SU, ESF Announce New Academic and Research-Based Relationship

Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry will launch a renewed partnership focused on enhancing their academic and research-based offerings to better serve both institutions’ students and faculty. At left is Syracuse University’s Hall of Languages and at right is SUNY ESF’s Marshall Hall.

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Quentin Wheeler today announced the two schools will launch a renewed partnership focused on enhancing their academic and research-based offerings to better serve both institutions’ students and faculty.

As new leaders of their respective schools, each taking office in January 2014, Chancellor Syverud and President Wheeler are particularly invested in elevating their academic offerings through the creation of joint academic, curricular and research-based initiatives.

Syracuse will continue to provide many of the same academic and student life-related activities and services currently enjoyed by ESF students while pursuing new joint ventures at the same time.

“Both Syracuse and ESF are top national research schools that attract exceptional students and faculty,” says Chancellor Syverud. “It is important that both schools equally recognize each other’s strengths and areas of excellence. This will allow both schools to create new academic research opportunities that will make Syracuse and ESF better and also benefit the city, county and all of Central New York moving forward.”

“It is an exciting time for ESF and Syracuse University as we build on a century of mutual respect and collegiality to reimagine what two great institutions can do working together for common goals,” says President Wheeler. “The Chancellor and I are committed to identifying and advancing areas of shared interest, encouraging and enabling collaborative research and scholarship, and maintaining the rich cultural and intellectual community on the Hill.”

In the spirit of collaboration, Chancellor Syverud and President Wheeler will each appoint faculty members from their schools who will work together during spring 2016 to further develop the framework that will guide this collaborative effort. The faculty members will be asked to identify an initial set of academic and research-based recommendations that could be implemented beginning in the 2016-17 academic year. These appointments will be announced later this semester.

Chancellor Syverud and President Wheeler also announced agreement on the framework for a new five-year services agreement between Syracuse and ESF. Under the agreement, Syracuse continues to provide student recreational services; library services; student affairs/student activity services; disability services; and information technology (IT) services to ESF. The agreement also includes instructional services, allowing students from each school to enroll in classes at the other.

Given the increasing usage and anticipated demand cited by Syracuse, the two schools have also agreed that ESF, with transitional assistance from Syracuse, will make health and wellness services available to its students from other sources, beginning in the 2016-17 academic year. In addition, Syracuse has agreed to assist ESF as it begins to provide IT services directly to its students, faculty and staff. The IT transition will be completed over a multi-year period.

During the 2015-16 academic year, Chancellor Syverud and President Wheeler will continue discussions that will evaluate all facets of the relationship.