Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Littlejohn Honored With ‘Be the Change You Wish to See’ Award

Wednesday, November 13, 2013, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
Share
awardsCommunity
Linda Littlejohn

Linda Littlejohn

Linda Littlejohn, associate vice president for academic affairs at SU and director of the South Side Initiative (SSI), received the Student African American Society’s “Be the Change You Wish to See” award at the organization’s annual banquet on Nov. 10. Littlejohn was recognized for her work within the Syracuse community, particularly with the city’s South Side.

Since assuming her role in 2005, she has worked tirelessly to engage communities—both locally and globally—in imagining and developing connections that create stronger local neighborhoods and global ties. Littlejohn formulates, manages, coordinates and facilitates projects that address quality of life issues in Syracuse’s southern quadrant. A key component of the SSI’s work is an enduring partnership with the Southside Community Coalition (SCC), which Littlejohn founded, that provides for the development of a business and cultural district along South Salina Street from Colvin Street to West Brighton Avenue. All projects are created to build and sustain community capacity and increase neighborhood cohesiveness.

Littlejohn also organized faculty into a coordinated group, SU Faculty for Community Engagement, to connect the scholarship of faculty with community needs and established the Black History Preservation Team, which promotes access to African American historical materials. She was the executive producer of the documentary “The 15th Ward and Beyond” and created “Our Stories,” a virtual museum that celebrates the history and heritage of black people in Syracuse.

Her numerous projects address technology, business, media, the arts and culture, food access, health and history.

One of those projects, the Eat to Live Food Cooperative, opened on South Salina Street on Oct. 15, providing healthy and affordable food options to a neighborhood that was once classified as a “food desert.” The food co-op was the first commercial construction on the South Side in more than 30 years. The resident member-owners run the cooperative together with an elected board of directors.

The Southside Communication Center, housing a public access computer cluster and local black-owned newspaper, opened in January 2011.

Another project, the South Africa Meets the South Side Initiative, uses digital media to connect community members with residents of Alice, South Africa. Littlejohn conceived of this idea and went to the University of Fort Hare in South Africa to facilitate collaboration between their faculty and SU faculty, especially in the College of Law and the School of Information Studies. Videoconferencing offers opportunities for discussion and a venue for enhancing communication among the African American community in Syracuse and abroad.

Littlejohn received a Chancellor’s Citation in 2012 for her accomplishments on the South Side and for bringing students, faculty and the Syracuse community together. Prior to her leadership of the South Side Initiative, Littlejohn was assistant dean for graduate admissions and student services in SU’s School of Social Work (now housed in the Falk College). She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and two master’s degrees from SU, in social work and public administration. A native of New York City, she was engaged in nearly a decade of human service practice there before moving into the academic arena.

  • Author

Kelly Rodoski

  • Recent
  • Volunteers Needed for Spring 2021 Move-in
    Wednesday, January 27, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘What Today’s Veterans Should Know About Entrepreneurship’
    Wednesday, January 27, 2021, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Ranked in the Top 25 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs by U.S. News & World Report
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • WAER 88.3 FM Welcomes New Sports Director
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By Mary Kate Intaglietta
  • The State of the Immigration Courts
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Volunteers Needed for Spring 2021 Move-in

Volunteers are needed to assist with residential student check-in Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 5-7 at the Ensley Center, and Feb. 8-10 at the stadium. Volunteers will verify students are compliant with testing requirements as well as the Stay Safe Pledge….

WAER 88.3 FM Welcomes New Sports Director

WAER 88.3 FM has announced that Jaron May, a junior broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is the station’s incoming sports director. “We’re excited to have Jaron leading the WAER sports department in…

Athlete, Activist Maya Moore Joins the Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Event Series Jan. 27

The Syracuse University Department of Athletics and Hendricks Chapel will present a virtual conversation with athlete and activist Maya Moore on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. ET on Zoom. Registration is free and open to all at mlk.syr.edu. A…

Spring 2021 Office of Research Events Focus on Research Success

More than 14 events focused on research success will be offered by the Office of Research during the Spring 2021 semester, with more in the planning stages. In collaboration with multiple entities across campus, the office is working to provide…

Syracuse University Names Four as ‘Unsung Heroes’ in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The 36th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee has announced the 2021 Unsung Hero Award winners. The Unsung Hero awards are given to community members, students, faculty and staff who have made positive impacts on the lives…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.