������Ƶ

Syracuse University has announced the appointment of two new members of the Board of Trustees. The newest members, David S. Klein ’93 and Sean C. O’Keefe G’78, are both alumni who have earned accolades in their fields, including highest honors for their accomplishments, and both credit their studies at the University for providing the foundation and the tools for their success.

Also joining the board for the 2026-2027 academic year are new student representatives who will bring diverse viewpoints to board discussions. They are master’s student Thomas Andrew Kehoe III; third-year law student Anthony J. Ruscitto ’22, G’23, L’27; rising junior Emily Castillo-Melean ’28; and rising senior Asher Gonzalez ’27. All representatives will report to the Board at Executive Committee and full board meetings.

“With these two appointments, the board gains distinguished voices from industry and from public service—alumni who have reached the highest levels of their professions and remain deeply tied to Syracuse. Further, adding someone with extensive experience in teaching and strategic management in higher education brings critical perspective to Board discussions and governance responsibilities,” says Board of Trustees Chairman Jeff Scruggs. “What unites every member of this board is a deep commitment to Syracuse University and a shared desire to enhance the student experience and bring distinction to the academic and research enterprise. The student representatives add vital viewpoints to the work we do to strengthen the entire Orange community.”

Continuing in their second terms to serve as are Dean Mark Lodato, academic dean representative; Professor Tula Goenka, faculty representative; and Andrea Rose Persin, staff representative.

David S. Klein ’93

David Klein is founder and CEO of Greenwood Industries, a commercial roofing, architectural metal fabrication and custom building envelope solutions company. He also serves as CEO of Greenwood’s waterproofing and masonry subsidiary, TWC Phoenix. Greenwood Industries is the leading provider of commercial roofing and building envelope solutions in the Northeast and is the sixth largest roofing contractor and eighth largest masonry contractor in the United States.

Klein was in one of the first graduating classes of the precursor to the, the undergraduate program in information science and technology.

In March, 2025, he of the Board of Advisors to the iSchool. He serves on the Athletics Orange Council. In 2020, he and his wife, Elizabeth ’93, established the George Klein Endowed Scholarship, honoring his father and providing students from the Worcester area with demonstrated financial need. He was a judge for the 2023 Whitman Orange Tank competition, and that year was presented with a ’CUSE50 Entrepreneur Award, which celebrates the success of Orange business leaders across the globe.

Klein serves on the New England Center for Children President’s Council and is a member of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, the National Roofing Contractors Association, the New England Roofing Contractors Association and the American Subcontractors Association. He was given the Worcester Business Journal’s Large Business Leader of the Year Award in 2023.

He and his wife reside in Southborough, Massachusetts, and are the parents of sons Jake ’27 (Newhouse School of Public Communications) and Ben ’30 (), and daughter, Callie.

Sean C. O’Keefe G’78

Sean C. O’Keefe is University Professor Emeritus of Public Administration and International Affairs in the , where he held the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Leadership from 2014 until his retirement in 2025. He concurrently served as a distinguished senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

After earning a master of public administration at Syracuse University, he worked for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. He returned to the Pentagon as Defense Department comptroller and CFO before serving as secretary of the Navy in the George H.W. Bush administration.  Later he served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, and as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush before serving as NASA administrator.

Between public service appointments, O’Keefe taught at Louisiana State University (LSU), as business school faculty at Pennsylvania State University and at Maxwell, first as the Louis A. Bantle Chair of Business and Government and director of the National Security Studies Program, then as University Professor and Phanstiel Chair in Leadership. He was chancellor at LSU in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

O’Keefe was also chair of the board and CEO of Airbus Group Inc. and a vice president at General Electric Company. He currently serves as board chair of Satlantis, LLC, chair of the audit committee of the Battelle Memorial Institute, and board member of TexTech Industries and AIS, Inc. Previous board service includes DuPont, Computer Science Corporation, General Kinetics Inc., J. Ray McDermott S.A., and Sensis Inc.

In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Secretary Dick Cheney presented O’Keefe with the Distinguished Public Service Award. He received the Department of the Navy’s Public Service Award in 2000 and has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from five institutions, including Loyola University New Orleans, his undergraduate alma mater.

At Syracuse University, he serves on the Institute for Veterans and Military Families Advisory Board and is a former chair of the Maxwell Advisory Board and a member of the Council of Chairs. He was the 1999 faculty recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service and the 2011 recipient of the Arents Award.

Sean and Laura O’Keefe reside in northern Virginia and in Skaneateles, New York, and are the parents of three adult children and have two grandsons.

Graduate Student Representative: Thomas Andrew Kehoe III

Thomas Andrew Kehoe III is a master’s student in higher postsecondary education in the and a graduate assistant for academic and career advising within the Office of Student Success in the and Maxwell. In this role, he advises undergraduate students on career readiness and connects them with resources to support their professional development.

Originally from Vermont, Kehoe earned dual bachelor’s degrees in business management and marketing, with a minor in statistics, from Vermont State University Castleton. He received the Abel E. Leavenworth Leadership Award and the Leonard C. Goldman Distinguished Senior Award and served as Student Government Association president, student orientation coordinator, senior class treasurer and a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice Advisory Committee.

At Syracuse University, Kehoe has deepened his commitment to student advocacy, contributing to the Academic Integrity Office, serving as a recruitment officer for the higher postsecondary education program, and working as a graduate research assistant on a qualitative study examining how practitioners foster student success. Driven by a passion for student-centered leadership, he aspires to a career in higher education administration.

As the graduate student representative for the 2026-27 academic year, Kehoe participates, ex officio, on the Academic Affairs and the Student Experience committees.

Law Student Representative: Anthony J. Ruscitto ’22, G’23, L’27

Anthony J. Ruscitto is a third-year law student in the College of Law, a 2025 Tillman Scholar and president of the Military and Veterans Law Society. He serves as a law student ambassador for the College of Law’s Admissions and Financial Aid Office and provides legal assistance to veterans as a student attorney in the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic. He has competed twice with the National Trial Team and completed an internship with the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, where he is returning as a 2L intern in summer 2026.

Prior to law school, Ruscitto earned a master of public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2023, during which he served as president of the Syracuse University Student Veteran Organization, and a dual B.S. in psychology and forensic science from Syracuse University in 2022. Throughout his studies, he volunteered as an EMT-B and CPR instructor with Syracuse University Ambulance.

Ruscitto served five years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, completing his honorable service in 2019 as a sergeant of Marines. As a weapons and tactics instructor and helicopter crew chief, he logged more than 1,000 mishap-free hours as Naval aircrew and served on two overseas deployments spanning more than 10 countries and territories.

As the law student representative to the board for the 2026-27 academic year, Ruscitto participates, ex officio, on the Academic Affairs and the Student Experience Committees.

Undergraduate Student Representative: Emily Castillo-Melean ’28

Emily Castillo-Melean is a first-generation student from Miami and a rising junior in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing a double major in policy studies and citizenship and civic engagement.

A recipient of the Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship and an Our Time Has Come Scholar, she currently serves as president of the Student Government Association for its 70th session, having previously served as speaker of the Assembly. She represents the student body as a University Senator and as the undergraduate student representative to the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Her professional experience includes work with the New York State Democratic Party and the Onondaga County Legislature. She has been recognized with the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from the Our Time Has Come Program and the Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lieutenant Governor Award from Key Club International (2024).

As undergraduate representative to the board for the 2026-27 academic year, Castillo-Melean participates, ex officio, on the Student Experience Committee.

Undergraduate Student Representative: Asher Gonzalez ’27

Coming to Syracuse from Tampa, Florida, Asher Gonzalez is a rising senior, pursuing a dual major in television, radio and film in the Newhouse School and political science in the Maxwell School.

Gonzalez has demonstrated a strong commitment to student leadership and campus life, serving as vice president of university affairs for the Student Government Association and as the president of the Chabad House at Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He will serve as the University Senate student caucus chair for the 2026–2027 academic year. This past semester, he was one of 70 students selected globally to attend the McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character at the United States Military Academy at West Point, an honor for which he was nominated by Chancellor J. Michael Haynie.

In April 2026, Gonzalez received the 44 Stars of Excellence in Innovation: Event/Initiative Spotlight Award for leading the Universitywide Harvest Fest event in fall 2025. He is also a founding father of the Alpha Chi chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at Syracuse University, where he served as the chapter’s first external vice president. Additionally, he is a former member of the University cheerleading team, contributing to school spirit and community engagement across campus.

As undergraduate representative to the board for the 2026-27 academic year Gonzalez participates, ex officio, on the Student Experience Committee.