Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU)[10] is a private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920.[11] Located in the city's University Hill neighborhood, east and southeast of Downtown Syracuse, the large campus features an eclectic mix of architecture, ranging from nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival to contemporary buildings. Syracuse University is organized into 13 schools and colleges and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[12]
Syracuse University athletic teams, the Orange, participate in 20 intercollegiate sports. SU is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all NCAA Division I athletics,[13] except for the men's rowing and women's ice hockey teams.[14][15] SU is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.[16] Alumni, faculty, and affiliates include President Joe Biden, three Nobel Prize laureates, one Fields Medalist, 36 Olympic Medalists, thirteen Pulitzer Prize recipients, Academy Award winners, Grammy Award winners, two Rhodes Scholars, six Marshall Scholars, governors, and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Controversies[edit]
In 2018, the university's Theta Tau fraternity was expelled after a video showing a mock initiation ritual featuring racist, anti-Semitic, ableist, and homophobic language.[217][218]
In 2019, over ten instances of racist graffiti, swastikas, and other bigoted language were found around campus.[219] That same week, the university suspended the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity after the university determined that four of its members yelled a racial epithet at a black student on campus.[220] All social activities at fraternities were suspended for the rest of the semester as a result of these racist and anti-Semitic incidents, but officials of the university were criticized for not doing enough.[221]
Days later, a white supremacist manifesto was allegedly sent to several students studying in the library using Apple's AirDrop service and was also posted on a website about Greek Life at Syracuse University—the same manifesto that had been cited prior to the Christchurch mosque shootings.[221][222] However, the Syracuse Police Department and the university's Department of Public Safety could not find anyone who directly received the manifesto to verify these claims.[223][224] In response, Syracuse University denied that there was any "credible threat", and the chancellor said that the alleged circulation of the manifesto "was probably a hoax" in an address to the University Senate.[225]
As of 2020, the university had supported faculty member Douglas Biklen and his discredited pseudoscientific practice of facilitated communication for nearly 30 years. The university's Institute on Communication and Inclusion, founded by Biklen, (formerly called the "Facilitated Communication Institute"), has offered workshops with the intent of "giving a voice and a means to communicate to people with disabilities".[226] However, in a 2016 article, the editorial board of the independent student newspaper The Daily Orange, condemned the university's support for this practice. "It is inexcusable and equal-parts embarrassing for Syracuse University as a research institution to stand behind facilitated communication (FC) despite it being a potentially life-destroying practice that has been empirically debunked."[227]
Syracuse University has over 260,000 alumni representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 171 countries and territories.[244] Among the individuals who have attended or graduated from Syracuse University include writers George Saunders, Stephen Crane, Joyce Carol Oates, John D. MacDonald, Cheryl Strayed, Shirley Jackson, and Alice Sebold; William Safire, Pulitzer Prize winning commentator; Pierre Ramond, string theorist; Cambridge University historian Sir Moses I. Finley; Sir John Stanley, British Member of Parliament; Salvador del Solar, former prime minister of Peru; Arthur Rock, legendary venture capitalist and cofounder of Intel; Vishal Sikka, Former CEO and MD of Infosys; Donna Shalala, CEO of the Clinton Foundation; Joe Biden, President of the United States; Kathy Hochul, 57th Governor of New York; Robert Jarvik, inventor of the first artificial heart implanted into human beings; Eileen Collins, first female commander of a Space Shuttle; Prince Sultan bin Salman, first Arab, first Muslim and the youngest person to travel to space; Robert Menschel, partner/director at Goldman Sachs; Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., owner of Conde Nast publications; Lowell Paxson, founder of Home Shopping Network; Betsey Johnson fashion designer; lawyer David P. Weber; and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Emily C. Gorman, former director of the United States Women's Army Corps, completed her graduate studies at Syracuse.
Alumni in journalism and broadcasting include Ted Koppel, Megyn Kelly, Michael Barkann, Bob Costas, Marv Albert, Len Berman, Marc S. Ellenbogen, Marty Glickman, Dorothy Thompson, Beth Mowins, Dave Pasch, Sean McDonough, Ian Eagle, Dave O'Brien, Dick Stockton, Arun Shourie, Mike Tirico, Brian Higgins, Adam Zucker, Lakshmi Singh, Larry Hryb (of Microsoft), Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Payne and Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio, Vietnam war historian and correspondent Bernard Fall, national political columnist Roscoe Drummond, Jeff Glor, CBS News anchor, Vijay Kumar Pandey, Nepalese Columnist and TV personality.
Notable SU alumni in the performing arts and art include Dick Clark, Taye Diggs, Rob Edwards, Peter Falk, Vera Farmiga, Peter Guber, Peter Hyams, Frank Langella, Jessie Mueller, Aribert Munzner, Lou Reed, Tom Everett Scott, Aaron Sorkin, Jerry Stiller, Lexington Steele, Bill Viola, Vanessa Williams, Pete Yorn, and artist Susan Sensemann.
Prominent athletes include Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, Jim Brown, actor and NFL Hall of Famer with the Cleveland Browns; Ernie Davis, the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner; Donovan McNabb, former NFL quarterback; former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison; Dwight Freeney, defensive end for the San Diego Chargers; Larry Csonka, former Miami Dolphins running back, Pro Football Hall of Famer and television host, Carmelo Anthony, forward for Syracuse's NCAA men's basketball championship squad and NBA veteran; NBA forward Jerami Grant; 2013–2014 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams; 7-time NBA All Star, pro basketball Hall of Famer and former Mayor of Detroit Dave Bing; Tim Green, former Atlanta Falcons player, author, lawyer, and National Public Radio commentator; Darryl Johnston, three-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s; Mikey Powell, who formerly played lacrosse for the Boston Cannons; Floyd Little, who played for the Denver Broncos; Kyle Johnson, who played the majority of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos; John Mackey a member of the NFL Hall of Fame played for the Baltimore Colts (1963–71); and Tom Coughlin, former New York Giants head coach and executive VP of football operation at Jacksonville Jaguars.
