Five to be honored with Chancellor’s Citations March 19

Five to be honored with Chancellor’s Citations March 19March 16, 2007Sara Millersemortim@syr.edu

Five Syracuse University faculty and staff members will receive Chancellor’s Citations at a dinner in their honor Monday, March 19, at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center. The 2006-07 Chancellor’s Citations will recognize individuals for Engaging the World, for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction, and for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Access and Support.

This year’s honorees are Michael Burkard, associate professor in the English Department and Creative Writing Program; Catherine Gerard ’76, associate director of executive education and mid-career programs at the Maxwell School and co-director of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC); John Hogan, director of the Office of Budget and Planning; Eric Kingson, professor in the School of Social Work; and Horace Smith G’70, associate vice president for undergraduate studies and retention.

Each Chancellor’s Citation recipient receives a special art object created by a member of the faculty in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, together with a citation statement recognizing his or her accomplishments.

Michael BurkardEngaging the World

Throughout poet Michael Burkard’s career at SU, he has provided exemplary service to his community, teaching students and adults alike creative writing and art skills that help bring out their creative potential.

For almost a decade, Burkard has taught in SU’s graduate creative writing program and is internationally recognized for his poetry collections that include “Ruby for Grief” (University of Pittsburgh, 1981), “My Secret Boat: a notebook of prose and poems” (W.W. Norton, 1990), “Entire Dilemma” (Sarabande Books, 1998) and “Unsleeping” (Sarabande Books, 2001). Burkard’s poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry and many other magazines. Last April, Burkard was again invited to anchor a special supplement in the American Poetry Review with his work.

Sharing knowledge of poetry and other creative writing styles with individuals outside of campus is a big part of Burkard’s work and the Community Writers Project in which he teaches. Through the Community Writers Project, Burkard has brought SU undergraduate and graduate students to numerous area schools and community centers throughout a semester to teach creative writing. He also extends the project beyond the city of Syracuse to include visits to the Onondaga Nation, where he introduces Native American students to various writing techniques that improve their arts literacy skills. The Community Writers Project is also an integral part of the development of the new community arts literary journal “Stone Canoe,” which features the work of local and national poets. Burkard serves as a board member for the journal and as its poetry editor, selecting pieces for the inaugural issue released this March.

“Without Michael’s efforts in the Community Writers Project, the Creative Writing Program would not have the ties to the local community that it does,” says Christopher Kennedy, director of the M.F.A. program in creative writing.

Another one of Burkard’s major engagement projects in the community has been the “Art, Literacy and Technology” program he helped develop. As part of the Partnership for Better Education, Burkard teaches creative writing techniques to Henninger High School students and helps them develop photographic and written essays about their lives. As one of two instructors in the program, held at SU’s downtown Warehouse, Burkard also provides instruction to SU students in the Creative Writing Program on how to guide high school students through the processes and techniques associated with personal writing and expression, while giving the undergraduate and graduate students the teaching experience that will help them become more effective instructors in their writing careers.

Burkard received a bachelor’s degree from Hobart College and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa’s Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1973. Burkard’s honors include fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, two NEA grants, two New York Foundation for the Arts grants and a Whiting Writers’ Award. He has taught at many colleges and universities, including New York University, Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Louisville.

Catherine GerardEngaging the World

When Catherine Gerard took over the mid-career Master of Arts in Public Administration degree program (MA/PA) at Maxwell more than a decade ago, about 35 full- and part-time students were enrolled. Today, under her leadership, the program has grown to enroll 120 full- and part-time students and now is one of the most respected and competitive public affairs degree programs in the world.

Gerard continues to keep the MA/PA program focused on the interests and needs most relevant to the mid-career student population. She teaches one of the main program courses, Managerial Leadership, and adapts the course work to meet the changing needs of government officials and leaders of non-governmental organizations in the United States and abroad.

“Catherine’s dedication and the large amount of time she has devoted to academic advising and meeting students’ needs have contributed in large measure to the overall success of the program,” says Mitchel Wallerstein, dean of the Maxwell School. “The program is one of Maxwell’s principal outreach mechanisms to students from all over the world.”

Before joining SU in 1995, Gerard was assistant director for the New York State Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, where she led a consulting and training organization devoted to statewide training and organizational effectiveness. Throughout her state government career, she specialized in assisting leaders with organizational change and the design and development of training programs.

A respected manager, educator and sought-after facilitator, Gerard recently conducted leadership training for senior executives in the Department of Defense and New York State government, and also provides leadership development programs for school superintendents and board presidents through the Central New York School Boards Association. Gerard regularly consults with public and nonprofit organizations in the areas of strategic planning, leadership/management, organizational change, team-building and conflict resolution, labor-management partnerships and total quality management. She assists groups throughout the local area, including Arise and Child and Family Services, the Onondaga Citizens League, Vera House, the Fabius-Pompey School District, the Jordan-Elbridge Central School District, the City of Syracuse Board of Education and the Onondaga Central School District.

In 2005, Wallerstein named Gerard a co-director of the school’s interdisciplinary Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC). In this capacity, Gerard continues to develop new PARC research activities and approaches to conflict resolution training, and expands students’ opportunities to learn problem-solving techniques and strategies through mini-courses and training sessions.

Gerard holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in public affairs from The Rockefeller College of Public Affairs at the University at Albany. She has also completed substantial graduate work in the field of education and has served as an adjunct faculty member at The Rockefeller College.

John HoganEngaging the World

With more than 32 years of dedicated service in the Office of Budget and Planning, John Hogan is recognized by colleagues and the community for his exemplary fiscal leadership and judgment, commitment to the University and its well-being, and openness with his time in meeting with students and members of the SU community. Concluding a career that has included serving three University chancellors as the director of budget and planning, Hogan announced in November 2006 that he would retire effective this summer.

“John’s commitment to strategic planning, budgeting and responsiveness to campus community concerns has been exemplary,” says Louis G. Marcoccia, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “His every action is to provide the University improved budget and planning results, and his business judgment, professionalism and integrity are first class.”

Since joining the University in 1974 as a senior budget analyst, Hogan has provided direction and support for the major resource-allocation operations of the University and developed and implemented its annual multi-million-dollar budgets. He was promoted to budget director in 1978 and assumed his present title, director of the Office of Budget and Planning, in 1985.

In 2004, Hogan began the research, development and implementation of a Responsibility Center Management budgeting system for the University, serving on the task force charged with developing the system and its overall strategy. Hogan has been instrumental in the execution of this new budget strategy, having supervised senior staff in developing its necessary reporting infrastructure and modeling tools. He continues to serve on the ongoing RCM committee.

The move to an RCM budgeting system was made in part to better align the resource allocation system with the new University mission and vision. The RCM system provides increased financial incentives to academic units for conducting sponsored research and engaging in interdisciplinary activities. And it broadens responsibility for the University’s budget, putting more of the financial decision making in the hands of academic and support units where students are served.

Earlier in his career at SU, Hogan provided critical guidance and administrative support for a successful University-wide fiscal restructuring in the 1990s — during which SU’s enrollment decreased significantly — and directed the budget allocations for subsequent enrollment expansions. Currently, Hogan is steward of an annual budget of about $900 million.

During his tenure, Hogan has served on dozens of University committees and has been a member of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs since 1978. He is a graduate of Adirondack Community College and Bryant University.

Eric KingsonFaculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction

With a national reputation as an expert in aging and policy, and a recognized gift for educating future social work professionals and advocates, Eric Kingson has provided an impressive breadth of scholarly and public welfare contributions throughout his career.

“Eric’s extensive scholarly body of work stands alone, but he has done much more to influence the lives of his students, legislators, our vulnerable populations and the general public,” says Alejandro Garcia, professor of social work. “His application of scholarship to resolve real-world problems, dissemination of knowledge to non-academic populations, and his services delivered to nontraditional populations have all had tangible effects on people’s lives.”

Kingson has published frequently throughout his career on the politics and economics of aging, social insurance, intergenerational issues, and older workers and the baby boom generation, and has served as both analyst of and passionate advocate for social policies that meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s older Americans. Through his research, publishing, congressional testimony and public advocacy for Social Security and Medicare reform, Kingson has brought these critical issues great visibility in the public agenda and among American opinion leaders. Two books for general audiences, both syndicated nationally in 10-part newspaper series, helped many Americans understand the complex issues behind the Social Security system and its reform. His co-authored book, “Ties That Bind” (with Barbara A. Hirshorn, and John M. Cornman, Seven Lock, 1986), advanced a widely referenced framework for understanding policy choices in an aging society, one that emphasizes cross-generational solidarity and interdependence as opposed to generational conflict. A co-authored primer on Social and Medicare Security and a co-edited collection of essays by national social insurance experts, “Social Security in the 21st Century” (with James H. Schulz, Oxford University Press, 1996), have been distributed widely throughout government.

In his teaching, Kingson bridges the academic and policy worlds for graduate and undergraduate social work students. His courses engage students in writing and delivering testimony, and in developing short action memos analyzing contemporary policy issues. Along with his colleagues at the School of Social Work, he has structured a full-day policy seminar held annually since 1999 at the Onondaga County Legislative Chambers, to engage students more directly in policy issues that affect social work practice and vulnerable populations. Through this and other exercises, Kingson encourages his students to think and act on critical policy issues, taking into consideration professional values and trade-offs between desired ends, financial constraints and political feasibility.

As an author, Kingson tackled health, spiritual and medical advocacy issues for persons diagnosed with life-threatening diseases in “Lessons From Joan” (Syracuse University Press, 2005), which draws from his first wife’s experiences of dealing with cancer. Kingson discusses Joan’s strength — her capacity to give, care for others, find humor and live well — in the midst of unexpected and frightening illness that ultimately proves fatal. In the book, Kingson gives readers insight into the painful life and medical decisions that are made over the course of Joan’s illness, with lessons on how other individuals and families can best cope when confronted with similar circumstances.

Kingson joined SU in 1998 and holds appointment in social work at the College of Human Services and Health Professions and a courtesy appointment in public administration at the Maxwell School. Kingson served as an advisor to two presidential commissions — the 1982 National Commission on Social Security Reform and the 1995 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform — and directed the Emerging Issues Program at The Gerontological Society of America. Prior to becoming a full-time professor at Syracuse University, he held academic positions at Boston College and the University of Maryland. He received a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a masters degree in public administration from Northeastern University and a doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University.

Horace SmithOutstanding Contributions to Academic Access and Support

Horace Smith’s 30-year career continues to be focused on engaging students from all backgrounds and levels to find access and success in higher education. As an innovator, he has created several programs that have significantly contributed to SU achievement and continued forward progress in the area of student success and graduation. Smith is a vital contributor to the University’s investment in community engagement and scholarship.

Under his direction, programs at SU designed to assist students in achieving their academic goals, such as the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, Summer Start and the Syracuse Success Initiative — along with dedicated offices he supports, including the Center for Retention Studies, the Tutoring and Study Center, Student Support Services and the Office of Disability Services — have significantly increased the graduation rate of traditionally underrepresented and at-risk students on campus by providing the path and support services for academic success.

“Horace has a passion for learning and an absolute commitment to sharing knowledge with others,” says Barry L. Wells, senior vice president and dean of student affairs. “He has an unparalleled clarity of focus on the hard work of opening the doors of knowledge to all and shows how one person can make a difference in the development and expansion of a community that values diversity.”

Smith also provides essential leadership to the Partnership for Better Education, which provides the framework for elementary, middle school and high school students in the Syracuse City School District to stay engaged in school and stay on track for a college education. Through the partnership — linking the Syracuse City School District with SU and other area colleges, universities and government partners — students have been given outstanding access to the arts and creative resources for study, and are presented with new opportunities for innovative instruction in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Smith is also responsible for establishing the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), which is seen as another successful example of his model programming to help improve the academic success of inner-city students.

Since joining the University in 1975, Smith has served as a faculty member and administrator. Outside of the programming services he has developed, Smith in 1997 also created the administrative structure known as the Division of Student Support and Retention to coordinate these curricular programs and promote the opportunities to students from across the country.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree at Hampton University, a master’s degree at SU and a doctorate at Cornell University. He serves on numerous University, national, state and community committees that are responsible for the continuation of efforts that promote access and equity in education.