UPDATED: Dec. 12, 2019 at 7:34 p.m.

Chancellor Kent Syverud said he does not intend to “walk away” from Syracuse University in response to calls for his resignation.

Syverud made his comments during a brief Q&A session with the University Senate at its Wednesday meeting. The black student-led movement #NotAgainSU has repeatedly called on Syverud and other administrators to resign in the wake of at least 17 hate crimes and bias-related incidents reported at or near SU since Nov. 7. 

“The most common thing I’ve been told by everyone I’ve talked to over the last three weeks is … resolve to make this a world-class university that models inclusion of all people,” the chancellor said. “That’s hard to do in the current environment, and I do not intend to walk away from that responsibility.”

Senator Sam Gorovitz, a philosophy professor, said he’s grateful and relieved that the chancellor “will stay the course.” At the end of the Q&A, Gorovitz asked senators to think about what would happen if the university’s Board of Trustees were in a position to appoint a new chancellor. 

“Those who advocate that this chancellor, with whom I have many disagreements, should resign are engaged in a tour de force of naivete,” he said. “Do you seriously think a successor would put in place someone less likely to fight for the values that we all believe in? More likely to be an advocate of a kind of liberality for which many people yearn?”

Senators applauded after Gorovitz’s statement. He later clarified in an email that he meant to say “more likely to fight for the values.”

Here are three takeaways from the rest of the meeting.

Security upgrades

The chancellor said 20 of SU’s 90 planned “residential community safety officers” have been deployed at dorms around campus following the racist incidents. The rest of the officers should be at work by January, he said. They will be New York state-licensed security officers and will validate guests’ IDs.

Syverud also said new security cameras have been installed on campus. A university spokesperson said those cameras are in Day Hall. Anti-black and anti-Asian graffiti was discovered in the freshman dorm last month. 

“We … are aggressively working on how to install additional cameras … to balance the interests of security and resident privacy,” Syverud said. 

Housing portal demand

Syverud addressed one of the #NotAgainSU demands that he did not agree to as originally written.

#NotAgainSU wants the university to launch an online housing portal so students can choose a roommate “based on mutual interests and identities.” Syverud removed the word “identities” from a list of the demands he signed Nov. 21, citing legal issues.

He told senators Wednesday that SU can instead install a new software package that will allow future students to match with roommates based on mutual interests. The system is planned to be in place for the fall 2020 roommate selection process that begins in March, Syverud said. 

Board of Trustees engagement

In response to another #NotAgainSU demand, Syverud said the university’s Board of Trustees has been working “intensively” to respond to concerns. 

“It is clear that they are committed to engagement,” Syverud told the Senate. “I understand from the board leadership that you will be hearing more about these opportunities very soon.”

He did not elaborate on what that meant. 

#NotAgainSU has demanded that SU create a biannual open forum for students to address the trustees. Syverud said Nov. 21 that he would “strongly urge” the board to hold those meetings. 

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Published on December 11, 2019 at 11:44 pm

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek