Chancellor Kent Syverud in a speech on Tuesday promised that Syracuse University would start to prioritize the implementation of his broad Academic Strategic Plan throughout the spring semester.

A large part of that implementation requires that SU deliver on “promises” set out in the Invest Syracuse initiative, he said. Invest Syracuse is a five-year $100 million fundraising plan that aims to support Syverud’s ASP, in part by implementing a $3,300 tuition premium for first-year and transfer students this fall.

“By and large, the vast majority of the university will complete strategic planning this summer,” Syverud said. “It is therefore time that we start moving faster from reaction and planning, to proactive implementation of our strategies.”

Syverud detailed progress of Invest Syracuse and the ASP, which outlines future academic goals at SU, during an address in the Milton Atrium of SU’s Life Sciences Complex. He delivered a similar speech last year, essentially serving as a State of the University update.

Tangible impacts of Invest Syracuse will be felt across campus in coming months, Syverud said. The chancellor on Tuesday announced that Invest Syracuse funds will be used to pilot a new integrated academic career advising model across several schools and colleges, in an effort to improve graduation and retention rates. Career and life coaches will be hired to work directly with academic advisers, Syverud said.

“This semester, our faculty will start to receive the funds from the first-ever, I understand, internal research grants program, funded in part by Invest Syracuse,” the chancellor also said.

That program, called the Collaboration of Unprecedented Success and Excellence, seeks to bolster interdisciplinary work among faculty researchers.

The creation of a shuttle was a campaign promise last spring of James Franco, who is now the university Student Association’s president.

Hieu Nguyen | Asst. Photo Editor

Under Invest Syracuse, Syverud also announced that as Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly and SU’s deans finalize the budget and academic planning, SU will start to search for 15 to 25 new faculty “this coming year, and for each of the four years thereafter.”

The university has committed to hiring 100 new tenure-track faculty as part of Invest Syracuse. In total, SU wants to cut $30 million in “administrative spending,” fundraise $40 million and raise $30 million through the $3,300 tuition premium to meet the initiative’s overall $100 million goal.

“This university made some tough choices over the last six months in choosing to embrace the program we call Invest Syracuse,” Syverud said. The Class of 2022 will pay more than $13,000 in tuition premium costs, if it takes them four years to graduate.

In his speech, Syverud also better detailed exactly how the university plans to raise the total $100 million for Invest Syracuse. For the administrative spending goal, Syverud said SU has identified $5 million in cuts in part by reducing the use of consultants across 14 administrative departments, among other things.

The chancellor also said SU is on track to raise the first $20 million for additional financial aid opportunities, of Invest Syracuse’s $40 million fundraising goal, by the end of the current fiscal year.

In terms of implementing the ASP, Syverud also detailed the progress of individual school and college strategic plans. Syverud said that all of those plans, under the umbrella of the university-wide ASP, are now drafted and will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees.

Syverud announced that another 10 units on campus are currently in the strategic planning process: the Office of Research; enrollment management; the Division of Business, Finance and Administrative Services; facilities and deferred maintenance; the Division of Communications and Marketing; the Office of Government and Community Relations; SU Athletics; Hendricks Chapel and University College for part-time and online education.

Published on January 16, 2018 at 8:11 pm

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