Phillips Appointed Interim Director at Lender Center for Social Justice; Director Search Committee Named

The Lender Center for Social Justice has familiar leadership for the 2023-24 academic year while a renewed search for a permanent director is conducted.

Kendall Phillips, founding co-director of the Lender Center and professor in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Sciences in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, will serve as interim director. The appointment was announced by Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives. Haddix also named a search committee to reprise the search for a permanent director.

Committee co-chairs are:

Beth Ferri, associate dean for research and professor of inclusive education and disability studies in the School of Education, and Gwendolyn Pough, professor of women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Additional members are:

Suzette Meléndez, teaching professor in the College of Law and faculty fellow in the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Office of Diversity and Inclusion;

Junko Takeda, interim chair of citizenship and civic engagement, Daicoff Faculty Scholar and professor of history in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs;

George Theoharis, professor of educational leadership and inclusive elementary/early education in the School of Education; and

David Whitmore, vice president of advancement/academic affairs.

“We are seeking a nationally recognized scholar in social justice research, teaching and action to lead the Lender Center’s charge to promote the pursuit of equity, justice and transformative change,” Haddix says.

For more information about the position, visit the Syracuse University Job Board.

The Lender Center, established in 2017 by a gift from Helaine and Marvin Lender, is a multidisciplinary research, teaching and action center and national hub for leadership and conversation on social justice issues. Its initiatives include innovative faculty and student fellowship programs, an annual symposium and a conversation series encouraging dialogue among researchers, practitioners, activists and thought leaders. Phillips and Haddix were co-founders of the Center.