Using simple objects such as stones, eggs, paper plates, colored markers and a globe, and employing techniques of light, shadow and motion, a dozen Syracuse area high schoolers are making original short films this summer using their smartphones. “” is a four-week, community-based project designed to empower the teens, give voice to their ideas and bring the skills the faculty mentors teach in their college courses to a wider circle of neighbors.

It’s co-led by , associate professor of film and media arts (FMA) in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), and G’23, FMA instructor, alongside , adjunct in photography at Onondaga Community College. The trio, whose work is internationally exhibited and renowned, is assisted by several undergraduate and graduate FMA students.

The initiative “is a way to break out of the university bubble a little bit and connect to the neighborhoods around it, creating a new web of connections between neighbors and neighborhoods so that what we do here as artists and teachers can reach more people,” Bode says.

Art + Science

This summer’s theme, “,” explores topics and skills in both art and science. Teens learn about cinematic storytelling, animation, light and shadow, film editing and creative sound design. They hear of astronomer ’s discoveries and Syracuse astronaut trips to space. They study artists’ techniques, view the century-old movie, “,” and enjoyed an enlightening field trip to the University’s to see a telescope made in 1887.

While the project informs Mišo Suchý’s research in filmmaking, a key objective is helping teen artists experience a sense of empowerment by voicing their ideas through images and public presentations, he says. “We have a lot of talented and hardworking youth in this community, and I think they have things to say. Empowering young creatives may be as simple as listening, giving your time and attention and respecting their vision.”

The project is based on the ethos of independent cinema and low-budget filmmaking minus the massive budgets of Hollywood special effects, says Mišo Suchý. “We explore how teens can use accessible filmmaking strategies to craft fantastical stories of adventure and exploration and how can they reach the moon while standing here in Syracuse,” he says. “At first, these questions may seem impossible, but that’s exactly why they require creative thinking to uncover the answers.”

Campus Feel, College Setting

Workshops occur four afternoons a week at . The campus setting helps students imagine a future college path even if they hadn’t considered one before, Lida Suchy says. “We do find that they become more comfortable with the idea of the college campus environment and can see themselves in it much more clearly.”

Participant Laniya Tillie of Nottingham High School says she has a great time making little films. “It makes me feel really good about myself. I get to jump into my creative side and actually make all the things in my head come to life. There are a lot of shows that I find comfort in. I want to create shows that help people have a comfort place.”

Shantell Shallo, a senior at Corcoran High School this fall, joined the project to make new friends after moving here recently from Georgia. “I’m usually doing things alone and I wanted to work with other people in film. [For this] you just look at the stuff you have around you, think of the idea you have and just pick up what you think will work. And if it doesn’t work, you get something else. It’s all just getting, building, thinking.” �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��

VPA film program graduate Morgan Albano ’25 is helping with the project while she applies to law schools. “It’s mostly around the ethos of building community and trying to work together to make art projects that feel fun, engaging and everybody who’s here has a chance to contribute meaningfully.”

Graduate Learning, Teaching

Assisting helps FMA alumnus Tevvon Himes G’24 and graduate student Shokoofeh Jabbari G’25, who are both pursuing film careers, learn more about how to work with young artists. ��

An international student who intends to make independent films,��Jabbari says her participation has helped boost her understanding of American culture and norms. “Working with teens, you get to know what they like to see and what this generation needs,” she says.

Mišo Suchý says working with the teens informs his filmmaking research. “What I’m trying to do is to make movies from within the community, with the community. There’s this research of collaborating and connecting what we know as filmmakers and when you start to understand the images, you start to think about the representation, you start to think about the stories. My hope is that it is kind of a dialogue.”

Community Outreach

Past projects were projected on the exterior of the with a second showing at with a public-audience question-and-answer session. This year’s films will debut Feb. 7, 2026, at the ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse and be exhibited through March 21 as part of the Syracuse Symposium series. ��

“I think whenever we show something on a screen, that’s a way of saying that it matters, that it’s worth looking at, says Bode. “And so, I hope that the teens leave with the message that their voices matter, their visions matter. And I think celebrating it on the big screen with their community is a beautiful way of doing that in a way that can be affirming and empowering.”

View the Trailer

This shows how the students work to create and previews parts of the completed film.

In addition to VPA and the University’s undergraduate research program, many local groups support the project, including the , ., , , , and , and the . The effort is funded by the regrant program administered by the , and a grant from the .

Videos captured, edited and produced by Amy Manley, senior multimedia producer

When seven students from the Department of Sport Analytics in the �� started working for the (UFL) this past winter, league officials explained the kind of data they had available and asked the students to pitch their ideas on how to use it.

One dataset tracked quarterback completion probability, and two students, Austin Ambler and Danny Baris, pitched a metric to quantify quarterback decision-making. They call it a “QB Decision Score,” and it determines if a quarterback made the right passing decision based on the predicted EPA (expected points added) of each receiver on the play.

The UFL officials overseeing the sport analytics students—Operations Manager , Senior Vice President of Technology and Vice President of Football Technology —wondered if such a model was possible, but gave Ambler and Baris the go-ahead to try.

“A week later they came back and gave us a first run-through, and we were like, wow, this is impressive,” Kilmeade says. “In our minds this was going to take the whole season. It took a week.”

Throughout the 2025 UFL season, which ran from March 28 through the championship game on June 14, the seven sport analytics majors—Ambler, Baris, Toby Halpern and Zach Seidel (who are all on schedule to graduate this December), Nolan Bruton ’26, Eleanor O’Connor ’27 and Johann Perera ’25—worked on several significant projects for the league.

In fact, many of their data analysis models were elevated to the teams and their coaches during the season, and they may eventually find their way to the NFL, which has a strong relationship with the UFL. The leagues often discuss rules innovation, technology and player development.

“This partnership (with the Falk College of Sport) has exceeded our expectations on the league side, and we’re looking forward to continuing it with as many students who want to do it,” Kilmeade says. “The students have impressed everybody we’ve gotten them in front of.”

Invaluable Experience

Kilmeade ’18 was a major in Falk College when the started in 2017. He earned a minor in sport analytics, where Department of Sport Analytics Chair was one of his professors and current Director of Corporate Partnerships and External Engagement was his advisor.

He stayed connected with Paul and Riverso throughout his early professional career with the XFL and USFL, which merged to form the UFL. When he was with the XFL, he reached out to Falk College and its about data regarding kickoffs. The students in the club charted games and their analysis led to the new kickoff rule that was first used in the XFL and adopted by the NFL before the 2024 season.

At the UFL, the league has the same issue: Lots of data, but a small staff that can’t possibly get to it all. So, Kilmeade reached out to Paul and Riverso again and it was a natural fit as UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon is a member of the , and former Syracuse University football star Daryl Johnston is the UFL’s executive vice president of football operations.

between the UFL and the Sport Analytics program marked the first time an American college or university has worked with the nation’s premier spring football league.

Paul says the experience the students gained from working with the UFL was “impossible to replicate in the classroom” as the league and students held regular meetings to discuss their projects, shared findings through visualization (charts, graphs, dashboards) and strategized on next steps.

“The main thing I got from working with the UFL was more experience working with data,” says Baris, who majors in sport analytics and statistics. “I also was able to experiment with a few types of models that I had not worked with previously, and I gained experience presenting work to people with a less analytical background.”

Game Changers

As Kilmeade says, the students hit the ground running, throwing and kicking. Other examples of their work with the UFL include a point after touchdown conversion (PAT) decision chart, onside kick alternative and game timing.

Ambler, Baris, Bruton, Halpern and Seidel were available to travel to St. Louis for the UFL’s championship weekend in mid-June. There, they capped their internship experience by staffing the Fan Fest Sportable booth, where fans used the tracking device to measure their throwing skills, and the Tech Suite, where they displayed their work from the season. Kilmeade says film producer and UFL co-owner Dany Garcia was one of the many dignitaries who were impressed by the students’ presentation.

“I was able to do projects with real-world data that were actually used/implemented by the league, and grow my technical skills and abilities by having to learn new techniques in order to accomplish some of the projects,” Ambler says. “These new skills that I learned will be able to be applied to other projects in my future roles throughout my professional career.”

To read the full story, visit the .

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics are here and representatives from the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University will have an impact on this year’s Games–and, quite possibly, future Olympic Games.

The Falk College representatives who are involved in several unique ways with the Olympics and Paralympics include current Falk students Dan Griffiths and Livia McQuade, Department of Sport Management Associate Professor Jeeyoon “Jamie” Kim, and Sport Management graduates and former Syracuse University student-athletes Freddie Crittenden III ’17, Kristen Siermachesky�� ’21 and Lysianne Proulx ’21.

Here are their stories:

Student: Dan Griffiths

At Syracuse University and now with the U.S. Track and Field team (), sport analytics major Dan Griffiths��’26 is helping to revolutionize how performance data is collected and analyzed.

When Griffiths started working with the Syracuse track and field and cross country teams before the 2023-24 academic year, the teams weren’t utilizing a data-gathering system. But the student-athletes were using Garmin wearables to track their own data, so Griffiths built his own application and a tool that transported all of their data into his application, which then created spreadsheets he used to analyze that data.

With Griffiths’ help, the Syracuse women’s cross country team won its since 2011. Throughout the academic year, Griffiths conducted and presented his research at various national competitions and conferences, including the (he was runner-up in sport analytics research), and the inaugural Sport, Entertainment and Innovation Conference () last week in Las Vegas.

Griffiths’ success at Syracuse and his interest in track and field led to his connection with USATF, which gave him the freedom to explore his areas of interest. Using a combination of the latest technology, Griffiths helped create three-dimensional models to best understand an athlete’s musculoskeletal forces.

“For throwers (discus, shotput, javelin), my work focused on using a pose estimation model to detect patterns that could be linked to longer, more powerful throws,” Griffiths says. “For sprinters and distance runners, I used pose estimation data to monitor overtraining and track progress throughout the season and before meets.

“I also conducted extensive research for multi-event athletes in the heptathlon and decathlon,” he adds. “This research aimed to understand how fatigue affects scoring in multi-events and how different training sequences can reduce fatigue.”

Griffiths shared his work with the coaches, and at least two of the athletes he analyzed will be participating in the Olympics: javelin thrower Curtis Thompson and 400-meter runner Alexis Holmes. During his time with USATF, Griffiths traveled to the New York City Grand Prix Meet–the final meet for track and field athletes before the U.S. Olympic Trials–and the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

“The thing we think about every morning is ‘How can we win another gold medal today?’”��Griffiths says. “Having the opportunity to combine everything I’ve learned and truly be a trailblazer and innovator for USATF and those athletes, especially in a track and field biomechanics context, has made me uber-passionate about the work we are doing at Syracuse and the future of AI/analytics and sports.”

The track and field events run Aug. 1-11.

Student: Livia McQuade

Livia McQuade ’25 is a sport management major and sport event management minor who has spent this summer in Loveland, Colorado, as an athlete relations intern with . Olympus is a management and marketing agency that provides top sponsorship opportunities and marketing strategies for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

In her role, McQuade has interfaced with athletes from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams and their partners, and with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other national governing bodies. Her projects have included reviewing contracts, building athletes’ personal websites and organizing outlines for athletes’ speaking engagements.

“I’ve had a truly incredible experience within the Olympic and Paralympic Movement–during a Games year of all times!” McQuade says. “Through it all, I’ve had the privilege to work with some of sport’s most impactful Olympians and Paralympians, including Apolo Ohno, Jessica Long, Noah Elliott, Sarah Adam, Alex and Gretchen Walsh, Alex Ferreira and Steve Serio.”

McQuade, the executive vice president of the in Falk College and co-chair of the club’s 2024 , says she wants to work with the Olympic and Paralympic movement following graduation and this internship has been an invaluable step in that process. Her experience with Olympus will continue in September, when she’ll attend the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to serve as a resource for U.S. athletes, their families, and their sponsors. The Paralympic Games run from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.

“I could not be more grateful and excited,” McQuade says of her upcoming experience in Paris. “My leadership (at Olympus Sports Group)–Ian Beck and ’16–have thrown extraordinary opportunities my way, and they will remain valuable mentors long into my career.”

Proulx is Team Canada’s third-choice goalkeeper, meaning she will be activated if either the starting or backup goalkeeper is injured. Although she didn’t start at Syracuse until her junior season, Proulx recorded the fourth-most saves (281), second-most saves per game (5.3) and seventh-most shutouts (eight) in program history.

At the heart of academia, humanities faculty conduct vital work, exploring the depths of human experience, history and culture. The (NEH), an independent federal agency established in 1965, stands as a key supporter of these efforts. In April alone, the NEH�� announced $26.2 million in grants for .

As a leading funder of humanities programs, including several recent grants to faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the NEH plays a pivotal role in bolstering the work of humanities scholars, educators and students. Through grants to cultural institutions, scholars and educational initiatives, NEH promotes research, preserves cultural heritage and fosters lifelong learning.

NEH Makes an Inaugural Visit to CNY Humanities Corridor

The arrival of , senior program officer in the division of research for the NEH, marked a milestone for humanities scholars across Central New York. Sponsored by the , the March 1 event at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center saw 137 registrants, demonstrating a need and eagerness to hear Kinkela’s insight and guidance on crafting competitive applications for agency funding. Her presentation provided attendees with invaluable knowledge about the NEH evaluation process.

, associate provost for strategic initiatives, gave welcome remarks and noted the significance of the event, stating, “This was such an important opportunity for all in the humanities and beyond. We will continue to elevate the importance of the work being done across our corridor community.”

As part of the visit, Kinkela engaged in one-on-one afternoon consultations for individuals with existing projects under development.

“Having the opportunity to engage with Claudia Kinkela one-on-one was incredibly valuable,” says , associate professor of English. “Her personalized feedback has not only helped me refine our NEH proposal but also provided me with a deeper understanding of the overall landscape of public funding for the humanities.”

Hailing from 22 regional institutions, the gathering included registrants not only from institutions of higher education, but also representatives from local nonprofit organizations including the , the and . All 11 corridor institutions were in attendance, signaling a unified interest and commitment to advancing the humanities together. Academic institutions within the corridor include Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Rochester, Colgate University, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Skidmore College, St. Lawrence University, Union College, Le Moyne College, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. The provided additional support for the event.

Instrumental in securing this important senior NEH officer site visit was , associate director for research development in the humanities at Syracuse University. Together with her corridor colleagues, including Aimee Germain, program manager for the CNY Humanities Corridor and Vivian May, professor and director of the Syracuse University Humanities Center, Workman led the development of the event’s robust programming and brought the event to fruition.

Michael “Mike” Falcone ’57 often said he was of entrepreneurs, and when he passed away on April 10, 2024, accolades poured in for the man who helped develop millions of square feet of office buildings, shopping centers, assisted living centers, hotels and urban mixed used projects throughout the nation.

, representing thousands of companies, chambers of commerce and professional and trade associations, observed his “passion for the state’s business community and vision for growing the economy.”

(OHA) had previously honored the Falcone family with the OHA Medal Award, noting a “generational legacy of entrepreneurship that literally and figuratively built the Syracuse community.”

Falcone was also deeply committed to his alma mater. He earned a bachelor’s degree in real estate from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and carved a career in real estate development that impacted the University (building graduate student housing at an early point in his career) and its surroundings. He served the Board of Trustees as a voting trustee from 1995 to 2009, and later as a life trustee participant on the Board Facilities Committee. Falcone was also a member on the Whitman School of Management Advisory Council. In 1992, he was awarded the Whitman School’s Jonathan J. Holtz Alumnus of the Year.

Well before he attended Syracuse University, at the age of 16, Falcone began a real estate career, inspired by his family’s successes in business. “It didn’t surprise me to learn that Mike was the youngest licensed real estate salesman in New York state,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “He loved developing and enhancing communities, and he was dedicated to the idea of inspiring that kind of passion in future generations of students.”

He and his late wife, Noreen, were fundamental to the creation of the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises program. They established the Michael J. Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises and the Michael J. Falcone Endowment Fund for Entrepreneurship and were early supporters of the Whitman School’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program.

Falcone’s goal was to boost entrepreneurial activity on campus and in the region, providing funding for a center that provides valuable resources and advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. The Falcone family also created the Falcone Chair in Real Estate.

Falcone was an influential real estate developer throughout Upstate New York spanning from the early 1960s. In his early years as a real estate broker for Egan Real Estate in Syracuse, he started buying small rental properties, improving them, and eventually selling them. After serving in the Air Force Reserve, he began purchasing and redeveloping shopping centers throughout Upstate New York. In 1969, he and classmate Robert Congel from Christian Brothers Academy formed the Pyramid Companies, building shopping centers, warehouses, office buildings and student apartments throughout the Northeast.

Less than a decade later, Falcone started his own development company, the Pioneer Group, the predecessor to today’s , a property management and development company headquartered in Syracuse whose projects have included master-planned industrial parks, stand-alone rehabilitation centers, new-urbanist living communities, suburban office parks, downtown office buildings, high-rise mixed-use developments, lifestyle shopping centers and various senior housing and hospitality products. After stepping back from his role as chairman, Falcone became chairman emeritus, described by the company as an “engaged advisor on our existing portfolio as well as new investment opportunities.”

Falcone and his wife, Noreen, who died in May 2021, were well-known throughout Syracuse and Skaneateles because of their civic involvement and philanthropy. They lived most of their lives together in Central New York, and, for many years, had a home in North Palm Beach, Florida, where Falcone passed away. They took great pleasure in grape-growing and wine-making through their involvement in Hobbit Hollow Vineyard in Skaneateles, which grows Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes and serves as a grower for Heart & Hands Wine Company, Union Springs, New York, among others.

Their portfolio of philanthropic initiatives include the David B. Falk College��of Sport and Human Dynamics, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the WAER public media organization. They also supported Le Moyne College, Christian Brothers Academy, Skaneateles Festival, The Skaneateles Lake Association, the Finger Lakes Land Trust, The Everson Museum, Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, Syracuse Symphony and Opera, and Francis House.

Some of Michael’s awards include the Syracuse Mayor’s Achievement Award, the Boy Power Distinguished Citizen Award, Temple Adath Yeshurun Citizen of the Year Award and the Post-Standard Achievement Award.

Falcone (who was known to his closest friends as Mickey) was also an avid traveler, hunter, golfer, skier (he skied into his 80s) and could be seen often rowing his Adirondack boat on Skaneateles Lake.�� He was also an enthusiastic fan of horse racing.

Falcone is survived by his children��Michael,��Mark, Michelle and Melissa; 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Three of his grandchildren are Syracuse University alumni: Olivia L. Falcone ’14 (College of Arts and Sciences), Michael J. Falcone ’15 (Falk College) and Gabriella Drumm��’22 (College of Arts and Sciences).

An award-winning journalist, a hall of fame basketball coach, a nationally recognized library conservationist, a global financial executive and a renowned computer scientist will be recognized with honorary degrees from Syracuse University at the 2024 Commencement on Sunday, May 12, at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Hilton Als, writer at The New Yorker; Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73, former Syracuse men’s basketball coach and special assistant to the director of athletics; husband and wife, William “Bill” Brodsky ’65, L’68, chairman of a specialized investment firm and an investment management firm, and Joan Breier Brodsky ’67, G’68, a National Museum and Library Services Board member; and Lynn Conway, inventor of methods for designing Very Large Scale Integrated silicon chips, will be honored for their outstanding achievements in their professional careers and the difference they have made in the lives of others.

Hilton Als
Doctor of Letters

Als is an award-winning journalist, critic and curator. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1994. Prior to The New Yorker, Als was a staff writer for the Village Voice and an editor-at-large at Vibe. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism (2017), Yale’s Windham-Campbell Literature Prize (2016), the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism (2002-03) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2000).

His first book, “The Women,” was published in 1996. His next book, “White Girls,” was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the winner of the Lambda Literary Award in 2014. His most recent book, “My Pinup,” a meditation on love and of loss, of Prince and of desire, was published in November 2022.

In 2017, he curated the critically lauded exhibition “Alice Neel, Uptown,” which traveled from David Zwirner, New York, to Victoria Miro, London and Venice. In 2019, Als presented “God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin” at David Zwirner, New York, followed by Frank Moore at, David Zwirner, New York (2021) and Toni Morrison’s “Black Book,” at David Zwirner, New York (2022). He curated a series of three successive exhibitions for the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, of the work of Celia Paul (2018), Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (2019) and Njideka Akunyili Crosby (2022). In 2022, he curated “Joan Didion: What She Means” at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, which traveled to the Perez Art Museum Miami in 2023. He curated Jared Buckhiester “No heaven, no how,” which opened March 2024 at the David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles.

Als is currently a teaching professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and has also taught at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, Princeton University, Wesleyan University and the Yale School of Drama.

Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73
Doctor of Humane Letters

Hall of Fame member Jim Boeheim had a remarkable run as head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse University. Boeheim guided the Orange to winning records in 46 of 47 campaigns. Syracuse made 35 trips into the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four appearances in 1987, 1996, 2003, 2013 and 2016. The Orange won the national championship in 2003. Boeheim retired from coaching after the 2023 season but continues to work for the University.

Boeheim was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. He was also honored with the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” Award.

Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962 and was a walk-on with the basketball team. The Orange were 22-6 overall his senior year and earned the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament berth. He earned a bachelor’s from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a master’s from the Maxwell School. In 1969 he turned to a career in coaching and was hired as a graduate assistant at Syracuse. In 1976, he was named head coach.

A four-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Boeheim has been honored as NABC District II Coach of the Year 10 times and USBWA District II Coach of the Year on four occasions. In the fall of 2000, he received Syracuse University’s Arents Award, the school’s highest alumni honor.

Boeheim was named 2001 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. He has served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic teams that won gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and the World Cup in 2010 and 2014.

A champion of many charitable causes, Boeheim and his wife started the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation with the goal of enriching the lives of kids in need.

Joan Breier Brodsky ’67, G’68
Doctor of Humane Letters

Joan Brodsky graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1967 with a bachelor’s in Latin language and literature and went on to graduate from the School of Information Studies (formerly the School of Library Science) in 1968 with a master of science degree.

Joan is passionate and knowledgeable about rare book and cultural heritage conservation and has been active nationally for many years, including sitting on the board of the Newberry Library in Chicago, as a Trustee for the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library, as well as the library advisory board of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She also served on the Advisory Board for the School of Information Studies and has been a member of the Syracuse University Libraries Advisory Board since its founding.

In 2022, Joan was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Museum and Library Services Board, which advises the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the largest federal funder of America’s museums, libraries and related organizations through grantmaking, research and policy development.

At Syracuse University, she is the founder and sponsor of the Brodsky Series for Advancement of Library Conservation. This sponsored program promotes and advances knowledge of library conservation theory, practice and application among wide audiences, both on campus, in the region and now online. This is an annual lecture series and workshop on book and paper conservation now in its 19th year.

In 2022, she and her husband Bill, a Syracuse University life trustee, funded the Conservation Lab in the Bird library and the Joan Breier Brodsky Media Preservation Vault in honor of Joan’s commitment to the preservation and conservation at the Bird Library.

Joan and Bill have been married for 57 years and reside in Chicago.

William “Bill” Brodsky ’65, L’68
Doctor of Laws

Bill is chairman of Cedar Street Asset Management, LLC, an investment management firm devoted to investing in equity securities in international markets, and chairman of Bosun Asset Management, a specialized investment firm.

During his combined 35-year career at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), he was recognized as a global leader in the development of the future and options markets. His contributions to Chicago’s futures and options markets were a major factor in Chicago’s becoming the world’s preeminent city for the futures and options markets.

Bill served as chairman of the CBOE Holdings Inc. now known as CBOE Global Markets and its predecessor firms between 1997 and 2017. He also served as the chief executive officer of the CBOE from 1997 to 2013. During his CBOE tenure, he served as the chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges and the International Options Market Association. From 1985 to 1997, he was president and CEO at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Bill, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School and a law degree from the College of Law, began his career in 1968 at the Wall Street-based investment banking and securities brokerage firm of Model, Roland and Co. Inc. In 1974, he joined the American Stock Exchange and ultimately was executive vice president for operations.

In 1982, he became executive vice president and chief operating officer of the CME. In 1985, he was appointed president and CEO of the CME.

In 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker named him to co-chair the newly formed State’s Pension Consolidation Feasibility Task Force. In 2022, he was inducted into “The Order of Lincoln,” the state’s highest honor for professional achievement and public service.

Brodsky is chair emeritus of the board of directors of Navy Pier Inc., one of Chicago’s most iconic cultural destinations, and past chair of the board of directors of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Brodsky was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2022 to the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms.

Lynn Conway
Doctor of Science

Conway is a renowned computer scientist who revolutionized global information technology by inventing methods for designing Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) silicon chips. Her work paved the way for the powerful microchips that animate modern high-technology systems.

As a young engineer at IBM Research in the 1960s, Conway made pioneering innovations in computer architecture. Sadly, IBM fired her in 1968 upon learning she was undergoing gender transition. She restarted her career in a new identity in “stealth-mode” after completing her transition.

While working at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, Conway innovated breakthrough methods that enabled engineers to design very powerful, complex chips. In 1980, Conway’s seminal textbook “Introduction to VLSI Systems,” co-authored by Caltech Professor Carver Mead, became an instant classic, forever transforming computing and information technology. Professor John V. Oldfield brought the new VLSI methods into Syracuse right at the beginning of that revolution.

In the early 1980s, Conway became assistant director for strategic computing at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In 1985 she joined the University of Michigan as professor of electrical engineering and computer science and associate dean of engineering.

When nearing retirement in 1999 she began quietly coming out as a trans woman, using her new to share her story with friends and colleagues. Conway became active in transgender advocacy.

In 2012 Conway published a that revealed how—closeted and hidden behind the scenes—she conceived the ideas and orchestrated the events that disruptively changed global industries.

Conway is a life fellow of the IEEE, fellow of the AAAS, winner of Computer Pioneer Award of the IEEE Computer Society, member of the Hall of Fellows of the Computer History Museum, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and holds five honorary degrees. In 2023 she was inducted into the for the invention of VLSI. She was awarded the by the and the .

In 2020, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on behalf of the company for back in 1968. the IBM Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Students in the are getting a taste of what it’s like to take a script for a Hollywood movie from the development stage to the big screen.

A new immersive learning opportunity lets students pitch ideas about actors, directors and producers to senior executives in the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The executives are also getting feedback on their scripts through virtual conversations with the students. This learning experience is all part of a capstone course this fall for TRF students interested in careers as executives in media, entertainment or the arts.

The collaboration is spearheaded by Erin Westerman ’04, president of production of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, and , a TRF assistant professor. Conversations about the idea started when Westerman returned to her alma mater in May to at the Newhouse Convocation Ceremony for the 2023 graduating class.

“We wanted to offer Syracuse students real feedback to projects they are developing and workshopping,” Westerman said. “Access can lead to opportunity and this class offered real insight from executives who are working in the business.”

It’s the latest example of experiential learning opportunities that Newhouse has developed for Syracuse University students in the TRF executive track. Other experiences this semester included a class trip to the Toronto Film Festival to screen movies, learn from industry veterans and network with filmmakers, as well as Newhouse visits from Robert Halmi ’79, founder and chairman of Great Point Studios, and Joseph Cohen, president of American Entertainment Investors and author of “Investing in Movies: Strategies for Investors and Producers.”

Lionsgate Motion Picture executives Brady Fujikawa and Chelsea Kujawa, as well as department coordinator Alex Tannebaum, have also been instrumental in implementing the studio’s collaboration for the TRF executive track course.

“All of these experiences culminate with students interacting with Lionsgate executives to pitch scripts they have in active development,” Hamilton said.

“Students must identify the actors, directors and producers that they think would be the most compelling talent choices to transform their project or literary property into a greenlighted success story and present a compelling business and creative analysis for their project,” he added.

While pitching to studio executives might sound intimidating, senior Samantha Meir said the process was conversational, though preparation was key. The TRF major hopes to draw from the experience as she builds toward a career of working at a talent agency to represent television writers.

“The partnership has been really helpful for us to get a more present view (of the entertainment field) from current executives,” Meir said. “They’ve been able to give us a lot of valuable insight on where the industry is going.”

Mia Rodriguez, a TRF senior minoring in theater, said she appreciated the feedback that students received about realistically making cast pitches according to budget. The Lionsgate interaction, coupled with the trip to Toronto, also helped students focus on the business side of the industry and practice their networking skills, which will be important to hone as they enter the entertainment field.

“It was really nice to be able to take this kind of class, especially as someone who wants to enter the business side of the industry,” she said.�� Rodriguez, who wants to go into the music industry, is thinking about specializing in copyright law.

The foray into motion picture development with a major Hollywood studio comes on the heels of Newhouse offering students another immersive opportunity in the field of talent representation. launched a robust partnership for Hamilton’s artist representation training course in 2022, which includes in-person instruction from the company’s agents.

Students spent a day at UTA’s New York City headquarters in the Fall 2023 semester, learning from seasoned agents and executives representing clients in music, television and broadcast news. The students also spent part of the day pitching the agency on talent they’ve tracked and who they believe the company should represent, in addition to networking with Newhouse alums working at UTA.

In 2022, Newhouse also launched a partnership with Halmi’s Great Point Studios to offer internships for TRF students enrolled in the program. Lionsgate has also partnered with Great Point Studios on three production facilities in cities including Yonkers, Atlanta and Newark.