Update From Chancellor Search Committee Co-Chairs

Dear Syracuse University Community:

We are writing today to provide an update on the Chancellor Search Committee’s progress toward identifying Syracuse University’s next chancellor. We are pleased to share that the position description has been finalized and is now available on the Chancellor Search website. This milestone represents the culmination of an intensive and deliberate engagement process, and we are deeply grateful for your participation.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many members of our community—hundreds of students, student leaders, faculty, staff, alumni, volunteer leaders, community partners and elected officials, among others—who took the time to participate in our engagement sessions and offered their unique perspectives. Your thoughtful input and candid feedback have been instrumental in shaping a comprehensive position description that reflects the aspirations and priorities of our Orange community.

With the position description now finalized and posted, the search committee will turn its attention to reviewing candidates. Our goal is to identify finalists in January 2026, select the next chancellor in the spring and have our new chancellor in place for the start of the 2026-27 academic year. Please note that our updates may be limited over the next couple of months while the search committee engages in this important deliberative work.

Thank you again for your participation in the engagement period. Your insights have provided invaluable guidance, and we look forward to applying your input to this next phase of the search process.

Sincerely,

Shelly Fisher ’80, Search Committee Co-Chair
Lisa Fontenelli ’86, Search Committee Co-Chair