Committee Appointed to Plan University’s Sesquicentennial Events

Chancellor Kent Syverud has appointed a steering committee to plan efforts to mark Syracuse University’s sesquicentennial in 2020.

The University was founded on March 24, 1870, and 2020 will be its 150^th anniversary.

The committee is a cross-section of students, faculty, staff, Trustees and alumni. “I expect the committee to engage the entire University community, across the globe, in a sustained reflection on the 150^th anniversary of what is truly a great University,” Chancellor Syverud says. “We will plan a yearlong celebration and host events that will reflect our values.”

The steering committee is co-chaired by Bea González, vice president for community engagement, and Susan Ballard, associate vice president for alumni engagement. The committee includes the following members:

• Colleen Bench, associate vice president in the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience;
• Tom Benzel, assistant director of business operations for athletics;
• Shiu-Kai Chin, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence and professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science;
• Ravi Dharwadkar, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence, professor and chair of the Department of Management in the Whitman School of Management;
• Chris Fuller, deputy director of athletics;
• Neil Gold, member of the Board of Trustees;
• Jaclyn Grosso, executive director of communications and public relations;
• Rachel Harms, associate University secretary and executive director of Office of the Board of Trustees;
• Jeff Hoone, executive director of the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers (CMAC);
• Robert Hupp, artistic director at Syracuse Stage;
• Ellen King, executive director of the Office of Special Events;
• Chuck Merrihew, vice president for advancement and external affairs;
• Judith Mower, member of the Board of Trustees;
• Ron Novack, executive director of the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs;
• Kevin Quinn, senior advisor to the Chancellor for executive communications and public affairs;
• LaVonda Reed, professor of law and associate provost for faculty affairs;
• David Seaman, dean of University libraries and University librarian;
• Scott Manning Stevens, associate professor and director of Native American and indigenous studies and associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences; and
• David Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School, professor and Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy.

The student participants are:

• Eduardo Gomez ’20 Arts and Sciences, Greek Life student representative;
• John Jankovic ’20 Arts and Sciences, Student Association representative;
• Chloe Milliken ’20, Whitman School of Management, veterans/military student representative;
• Tyler R. Newman ’20, Whitman School of Management, Forever Orange Young Alumni representative;
• Erin Riley ’20, Newhouse School of Public Communications, U100 representative;
• Jerry Lamont Robinson, doctoral student, School of Information Studies, disability student representative; and
• Rikki Sargent, doctoral student, social psychology, VP Internal Affairs, Graduate Student Organization.

The steering committee will appoint subcommittees and working groups, and welcomes the involvement of others in the University community who are interested in the planning process. Those who are interested may contact Kathryn Zubal-Strang, assistant director of principal gifts in Advancement and External Affairs, at 315.443.5195 or khzubal@syr.edu.