Chancellor Syverud’s Welcome Message for Fall 2019

Greetings from Syracuse University to everyone in the Orange Family!

I especially welcome our 5,900 new undergraduate, transfer, graduate and professional students to Syracuse.

New students, you are joined this semester by more than 100 highly qualified new faculty members. They are starting their careers at Syracuse. Welcome to all of them, as well as to our returning students, faculty and staff. We are so glad to have you all here.

This is an amazing time at our University. We have momentum here. Our momentum has been building, and it is now tangible on this campus and among our people and programs around the world.

As Syracuse University begins our 150th year, we can remember the aspirations of those who came before us. Our founders looked beyond the one building and few students that made up our campus in our early days. They foresaw “a great University on a hill.” They inspired our community to believe in a remarkable future. And they worked hard to make that future real.

Today, this University has realized our founders’ vision. Indeed, we have moved far beyond it. It has taken us 150 years to get to this moment. We are poised to become one of the top 50 universities in this nation—and a greater force in the world—and we are poised to do this for the right reasons. So many of you are working hard to make this happen.

This semester, I call your attention to two examples of wonderful momentum that is defining a new, distinctive Orange experience.

First, we have reimagined our entire approach to student health and wellness. Academic success here grows from the development of the whole person—body, mind and soul. This semester we are integrating, in one central location, state of the art facilities for a holistic approach to student health. We have combined recreation services, student physical and mental health services, and wellness services in the Barnes Center at The Arch. It is among the very best integrated health and wellness centers in the world.

The Barnes Center is only one of scores of construction projects completed over the summer to benefit students. New and renovated buildings and classrooms are vital to our learning environment, but it is the engagement and activity inside and around them and across this University that matters. We have dramatically upped our commitment to student learning and success here on campus and around the world, and it really shows. I thank all of you who have helped so much in this effort.

Our momentum is also very evident in our work to grow our faculty by more than 200 new positions over the coming few years. These scholars and teachers will shape our University’s future. More than 100 searches are underway right now. Our approach to these faculty appointments must respect diversity, interdisciplinary work and dedication to disciplinary excellence. If we recruit and develop the right faculty now, our students in the future will be ready for the world and for meaningful careers.

One hundred and fifty years ago, passionate leaders sacrificed for a bold vision of our University. So many have followed them, enhancing that vision and giving so much for our students and the world. They had grit, strength and spirit, and they defined our Orange culture. I ask us all, in this 150th year, to emulate them at their best. We have so much to work with now, and the momentum to get even better. To all members of the Orange family: you are the architects of our momentum and the best people possible to build upon it, now and in the future. Go Orange!