SU appoints Rotblat, Victory to direct Off-Campus and Commuter Services, First-Year and Transfer Programs

Carol K. Masiclat
(315) 443-8568

The Syracuse University Division of Student Affairs has appointed new directors to oversee the newly formed Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services and the Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs. These offices will be part of the Inclusion, Community and Citizenship portfolio within the division.

The Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services will be led by Darya Rotblat. Rotblat is currently the interim director of the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs (OOCP). Before being named interim director, she served as associate director.

Under Rotblat’s leadership, the Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services will focus on the needs of commuters and students who reside off campus. She will lead efforts to educate students about their rights and responsibilities as community members. She and her staff will respond to issues and critical issues, offer problem- solving and referral services off campus, and operate programs such as the Off- Campus Welcoming Team, Taste of Westcott, Project for Community Engagement and Ten Tons of Love. To stay close to off-campus students, this office will remain at 754 Ostrom Ave.

“Darya is well-known in our community for her outstanding work on Syracuse Welcome, her commitment to supporting student leadership development and traditions activities, and her outstanding connections with neighborhood organizations and rental property managers,” says Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, associate vice president of student affairs and head of the Inclusion, Community and Citizenship portfolio. “We are grateful for her outstanding interim leadership, and our students and neighbors will benefit from her focus and expertise on off-campus issues.”

Rotblat joined SU in 2005 as assistant director for off-campus student services. She was promoted to associate director in 2008, and she is currently providing interim guidance to Syracuse Welcome 2009 orientation programming. She is president of Women of the University Community, a volunteer advocate for the University R.A.P.E. Center and the leading force behind the success of the Ten Tons of Love year-end donation drive, which generated more than 33 tons of donated items for needy people in Central New York this year.

Before SU, Rotblat was residence life coordinator at Penn College of Technology and experience director of the first-year area in the Office of Residence Life at Franklin Pierce University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a master’s degree in health education from Penn State.

Joining Rotblat in the Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services will be two other staff members.

The Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs will provide orientation and first-year programs to new undergraduate students and will be led by Gregory J. Victory. In his new role, Victory will build on the success of the award-winning Syracuse Welcome and collaborate with units across campus to develop a meaningful experience for first-year students. He and his team will also work to expand resources and a sense of community for transfers. He will join the office, located at 111 Waverly Ave., Suite 006, on June 8.

“Greg brings with him great energy, a wealth of knowledge of first-year students and a sincere passion and understanding of social justice,” says Kantrowitz. “I believe his contributions to our students, the Division of Student Affairs and the SU community will be tremendous.”

Victory returns to SU having most recently worked for Colgate University as the director of the Center for Leadership and Student Involvement. Prior to Colgate, Victory was part of SU’s Center for Career Services for five years, first as assistant director and then as associate director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education from Le Moyne College and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Syracuse University. Victory is also an adjunct faculty member in the communication and rhetorical studies department in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

For more information on the Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services, call (315) 443-5489. For more information on the Office of First-Year and Transfer Services, call (315) 443-1012.