Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • 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
Arts & Culture

VPA’s Drama Department Announces New Scholarship Fund to Promote Student Diversity in Memory of Beloved Professor

Monday, December 21, 2020, By Erica Blust
Share
College of Visual and Performing ArtsDepartment of DramafacultyscholarshipStudents

The College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Department of Drama has announced the establishment of a new scholarship fund in memory of a faculty member who dedicated himself to teaching excellence and developing successful theater artists and designers.

head shot

Felix E. Cochren Jr.

The Felix E. Cochren Jr. Memorial Scholarship intends to promote a more diverse student body in the drama department by providing scholarship and financial assistance to current students who are underrepresented in the program. Cochren was a beloved associate professor of theater design and technology in the department from 2002 to 2019, when he passed away at age 68.

“Felix was an award-winning and ground-breaking designer, a distinguished member of the Department of Drama faculty for 17 years and a gracious colleague,” says Ralph Zito, professor and chair of the department. “Most importantly, he was a dedicated and caring mentor, not only to his design students, but to students in all programs of study—particularly to students of color. I can think of no better way to honor his memory—especially at this moment in the life of our nation and our institution—than through the establishment and expansion of this fund.”

The fund, which will begin awarding scholarships to students in Fall 2021, was established with a generous gift from the Gerald & Daphna Cramer Foundation Inc., facilitated by Lauren B. Cramer L’94, chair of the VPA Council and a member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. The gift is the latest in support of Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University’s $1.5 billion goal.

Cramer learned that Ricky Pak, an assistant professor of acting, was working with a creative team of drama students and alumni on a new theatrical project in conjunction with Syracuse University’s 150th anniversary that aimed to inspire 150 donors to give $150 to support underrepresented drama students. The piece, “Impact: Past, Present, Future,” explores the University’s history and examines its values as an institution with a specific focus on diversity and inclusion.

“Diversity and inclusion in the student population is a cornerstone value not only within the drama department but throughout the greater Syracuse University community as a whole,” says Pak. “However, a unique challenge for drama is that if we do not have a diverse population of students, it directly impacts our day-to-day curriculum. We lose the ability to tell stories that are not traditionally told to the rest of the greater Syracuse community because we don’t have the appropriate student population from which to cast. The University has a richly diverse history that traces all the way back to its founding—a history that our project seeks to highlight while also creating opportunities for underrepresented students to be able to tell those stories on our stages one day.”

To encourage 150 donations to the Felix E. Cochren, Jr. Memorial Scholarship fund, the department will present “Impact: Past, Present, Future” as a series of four live staged readings directed by Pak on Jan. 25, Feb. 22, March 8 and March 22. The performances are free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register and make a donation to the fund, visit cc.syr.edu/150impact.

For more information or to make a gift to the fund, contact Mike Grannis, assistant director of development and alumni relations in VPA’s Office of Advancement, at 315-708-2377 or mjgranni@syr.edu.

About Forever Orange

Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Fueled by 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit syracuse.edu/foreverorange to learn more.

  • Author

Erica Blust

  • Recent
  • Rockell Brown Burton Joins Newhouse School as Associate Dean of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility
    Monday, May 23, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Corinne Sartori Joins Libraries as Accessibility Specialist
    Monday, May 23, 2022, By Cristina Hatem
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse University Art Museum Piloting Object-Based Teaching and Research Faculty Fellows Program

Faculty from all disciplines are invited to apply for a pilot Faculty Fellows Program being hosted this summer by the Syracuse University Art Museum. The program focuses on object-based teaching and research. It is both a way for the art…

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 to Deliver 2022 VPA Convocation Address

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 will deliver the 2022 convocation address to bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at the college’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the stadium….

M.F.A. Exhibition ‘Steady/Retcon’ to be Exhibited on New York City’s Governors Island

  Master of fine arts (M.F.A.) candidates in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are presenting the thesis exhibition “Steady/Retcon” over two weekends in May at the Syracuse University Governors Island House, 407A Colonels Row, Governors Island, New…

Department of Drama Presents ‘As You Like It’

The Department of Drama presents the final show of the 2021/2022 season with “As You Like It,” a ravishing new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic story by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery. The production, directed by Rodney Hudson, will perform…

Movie Based on SU Press Book ‘Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano’ Debuts

“The Survivor,” a movie based on the Alan Scott Haft book, “Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano,” debuted on HBO and HBO Max on Wednesday, April 27. It is being released on Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the…

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
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.