Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Palmers’ Major Gift Supports Financial Aid, Career Services for Professional Master’s Students

Tuesday, September 11, 2018, By Dana Cooke
Share
givingMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsPhilanthropy

University Professor John L. Palmer, former longtime dean of the Maxwell School, and his wife, Stephanie G. Palmer, have made a major gift commitment to the school that will create an endowed fund supporting Maxwell professional master’s students, with an emphasis on financial aid and career development services. The gift, when fully realized, is expected to be about $2 million, in the form of two already-established charitable trusts and funds from their estate.

John L. Palmer and Stephanie G. Palmer

John L. Palmer and Stephanie G. Palmer

The Palmers’ planned gift will complete a remarkable legacy of giving by the couple, and giving by others in their honor. It follows a $1-million-plus fund established by members of the Maxwell Advisory Board to honor John upon his retirement from the deanship in 2003; that fund supported assistantships for Ph.D. students across the school. The Palmers’ current, ongoing philanthropy is already providing annual support for many of the same programs targeted by their planned gift commitment.

In recognition of their support, Maxwell recently renamed its career center the John L. and Stephanie G. Palmer Career Center.

“Few people have done more for the students of the Maxwell School than John and Stephanie Palmer,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “In its specific emphasis on students and their post-Maxwell trajectories, the John L. and Stephanie G. Palmer Career Center is a fitting tribute to everything the Palmers have done for us.”

John Palmer was dean of the Maxwell School from 1988 until 2003 and was named a University Professor at Syracuse University as he retired from the deanship. He is an expert on federal fiscal and social welfare policy, and served two presidentially appointed terms as a public trustee for the Medicare and Social Security programs. He is a former senior fellow of the Brookings Institution and of the Urban Institute, and former assistant secretary for planning and evaluation for the Department of Health and Human Services.

He has published 13 books and dozens of professional and popular articles on a wide range of topics related to economic, budgetary and social policy concerns.

Throughout his career–and during his Maxwell deanship particularly–Stephanie has been a full and vital partner in John’s leadership roles.

  • Author

Dana Cooke

  • Recent
  • Former Orange Point Guard and Maxwell Alumna ‘Roxi’ Nurse McNabb Still Driving for an Assist
    Tuesday, July 8, 2025, By Jessica Smith
  • Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By News Staff
  • Paulo De Miranda G’00 Received ‘Much More Than a Formal Education’ From Maxwell
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Law Professor Receives 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Robert Conrad

More In Campus & Community

Former Orange Point Guard and Maxwell Alumna ‘Roxi’ Nurse McNabb Still Driving for an Assist

As point guard for the Orange women’s basketball team, Raquel-Ann “Roxi” Nurse McNabb ’98, G’99 was known for helping her teammates ‘make buckets’—a lot of buckets. The 1997 Syracuse University Athlete of the Year, two-time team MVP and three-time BIG…

Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges

The University is enhancing its commitment to lifelong learning with digital badges, a tool that recognizes and authenticates the completion of microcredentials. The badges aim to support learners in their professional and personal development by showcasing achievements in short, focused…

Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More

While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geography in the Maxwell School, Rose Tardiff ’15 became involved with the Salt City Harvest Farm, a community farm near Syracuse where newcomers from all over the world grow food and make social connections….

Paulo De Miranda G’00 Received ‘Much More Than a Formal Education’ From Maxwell

Early in his career, Paulo De Miranda G’00 embarked on several humanitarian aid and peacekeeping assignments around the world. “When we concluded our tasks, we wrote reports about our field work, but many times felt that little insight was given…

Law Professor Receives 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award

College of Law Professor Suzette Meléndez, director of the Syracuse Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, was honored with a 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award at their 45th Annual Freedom Fund Award Dinner. Meléndez received the Maye, McKinney & Melchor Freedom…

Subscribe to SU Today

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

Connect With Us

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

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.