Syracuse University students with ‘I <3 Kersh' T-shirts should hold onto them because the shirts may soon become collectors items. Professor Rogan Kersh is leaving SU to pursue other opportunities.Professor Keith Bybee, who teaches political science classes at SU's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said Kersh, who also taught political science classes, is leaving SU to become a dean at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.Kersh spent the spring 2006 semester teaching a course at Harvard University.Kersh's departure was first announced in an e-mail from Professor Jeff Stonecash, chair of the political science department, to the students who registered for Kersh's fall 2006 PSC 327: 'Modern American Political Thought.''The university tried very hard to keep him, but he is interested in trying a somewhat different role in academics and was presented with a very attractive offer and has chosen to pursue it,' Stonecash said, according to the e-mail.Jill Leonhardt, director of Communications and Media Relations with the dean's office in Maxwell, said she cannot comment on Kersh's departure because they have been friends for more than 20 years.Kersh taught 'Introduction to American National Government & Politics,' 'U.S. Congress & Legislative Process,' 'Interest Group Politics,' 'American Political Thought' and 'Public Administration & Democracy,' while at SU. He is also the author of several books and many published articles dealing with American politics.The 'If Rogan Kersh Was On Facebook He Would Be My Friend!' Facebook group, which consists of 159 members as of Wednesday, and the T-shirts, both created by SU students to honor Kersh, show his wide popularity throughout the campus. 'His departure is a big loss for the department,' Bybee said.