On Campus

Weekend news round-up: search committee announced, Center for Learning and Student Success opens

Kiran Ramsey | Digital Design Editor

Over the weekend, the Center for Learning and Student Success opened in E.S. Bird Library and it was announced Syracuse city high school graduation rates have gone up, among other things.

Here is a round-up of Syracuse news that you might have missed over the weekend.

Search committee members announced

Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly on Friday announced the members of the search committee that will be charged with looking for Syracuse University’s next vice president of research. The vice president of research is responsible for overseeing the university’s Office of Research.

Dacheng Ren, interim director of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute and a professor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, will chair the search committee, according an SU News release.

Peter Vanable, who has been serving as interim vice president for research since January 2016, will maintain his post until a new vice president is appointed.



“The next vice president of research will lead our endeavors as a person with high academic stature in their own right, a great understanding of funding resources and a collaborative focus,” Wheatly said in the release. “I look forward to the work done by the search committee as they identify our next leader of this central critical role for our university.”

These are the members of the committee:

  • Peter Blanck, university professor and chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute
  • Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Meredith Professor in the reading and language arts department, and associate dean for research at the School of Education
  • Kevin Crowston, associate dean for research and distinguished professor of information science at the School of Information Studies
  • Julia Czerniak, associate dean and professor of architecture, School of Architecture
  • David Edelstein, Board of Trustee member, chair of academic affairs committee
  • Ismael Gonzalez, a junior majoring in neuroscience and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences
  • Brooks B. Gump, Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health and director of graduate programs in public health at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
  • Sandra Hewett, Beverly Petterson Bishop Professor of Neuroscience, executive director of neuroscience studies and director of neuroscience graduate concentration at the College of Arts and Sciences
  • Wesley Lefferts, Ph.D. candidate at Department of Exercise Science in the School of Education
  • Leonard M. Lopoo, director of Center for Policy Research; director, Maxwell X Lab; professor, public administration and international affairs, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
  • Maria Minniti, professor, Bantle Chair of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy and director, Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society, Martin J. Whitman School of Management
  • Romita Ray (Kapoor), associate professor of art history, and chair of art and music histories at the College of Arts and Sciences
  • Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Distinguished Professor of chemistry
  • Sam Scozzafava, vice president for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
  • Stuart Taub, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs
  • Raymond Toenniessen, assistant vice president of Veterans Development
  • Pramod Varshney, Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Computer Science of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and director of CASE Center
  • Senem Velipasalar, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Scott Warren, associate dean for research and scholarship, Syracuse University Libraries
  • Jamie Winders, professor and chair of geography at Maxwell School; chair of Senate Committee on Research

Center for Learning and Student Success opens

Syracuse University on Thursday announced the Center for Learning and Student Success has opened on the third floor of E.S. Bird Library. The center, which combines the Tutoring and Study Center and the Academic Integrity Office, aims to provide academic support for both undergraduate and graduate students, while assisting the university’s transition to the new Academic Integrity Policy, according to an SU News release.

Margaret Usdansky, director of the Academic Integrity Office, will serve as the center’s director.

Financial wellness webinar to take place

Registration for Syracuse University’s half-hour webinar on financial wellness is now open, the university announced on Thursday. The webinar, which will take place at noon on Friday, focuses on how individuals can develop a savings strategy to achieve personalized financial goals and work on a realistic spending plan, according to an SU News release.

Carebridge, SU’s faculty and staff assistance program provider, will be hosting the webinar.

Syracuse high school graduate rates up

The Syracuse City School District had a graduation rate of 60.9 percent among students who began high school in 2012, the New York State Department of Education announced Friday.

That represented a 6.4 percent increase from the previous year and was the highest increase of any of New York’s “Big 5” school districts, according to a press release from Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner’s office.

Miner said in a statement that she was proud of “the hard work students, teachers, parents, and our entire community has done to support the Syracuse City School District that has brought us to this point.”

“We have worked diligently to improve the conditions in our schools: improving school buildings through the Joint Schools Construction Board project, increasing Career and Technical Education options, and cultivating a culture of success,” Miner said. “… While our work is not yet done, I look forward to continued progress in our city schools.”





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