, associate professor of writing and rhetoric in the (A&S), has been awarded the $10,000 Syracuse Prize from CNY Arts. Berry was recognized for his work with , a community-engaged writing and multimodal publishing initiative that supports incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.

The inaugural Syracuse Prize honors community members who have made significant contributions to the cultural vitality and civic life of the City of Syracuse. Berry accepted the award at a ceremony on May 14, with the recognition receiving coverage from regional media outlets, including �����Ի���.

Founded by Berry in 2022, Project Mend is an open-access national archive developed in partnership with the  in Syracuse. The initiative centers the creative and scholarly work of people directly impacted by incarceration, offering paid editorial and design apprenticeships that provide participants with professional skills and pathways to future opportunity.

“I believe the arts should be accessible to everyone, including those rebuilding their lives after prison,” says Berry. “Initiatives like Project Mend remind us that creativity, storytelling and multimodal publishing are powerful forms of education, healing and community.”

A central component of the initiative is “Mend,” a print and digital journal that publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art by incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. This spring, Project Mend celebrated the release of “Mend’s” , marking a significant milestone in the project’s continued growth and national reach.

Project Mend also serves as a high-impact experiential learning site for students. Many students first encounter the project through Berry’s courses in A&S and continue through internships and apprenticeships, translating their work with “Mend” into career pathways in publishing, communications, social services, nonprofit leadership and graduate study.

The Syracuse Prize is the latest in a series of honors recognizing Berry’s leadership on Project Mend. In 2025, he received the Outstanding College–Community Partnership Award from the Coalition for Community Writing, which recognized Project Mend’s collaborative and reciprocal engagement with justice-impacted communities. Berry has also received support through the University’s Office of Research’s Good to Great Grant Program, which supports high-impact initiatives with strong potential for national reach.

Additional funding has come from a Humanities New York Post-Incarceration Humanities Partnership, supported by the Mellon Foundation and the CNY Humanities Corridor. On campus, the project is further supported by the Engaged Humanities Network, the Humanities Center, the SOURCE, Syracuse University Libraries and the Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition.

As the initiative continues to expand, so do opportunities for innovative forms of engagement. In spring 2026, Berry launched “,” a podcast that offers members of the team a space to reflect on themes explored in “Mend.” The first episode, released in March and titled “Mental Health and Solidarity in Prison,” was inspired by Rebekha Nilsen’s 2026 “Mend” article “,” extending the essay’s exploration of loss, care and resistance through collective conversation.

Berry is also developing a book, “Literacy and the Humanities After Prison,” which examines how literacy and humanities-based practices shape the lives of people impacted by the criminal legal system.

The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) mourns the passing of Meredith Lillich, professor emerita of art history, who died on March 18, 2026, at the age of 94. A member of the University’s faculty for more than four decades, Lillich was an internationally recognized scholar of medieval stained glass, a dedicated teacher and mentor and a foundational figure in the modern study of Gothic art.

Born in Chicago, Lillich demonstrated an early devotion to intellectual pursuits. After double majoring in English and art history at Oberlin College and graduating in 1953, she traveled to Europe on a Fulbright fellowship, taking part in a formative abroad experience that sparked what would become her life’s scholarly focus: medieval stained glass.

Lillich would go on to earn a master’s degree in art history from Cornell University in 1957 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1969. While finishing her dissertation, “The Stained Glass of Saint-Père de Chartres,” she joined the A&S faculty in 1968. She remained at the University until her retirement in 2010, shaping generations of students and playing a central role in establishing A&S as a hub for research and teaching on medieval art.

Her research took her frequently to Europe, where she was known for her determination and fearlessness in the field. Undeterred by cramped staircases, great heights or the less hospitable corners of medieval buildings, Lillich, her , climbed into hard-to-reach spaces in churches (i.e., triforia, towers and clerestory levels) to study stained glass up close. These efforts yielded landmark publications, including “The Armor of Light: Stained Glass in Western France, 1250–1325” and “The Gothic Stained Glass of Reims Cathedral,” along with numerous influential articles.

Among her many honors, Lillich received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, the National Gallery of Art’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies and multiple Fulbright awards. At Syracuse, she was recognized with the Wasserstrom Prize for Outstanding Graduate Teaching (1987), the Arts and Sciences Special Service Award for Service to Field (1989) and the Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement (1999).

, Distinguished Professor of Art History and Chair of the  in A&S, recalls Lillich’s immense scholarly stature and international reputation. “Her colleagues used to call her the ‘Queen Bee of Medieval Art,’ and for good reason,” Franits says. “Meredith received prestigious academic recognition abroad, particularly in France, where her scholarship was widely respected and influential.”

Beyond her scholarly achievements, Lillich was deeply revered as a mentor, and her influence extended far beyond Syracuse through the students she trained. Former student , now an associate professor of medieval art history at the University of Virginia, credits Lillich with shaping both his intellectual orientation and professional ethos. “I affectionately refer to Meredith as my ‘medieval momma,’” he says. “Her model of academic excellence, devotion to family and research output are a model for anyone to follow. Her passion for stained glass studies was unrivaled.”

Her colleagues and former students describe Lillich as a scholar whose curiosity was tireless. By understanding both the people behind the art and the meaning embedded in their work, Lillich believed society could gain deeper insight into the cultures that shaped these artworks and the values they still reflect.

Lillich’s expertise made her a sought-after authority worldwide. She was a central and foundational figure in the American chapter of the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi, an international scholarly initiative devoted to the study, documentation and preservation of medieval stained glass. Her influential work on subjects such as Cistercian grisaille, band windows (which are clerestory windows featuring horizontal narrative strips) and collaborative research at institutions including the Corning Museum of Glass continues to shape the field. Colleagues across the discipline described her as “fiercely brilliant,” a “force of nature,” and one of the founding mothers of American stained-glass scholarship.

Meredith Lillich leaves behind a legacy of rigorous research and devoted teaching. Her influence endures not only through her work and students, but also through her family. She is survived by two daughters, Victoria A. Lillich and Olivia P.L. Hilton; and four grandchildren, Rebecca Lillich Krüger, Miles Hilton (Lis Meiss), Rupert Krüger and Aaron Hilton (Enjolique).

, director of research development for the arts and humanities in the and the (A&S), has been recognized with the 2026 Innovation Award from the (NORDP).

The award recognizes professionals who advance research development through partnerships, new tools and techniques or the creation and sharing of knowledge that produces demonstrable results. Workman and her NORDP colleague, Allison DeVries of Chapman University, received the award in recognition of the evolution of the (CASSH) affinity group, which they founded in 2022. The group, which has grown to more than 150 NORDP members across the country, helps them marshal and create collective resources and share best practices, case studies and challenges in support of faculty in the humanities, creative arts and social sciences areas.

“I’m honored to receive this award and proud to have had a part in bringing the CASSH group together four years ago when it seemed rare to have a designated arts and humanities research development staff member housed in an R1 institution,” Workman says. The group has gained momentum “because higher education recognizes the value of this support nationwide as integral to the national research landscape and vital to an individual institution’s research ecosystem,” she says.

Workman came to Syracuse in 2019 and built a dedicated arts and humanities research development infrastructure from scratch. She now connects with more than 200 faculty across eight schools and colleges and partners with and several University-affiliated arts organizations.

Beyond campus, she is part of the , an 11-university consortium for collaborative research, teaching and programming. She co-leads its HF4 Corridor Futures and Initiatives working group with program manager Aimee Germain to offer professional development opportunities for faculty.

Impact on Faculty and Funding

Prior to Workman’s arrival, scholars navigated grant funding alone or through informal networks, often missing critical opportunities, says , senior director of research development in the Office of Research, who co-nominated Workman for the award.

She says Workman has contributed to faculty winning prestigious awards, including summer stipends, a and a grant. Workman has also supported a fellowship, an digital justice grant and several successful applications.

In 2025, Workman supported 64 grant proposals seeking $44 million in funding. She recently helped nine arts faculty and five organizations secure awards, making Syracuse the only university in the state to receive multiple awards in that cycle, Chianese says.

, professor of women’s and gender studies and director of the Syracuse University Humanities Center and the Central New York Humanities Corridor, says Workman’s Corridor support has deepened scholarly community across the region and has had significant impact on Syracuse faculty success.

“Sarah has been instrumental in several prestigious Mellon awards, including our first and ensuing New Directions fellowships and many other highly competitive awards and grants,” says May, who co-nominated Workman for the award. “Many of these awards have been substantial enough to transform individual career trajectories and drive transformational work at the University and in  wider communities locally and nationally.” May says faculty frequently remark about how much they enjoy collaborating with Workman and appreciate her support.

, assistant professor of music history and cultures in A&S, credits Workman with helping her secure a , a first for Syracuse among 200 competing institutions. “I am deeply grateful for her thoughtful engagement with my research and for helping make its relevance accessible to a broader interdisciplinary readership,” Peñate says.

, associate professor in women’s and gender studies in A&S, says Workman’s guidance “proved instrumental in shaping two grant proposals into competitive, fundable projects. Her careful feedback led to key revisions that directly contributed to securing a major award from a private funder. In a context of shrinking funding, Sarah’s leadership has been indispensable for the success of humanities’ interdisciplinary, social justice-centered research.”

While Workman focuses on the arts and humanities, the Office of Research supports faculty across disciplines through a broader research development team. Researchers across campus partner with team members on proposal development, funding searches, cohort writing programs for competitive federal awards and strategic guidance on funding opportunities. Faculty interested in support for their projects can learn more about .

The School of Architecture has announced that architect is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2026–27. Sola will succeed current fellow, Tiffany Xu and become the eleventh fellow in the program’s history.

The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of Architecture—established in early 2015 in memory of Harry der Boghosian ’54 by his sister Paula der Boghosian ’64—is a year-long residency designed to give emerging independent creatives the opportunity to spend a year developing a body of design research based on an area of interest while teaching at the School of Architecture.

Fellows play a significant role at the school by enhancing student instruction and faculty discourse, while supporting both research and the development of research-related curriculum relevant to architectural education and practice.

As the 2026–27 Harry der Boghosian Fellow, Sola will develop a year-long body of design research centered on time, finitude, maintenance and architecture’s relation to absence. His investigation will examine how architecture enters duration, how it persists through maintenance and transformation and how buildings might anticipate their own disappearance as part of their conception.

Drawing from a reading of absence against essence, the fellowship will ask how architecture can be understood through exposure, use, alteration and withdrawal, allowing form to register an awareness of its own lifespan. The research is informed by construction cultures in which adaptation and transformation often take precedence over permanence, and where continuity is secured through ongoing modification.

During the fall semester, Sola will teach a seminar focused on maintenance as a cultural, spatial and expressive practice. The course will examine repair, replacement, weathering, material aging and protocols of intervention as forces that reshape existing structures and sustain them over time. Students will consider how these operations can become drivers of architectural expression and use, positioning maintenance as a generative design framework.

In the spring, Sola will lead a studio and companion seminar organized around the design and production of a single field object. Developed at one-to-one scale and deployed either in Latin America or the United States, the object will operate as a built research instrument, testing how architecture can register environmental force, logistical conditions, civic use and temporal change through direct construction.

Investigating ‘Geometries of Tendency’

Sola’s year-long investigation will connect seminar, studio and built work through a sustained investigation into what he describes as “geometries of tendency,” where form emerges through pressures, inclinations, durations and the productive incompletion of architecture over time.

“Moving between research and deployment, the year will test architecture as protocol, artifact and field condition at once, seeking precision through measured engagement with finitude, withdrawal, territories and the cultural life of construction,” says Sola.

Like the ten previous Boghosian Fellows, Sola will work closely not only with faculty and students at the School of Architecture but will also explore interdisciplinary collaborations within the University and its various centers and colleges, while also anchoring fieldwork to nearby landscapes such as Onondaga Lake and Green Lakes State Park.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dennis Sola as the next Harry der Boghosian Fellow,” says School of Architecture Dean Michael Speaks. “His work challenges conventional ideas of permanence in architecture and will offer our students an extraordinary opportunity to engage questions of construction, adaptation and change through both research and making.”

Prior to joining Syracuse Architecture, Sola co-founded and led Ídem, a former Quito-based architectural practice whose residential work unfolded across the Andean highlands and rainforests of Ecuador, while its cultural and infrastructural projects engaged Quito and other territories. These projects shaped a practice attentive to logistics, construction protocols, material duration, environmental exposure and the temporal life of buildings. Sola’s work has been featured internationally and exhibited.

Sola earned his architecture degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and holds a master’s in architecture II from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

The Boghosian Fellowship has helped the School of Architecture attract the best and the brightest emerging professors. Previous fellows include Maya Alam (2016–17), Linda Zhang (2017–18), James Leng (2018–19), Benjamin Vanmuysen (2019–20), Liang Wang (2020–21), Leen Katrib (2021–22), Lily Chishan Wong (2022–23), Christina Chi Zhang (2023–24), Erin Cuevas (2024–25) and Tiffany Xu (2026–27).

To learn more about the Harry der Boghosian Fellowship, visit the .

With an extraordinary and unique gift valued at more than $1.2 million, the School of Design in the is likely to become a travel destination for fashion researchers, haute couture designers and sewing enthusiasts worldwide. The school has received thousands of stunning designer garments, books, patterns and accessories that once belonged to an iconic figure in the fashion industry: Claire B. Shaeffer.

Shaeffer’s career path, from aspiring circus performer to couture expert and educator, is fascinating. Her relationship with Syracuse University is equally intriguing, given that it began when she was 80 years old after she reached out to a professor who shared her passion “for reading garments,” including every stitch, hem and buttonhole.

“Claire was all about delving one layer deeper to understand and show how each garment was constructed,” says Jeffrey Mayer, professor of fashion design and coordinator for the fashion design program. Shaeffer reached out to Mayer after seeing a book he co-authored, “Vintage Details: A Fashion Sourcebook,” which documents 160 garments found within the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection at Syracuse University.

Shaeffer was impressed by the detailed photography, from hems to buttons. She told Mayer she wanted her next book to have similar photography. “That’s what fascinated Claire, how things were created,” Mayer says. “She went down rabbit holes to understand every detail of design.”

A Collection of Garments, Patterns and Books

Shaeffer’s relationship with Mayer blossomed, and when she began to think seriously of where she might want her collection of more than 2,500 garments, patterns and books to end up after her lifetime, she chose Syracuse University, a teaching institution where students could learn from the study of each garment and pattern.

Shaeffer began her own studies in fashion design in the early 1960s after initially exploring the idea of circus performance. Proficient in acrobatics, she enrolled in the circus curriculum at Florida State University after high school. Her broad shoulders and slight build made it difficult to find clothes that fit, so she began to sew her own wardrobe. After realizing that basic patterns just wouldn’t fit her frame, she switched her academic interests and professional pursuits, turning a fascination with detail into a distinguished career.

Throughout her life, Shaeffer collected examples of haute couture and designer ready-to-wear and studied others in museum collections, design workrooms and factories. She excelled at the analysis of garment construction details and sewing techniques.

Shaeffer taught classes at the College of the Desert in Palm Springs, gave workshops, wrote dozens of magazine articles and books, developed instructional videos, had her own , and created the Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture Collection of patterns for Vogue Patterns. She received the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Sewing Guild Sewing Hall of Fame Award.

A Dedication to Precision

Mayer was a former designer of women’s wear himself and a specialist in 20th-century fashion and construction techniques. He knew of Shaeffer’s history and stature, but never foresaw working so closely with this icon of industry. Given his personal history, though, it seemed destined. Mayer was the son of a seamstress.

“I would sneak into my mother’s room and, at the age of 6, I would start cutting out patterns,” Mayer says. When his mother saw him so engaged with very pointy scissors, she told him: ‘If you’re going to do this, you’re going to do this right.’”

Similarly, Shaeffer taught countless students of fashion how to do things right and came to believe that Syracuse University’s program was similarly dedicated.

Before her passing in January 2025, she had shipped close to 1,000 pieces from her collection to the school. Afterward, Mayer and Kirsten Schoonmaker, fashion design collections manager, flew out to Palm Springs and worked with Shaeffer’s sons to pack up another 1,500 pieces.

The gift perfectly matched the mission of the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection and Research Center: “…to provide the University and broader community with access to exemplary garments and accessories that reflect high standards of craftsmanship, design and stylistic significance. With a sustained focus on the object itself and its material, structural, and aesthetic integrity the collections advance the preservation, study and interpretation of these works.”

Pieces of History

Among the many works that will be available for study is a Chanel suit recognized around the world and a part of American history. It is the “twin” of the suit worn by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

There are dozens of Chanel pieces in the collection, along with pieces by many other iconic designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Givenchy and McQueen, and such American designers as Adrian, Norman Norell, James Galanos, Geoffrey Beene and Bill Blass.

“This collection is a unique gem,” says Michael Tick, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “Its value is truly priceless. I had the pleasure to visit with Claire and her late husband many times in Palm Springs. More than once I expressed to them how excited our students and visitors to the collection will be to learn from her extensive body of work.”

Mayer says that Shaeffer received offers from other academic institutions to house pieces of her collection, but Syracuse University was the one place willing to keep her collection together, including all the clothes, patterns, books and even handbags from her personal closet. That willingness means generations of students will be the beneficiaries of an extraordinary woman’s talents, determination and dedication.

“Our students don’t just design, they learn to actually make things, from concept to garment,” says Mayer. “We fall into that ‘maker space’ in our approach and we are honoring Claire’s commitment to detail, process, research and design.”

From insightful conversations to shared reflections on meaningful work, the  (EHN) Community Showcase offered a powerful reminder of what’s possible when people come together in collaboration.

The event brought together faculty, students and staff from the University with community partners to celebrate projects that address local and regional needs and opportunities through research, teaching and creative work.

The third annual showcase featured panel discussions and table presentations highlighting dozens of initiatives connected to EHN, housed in the (A&S). Collectively, the showcased work represented collaborations across more than 50 departments from nine schools and colleges at Syracuse University, and partnerships with more than 75 community-based organizations.

Projects ranged from arts- and storytelling-based initiatives to STEM research and educational programs focused on community empowerment, environmental sustainability and cultural preservation.

“This is an annual event where we showcase all of the projects, courses and community engagement happening all across the city and region,” says Mary-Jo Robinson, program manager for the EHN. “The hope is to demonstrate the incredible work that’s being done, broaden exposure to these projects and help strengthen connections between partners.”

The event featured panel discussions, allowing speakers to share lessons learned, reflect on challenges and discuss opportunities to sustain and grow their work. Panels focused on EHN’s �����Ի��� initiatives, the new , sustained long-term partnerships and .

The showcase underscored the continued growth of EHN since its founding in 2020 by , Dean’s Professor of Community Engagement and associate professor of writing and rhetoric in A&S. Today, EHN supports more than 350 collaborators from across the University and works with dozens of community partners locally and nationally, from neighborhood-based organizations in Syracuse like the Northside Learning Center to the nation’s preeminent cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“The EHN approaches the humanities not as a bounded academic domain, but as a set of practices that span disciplines and permeate everyday life—across ages, institutions, cultures and communities,” says Nordquist. “The work of the EHN is to recognize, support and connect these practices so that we can collectively respond to the demands of the present while sustaining long traditions of reflection, inquiry, creativity and learning.”

Robinson emphasized that the event is as much about relationship-building as it is about visibility. “EHN exists to support this work and to help make connections,” she says. “When people come together in a space like this, it creates new possibilities for collaboration and helps ensure that community-engaged work remains central to the University’s mission.”

Free and open to the public, the Community Showcase welcomed attendees of all ages and backgrounds, reinforcing EHN’s commitment to accessibility and mutual exchange. As the network continues to grow, the annual showcase remains a key moment to reflect on the impact of community-engaged scholarship in Central New York.

Projects and courses represented at the event included: The Refugee Assistants Program’s Artisan Pathways, Black Women’s Art Ecosystems, Black/Arab Relationalities Initiative (BARI), CODE∧SHIFT, Deaf New Americans CODA Tutoring Program, Documenting the Haudenosaunee Influence on American Democracy (EHN Engaged Course), Environmental Storytelling Series CNY, Geography of Memory: Unsettling Stories (EHN Engaged Course), Hear Together, La Casita, Advanced Methods for Language Teaching (EHN Engaged Course), ME/WE Art Therapy Lab and Studio, Mindfully Growing, Narratio, Native America and the World: The Haudenosaunee (EHN Engaged Course), Natural Science Explorers Program, NOON, Not in the Books, Indigenous Values Initiative, Poetry and Environmental Justice (EHN Engaged Course), Project Mend, Public Scholarship Certificate Program, Safeguarding Syracuse Communities, Southside Connections/Southside Stories, Stories of Indigenous Dispossession Across the Americas (EHN Engaged Course), Teens with a Movie Camera, Traveling Teaching (EHN Engaged Course), Visualizing Care and Resisting Gentrification, We/Re-do Shakespeare (EHN Engaged Course) and Write Out.

The first time Carrie Mae Weems H’17 came to Syracuse, she was an emerging artist with a restless curiosity and a camera. That was in the early 1980s, when —the internationally recognized artist residency program on the Syracuse University campus—invited her to come and work. She did not yet know that the city, and the University, would shape her life in ways she could not have anticipated, including meeting her husband, photographer and Light Work director Jeffrey Hoone.

Nearly 45 years later, Weems has come full circle. Appointed in January 2020 as the University’s inaugural artist in residence, Weems spent six years weaving herself into the fabric of the institution she had first encountered as a young artist. She is now concluding that tenure, leaving behind a legacy as layered and far-reaching as the bodies of work that have made her one of the most celebrated artists of her generation.

“Carrie Mae Weems’ work has long challenged the world to see with greater honesty and imagination, and she brought that same spirit to Syracuse University. Her presence here has strengthened our academic community in meaningful ways,” says Candace Campbell Jackson, senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud. “We thank her for her leadership, her artistry and the lasting imprint she has made on this campus. Carrie has defined possibilities for what the artist in residency can be, and for this we are truly grateful.”

A Legendary Career

Over four decades, Weems has built a practice that spans photography, text, audio, video, installation and performance. Her series “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried” repurposed 36 appropriated images from the 19th and 20th centuries to interrogate the relationship between African American subjects and photographic history. Her “Kitchen Table Series” turned domestic space into a stage for intimate, complex narratives of Black womanhood.

The institutions that hold her work read like a map of the world’s great museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Canada, among many others. In 2014, she became the first African American woman to receive a solo retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, a milestone she noted had arrived “really late in the day.” Rather than simply presenting her exhibition, she transformed the Guggenheim’s auditorium into a five-day convening of artists, thinkers and performers

Her honors include the 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2023 Hasselblad Award, the Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship, the BZ Cultural Prize and the U.S. Department of State’s Medal of Arts. In October 2024, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presented her with the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony, the highest honor the United States government bestows upon artists. She was the first African American female visual artist to receive it. Weems has installed a permanent work that will be featured in the Barack Obama Presidential Library, opening to the public in Chicago on June 19.

Yet for all the accolades, some of Weems’ most telling work during her Syracuse residency happened in studios, classrooms and conference rooms.

Mentorship Flowing in Both Directions

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Weems went to her studio. She designed posters, billboards and campaigns that honored frontline workers. What began as a response to the situation in Syracuse became a national effort, eventually spreading worldwide. Shopping bags carrying text that she composed were distributed at food banks. Buttons, masks and murals went out by the thousands. Students were at the center of the work, packaging materials, designing alongside her and earning wages she insisted upon.

That insistence on reciprocity, on the idea that mentorship flows in both directions, threads through everything she did at the University. She founded the Institute of Sound and Style, a rigorous workshop for teenagers in Syracuse struggling against the weight of community violence.

Graduate students served as her assistants on the project, and she was candid about what she received in return. “As much as I found that I was helping them,” she said, “they were helping me as much as I was helping them. I’m not simply the giver. I’m also the receiver.”

In April 2024, she traveled to Florence to deliver a public lecture—”Resistance as an Act of Love”—to students enrolled in the , reviewing the work of studio arts students there. She then brought eight of those students to Venice for the Black Portraitures conference, held in concert with the Venice Biennale.

Her “Monumental Concerns” convenings, which she organized through the University and were held at the Museum of Modern Art, drew hundreds of scholars, artists and thinkers into conversation about monuments, memory and contested public space.

Engaging Deeply

“Through her residency, Carrie Mae Weems has created opportunities for Syracuse University to engage deeply with some of the most pressing cultural conversations of our time,” says Miranda Traudt, the University’s assistant provost for strategic initiatives and director of arts. “By bringing together artists, scholars and communities, she has helped make this campus a hub for dialogue that shapes contemporary art and culture.”

At the celebration marking the close of her residency, held March 16 at Light Work, Campbell Jackson reflected on what it had meant to work alongside her. “You’ve shown us how essential creativity is to the strategic future of this institution,” she said, “and to our broader society.”

Weems herself was characteristically humble. “I never think that I’m doing anything that is important,” she said. “I just feel that I need to work at things that matter to me, that uplift me, that inspire me, that carry me.”

In an age when artificial intelligence can generate content instantly, the human ability to write with clarity, originality and critical insight has become more essential than ever.

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) have ample opportunity to strengthen their writing through a rich landscape of publications and digital platforms. Aurantium, Broadly Textual, Intertext and Mend are among the outlets where students build strong portfolios, sharpen their professional communication skills and engage in experiential learning that prepares them for careers in writing, publishing, media and advocacy.

Aurantium: Making Philosophy Accessible and Alive

Like its namesake,  (the Latin word for orange) is vibrant, inviting and full of fresh perspective. Founded in 2023, this student-led undergraduate philosophy journal was created to invite curiosity, creativity and conversation across disciplines. Supported by the and the Philosophy Club, the journal publishes two issues each year: one focused on the Syracuse University and SUNY ESF community and another open to contributors worldwide.

Essays, reflections, creative writing and artwork all find a home in Aurantium, making it a space where philosophy is explored not as an abstract exercise, but as a living, interdisciplinary practice.

For editor-in-chief Brielle Brzytwa ’28, discovering philosophy was anything but immediate. “In high school it felt abstract, inaccessible and frustratingly stuffy,” she recalls. It wasn’t until college that philosophy began to feel meaningful, and that transformation shaped her vision for Aurantium. “Philosophy doesn’t have to be confined to dense texts or exclusive academic spaces,” she says. “It can—and should—invite curiosity and conversation.”

As editor-in-chief, Brzytwa has made accessibility a guiding principle. She describes the journal as a place where ideas are not only preserved but “shared, challenged and reimagined,” with an emphasis on amplifying a range of undergraduate voices.

Broadly Textual: Building Community Through Public Scholarship

For graduate students eager to share their ideas beyond the boundaries of academic journals,  offers an inviting and meaningful platform. Overseen by William P. Tolley Distinguished Teaching Professor , the online publication highlights graduate student work designed for public audiences, featuring literary and cultural commentary, , and thoughtful explorations of digital media and identity. With its focus on a broad variety of subject matter, the publication encourages students to see scholarship as both collaborative and accessible.

Co-editor Elena Selthun first encountered Broadly Textual as a contributor during their first year of graduate study and quickly recognized its value. They describe the experience as “low-pressure and supportive,” an ideal introduction to publishing. Equally important, Selthun was drawn to the publication’s commitment to public humanities. “The public-facing nature of the blog allows graduate students to apply what we learn beyond academia,” they say.

For fellow co-editor Meg Healy, the appeal initially lay in skill-building and community engagement. Over time, she gained a deeper appreciation for the publication’s role in demystifying the publishing process. “There is a strong incentive to publish while in graduate school, but that can be daunting,” Healy says.

Both editors emphasize the sense of connection the publication fosters. Selthun points out that graduate research can often feel siloed, and “Broadly Textual” helps bring students across departments into conversation.

Intertext: Celebrating Writing Across WRT Courses

For more than three decades, has celebrated writing by undergraduate students in the (WRT), and community partners. In April 2026, editors and contributors gathered to mark the release of the journal’s .

Reflecting on their involvement, editors Jules Vinarub and Kairo Rushing wrote in the introduction to the 2026 issue, “This publication relies on the willingness of Syracuse University students to be vulnerable enough to let their truth be on display—sharing themselves with you, allowing you to hear and see their stories.”

Throughout the year, students met with publishing professionals and authors like Rand Timmerman, member of the at Syracuse University, whose essay about a is published in the 2026 issue along with a .

Any student who has taken a WRT course can submit their work to “Intertext,” and submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Students interested in joining the editorial team can enroll in WRT 340: Advanced Editing Studio. For more information, contact Professor Patrick W. Berry.

Mend: Amplifying Voices, Honoring Stories and Creating Purpose

 is an annual publication started by , WRT associate professor, and is dedicated to celebrating the lives and creative work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, as well as individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. Featuring fiction, poetry and nonfiction on a wide range of topics, the publication offers contributors the freedom to explore personal experience while centering dignity, creativity and voice.

Editor Drew Murphy ’26, who is majoring in writing and rhetoric, and in psychology in A&S, first encountered Mend as a junior through an Engaged Humanities course, WRT 413: Rhetoric and Ethics after Prison, taught by Berry. Guest visits from formerly incarcerated writers involved with Mend left a lasting impression.

“Their stories represented a powerful intersection of my two majors, writing and rhetoric and psychology,” Murphy says, describing the experience as one that immediately sparked curiosity on both personal and professional levels. When Murphy learned about internship opportunities with , the decision felt natural.

“The opportunity to work with impacted individuals while contributing to a publication that shares their stories has been meaningful for both my academic studies and future career ambitions,” she explains.

As Murphy prepares for graduate study in social work, she credits Mend with deepening her belief that thoughtful writing can contribute to meaningful change.

Susan Wright ’26 took her first class at Syracuse University in the fall of 1987, the same year she started working in the registrar’s office. Working full-time, she wasn’t able to take a class every semester, but credit by credit, balancing her job and personal life, she continued to forge ahead, earning an associate degree in 1998.

She immediately set her sights on her next degree—a bachelor’s. Through the decades, after her work was done in the registrar’s office, she’d turn her attention to the class she was taking.

At Sunday’s Commencement, 28 years after she started working toward the degree, Wright  graduated with magna cum laude honors, earning a bachelor’s in liberal studies and a minor in linguistics. She was also awarded the Nancy C. Gelling Award from the . The award is presented to the commuter, part-time graduate with the highest overall grade point average. It honors students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement while balancing the challenges of being part-time, commuter students.

Wright, 72, says she’s still floored by receiving the award.

“I’m like me, really? I’ve just been plodding away,” she says.

Pursuing Her Interests, One Credit at a Time

Wright worked in the registrar’s office until her retirement in 2021. Once she wasn’t working full-time, she was able to take classes during the day, which she says “made a big difference.”

“A couple semesters, I took two because I could, because I couldn’t decide between which one I liked better,” she says. “So I did them both, and they just kind of snowballed, and here I am at the end.”

Working in the registrar’s office through the years was rewarding. She enjoyed helping people across the University.

“The nice thing about being a student, as well as being staff, is you get to see both sides of it,” Wright says. “You know how things are going in the classroom, as well as the things that need to be done in order to get that person to the classroom.”Her first job in the registrar’s office was working as a frontline staff member, fielding questions from students who came into the office. This was long before MySlice or Self-Service.

“You waited to talk to one of us, and we worked with you to try and figure out what the problem was and how to help and how to hopefully send someone away with a solution,” she says.

Being a part-time student throughout her time in the office, she says, added another helpful layer in assisting the students who came in. Later, as her roles changed and grew, she went on to do more managing and building processes behind the scenes and working with the curriculum committee in the University Senate.

Wright says there were many times over the years when she couldn’t pursue her own classes, when there was too much going on with work or her personal life.

“That’s why it’s taken so long,” she says.

She was drawn to liberal studies because she loved that she had access to a broad spectrum of disciplines.

It led her to taking a few classes in criminal justice and a few in geography, which she wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as she did. Over the years, the feeling was the same, that craving to learn more and more skills.

“I have very eclectic tastes, so I’m like, ‘Oh, a little of this, a little of that, how about some more of that? How about some more of that?’” Wright says. “And it was nice to be able to do that and have that be a degree program.”

Never Give Up

Wright says she hopes others considering pursuing a degree part-time take this lesson from her journey: don’t give up. Take it semester by semester, and if you need to take a break because of other things going on in your life, that’s OK.

She says not to let the fact that it might take time slow you down, just keep plugging away.

“Life will intervene, and you just kind of let life do its thing, and then you get back to it,” she says.

Wright also recommends taking a look at what’s going on in your life and asking if you can put in the work needed for a class. If the answer is yes, go for it. If not, wait until the next time the class is offered, or look for another the next semester. She says to make sure you know the requirements for the degree you’re interested in, look at the course catalogue and consider whether the classes meet at times you can attend.

“When I started, everything was on campus, in-person,” she says.

These days there are a lot more offerings for online classes and programs available to students who are working full-time and pursuing a degree part-time, she says.

“Really the thing is, don’t give up, keep going,” Wright says.

The University has been such a big part of her life as a staff member and student over the decades that Wright says she plans to keep supporting the campus as best she can. For now, she plans to embrace her free time in retirement as a graduate of the University.

“I’m just going to enjoy my retirement, and then figure out what else I can learn?” she says. “There’s learning opportunities out there and honing some skills that I already have.”

The in the College of Arts and Sciences observed Dalit History Month again this April with a two-part program featuring Chinnaiah Jangam, associate professor of history at Carleton University in Ottawa. Hosted on April 14 and 15, the program included a workshop and a public lecture exploring the history and present of Dalit communities in North America.

Dalit History Month was established by civil rights activists, inspired by Black History Month, to commemorate the intellectual legacy, activism and lives of caste-oppressed people, communities historically labeled “untouchables.”

Caste, a form of structural oppression originating in ancient India, divides people into categories at birth, and members of Dalit communities continue to face discrimination and violence both in South Asia and across the diaspora. The term “Dalit,” meaning “broken” or “oppressed,” was adopted as an act of political self-identification.

On April 14, Jangam led the Anti-Caste Methodologies workshop for graduate students and faculty in Sims Hall. The workshop explored approaches for writing history from anti-caste and critical-caste perspectives capable of countering dominant narratives.

A day later, Jangam delivered his public lecture, “Dalit Diaspora and Anti-Caste Movements in North America,” at Watson Theater. He examined what it means to be a Dalit in North America and argued that the Dalit diaspora on the continent is as old as that of the Savarna (dominant-caste Hindu) diaspora.

Drawing on stories of survival and resistance, he highlighted Dalit-led community mobilizations and social equity movements in the United States and Canada, and showed how intersectional solidarity is reshaping diaspora identity politics.

Jangam is the author of “Dalits and the Making of Modern India” and translator of “Gabbilam (Bat): A Dalit Epic,” which received the Association for Asian Studies A.K. Ramanujan Prize for Translation in 2024. He co-founded the South Asia Dalit Adivasi Network (SADAN) in Canada, whose advocacy led the Toronto District School Board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission to address caste discrimination.

The events were organized by faculty members and of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, with co-sponsorship from the Humanities Center, South Asia Center, LGBTQ Studies, History, CODE^SHIFT, English, Social Science Ph.D. program, Engaged Humanities Network, Feminist Pedagogy Collective, the Dean’s Office and the College of Arts and Sciences.

senior Abbey Fitzpatrick spent last summer doing archival research in Hollywood. This spring, she brought those findings to a lectern in the University’s at the 5th Annual CHRONOS Undergraduate History Conference.

Fitzpatrick’s research took her to Los Angeles, where history department funding supported archival work at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Warner Bros. archives. Her faculty advisor, professor of history Andrew Cohen, had encouraged her to find a topic with personal resonance and pointed her toward California history.

“It really complemented what I learned in CHRONOS in a real-world way,” Fitzpatrick says.

Hers was one of eight student presentations at the April 3 conference, which drew five Syracuse undergraduates alongside students from New York University, Columbia University and Rochester Institute of Technology—a reflection of the journal’s expanding reputation beyond Syracuse.

“CHRONOS had been thinking of opening our conference to students from other universities for a while,” says Junko Takeda, professor and chair of history and CHRONOS faculty advisor. “But this year, they were able to plan ahead of schedule, reach out to undergraduate directors at multiple universities across the eastern seaboard, send out calls for papers and select a number of external speakers.”

Now in its 21st year of publication, CHRONOS is one of just a few active student-run, undergraduate historical research journals in the country, and one of the only to host a conference. In addition to widening participation beyond Syracuse students, CHRONOS leaders also started to develop a new podcast series.

Fitzpatrick, a history and political science major from Pacific Grove, California, joined CHRONOS as a first-year student and remained deeply engaged for all four years.

That support is a hallmark of CHRONOS’s close ties to Maxwell’s history department.

“It’s so ingrained in the history department, and it allows us to connect with professors in a way that a lot of other clubs don’t have,” she says. “It’s a really awesome opportunity to be able to publish your research and get feedback from other students and professors.”

Fitzpatrick says her CHRONOS experience made her a stronger reader, writer and researcher.

At the conference, she moderated a panel discussion exploring the theme “Intersections: Gender, Sexuality and the Discipline of History,” featuring Albrecht Diem, Carol Faulkner, graduate student Victoria Vidler and undergraduate students Gillian Reed and Ella Burke. Diem is a professor of history who specializes in medieval history, while Faulkner, a professor who specializes in 19th-century American history, gender, women and social movements, is also senior associate dean for academic affairs at Maxwell.

The Range of Research Presented

Student research presented at the conference ranged from a deep dive into the life of Mary Queen of Scots to the politics of abortion in late Cold War Brazil. Several presentations reflected a similar focus on primary-source and archival research—work that students credited in large part to their access to Maxwell faculty with deep experience in those areas.

Jorge A. Morales, a senior studying history and anthropology and a CHRONOS editorial board member, presented findings drawn from slave registries and municipal documents from Caguas, Puerto Rico, in the years before the island abolished slavery in 1873. Morales shared that his family ties to Puerto Rico have made his work deeply personal.

“Growing up in the continental U.S. but still spending a good amount of time visiting family on the island, has made me increasingly interested in understanding how Puerto Rico’s national and cultural identity formed,” he says. “The roles of slavery and enslaved individuals have often been overlooked.”

Morales says interior regions like Caguas have received less scholarly attention than other parts of Puerto Rico. His research aims to help fill that gap.

Like Fitzpatrick, Morales says CHRONOS provided research and editorial experience as well as a strong network of peers.

“I found a community of people who were just as passionate and curious as I was, and I felt like I finally belonged somewhere on campus,” he says, adding, “Every CHRONOS publication is special because it represents not just the work of authors and editors, but of peers and colleagues who come together to learn and to connect that knowledge with the public in a way that fosters curiosity.”

Andrew Cole, a senior studying history and philosophy, presented his research on a foundational monastic text. His work analyzed John Cassian’s “Institutes” through a lens closer to literary criticism—an approach he developed after taking a class with Diem.

Cole was among the students who helped revive CHRONOS after the pandemic.

“At the time, CHRONOS had been in hibernation since before COVID; it was a lot of work to get it up and running but well worth the effort,” he says. “The editorial board is a close-knit community. CHRONOS is unique in that it offers an excellent learning opportunity for both editors and writers—we are dedicated to turning good research papers into excellent, approachable essays.”

The conference presentations included PowerPoint demonstrations and lively question-and-answer sessions in which students praised one another for their research and asked in-depth questions about their research findings. History faculty watched on, clearly gratified.

Takeda provided closing remarks, reflecting on what the students had accomplished.

“I can say without a doubt that my weekly interactions with the CHRONOS board have shown how much our students have developed important critical leadership skills,” she says. “As writers, researchers and presenters, you have told difficult stories. …You’ve explained complexity.”

The conference was held at a moment of transition for CHRONOS. Several members of the current editorial board are graduating seniors—among them Fitzpatrick, Morales and Cole—each preparing to carry the habits of mind CHRONOS instilled into whatever comes next.

Morales says his time with the journal has shaped what he hopes to build in the future.

“My work on CHRONOS has definitely shown me the value of intellectual community,” he says. “It has made me committed to trying to build up a similar sense of academic community between undergraduate and graduate students and faculty at the institutions that I end up studying and hopefully working at in the future.”

Story by Mikayla Melo

Students filled the jury box inside the Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom in the ‘s Dineen Hall earlier this semester, sketchbooks out, to capture live arguments during a session of the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals hosted on the Syracuse campus.

For the students, six of them seniors majoring in illustration in the , it was their first experience serving as courtroom sketch artists for a legal proceeding.

, assistant teaching professor in VPA, says the collaboration with the College of Law on Feb. 27 was just the latest opportunity he’s sought out for illustration students to introduce them to different types of live drawing activities. Once the collaboration with the College of Law was arranged, he encouraged juniors and seniors he teaches to participate.

“When you’re an illustration major, there’s a lot of fields that you can enter into,” he says. “So, for me, courtroom sketching is something they can do if they want to or just live sketching. But I think for them, it gets them practicing their craft.”

The networking opportunity is also a big piece of the experience, he says.

“It gets them talking, and it gets them to really engage with other people outside of the art world, gets them to have an audience see their work,” Ladd says.

The collaboration was such a success that VPA students were invited back again to act as courtroom artists for another law school event. Five of the students who participated in February’s event told Syracuse University Today they were drawn to participating to practice their skills and explore the role as a profession.

Below, they share more about the experience:

What was it like?

Juli Muldoon ’26: I enjoy drawing from life and capturing people’s expressions. I figured a courtroom would be an interesting place to do so, and I was right!

Emma Lee ’26: It was interesting seeing how formal the event was and the interactions between the judges and participants. It was somewhat stressful at first not knowing how long each person would be at the podium or how long I would have to capture them. As the proceeding went on I got more of an understanding of how long each person would be at the podium and got more comfortable with my materials. I was able to focus more on drawing portraits of people, which I enjoyed the most.

Rene Vetter ’26: It was very nerve-wracking, especially since the proceeding was related to the military. Everyone was dressed up and in uniform, so I felt out of place with my drawing board and pens. When the court clerk called us all to rise as the judges walked in, the reality of the situation hit me. It was stressful to have so many eyes watching you and curious about how you are drawing them.

Brynne Baird ’26: Everyone was welcoming and enthusiastic about having all of us there. They let us sit in the jury box, so we were able to see faces and expressions clearer. It is just like in the movies!

Julia English ’26: The courtroom was very professional. At first, I was nervous and intimidated, but eventually I felt like I was a part of the trial. I almost felt like I was watching a movie.

What was the best part of participating?

Muldoon: Getting to show everyone my drawings at the end of the proceeding. Getting positive reactions to my work keeps me motivated to create.

Lee: Almost everyone who participated came up to us to see what we drew. They were all super excited and interested in what we had made. They said the whole time they had been curious what they were going to look like. Many of them had never been drawn before, so it was fun to see their reactions to our sketches.

Vetter: Getting to show the participants my drawings. I usually do more humorous drawings, so I would show them my portrait and they would laugh really hard. I was nervous to show the judges my drawings of them, as I didn’t want them to take offense, but they ended up loving them.

Baird: Being able to practice real observational drawing in a realistic context.

English: Everyone reacting to our drawings. Everyone was so kind and took pictures of our art.

What was the most challenging part?

Muldoon: Probably working under pressure. Drawing moving subjects is already a challenge, and working while people watch you can be stressful.

Lee: Wanting to draw as much as possible and capture as much as possible, while also not getting tired of constantly drawing. As the proceeding went on, I got more comfortable.

Vetter: The time was limited, and I wanted to make sure to capture as many participants as possible. There were also a few times where a participant would only have a limited time in front of the judges on the main floor. I never knew if I would have five minutes or 15 to draw a subject, and once they left the floor, it was more difficult to get a good look at them.

Baird: Usually we are in a classroom with a model that gives us dynamic poses for several minutes at a time. But in a courtroom, people move around, which makes it challenging to draw specific poses.

English: At first, I struggled to draw while watching the trial. Once I got used to it, my nerves went away.

Did this change or impact the way you think about your own illustrations or career path? 

Muldoon: I hadn’t considered court sketching as a career, but this opportunity has definitely made me interested. I would love to do more court work in the future.

Lee: It definitely made me more interested in pursuing courtroom sketching as a career. It was also encouraging hearing how excited everyone was about the sketches and seeing their reactions.

Vetter: Definitely yes. I had so much fun that I am hoping to be able to do it again. It was also rewarding to share my artwork with people outside of creative spheres. It is easy to get caught up in creative competitiveness when I am only surrounded with other creatives, but I forget people outside of that are even more impressed by my work. It was a good reminder of my own appreciation for illustration and art in a busy time in my academic career.

Baird: I have other ideas of where I would like my career path to go, but if an opportunity like this comes along again where I could do this full time I would love to do it!

English: I would consider working as a courtroom sketch artist professionally if provided the chance!

Think of the last film or play you saw. Were you riveted to your seat, following the action unfolding in front of you? When the lights came up, did the story and characters stay with you, offering a new way of thinking about something?

Storytelling—on the page or on the stage—has long connected people across circumstance, time and place, bridging divides and building understanding.

Few writers have sustained that power more enduringly than William Shakespeare. From the stage to the classroom, his plays continue to be reimagined in ways that speak to the present moment—a process explored by , University Professor, the William L. Safire Professor of Modern Letters, a professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences and a leading scholar of Shakespeare and early modern literature.

She recently co-edited “Shakespeare and the Poetics and Politics of Relevance: Gender, Race, Ecology” (2024) and discusses why Shakespeare still matters today.

Steam rose from bowls of homemade soup as students settled into their seats in the . A presentation on winter traditions in Turkey sparked conversation, drawing murmurs of recognition and a few nostalgic smiles.

When the slideshow ended, attendees gathered in small groups for a matching game connecting landmarks, customs and historical moments. Those more familiar with the traditions offered hints while others brought fresh curiosity to each pairing.

For an hour, Syracuse felt a little closer to Istanbul.

The gathering was part of the Maxwell School’s Culture and Conversation Tables, a series hosted by the Moynihan Institute that brings students and community members together to explore languages and cultures from around the world.

Held about once a month, each table takes a slightly different approach, from language-intensive practice sessions to film screenings and themed cultural presentations. All serve a shared purpose: building community while advancing Maxwell’s mission of exposing students to a wide range of perspectives and preparing them for an increasingly interconnected world.

Moynihan is home to Maxwell’s seven regional centers, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, East Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and South Asia. Located on the third floor of Eggers Hall, the institute supports teaching, research and programming that prepares students to engage with the world’s most pressing challenges. The Culture and Conversation Tables are a natural extension of that work.

“The tables are one of the most accessible ways we connect students to the world beyond the classroom,” says , director of Moynihan and professor of political science. “Whether someone is preparing for fieldwork abroad, practicing a language they’re studying or simply curious about a part of the world they haven’t encountered before, these gatherings offer something genuinely valuable.”

Much of the tables’ day-to-day coordination falls to George Tsaoussis Carter, event specialist, and , regional programs manager for Asia. “What stands out most is the enthusiasm students bring to these tables, both the ones who help organize them and the ones who show up to learn,” says Baxter. “They leave with more than vocabulary or cultural trivia. They gain a broader sense of the world and a genuine connection to people from very different backgrounds.”

Baxter is also impressed by the care and commitment of table hosts, which, on the Asia side, include faculty such as , and Tomoko Walker from the , as well as graduate students and, on occasion, highly motivated undergraduates.

Originally known as Language Tables, the program was renamed to reflect its broader emphasis on culture, conversation and connection, according to , associate director of the Moynihan Institute.

Over the years, the institute has hosted tables in more than 20 languages, many supported by U.S. Department of Education grants aimed at strengthening international and language education. Currently, 16 tables are offered, spanning languages from Arabic and Hindi-Urdu to Chinese, French and Tamil. For most of the tables, the institute partners with faculty and instructors in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences

The tables have at times reflected the urgency of world events. For instance, visiting scholar Tetiana Hranchak hosted a Ukrainian table that drew strong attendance from students across the University, some directly impacted by the war with Russia. Hranchak, who fled her home in Kyiv after the invasion, joined the Maxwell community through the Scholars at Risk program, which supports academics displaced by conflict and persecution.

The tables also give international students a place to hear their native language and share traditions from home. Open to all Syracuse University students, not just those in Maxwell programs, the tables invite anyone across campus to engage with new regions, customs and perspectives.

Story by Mikyala Melo

There’s a lot of research underway about how climate affects agriculture, examining how heat waves reduce crop yields, among other impacts.

But there is some thinking among researchers that the crops also affect the local climate to some extent. Vegetation transpires water, acting as a pump that pulls the moisture from the ground, making the air surrounding it a little more humid, effectively altering the heat index or felt temperature.

Exactly what that impact on the local climate might be is one of the questions , assistant professor of geography and the environment in the , is seeking to understand with his current research.

“Ultimately metrics like the heat index are most important for human heat exposure,” he says.

Examining the influence of crops on local climate isn’t a new pursuit for him. A few years ago, he published a paper that aimed to estimate the amount of cooling corn crops caused around them.

“They reduce basically the amount of heat waves that occur, which is a positive for the crops,” he says. “And so effectively, the crops are modifying the climate in a way that is actually helping the crops grow.”

Coffel was awarded a $582,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in 2023 to support his research on agriculture as a driver of climate extremes. With co-investigator Justin Mankin from Dartmouth College, Coffel is the principal investigator for the three-year project, titled Quantifying Agriculture as a Driver of Regional Climate Extremes.

One of the questions he’s pursuing under the NSF grant is examining how crops, namely the staples of midwest agriculture corn and soy, affect humidity.

“We want to try to say how much do crops affect the climate around them, and how much does that affect the crops themselves,” he says. “So do the crops really make it cooler in a way that reduces the chance of there being heat waves? We think this is probably true. And then also, does that mean the human impacts of heat are reduced? Or are they increased? And that depends on the humidity.”

Below, Coffel shares more about his research with Syracuse University Today.