SU announces creation of West Coast presence in Los Angeles

SU announces creation of West Coast presencein Los AngelesOctober 07, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarez jlwinne@syr.edu

In addition to engagement centers in New York City and Washington, D.C., Syracuse University now has a West Coast presence, Syracuse University Los Angeles. Like SU’s two existing extensions, New York’s Joseph I. Lubin House and Washington’s Paul Greenberg House, the L.A. center will be a multi-service satellite office, offering a wide range of social and educational activities engaging alumni, friends, parents and future students. It will eventually serve as a venue for classes, seminars, independent study programs, and interviews and auditions for prospective students.

Like Greenberg and Lubin, the L.A. center will be an increasingly critical resource for enhancing the University’s national presence, alumni relations and fund raising. At present, an SU alumnus has donated office space in Century City and SU intends to identify a permanent home for the new center. More than 12,000 SU alumni are located in the state of California, with more than 7,000 in the L.A. area alone.

Longtime L.A. resident Joan Adler G’76, a native of Syracuse and graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is senior director of development in L.A. Her primary responsibility will be to build relationships with donors and alumni in the L.A. area, keeping them involved and informing their understanding of what is taking shape on the SU campus. For the past 30 years, Adler has been involved in film and television post-production in L.A. She serves on the Newhouse School’s advisory board and is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Women in Film andHollywood Post Alliance (HPA). Adler’s family legacy at SU includes 11 graduates dating back to 1929.

“I’m passionate about SU and like so many other graduates, had a fabulous experience there. I believe it’s my mission to give back to the University and to bring it closer to alumni on the West Coast. I love the school and I love L.A., so this will be a wonderful way of connecting the two,” says Adler.

SU Los Angeles will host a kick-off event on Oct. 11 in celebration of Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jim Boeheim’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Boeheim will be present at the event, which will take place at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 West 7th St., Los Angeles, with introductory remarks by SU Director of Athletics Daryl Gross.

Other planned events include:

• Nov. 12, 2005: “The Best of The Fest” will present the top winning films from the 2005 Syracuse International Film and Video Festival (SIFVF) and remarks by SU Professor and SIFVF Director Owen Shapiro at Universal Studios. In addition to film screenings, filmmakers will be on hand for a question-and-answer session and reception.
• Jan. 18, 2006: Jerome Witkin gallery show and book signing at the Rutberg Gallery, Labrea Avenue, Los Angeles. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition, an educational event is planned for the beginning of 2006. The Newhouse Trip in January will bring seniors and graduate students in the Newhouse School to L.A. for one week to visit with alumni and learn about the television and entertainment business.

For more information on SU’s L.A. center, contact Adler at (310) 712-3511 or jladler@syr.edu.