7 New Representatives Added to the Board of Trustees
Chancellor Kent Syverud has appointed Dean Mark Lodato of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as academic dean representative to the Board of Trustees. In addition, Andrea Rose Persin, assistant dean of budget, finance and administration in the College of Arts and Sciences, was appointed the new staff representative.
Tula Goenka, professor of television, radio and film in the Newhouse School, was named faculty representative to the board by Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew, in consultation with the University Senate Academic Affairs Committee. Lodato, Persin and Goenka will all serve two-year terms.
In addition, four new student representatives to the board have also been named: German Nolivos ’26 and Anna Mirer ’26, undergraduate student representatives; Alexia Chatzitheodorou, graduate student representative; and Ryleigh Peterson L’26, law student representative.
The diverse backgrounds and experiences of these newly named representatives will bring fresh insights to the board and its various committees, and contribute greatly to the implementation of strategic objectives in support of the University’s mission and vision. All representatives will report to the Board at Executive Committee and full board meetings.
Dean, Faculty and Staff Appointments
Mark Lodato, Academic Dean Representative, 2025-27
Appointed dean of the Newhouse School in 2020, Lodato came to Syracuse University from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He serves on the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education and represents the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication on the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
Ensuring Newhouse students are job-ready, Lodato expanded professional partnerships that boost experiential learning opportunities with industry leaders, including BuzzFeed, Edelman, ESPN, the New York Post and PBS. He added the school’s first-ever executive director of instructional technology position to lead plans to design and implement technology strategies that prepare students for a rapidly evolving field and is committed to Newhouse taking a leading role in the responsible use of artificial intelligence in communications.
Under Lodato’s leadership, Newhouse partnered with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs to launch the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. He spearheaded plans to launch a new esports communications and management bachelor’s program in partnership with the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. He also led Newhouse as the school formulated a five-year strategic plan that focuses on how engaged digital citizenship will drive the future of journalism and mass communications.
Before his academic career, Lodato spent 16 years as an award-winning television reporter and anchor for network affiliate television stations in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Phoenix and Fort Myers, Florida.
As academic dean representative, he participates, ex officio, on the board’s Academic Affairs Committee.
Tula Goenka, Faculty Representative, 2025-27
Goenka is a professor of television, radio and film and the graduate program director for her department in the Newhouse School. Goenka is an author, human rights activist and filmmaker who produces and edits documentaries. The common thread in all her pursuits is an interest in women’s rights, equity, resilience and the use of art and music to build awareness and preserve heritage.
Born and raised in India, Goenka first came to Syracuse University as an international graduate student in 1984, and received a master of science in television-radio from Newhouse in 1986. Ten years later, she joined the Newhouse faculty. She created the SU Bollywood program offered through Syracuse University Abroad, and has taken more than 50 Newhouse students to Mumbai for the monthlong immersion.
She served on the Chancellor’s Task Force on Sexual and Relationship Violence and founded and co-directed the annual Syracuse University Human Rights Film Festival and Digital Witness Symposium.
In 2009, Goenka received the Chancellor’s Award of Excellence for Engaging the World, and the Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship, 2014 Inspiration Award, partly because of her social justice work. She was the Newhouse Endowed Chair of Public Communications from 2016-19, and the Newhouse Dean’s inaugural Leadership Fellow from 2022-25.
Goenka was a member of the Senate Agenda Committee from 2022-25 and has been a member of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Senate since 2017. As faculty representative, she participates, ex officio, on the board’s Academic Affairs Committee.
Andrea Rose Persin, Staff Representative, 2025-27
Persin provides strategic financial oversight to support the goals of the College of Arts and Sciences in her role as the assistant dean of budget, finance and administration. She manages all aspects of the college’s budget and directs expenditures to align with actual revenues received. She also has the primary oversight for the college’s human resources-related processes, including annual compensation review and implementation, performance partnerships, staffing and organizational planning.
Persin began her career at the University in May 2015 as an assistant director of budget and finance. Prior to joining the university, Persin worked at AXA Equitable as a senior manager of enterprise governance where she oversaw the monthly financial and variance reporting for multiple information technology business units.
Persin holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in business administration with a minor in accounting. She will earn an MBA from the Whitman School of Management this month.
As the staff representative during the 2025-26 academic year, she participates, ex officio, on the Advancement and External Affairs Committee.
Student Appointments
Anna Mirer ’26, Undergraduate Student Representative, 2025-26
Mirer is a rising senior in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and is a Renée Crown University Honors student, triple majoring in neuroscience, psychology and policy studies. She is passionate about integrating science and public policy, using mental health research to drive meaningful, long-term change. Mirer served as vice president of university affairs for the Student Government Association, where she worked to elevate student voices and led campuswide programming.
At the Barnes Center at The Arch, Mirer managed the peer leader team within Health Promotion, developing outreach strategies and campuswide wellness initiatives. She interned with the YMCA of Central New York and served as a research assistant with the Golisano Center for Special Needs.
Mirer co-founded Connect 315, a student-led initiative aimed at strengthening relationships between the University and the surrounding community through collaborative programming and civic dialogue. In partnership with the City of Syracuse, she co-authored a literature review on community engagement strategies related to the I-81 redevelopment project.
As undergraduate representative she participates, ex officio, on the Student Experience Committee.
German Nolivos ’26, Undergraduate Student Representative, 2025-26
Coming to Syracuse from Miami, Nolivos is a first-generation college student and a rising senior at the University. He is pursuing a dual major in political science and public relations through the College of Arts and Sciences, the Maxwell School and the Newhouse School.
A recipient of the prestigious Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship and a Remembrance Scholar, Nolivos currently serves his second term as president of the Student Government Association. He also represents the student body as a senator in the University Senate and as the undergraduate student representative on the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 2023, Nolivos pioneered and spearheaded the first Latino Music Festival at the University.
Nolivos is a member of the provisional chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. His professional experiences include internships with Telemundo, NBCUniversal, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He received the 44 Stars of Excellence Award from the Office of Student Engagement in spring 2024, and was named an outstanding student in 2021 by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
As undergraduate representative, he participates, ex officio, on the Student Experience Committee.
Alexia Chatzitheodorou, Graduate Student Representative, 2025-26
Chatzitheodorou is a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical soft matter physics in the Department of Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her research has focused on the geometry and elasticity of soft materials, specifically liquid crystal elastomers, and she is most interested in biomechanics. She is an active member of the Women in Science and Engineering Future Professionals Program and the BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University.
Originally from Greece, Chatzitheodorou earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in physics from the University of Dundee, United Kingdom, where she served as the student representative of physics undergraduates and a physics student ambassador, and was actively involved in outreach activities. At Syracuse University, she has continued her commitment to science advocacy through teaching, mentorship and outreach. In addition, she has served in the Physics Graduate Organization and the Physics Colloquium Committee (2023-24), and as a co-organizer of the 2025 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. Driven by a mission to bridge science and societal impact, Chatzitheodorou has developed a growing interest in science policy.
As the graduate student representative for the 2025-26 academic year, she participates, ex officio, on the Academic Affairs and the Student Experience committees.
Ryleigh Peterson L’26, Law Student Representative, 2025-26
Peterson is a third-year law student in the College of Law. She currently serves as managing editor of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, Vol. 53, after previously holding the position of associate editor for Vol. 52. Peterson also works in the College of Law’s Admissions and Financial Aid Office as a law student ambassador and a work-study student. During the fall of 2024, she was a student attorney in the Bankruptcy Clinic. Peterson spent the summer of 2024 in Syracuse at Bond, Schoeneck & King as a 1L Summer Associate, where she is returning as a 2L summer associate for the summer of 2025.
Prior to attending the College of Law, Peterson had a three-year career as a corporate paralegal. Her undergraduate degree is in media and communications with a minor in legal studies from CUNY Hunter College in New York City.
As the law student representative to the board for the 2025-26 academic year, Peterson participates, ex officio, on the Academic Affairs and the Student Experience Committees.
