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On Friday, April 17, Syracuse University paused to say thank you to students, faculty and staff at its annual One University Awards ceremony.

Two major awards—the Chancellor’s Medal and the Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence—were bestowed. The ceremony also included the presentation of the Student-Athlete Award, Seinfeld Scholarship, Meredith Professorship for Teaching Excellence, Teaching Recognition Award, Enduring Values Award, William Pearson Tolley Medal, Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and the Chancellor’s Forever Orange Award.

Emeriti faculty who retired in 2025 and employees who celebrated years of service milestones in 2025 were . This year’s University Scholars, Senior Class and School and College Marshals and Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars were also .

Award Recipients 

°Õ³ó±ðÌýChancellor’s Medal is the University’s highest honor and is awarded to individuals in honor of their trailblazing and extraordinary contributions to the University, to an academic body of knowledge or to society.

This year’s recipients are , senior vice president and chief student experience officer, and , senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýChancellor’s Citation for Excellence recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in four overarching categories:

• The award for Excellence in Student Research recognizes students who have engaged in collaborative research that has the potential to make a deep and lasting impact on greater society. This year’s recipients are Paul Sagoe, doctoral student in biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (graduate), and Sadie Meyer ’26, a biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and mathematics major in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).

• The award for Outstanding Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives acknowledges faculty and staff who, through their work, enhance the undergraduate experience for students or make invaluable contributions to supporting and advancing the University’s mission and goals. The recipients are , teaching professor, director of clinical education and director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic in the College of Law (faculty); , data analyst for advising and career services, A&S (professional staff); and , office manager for the Intercultural Collective in the Student Experience division (support staff).
• °Õ³ó±ðÌýFaculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction award is intended for faculty members who are collaborators in work of intellectual richness that has the potential for future impact. The work of these nominees offers possibilities for collaboration within the University and outside in partnership with others. This year’s honoree is , professor of psychology in A&S and director of the Center for Health Behavior Research and Innovation.
• Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence, Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors those who have made extraordinary contributions toward advancing all four pillars of excellence over the arc of their careers while at Syracuse University and beyond. This year’s recipient is , professor in the School of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Other Awards Presented

°Õ³ó±ðÌýStudent-Athlete Award recognizes the top male and female student athletes and presented to the senior student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average over the course of their academic and athletic careers. This year’s recipients are Ruben Rojas Betanzos ’26, a bioengineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, an MBA student in the Whitman School of Management and member of the men’s cross-country team; and Nora Radke ’26, a biology major and neuroscience major in A&S and member of the women’s rowing team.

Seinfeld Scholarship: Each year the University honors the talents of outstanding faculty or students through an award made possible by Judith Greenberg Seinfeld ’56, H’25, a distinguished alumna and member of the University Board of Trustees. Awards are made to those who have been determined by their peers to have made outstanding contributions to the beauty of the world, to have added to human values and to ending human abuse anywhere in the world, and to have demonstrated passion for excellence, creativity and originality in academic or artistic fields. This year, the designation is bestowed upon , associate professor and Dean’s Professor of Community Engagement in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Composition in A&S.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýLaura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorships for Teaching Excellence were created in 1995 to recognize and reward outstanding teaching among faculty. The 2026-29 Meredith Professors are , Milton and Ann Stevenson Endowed Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, and chair of biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and , associate professor and chair of visual communications in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The 2023-26 Meredith Professors, and , and a 2019-22 Meredith Professor, , were also recognized.

In 2001, the Meredith Professorship Program was expanded to recognize teaching excellence by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors. Awards are given in two categories: Early Performance ²¹²Ô»åÌýContinuing Excellence.

This year’s honorees in the Early Performance category are , assistant professor in the School of Architecture; , assistant professor of political science in the Maxwell School; , assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in ECS; , assistant professor of anthropology in the Maxwell School; , assistant teaching professor of electrical engineering and computer science in ECS; , assistant professor of visual communications in the Newhouse School; and , assistant professor of writing, rhetoric and composition in A&S.

The two honorees in the Continuing Excellence category are , Distinguished Professor of Photography in the Newhouse School, and , associate teaching professor and graduate director of public relations in the Newhouse School.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýEnduring Values Award recognizes an individual who is integral in helping students achieve academic excellence at a university that is welcoming to all. This year’s recipient is , associate dean of community and engagement and professor of public relations in the Newhouse School.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýWilliam Pearson Tolley Medal for Distinguished Leadership in Lifelong Learning is based in the School of Education and honors national or international leadership in support of lifelong learning. This year’s recipient is Alice Kendrick ’70, G’79, G’93, retired superintendent of the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District.

The Chancellor’s Award for Innovation is bestowed upon an individual who advances academic and technical excellence through the introduction and implementation of extraordinary new methods and ideas to benefit the Syracuse University community. This year’s recipient is , senior vice president for digital transformation and chief digital officer.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýChancellor’s Forever Orange Award recognizes individual students, faculty or staff who—by virtue of extraordinary hard work, good values and commitment to excellence—have come to embody the best of Syracuse University. This year’s recipient is  ’80, director of athletics.