Chancellor Kent Syverud has appointed Interim Dean of Hendricks Chapel Samuel Clemence and Vice President and Chief of Staff Candace Campbell Jackson to chair a committee charged with conducting a comprehensive review of Hendricks Chapel and identifying the best candidate to lead the chapel as its next dean.
Hendricks Chapel
The Hendricks Chapel Review and Dean’s Search Committee will be tasked with reviewing the chapel’s existing programs, facilities and finances as well as current and emerging challenges and opportunities for enhancing its role and impact on University life. As part of the review process, the committee will also work to develop a clear vision and goals for the chapel and its leadership team going forward.
“Hendricks Chapel serves as the physical and metaphorical heart of Syracuse University,” says Chancellor Syverud. “It is a home for worship, certainly. But it has embraced many other roles as well, tied to the many diverse dimensions of what we mean when we talk about campus ministry. This review process will help ensure that programs and services continue to align and evolve along with students’ needs. It will also be an invaluable tool in identifying the best person to lead this dynamic institution going forward.”
The review will be broadly inclusive, with input from faculty, students, staff, alumni, trustees, the University Senate, the Board of Friends and the larger community. Committee membership is expected to be finalized and announced in the coming weeks.
The committee will complete the review this spring and launch the dean search in the fall. Findings from the review will inform the search for the best candidate to succeed Tiffany Steinwert, who departed as dean of the chapel last August for a position at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Clemence, professor emeritus of engineering and long-time member of the University’s Spiritual Life Council, has served as interim dean since that time.
Clemence has agreed to continue serving as interim dean until a successor is chosen next fall.
