Chancellor Provides Remarks at Final Senate Meeting of Semester

I have two and a half minutes of remarks. I think both the Provost and I are going to try to leave most of the time for questions. Provost Ritter and I are joining you from Boise, Idaho. We’re here with Vice Chancellor Haynie and Vice President Cydney Johnson and an SU team for discussions with leaders at Micron at their headquarters here. The meetings have been very productive ones. It’s apparent that the University’s relationships with Micron are going to be long-term and will cut across many schools, colleges and units. This visit has been the next stage in creating a clear structure and a way to enable effective cross-University collaboration with Micron. Since it is snowing heavily, the provost and I are eager to not miss our flight home tonight. Thanks for accommodating us.

We lost both a student and a trustee since our last meeting of the Senate, and I want to recognize and acknowledge them. Last weekend, I met with the family and attended the Hendricks Chapel Memorial service for Bob Sharipov, who was a junior in Falk College. He was a first-generation student, an immigrant from Brooklyn, New York. He was killed in a car accident as he was traveling home for Thanksgiving. Another Syracuse student traveling with him was seriously injured in remains hospitalized. I’m just really grateful to all the folks in student experience and in Falk College who really came together to support our students and Bob’s family. I especially thank all the students who turned out on Sunday to speak about Bob at the memorial service in the middle of their exams. It meant a lot to Bob’s family.

Also, today was the funeral for Walter Broadnax, who was one of our most distinguished professors in the Maxwell School and a longtime trustee of the University. I’m proud he was my friend, and I’m very grateful to Dean David Van Slyke, who traveled and spoke at his service, which was in Washington, D.C.

This past weekend, the United States Department of Justice took into custody a man who I believe made and placed the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103 in 1988. That’s such a significant milestone in a decades-long process to bring those responsible for the bombing to justice. I’m grateful to the law enforcement officials in both the United States and Scotland for just relentless work on this project. I know that the victim’s families, their friends and their loved ones have shown tremendous strength and determination in seeking justice for more than three decades. So, it’s really welcome news. And I note that the annual memorial service marking the Dec. 21 attack is in Hendricks Chapel on Wednesday of next week. I hope those of you who can come, will come and join at 2 p.m. on the 21st.

Finally, I just want to congratulate our student athletes and the coaches and staff on the men’s soccer team, which on Monday won the national championship and a close game against Indiana. We’re proud of their hard work. We’re proud of their success, both on and off the field. The men’s soccer team is one of 10 of our athletic teams that had a perfect graduation rate this past year.

Let me just thank everyone for a very full semester and all the work you did all semester. I hope you enjoy a well-deserved break and especially safe travels over the holidays.