Chancellor Kent Syverud (left) and Newhouse School Dean Mark J. Lodato flank Donald Newhouse after the plaza at the Newhouse complex was renamed for his family to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications welcomed Donald Newhouse and his family back to Syracuse University to mark the school’s 60th anniversary with an afternoon full of celebratory events highlighted by the renaming of the plaza in between the school’s three buildings in the family’s honor.
The festivities Wednesday included a special luncheon, a tour of the complex for the family and a ceremony on the plaza, where Chancellor Kent Syverud and Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato unveiled the new name as hundreds watched from the Einhorn Family Walk.
The owner of Advance Publications, Donald Newhouse, is the patriarch of one of the first families of American publishing. Advance was founded by his father, Samuel I. Newhouse, in 1922.
Donald Newhouse delivers remarks during the 60th anniversary ceremony. (Photo by Malcolm Taylor)
In remarks on the plaza, Donald Newhouse recounted how he observed a meeting in the late 1950s between his father and then-University Chancellor William P. Tolley during which the idea for what would become the Newhouse School was conceived.
Donald Newhouse was one of the honored guests on Aug. 5, 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson joined S.I. Newhouse to formally open the Newhouse 1 building. That day also happened to be Donald Newhouse’s 35th birthday.
“I am fortunate to have the chance in the same month that I celebrate my 95th birthday, to look back with overwhelming pride at the record of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. It is one of the great joys of my life,” Donald Newhouse said Wednesday.
“Thank you all for helping me celebrate this anniversary, and for your role in realizing the dream of my father and Chancellor Tolley.”
The Newhouse family is one of the largest donors in the University’s history, including the $75 million pledge by the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation to the Newhouse School in 2020. That pledge was the single largest gift in the University’s history.
“There are so many amazing alumni of this school that I’ve met all over the world—editors, broadcasters, leaders in print, cable news and network newsrooms. They founded and led radio stations, PR agencies, advertising firms, countless ventures in the business, digital music and entertainment industries,” Syverud said before unveiling the plaza’s new name.
“All of them amazing people, all made possible because of the transformational gifts of Donald Newhouse and the Newhouse Foundation,” he added. “You’ve really, in a meaningful sense, shaped the trajectory of the University, the Newhouse School and most importantly, the careers of tens of thousands of our students and our graduates and faculty.”
Today, the Newhouse School offers seven undergraduate programs and more than a dozen graduate programs covering the gamut of fields in media and communications. The school also launched its first fully online bachelor’s program, in strategic communications, this year.
But what will not change, Lodato said, is an unwavering dedication to journalism education.
Lodato pledged to continue to work with newsrooms and journalism organizations on key issues like filling news deserts, and striving to ensure the diversity of newsroom staffs and leadership accurately reflects the communities they serve.
He cited expanded opportunities for students to hone their skills through study-away semesters in Washington, D.C., New York City or Los Angeles, or special trips such as coverage of the recent Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions for professional media outlets.
Newhouse also combined the broadcast and digital journalism, and magazine, news and digital journalism programs, into one journalism major starting this fall following state approval, the result of years of discussion with faculty.
Students will still choose one of two tracks under the new journalism major structure—broadcast and digital journalism, or magazine, news and digital journalism. But Lodato noted the change is reflective of how the Newhouse School pivots to meet the needs of an industry which increasingly is looking for journalists who can tell stories on multiple platforms.
“I can think of no better way of recognizing the vision and generosity of Mr. Newhouse and his extraordinary family than to reinforce our steadfast commitment to journalism and journalism education,” Lodato said.
Hundreds of people gathered on the Einhorn Family Walk for the ceremony to honor the Newhouse School’s 60th anniversary. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)
Newhouse was joined Wednesday by several members of his family, including sons Steven and Michael, the co-presidents of Advance. Larry Kramer ’72, vice chair of the University Board of Trustees, offered remarks at the luncheon, as did Newhouse Dean Emeritus David Rubin and Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, and a professor of practice of journalism at the Newhouse School.
David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, spoke during a videotaped message.
Marie Achkar, a senior in broadcast and digital journalism, spoke on behalf of students at the luncheon. Jada Knight, a senior in television, radio and film, spoke on students’ behalf during the plaza ceremony, which was followed by a reception for the family, students, faculty, staff and alumni.
