Chancellor Syverud Updates Senate on Benefits, Parking and AI Adoption

Today I will share brief updates. First, just some gratitude to folks who helped make both Orange Central and Family Weekend very successful. We had 1,000 alumni and their families here on campus for Homecoming events all over the University. Our family weekend was the largest in recent years, with 6,100 parents and families on campus. You all really showcased our people and our campus, and I thank you.

I wanted to update you on employee benefits. Open Enrollment begins on Monday, Nov. 3. We continue to offer very highly competitive, comprehensive health benefits. Health care costs continue to rise. The University has been absorbing and continues to absorb the majority of these increases. Human Resources has been working diligently to balance the rising costs with affordability for people. The good news is that there will be no increases to deductibles, co-pays, or coinsurance for any benefit plan. The bad news is that employee health care contributions will increase by 9% across all coverage tiers. Those increases are lower than national trends, lower than at peer institutions and other local employers, though still significant. I’d like to point out that employees with lower household incomes may qualify for Schedule B, which offers lower employee contributions. The University is going to hold costs steady for all other benefit plans, including dental and vision.

I thank the Employee Benefits Assessment Council, which worked hard on this. It was created through University Senate recommendations. It coordinated with the Human Resources team. The council has reviewed and is in support of these changes.

The second update is on parking. The Parking and Transportation Services Advisory Group has been meeting weekly. It’s been making good progress since the last Senate meeting. Co-chair and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala and his team have been providing a lot of data, budget, and operational details to educate the group. The focus right now has been on developing parking solutions for the University’s lowest earners, including part-time and adjunct faculty. I think they are making meaningful progress on that. I want to thank Pete, co-chair Deirdre Joyce, and all the members that have been making that rapid progress.  Both an undergraduate and a graduate student have been added to the group and will attend the next meeting.

Third, I want to address AI. Last month, we became one of the first universities in the nation to provide every student, faculty, and staff member with AI access through Claude by Anthropic. Claude has the fastest-adopted software that the University has ever licensed. We had more than 3,500 members of our community register and now have access to Claude. People are using this AI platform in very different and some innovative ways to work faster. Our community is benefiting from some new AI features too. Last week, there was an update that allows users to integrate Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, directly into Claude. We had 350 attendees participating in Information Technology Services’ AI at Work session on Oct. 9, which featured a discussion on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use AI at work. I believe our community needs to embrace this opportunity to be on the leading edge of how we teach, learn, and work in this area. I urge you to create your account and explore Claude. You can register by going to its.syr.edu.

I also want to say that the Chancellor’s search, I’m informed, is well underway. The position description has been finalized and is available on the Chancellor Search website. It was created based on the input received through all the community engagement sessions earlier this semester and in response to a campus survey. The search committee, in partnership with search firm Spencer Stuart, has begun reviewing candidates. They tell me that work will carry them into the new year. Again, I’m recused from this.

Finally, I want to close with a reminder that this is Remembrance Week when we honor those lost in Pan Am Flight 103. We are now this week welcoming 10 students from the Lockerbie Academy in Scotland. They spent the weekend in New York City, and they arrived on campus on Monday. They are accompanied by Headteacher Brian Asher and Deputy Headteacher Kerry Currie, who was a Lockerbie Scholar here many years ago. Just earlier today the Lockerbie Scholars joined the Remembrance Scholars for the “Sitting in Solidarity” event on the Quad. There are a lot more events this week, but I especially encourage everybody to attend the Rose-Laying Ceremony and Convocation on Friday at the Place of Remembrance in front of the Hall of Languages. That starts at 2 p.m.

I am going to answer questions after provost’s remarks. Thank you.