John Liu Appointed Vice President for International Strategy

Ramesh Raina to remain interim vice president for research

Incoming Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter today announced John Liu will lead the University’s internationalization efforts as vice president for international strategy. The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will be asked to approve the appointment at its next meeting.

Hired to grow Syracuse’s research portfolio as vice president for research, Liu was later charged with strengthening and enhancing the University’s academic enterprise as interim vice chancellor and provost. Liu, who will spend the rest of the current fiscal year on research leave, will assume his new post on June 1, 2022.

“John’s outstanding leadership before and through the pandemic has contributed to Syracuse University’s track record of academic and research excellence, student success, innovation and continued growth,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I am grateful to John for serving as interim provost during this historically challenging period. His impact will be felt well into the future.”

Liu guided many of the University’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, including a $50 million investment in faculty diversity hiring, “Future Professors Postdoctoral Fellowship” program, the First Year Seminar and creation of the Student Activism Engagement Team. With Vice Chancellor Michael Haynie and Dean Mike Frasciello, he kept the University on a path to continue to build and deliver high-quality online educational experiences for learners at all stages of life.

As vice president for research, Liu conceptualized and developed the cluster hiring program to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and make Syracuse University research most relevant to global and societal challenges. As provost, he led the program expansion into 10 key areas where Syracuse University’s research can lead the way in solving pressing problems.

“As a global research university, international partnerships, engagement and enrollment are central to our mission of preparing students for global citizenship and career and life success. John’s record of building our research infrastructure and guiding academic affairs through such extraordinary times are a testament to his ability to establish and achieve big aspirations. I am grateful he has agreed to serve in this critically important role and look forward to our collaboration,” says Ritter.

As vice president, Liu will facilitate meaningful international partnerships to create new opportunities in research, scholarship and creative work, and to drive undergraduate and graduate enrollment—both on Syracuse University’s main campus and at locations abroad.

Citing his strong leadership of the research infrastructure and considerable contributions to the University’s COVID response strategy, Ritter has asked Ramesh Raina to stay on as interim vice president for research; Raina graciously agreed.

“Ramesh has already been such a strong partner to me and continues to be an incredible leader in both the academic and research space,” says Ritter. “I appreciate his willingness to continue serving as I learn more about the University’s research enterprise.”

Ritter will launch a review of the research infrastructure in October to better understand the University’s strategy, assets, strengths and opportunities.

Raina was named interim vice president for research in January 2020. He oversaw the temporary halt and successful restart of the research enterprise during the pandemic, increased professional development for research faculty and students and deployed the CUSE grant, postdoctoral scholar grant and small equipment grant programs. He also led the execution of the faculty hiring strategy for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years. Raina has also been an integral part of the University’s public health team, particularly as it relates to launching and maintaining the internal surveillance testing program.