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

Chancellor Syverud Charges Working Group With Developing a ‘Syracuse Statement’ to Define Free Expression and Academic Freedom

Wednesday, January 24, 2024, By News Staff
Share
Chancellor Kent Syverud

Chancellor Kent Syverud announced today that he has charged a working group of University leaders, faculty, staff, students and trustees with developing a statement that clarifies and defines Syracuse University’s commitment to free expression and academic freedom.

“There is a vigorous debate on university campuses around free speech and academic freedom,” says Chancellor Syverud. “I believe the time is right for our community to come together to define a framework that will guide future discussions and set parameters for how our community respectfully and constructively engages on complex and provocative issues. The ‘Syracuse Statement’ will reflect the University’s unique perspective and Orange values and reaffirm our historical commitment.”

The working group will be co-chaired by Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, and Allen Groves, senior vice president and chief student experience officer. The other members of the working group are the following:

  • Martin Abreu Zavaleta, assistant professor, philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Mary Grace Almandrez, vice president for diversity and inclusion
  • Steve Ballentine ’83, University trustee, Board of Trustees
  • Nina Brown, associate professor, public communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
  • Sean Drake, assistant professor, sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
  • Lauryn Gouldin, Crandall Melvin Professor of Law, and director, Syracuse Civics Initiative, College of Law
  • Thomas Keck, professor and Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, Maxwell School
  • Daniel Kimmel, president and chief executive officer, Graduate Student Organization
  • Nathanael Linton L’24, law student representative, Board of Trustees
  • Gisele Marcus ’89, University trustee, Board of Trustees
  • Behzad Mortazavi, dean and professor, College of Arts and Sciences
  • William Treloar ’24, president, Student Association

The members will begin work in the coming days and seek to complete the draft “Syracuse Statement” prior to Commencement in May. The working group will seek community input throughout the process and provide periodic updates on how students, faculty and staff can engage with and contribute to the draft statement.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Student’s Mobile Upcycled Clothing Business Turns Trash Into Treasures
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Q&A for “Will Work for Food,” a new book exploring labor and the food chain
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Ellen Mbuqe
  • Chaz Barracks Fuses Art, Scholarship and Community in Summer Residency
    Thursday, August 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Welcome Week 2025: What You Need to Know
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By Kathleen Haley
  • How Otto the Orange Spent Their Summer Vacation (Video)
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Heartfelt Gift Recognizes Accomplished Alumna and 3 Generations of Orange

William Pelton and Mary Jane Massie have created the Barringer Pelton Public Service Graduate Scholarship to honor their niece, Jody Barringer ’95, L’98, G’08 (M.P.A.), and support future public servants. After working for a few years as an attorney focused…

Families Offer Words of Wisdom During Welcome Week Move In (Video)

Nearly 4,300 new undergraduate students arrived on campus this week, many of them with families and cars filled to the brim. As families help their children settle into their home away from home, they’re also sharing advice for the year…

Chaz Barracks Fuses Art, Scholarship and Community in Summer Residency

With a GoPro strapped to his helmet and a microphone clipped to his bike, Chaz Antoine Barracks spent the summer pedaling through Homer, New York, transforming everyday encounters into both scholarship and art. The filmmaker, media scholar and postdoctoral fellow…

The New York State Fair: Everything You Need to Know

Late August in Central New York not only means the return of students to the Syracuse University campus, but also the return of the New York State Fair. The fair is a 13-day festival of entertainment, agricultural exhibitions, cultural performances…

Department of Public Safety Celebrates Graduation of 9th Peace Officer Academy

On Aug. 14, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) welcomed families, friends and colleagues of the 9th Peace Officer Academy recruits to a graduation event. The ceremony, held at Drumlins Country Club, was the perfect culmination of their accomplishments over…

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.