It’s the first week of school — Syracuse University students have to re-enter reality. Going into fall 2018, students should know what happened at the university while they were gone.

Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome upgrades will include a new roof for the stadium. Daily Orange File Photo

$118 million Carrier Dome investment

This is the first time the Dome has undergone major renovations since its construction in 1980. The renovations will include a new free standing roof, more accessible entrances and bathrooms, and a moveable jumbotron. The first phase of the construction is expected to be complete by fall 2020.

The investment should benefit everyone who occupies the stadium.

Pete Sala, vice president and chief facilities officer at SU, said “collaboration and engagement with members of our disability community, especially our students, will be a critical part of the process as we work to create a new stadium experience.”

Money for the project will come from university resources, philanthropic donations and long-term financing, said Amir Rahnamay-Azar, senior vice president and chief financial officer at SU.

All 11 schools and colleges in the university submitted hiring proposals as a part of the Signature Hires Initiative. Daily Orange File Photo

SU to hire 100 new faculty members

In early June, SU announced a Signature Hires Initiative with the goal of hiring 100 new faculty members over the next five years. According to an SU News release, all 11 schools and colleges in the university submitted hiring proposals — 31 positions were identified, with cost sharing between the university and the individual schools.

Diversity will also be a top priority of the initiative, said Zhanjiang “John” Liu, vice president for research at SU. In spring 2018, following the Theta Tau videos controversy, a central demand of the Recognize Us movement was to diversify the SU faculty.

The initiative will provide support to “(help) search committees develop diverse candidate pools and mentoring on how to spot implicit bias, and how to provide meaningful experiences for candidates during on-campus visits,” Liu said.

Moving forward, students should continue to ask how hiring committees in all schools are working to procure a diverse faculty pool to the benefit of every person on campus.

Final conduct decisions were handed to those involved in the Theta Tau video marking the end of the conduct process. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Theta Tau conduct process concludes, Greek life review started

Final conduct decisions were handed down to some of those involved in the Theta Tau videos that surfaced in the spring. Decisions were not publicly released due to federal privacy law, officials have said.

But those decisions do not mean an end to discussions surrounding discrimination of all types on campus.

Veronica Moore, Dave Westol, and Karyn Nishimura Sneath will lead the Greek Life review, announced by the SU administration after Theta Tau’s expulsion from campus this spring. The three reviewers will have their first site visit on campus Sept. 16.

This review could drastically change the way Greek life exists at SU — the reviewers are looking for input to improve organizations and consequently the entire university, and this is a chance to hear all voices in the discussion.

Patrick Linehan is a newspaper and online journalism, policy studies and economics major. He can be contacted at pjlineha@syr.edu.

Published on August 27, 2018 at 9:49 pm