in the College of Law’s , so the 24/7 availability of his coaches is particularly important to a body of students located around the world.

“This has allowed me to be more efficient and effective with my time while giving our global students a uniquely tailored experience that will help them master course material, while being available at any time that is convenient to them,” he says.

Seven faculty members will leverage Íű±ŹĂĆ’s for research and program development this summer, supported by funding from the .

The initiative, launched this year, provides full-time faculty members with $10,000 for high-impact summer projects based in Los Angeles, New York City or Washington, D.C.

“These faculty members will chart new territory, using study away sites to push disciplinary and interdisciplinary research forward, forge partnerships across sectors and reimagine how students learn,” says , associate provost for strategic initiatives. “We are excited to see the new initiatives that grow out of these summer projects.”

Los Angeles

, assistant professor of fashion design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design, will conduct a one-week research “sprint” investigating adaptive apparel needs for disabled performing artists, a population that is largely overlooked in existing research. Through interviews with disabled performers, Jiang will examine pain points around range of motion, quick changes, heat management, assistive device interfaces and aesthetic expression. The project will conclude with an Inclusive Performancewear Listening Session and the development of an Inclusive Adaptive Performancewear Design Requirements Toolkit.

Following the summer project, Jiang will bring VPA faculty and students into the research as stakeholders and collaborators and focus on developing prototype garment directions informed by the toolkit. She plans to return to LA next summer to engage in wear trials, follow-up interviews with original participants and the creation of a refined toolkit.

, associate professor of sport management, and , senior associate dean and professor of sport management in the David B. Falk College of Sport, plan to develop two new interdisciplinary courses and advance a growing research agenda. The first course, Sport Business, Hip Hop and Fashion, will examine the commercial and cultural intersections of sport, hip hop and the global fashion economy, using LA’s streetwear ecosystem and athlete-driven enterprises as living case studies. The second, Venue Hospitality: Sport Facilities as Engines of Experience, will use LA’s facility landscape—including the Intuit Dome, SoFi Stadium and Crypto.com Arena—to explore the idea of modern sport venues as hospitality enterprises. The pair will meet with venue directors and industry professionals to generate curriculum content, confirm guest lecturers and support Falk College’s newly funded research partnership with a leading stadium technology company.

The courses, which Pauline and Tainsky plan to launch next spring, will be designed for sustained industry engagement through recurring guest speaker infrastructure and applied student projects, while the relationships developed in LA will be expanded into internship and capstone opportunities for sport management undergraduates.

New York City

, assistant professor of sport analytics in Falk College, will begin building the groundwork for a repeatable women’s sports analytics study away program that will be centered on the city’s concentrated women’s professional sports ecosystem and emphasize city-specific partnerships, hands-on student experiences and exclusive data access. She will conduct exploratory meetings with leadership at organizations including WNBA headquarters, NWSL headquarters, Gotham FC, the New York Liberty and the New York Sirens, as well as with sports analytics firms and women’s sports media companies.

Rubenstein plans to establish relationships with multiple organizational partners, secure letters of intent or MOUs, complete a feasibility report and develop a draft curriculum and syllabus informed directly by industry input. She envisions the program generating a network of industry partners committed to ongoing data sharing for research, internships and classroom collaboration, with findings integrated into coursework. The program also has potential as a student recruitment tool, and as a pathway for faculty research through sustained engagement with the New York study away site.

, associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will build a sustained, credit-bearing study away program centered on peacekeeping and global governance. He will conduct archival research at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library and think tank collections to support ongoing work on multilateral diplomacy and peace operations. He will also cultivate relationships with alumni, practitioners and New York-based NGOs working on human rights, peace building and sustainable development; these organizations will serve as sources of guest speakers, internship opportunities and potential research collaborators for Maxwell students.

The project is designed as a catalyst for a repeatable, on-site intensive course offered at the 400/600 level and open to undergraduate students in international relations, political science and policy studies as well as master’s candidates in international relations. That would bring Maxwell students into direct engagement with the UN, international NGOs, think tanks and global financial institutions, while partnerships with New York organizations would potentially generate collaborative projects that connect scholarly analysis to real-world advocacy and program design.

, assistant professor in the School of Education and VPA’s Setnor School of Music, will deepen partnerships with K-12 schools that are leading the way in modern band and popular music pedagogy. DeAngelis will meet with music educators and administrators at current and prospective partner schools, with a particular focus on programs that blend modern band and contemporary music approaches with traditional models. These efforts will broaden field placement opportunities for University music education students pursuing New York State K-12 certification.

Two high-visibility events will result from the project: a Fall 2026 professional development day at the Fisher Center featuring workshops and a panel discussion on contemporary music pedagogy with New York City-based educators and leaders in this field; and a Spring 2027 NYC music workshop that will bring partner school students to the Fisher Center for collaborative jam sessions, ensemble coaching and songwriting. These initiatives aim to create a sustained “feedback loop” between the University’s music education program and New York City schools and students, strengthening and expanding New York-based field placements, elevating Syracuse’s profile as a leader in contemporary music education, attracting prospective students and ultimately extending the School of Education’s  student teaching program to include music education.

Washington, D.C.

, teaching professor and executive director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic in the College of Law, will utilize the University’s Washington, D.C. site as a sustained hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, alumni engagement and experiential learning in military and veterans law, administrative practice and public policy. She plans to formalize relationships with federal agencies and adjudicative bodies central to military and veterans law and host a reception for stakeholders in these areas. The event will serve to convene agency leaders, alumni and faculty, and engage University government relations and alumni affairs colleagues to build a coordinated institutional strategy and durable programming infrastructure.

The project will include early-stage development of an interdisciplinary speaker series in collaboration with that explores issues at the intersection of military and veterans policy, federal administration and institutional reform. Looking ahead, Kubala aims to establish a three-credit intersession residency course in Washington, serving both residential J.D. and hybrid-online JDi students, with a companion speaker series and alumni event to deepen professional networks. This will position the D.C. campus as a recurring convening hub that integrates academic programming, alumni relations, collaborative research and sustained federal partnerships across the College of Law and the broader University.

In its inaugural year, the Study Away Summer Awards drew 20 applications from faculty across eight schools and colleges. A review committee evaluated proposals based on five key areas: site engagement, research and creative merit, sustained impact, strategic alignment with the priorities outlined in the University’s academic strategic plan, “,” and strength of partnerships.

Recipients will participate in a Universitywide showcase during the 2026-27 academic year, helping establish best practices and inspire broader faculty engagement with the University’s study away sites.

For more information about the awards, contact Dekaney at 315.443.0768 or emdekane@syr.edu.

When President Joe Biden L’68, H’09 first visited the Íű±ŹĂĆ campus in 1965, he knew he wanted to attend law school. So when he had a few hours to spare while waiting for his then-girlfriend and later first wife Neilia Hunter to finish work, he decided to explore the University’s library.

Instead, he ended up walking into the dean’s office.

The 46th president recounted his serendipitous start at Íű±ŹĂĆ to an audience packed into the Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in the ‘s Dineen Hall Tuesday for the unveiling of his portrait.

“By accident,” Biden said. “I swear to God, I thought I was walking into the library.”

When the woman running the office asked if he was there to see the dean, he told her he didn’t mean to come in but was thinking about law school. Before he knew it, he said she had him talking to the dean, who arranged a financial aid offer and a resident advisor position. An application was filled out before he left.

Syracuse, he told the audience, is where he began to see the pieces coming together that would shape his approach to law and public service throughout his career.

“Syracuse is a place where I began to develop an understanding of the powerful impact the law can have in making the world a better place,” Biden said. “I began to see how values I’ve learned at home, at my kitchen table with my mom and dad, were really reflected in American jurisprudence, in our institutions. As I saw through the torts and contracts and struggled with property law, my favorite course was constitutional law. I heard my parents’ words ringing in my ears, ‘Dignity, Joey, respect, fairness, equity, equality. That’s what America is all about.’”

A Portrait to Honor and Inspire

Celebrating Biden’s life of public service, the ceremonial unveiling of his portrait was witnessed by members of his family; University community members; and state and local officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul ’80.

College of Law Dean Terence Lau L’98 told attendees the University was determined to honor Biden, who has maintained a close connection with the campus, delivering the Commencement addresses four times at the law school and at the University in 2009, in a way that was “impactful, lasting and inspirational.”

The portrait was commissioned by the University and painted by artist , one of America’s foremost portrait artists, whose works hang in the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Pentagon.

“Our hope is that this portrait will inspire generations of law students to come, a proud reminder to every student who walks through our library doors of what is possible when you combine a Syracuse law education with the courage to serve something larger than yourself,” Lau said.

Jeffrey Scruggs, chairman of the University Board of Trustees, noted in his remarks that Biden’s connection to Syracuse “runs deep and long” and reflected on the former president’s impact on the community and Central New York though landmark legislation, including the and the .

“President Biden had the will to invest in great cities like Syracuse throughout the nation, and it’s here in Syracuse, at his beloved alma mater, where President Biden’s portrait will hang,” Scruggs said.

Scruggs said in Biden’s portrait, law students will be able to look up and see the face of someone whose life of service started in the same place their own careers will begin.

“To our law students, may that always serve as a reminder that there are no limits to where a Syracuse Law degree can take you,” Scruggs said.

A Lifelong Foundation and Community

Biden’s remarks reflected on the deep impact the University had on him both professionally and personally. He recalled the only head-to-head election he ever lost in his career was the race for class president his first year against classmate and Trustee William “Bill” Brodsky ’65, L’68, who became a close friend.

“Since the time I left Syracuse, life has handed me significant highlights and very low blows,” Biden said. “The Syracuse community has been with me through it all.”

But what Biden said he was most proud of when he talks about Syracuse is his son, Beau L’94, who died in 2015 from brain cancer, and in whose memory the University established a scholarship.

“To be very honest with you,” Biden said. “I assumed one day Beau would be standing here and not me. I give you my word for that. He was more qualified and a hell of a man.”

Both he and his son took the legal grounding they found at Syracuse and carried it with them their entire time in public service, he said.

“Everything I did as an elected official was all an extension of what I learned here at Syracuse,” Biden said.

Biden said studying the Constitution at Syracuse, he began to understand democracy is the soul of the nation.

“Whatever my legacy may be, I hope it will be said that I never stopped striving for the cause of democracy,” he said. “And I hope that long after I’m gone, future classes of Syracuse law students see the portrait and are reminded not of me, but of the greatness and power of our democracy.”

As the U.S., Israel and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, questions remain about the legal and ethical boundaries of the rhetoric that defined the conflict. Judge , director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law and a professor in both the and the at Íű±ŹĂĆ, addresses those questions directly in our latest Q&A.

Baker also serves as a judge on the Data Protection Review Court, bringing a rare combination of academic expertise and active judicial experience to issues at the intersection of national security, military law and international legal norms.

To schedule an interview, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.

Recent coverage in and an earlier article in the have questioned the increase in disability accommodations for students and recent graduates. A Íű±ŹĂĆ law professor and leading national expert says that framing is missing critical context.

The Expert

, professor of law and director, disability law and policy program in Íű±ŹĂĆ’s College of Law

What She Can Address

• Why rising accommodation numbers reflect a pipeline success story, not a system being gamed
• How the American with Disabilities Act’s broad definition of disability shapes what qualifies—and what gets denied
• The accommodations that never make headlines: requests that are routinely rejected
• How successful implementation of anti-discrimination laws at the K-12 level has expanded the population of students with disabilities entering higher education

In Her Own Words

“An increase in accommodations is a natural consequence of the increased presence of students with disabilities in higher education. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability broadly, and without knowing more about each individually approved accommodation, it is difficult if not improper to conclude that any increase is suspicious.”

Recent Work

Macfarlane’s article “” was recently published in the Georgetown Law Journal.

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will begin a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Retired Vice Adm. , professor of practice in Íű±ŹĂĆ’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and deputy director of the , is available for interviews as this news evolves, especially as NATO allies refuse to support.

Members of the media looking to schedule an interview, please email Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.

Professor Murrett’s Comments

“Today’s announcement today that the U.S. will commence ‘blockading any and all ships’ trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) represents a military option with certain advantages, and moreover, possible international support:

• First, full and unconstrained access to the SoH is in the interests of all nations (including Iran), and one that is vital to global economic interests. None of the nations adjacent to the SoH (Iran, Oman and the UAE) should hamper this freedom of navigation, as they have not in the past.
• Nearly all nations have an interest in free access into and out of the Persian/Arabian Gulf, and there is potential for conducting this operation as a combined naval effort with participation from several allied nations, which is preferable. The goal would be to have free and open access for all nations, or none.
• Geography matters: The blockade can also be enforced in areas that are not as advantageous for Iran a others, that is, in the Gulf of Oman rather that in the SoH narrows adjacent to Larak/Qeshm Islands.

These are just some initial thoughts, as the operational dimensions, participants, implementation and tactics evolve in the hours and days ahead.”

Will the Blockade Work?

“The blockade ‘can work’ from my estimation from the standpoint of the naval forces’ ability to stop traffic in and out of the Gulf,” Murrett says. “On the other hand, it is an open question as to whether or not will this military operation will ‘work’ as a means to compel the Iranian leadership to re-open the SoH for free access, as was the case before the current fighting started. The second question is the more important one.”

In 2025, Samsung Electronics had 7,054 patent grants in the U.S. alone. Apple Inc. had 2,277, and Google/Alphabet, Inc., received 1,782. And, it is estimated that more than 152,000 patent applications specifically related to artificial intelligence  were recorded in the U.S. last year with Google, Microsoft and IBM leading the charge. Add to that the thousands of innovators and researchers across the country filing individual patents every day, and it’s apparent why patent agents and patent attorneys are in high demand.

The College of Law’s (ILC) received a gift from Rodney A. Ryan L’97 that will be used to officially establish a patent law program in summer 2026 to academically and financially assist students preparing for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) registration examination, commonly known as the patent bar. Passing the patent bar is a significant achievement as doing so gives students credentials to become a patent agent who can draft, file and prosecute patent applications. It is a necessary step to becoming a patent attorney.

To be eligible for the new program, students must have an undergraduate degree in science, engineering or tech-related fields; complete required coursework and be actively engaged in the ILC.

For prospective students, the program represents a rare opportunity to enter the legal profession already credentialed as a patent agent and positioned for immediate career impact at law firms, corporations and startups.

“We are very grateful for this gift, which will allow the ILC to formally establish a patent law program and reimburse students for the patent bar preparation and exam—removing a financial barrier that will open this opportunity to even more qualified students,” says Professor of Practice Brian J. Gerling L’99, executive director of the ILC. “The program is designed so students will complete the patent bar exam well before having to study for state bar exams after graduation, while also giving them the opportunity to hone those skills as a patent agent during law school.”

The patent agent law program at the ILC will also assist early stage entrepreneurs through filing of provisional patent applications, thereby avoiding public disclosure bars or risking their ideas to commercial theft.

Students Work as Patent Agents at Local Firm

Carl J. Graziadei L’26 and Madison McCarthy L’26 helped pilot the idea for the formalized program. Both have already passed the patent bar and are currently working as senior research assistants at the ILC and part-time law clerks at local law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC.

Graziadei earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in electrical engineering at Clarkson University and passed the patent bar right out of college. When researching law schools that allowed him to mesh his engineering background with the legal field, he discovered Syracuse Law’s ILC.

“Professor Gerling is really the reason I decided on Syracuse, as he showed me how my engineering background would be a great fit for the ILC,” Graziadei says. “He confirmed my belief that going into patent law was the right move and explained the demand was high, and the opportunities were endless in law firms, corporations and startups.”

McCarthy studied biological sciences and neuroscience as an undergraduate at the University of Buffalo and also came to Syracuse with the goal of becoming a patent attorney. While working in the ILC, she passed the patent bar as a second year student.

Both excelled through the ILC, honing their research and writing skills and building confidence communicating with actual clients, while also gaining experience through internships. Graziadei interned at Lallemand, a French company optimizing natural fermentation processes. McCarthy was an extern in patent litigation at Kiklis Law Firm, PLLC, in Virginia, which focuses on trials at the USPTO’s Patent Trials and Appeals Board, and a general counsel extern at Upstate Medical University.

“I fell in love with the faculty and the ILC because I had so much freedom and the chance to interact with entrepreneurs and innovators about their inventions through the law,” says McCarthy, who is currently editor-in-chief of the .

As third-year law students, McCarthy and Graziadei are senior research assistants at the ILC helping second years assist clients. Both are also working part-time at Bond, Schoeneck & King, using their skills as patent agents. They each have been offered positions as full-time associates at the firm upon graduating this spring.

“Because I am already a patent agent, I will be a licensed patent attorney once I pass the New York State bar, and the experience I have had through Syracuse Law has been incredible preparation,” says McCarthy. “I’m grateful to have found a program where I could combine my interests in science, innovation and the law, and I look forward to what’s ahead.”

G’01, L’01, the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence 2024-2027 at the College of Law, has spent her career teaching at the intersection of constitutional law, disability law, human rights and international security. The Meredith Professorship has given her sustained support to pursue her focus on universal design in higher education, not as an abstract principle, she says, but as a lived challenge institutions are navigating in real time.

As part of her teaching award, she has organized a daylong symposium on April 10 at the College of Law, sponsored by multiple University partners, including the Burton Blatt Institute, Center for Disability Resources, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and the College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program. The event will examine the transformative global impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the evolution of universal design principles in higher education.

That global lens is grounded in True-Frost’s own research. Studying accessibility law at the European Court of Human Rights, she has found that the ADA’s most significant international influence has been conceptual rather than doctrinal: the foundational idea that disability is a rights issue, not a welfare issue and that the burden of accommodation belongs to institutions rather than individuals.

True-Frost hopes the event will prompt a harder look at how higher education institutions approach accessibility.

“Inclusion is not a disability resources office problem,” she says. “It is a campuswide design challenge—and getting it right is how we honor the promise that higher education makes to everyone who comes here seeking to grow.”

Below, True-Frost shares what she hopes students, faculty and administrators take away from the symposium.

The (BBI) at Íű±ŹĂĆ sponsored students from the College of Law to attend the . The annual symposium is a leading national disability law meeting, bringing together disability rights practitioners, educators and scholars to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities. The annual event honors the legacy of tenBroek, who founded the National Federation of the Blind in 1940. The theme for the 2026 symposium was “Collaboration and Creativity: Addressing Challenges and Advancing Opportunities Now and in the Future.”

The students participating in the symposium were Kaitlin Sommer and Emely Recinos, both third-year law students and co-presidents of the Disabled Law Students Association at the College of Law, sponsored by BBI, Carly Bastedo, a third-year law student and Sydney Sheffield, a first-year law student.

BBI’s goal in supporting the students was to further their shared commitment to advancing opportunity and access in the legal profession. “Our participation at the symposium deepened our understanding of issues in disability law and helped us to build professional networks that support our careers in public interest law, policy and advocacy,” says Sommer. “I hope to attend the symposium for years to come.”

, University Professor and chairman of BBI, believes that “the symposium enables students to engage with the broader work of BBI, which seeks to advance the civic, economic and social participation of people with disabilities through research, education and outreach.”

The Íű±ŹĂĆ has launched the nation’s first joint J.D. and M.S. in sport analytics program in conjunction with the . The joint program, to be offered starting the Fall 2026 semester, allows College of Law students to earn their J.D. and M.S. concurrently, typically graduating in three years and at no cost beyond that of the J.D.

College of Law on-campus students entering their second year can apply for the J.D./M.S., the College of Law’s 13th joint program.

The master’s degree requires 36 credits. A total of 15 credits from the sport analytics program can be counted toward the J.D. Further, six designated law credits will count toward both the J.D. and the M.S. electives. Law students enrolled in the joint JD/M.S. must take 72 unique law credits and 30 unique M.S. credits. Therefore, obtaining the joint J.D./M.S. requires completing 102 total credit hours.

“This is a program that only Syracuse can offer,” says College of Law Dean Terence J. Lau L’98. “Our College of Law and the Falk College of Sport are literally next door to each other, and that proximity translates into a truly integrated curriculum. No other law school in the country can pair a J.D. with a world-class sport analytics program under one roof.”

The joint J.D./M.S. is designed for law students interested in working in the front office of sports teams, the legal departments of sports leagues, sport agents, sport gambling companies and others involved in sport.

“Being able to combine a law degree with a master’s degree in sport analytics provides our law students with an advanced credential that will set them apart when entering the workforce,” says College of Law Professor Todd Berger.

The M.S. follows Falk College’s established graduate sport analytics curriculum that emphasizes applied statistics, econometrics, databases and machine learning, R/Python programming, sport gambling analytics and visualization, among other disciplines.

“There is increasing demand for professionals who can navigate the complex intersection of law, analytics and sport business. The combined J.D./M.S. degree prepares graduates to meet this demand by equipping them with both legal acumen and advanced quantitative skills these roles increasingly require,” says Rodney J. Paul, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Sport Analytics at Falk College.

“Analytics has been largely popularized in the sport industry, but it has the ability to impact many other industries. Based on my personal background as a sport lawyer, bringing analytics into the study of law is a natural extension for Falk College of Sport. But it is also an incredibly valuable tool for practicing attorneys and even judges to better understand trends and precedents in the law and to predict probable outcomes of cases,” says David B. Falk ’72, Íű±ŹĂĆ Life Trustee and founder and CEO, Falk Associates Management Enterprises.

Graduates will be uniquely positioned for roles in compliance, regulation, governance, player representation, sport betting and gaming law, collective bargaining and analytical decision-making across professional teams, leagues, sportsbooks and regulatory agencies.