From left to right: Quartermaster Joseph Dishaw, Officer Kara Salce, Chief Craig Stone, Jay Gelb, Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves, Officer Charles Fiesinger
A generous donation made by a student’s family is helping strengthen the work of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to provide a safe and secure campus environment. The gift from Jay and Sandra Gelb, parents of College of Law students Matthew, Nicole and Robert, has allowed DPS to purchase two state-of-the-art electric bicycles, with a third expected to be purchased soon.
“Campus safety should be a priority. As parents we entrust that our most valuable asset—our children—is safeguarded while away from home,” says Jay Gelb. “It is so important to make sure that those protecting our loved ones have the best resources at their disposal.”
The motorized bicycles will help conserve officers’ energy during long shifts and can navigate terrain that may not have vehicle access. The new bikes will be used during various campus events, including concerts, graduation, move-in and athletics events, adding to the department’s fleet of bicycles. They will be vital for patrol and crowd management.
“This donation from the Gelb family will have a tremendous impact on our campus community,” says Craig Stone, DPS chief and associate vice president. “It will allow us to revamp our bicycle fleet for our officers, cover more ground and expand upon our community engagement.”
Allen Groves, senior vice president and chief student experience officer, is grateful to the Gelb family for the funding that will bolster policing across campus in different ways.
“We appreciate this demonstration of support by the Gelb family for our broader campus safety initiatives, and their trust in Chief Stone and DPS leadership to put these funds to their best use,” says Groves. “The motorized bicycles we’ve purchased with this generous gift will enhance our goal of true community policing and will also allow campus safety officers to respond in new ways.”
Stone and Groves presented the Gelbs with a custom plaque to commemorate the family’s investment in helping to create the safest campus possible. In addition, DPS has added decals to each of the bicycles highlighting the generosity of the Gelb family.
“A donation of this magnitude shows me how invested our Syracuse families are in our shared goal of safety,” says Stone. “We will continue to use every resource at our disposal to enhance community safety. The Gelb family has allowed us to add important new tools in this effort.”
The Gelb family’s gift will aid DPS officers in the vital work they do every day for every campus community member. “Through this experience, I have found that DPS is staffed with professional and dedicated individuals. They do a great job, but I wanted to find out how we could assist them in doing even more,” says Gelb. “As parents and community members, it is important to ask how we can help, because our ultimate goal is that everyone at Syracuse University goes home safe every single day.”
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