Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a speech on Monday that Syracuse University will continue to focus on its expansion of faculty, graduate and undergraduate research.

Syverud announced that SU will increase the number of planned faculty hires, launch centers focused on infrastructure and autonomous systems and provide new research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. The chancellor said SU’s research capacity has been growing faster than peer institutions since 2015.

SU will hire 200 new faculty members in the next five years through its Signature Hires Initiative, Syverud said. That’s double the number of hires announced in June 2018. Syverud said the expanded hiring plans were made possible through cost-sharing between SU’s schools and colleges.

“Syracuse University is making an unprecedented investment in faculty recruitment and retention,” Syverud said. “It is critical that we get this right.”

Syverud said he wants to focus on goals in four areas for the semester: academic excellence, the student experience, diversity and inclusion and preparing for Syracuse’s 150th anniversary. Hieu Nguyen | Senior Staff Photographer

The new hires, research centers and grants are all funded by Invest Syracuse, the university’s $100 million academic fundraising initiative. The chancellor also noted that for the second year in a row, SU received a top-tier research classification for doctoral institutions – the R1 designation — from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Syverud said the university will formalize plans for the autonomous systems research center this semester. The center will focus on “shaping frameworks that guide the adoption” of technologies such as self-driving cars, drones and smartphones, he said.

The other center — SU’s Infrastructure Institute — was announced in November 2018. The population of the United States has doubled since many of the county’s infrastructure systems were built in the 1960s, Syverud said. SU plans to address issues of aging infrastructure through the new institute, he added.

Invest Syracuse will also provide $1 million for SU’s Center for Undergraduate Research, housed in Bird Library. This week SU is opening applications for $2,500 summer research grants and $5,000 for sustained research in creative work, Syverud said.

“For undergraduate students there is now a clear path to participate in research that has not existed before — particularly outside the STEM disciplines,” Syverud said.

Beginning this semester, the Fellowship Fund will award $750,000 annually to fund 30 additional doctoral students, the chancellor said.

Syverud said the university has also worked in the past semester to create a diverse, inclusive, accessible and equitable campus and learning environment.

The university is in the process of reviewing the first-year experience, including the SEM 100 course required for freshmen and transfer students. The course, centered on Trevor Noah’s book “Born a Crime,” was designed to confront implicit bias and promote health and wellness communication skills.

In interviews with The Daily Orange in November, students and course facilitators said SEM 100 failed to address issues of diversity and inclusion. SU conducted a survey of 2,496 students who took the course, and released the results in late November. Syverud said the results showed a majority of students found the course was successful.

“There is lively disagreement as to whether this course will produce the outcomes we want,” Syverud said. “That is a necessary, appropriate and crucial part of our job as scholars and learners.”

The chancellor’s Winter Message is an annual speech detailing the university’s plans for the semester. Lauren Miller | Asst. Video Editor

Before the winter break, more than 1000 staff members participated in a half-day program on understanding bias, Syverud said. He said it was the “largest staff development event in Syracuse (University) history.”

The university plans to hire a new Chief Diversity Officer by the start of the fall 2019 semester, Syverud said. Keith Alford was appointed as the interim CDO in June to oversee SU’s diversity and inclusion efforts and provide oversight on SU’s services, programs, policies and procedures related to diversity and inclusion.

Syverud also said SU is close to hiring a new director for its Office of the Ombuds. The office was opened last February as a space for the university community to confidentially discuss and resolve conflicts.

Provost Michele Wheatly will work with a University Senate Ad Hoc committee to propose reforms to the university’s financial hold process, Syverud said.

The committee was created at a DecemberUSen meeting. Senators also passed a motion to extend the class registration deadline until the end of the academic drop session for students with financial holds. In October, SA passed a bill calling on the university to end its policy that prevents students with holds from registering for or attending classes.

“Not everyone’s financial situation is the same,” SA President Ghufran Salih said at the October meeting. “I think the university needs to start understanding that not everyone can pay their tuition at the same time or pay off their holds.”

Syverud said individuals in the university have engaged with students to assist them to clear any registration holds. Currently, 114 registered holds remain out of 15,000 undergraduates, he said.

The university is also planning its 150th anniversary. It will be held from July2019 through March 24 2020, the university’s official anniversary date.

Syverud said the anniversary is a chance for reflection.

“By learning from times and places where Syracuse University has done the right thing, and times and places where we have stumbled … we will be better equipped to chart our course,” Syverud said.

Published on January 14, 2019 at 11:59 pm

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