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Good afternoon, everyone. It’s wonderful to see you.

I’ll start with the fact that we just wrapped up a wonderful family weekend, close to 4,500 family members visiting campus. It was wonderful in large part because so many faculty and staff showed up for our students and their families.

To everyone who helped welcome those families to campus, I want to extend a thank you. For many of our first-year parents, this was the very first time they’ve had a chance to see for themselves how their student is settling in and adjusting to being on their own.

So many of you made them feel at home and welcome and supported. Building that kind of trust, it does really matter. So, I wanted to start by saying thank you.

On the topic of trust, the trust that families place in us, I want to speak briefly about sexual violence on college campuses, a topic that has been dominating the news recently.

This is a moment for us to take a hard, long look in the mirror and constructively consider the services and the resources, policies and programs that all together define this university’s approach to combating and responding to sexual violence.

I want to make very clear, I want you to know that we are doing just that.

Earlier this month, Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves, DPS Chief Michael Bunker, and the Dean of Students Sheriah Dixon sent out a campuswide message reminding our community of the resources and prevention methods and the University supportive services regarding sexual violence. That message also included an important detail about how we engage with outside law enforcement when it comes to these cases.

At the same time, I’ve asked a group of University leaders to critically review all of our protocols, processes, services and all our law enforcement relationships. That work has been ongoing. I do want to thank our colleagues in Student Experience, Public Safety, the General Counsel’s Office and Communications for their careful and thoughtful efforts in this regard. And there’ll be more to say on this topic in the future as well.

Turning to federal policy, at the last Senate meeting, Provost Agnew outlined the new earnings accountability standards that have been implemented by the federal government.

There have been many questions about this policy and how it will impact our students, our faculty and some of our programs.

For some programs, the implication of this new law could be prohibitive. As such, I want to be sure that we’ve provided all our faculty the opportunity to understand fully what this policy is, what this policy is not and what it could mean for Syracuse University.

That’s why I asked SU’s government relations team to arrange and coordinate a webinar for faculty and staff with an outside policy expert to focus on this new earnings accountability standard. All of you should have received an invitation last week to that webinar, but if not, I will remind you the webinar is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23. at 10 a.m.

Justin Monk, who is the director of Student and Institutional Aid Policy for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, will lead that webinar. He’ll explain where this rule came from, how implementation is expected to unfold and what it could mean for our programs, our students and our institutions.

We specifically asked Justin to make sure that he allows time for faculty to ask him questions as well. So, I do encourage you to join if you’re interested in this topic.

Switching gears, last month you did hear from the co-chairs of the Chancellor’s Special Committee that was appointed over the summer. Since July, that committee, co-chaired by Amber Anand and Jennifer Karas Montez, has been working through how we keep our promise to students and what we preserve, what we let go.

To everyone who has met with that team or shared your perspective, thank you. That honest feedback is what this work really needs.

The committee will deliver its recommendations to me by Nov. 15. At that point, I’ll review the report, take the opportunity to review any questions with members of the committee and, during this period, I’ll also work with the committee on a plan to share the committee’s report with the full campus. So, more to follow on that topic as well.

Simultaneous to the work of the special committee, I wanted to make you aware that later this fall, we will also initiate the process of an administrative portfolio review, somewhat akin to last year’s academic portfolio review.

The intent of this review is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the executive and administrative offices, units and functions across the University. We’re doing this because, just like it’s important to routinely review our academic enterprise, it’s just as important to make sure that our administrative enterprise is sized and organized and resourced for the university we’re building, not the university that we’ve been.

We’re in the early stages of designing that review procedure, and I’ll share more on next steps as we finalize that process.

Quick update on two important executive searches.

You’ve just discussed the provost search, so I’ll only say that I’m grateful to Provost Agnew for agreeing to serve through June 2027. I appreciate the members of this body, your partnership as we begin the process of identifying Lois’ successor.

In addition, the search for our next chief people officer is underway. This leader’s work will impact all 7,000 of our employees. With Central New York growing the way it is and the job market predicted to change dramatically over the next five years here in Central New York, we really do need an innovative HR head who knows how to attract and retain talent in what will be an increasingly competitive environment for us.

First round of virtual interviews are set to begin in mid-November, and we are on track now to select our new chief human resources officer by the 1st of January.

The search for our next chief people officer is a great segue into the final update I’d like to offer you.

When the ground beneath us shifts like it has over the past few years, I think it’s often tempting for us to first look at strategies and systems and balance sheets for our answers. These things matter without a doubt.

However, I will say in every moment of uncertainty that I have ever faced, while it might have been a plan on paper that guided my actions, it was always people that carried the day. It was their judgment when an answer wasn’t clear, or it was their commitment to the mission and each other.

All of this is for me to say that I believe our people, in the truest sense, are Syracuse University’s most valued resource. Which is why, for me, celebrating our people is not just a courtesy, it really is a responsibility.

And if I’m being candid, for a long time, I felt that Syracuse University could do a much better job in this regard.

I’m sharing this to make you aware that I’ve asked for significant changes beginning this year to many of the existing recognition programs that celebrate faculty scholarship, teaching and student excellence. Those programs will be expanded and elevated, as will the visibility of our most accomplished faculty scholars in public spaces across this campus, to include in the JMA Division.

In addition, this year we will introduce a new Universitywide recognition program very specifically for our staff. This program will include a new staff awards program and a standalone campuswide event to celebrate the distinctive contributions that staff make to our institution and to our mission.

To some, this may seem like a small thing, but I do firmly believe that institutions grow stronger when people feel authentically seen, and when we affirm that the work matters. That’s my intent here, and I wanted to share that intent with you today.

With that, I will say thank you and conclude my remarks and happily answer questions after Provost Agnew finishes her remarks.

Thank you.