Community partner Arc of Onondaga recently named two School of Social Work alumnae to senior positions: Alisha Lorenzo G’19 becomes Chief Program Officer, Community Services, while Sonja Gottbrecht ’09, G’10 has been promoted from Chief Operating Officer to Chief Executive Officer. Gottbrecht received both her bachelor’s and master’s in Social Work from Syracuse University. She...
Hochul opted into Trump’s school tax credit. Who will benefit in Central NY? (Syracuse.com | Nov. 11, 2026) Central New York’s schools have the potential to attract more money from private donors beginning in 2027. On Oct. 9, Gov. Kathy Hochul opted New York State into the federal scholarship tax credit program, which was established...
Growing up as an Akwesasne Mohawk in Central New York, Jadalyn George ’30 knew that seeing herself reflected in her teachers fostered a sense of belonging. “It also made me a better student,” she says. Convinced that representation matters in the K-12 classroom, George is part of the Indigenous Teacher Preparation Program (ITPP) in Syracuse University’s School of Education (SOE). She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Inclusive Childhood Education while...
The School of Social Work held its 27th annual James L. Stone ’62, G’64 Legislative Policy Day at the Onondaga County Legislative Chambers in downtown Syracuse on Oct. 16, 2026. The theme was “Nourishing-Equity: SNAP, WIC, and the Pursuit of Food Justice in an Unpredictable Socio-Political Context.” State Sen. Rachel May (D-48), Syracuse Mayor Sharon...
Syracuse University School of Education Professor Sharon Dotger’s new co-edited volume will aid any educator looking for tools and collaborative teaching methods that can provide an effective method of collaborative sensemaking with students. A Practitioner’s Guide to Effective Boardwork for Collaborative Thinking: Using Bansho in the Classroom (Routledge, 2026) is part of the WALS-Routledge Lesson...
Giovanna Colosi G’16, G’24 is Librarian for the School of Education and Team Lead of Subject Instruction at Syracuse University Libraries, where she serves as the library liaison to SOE students, faculty, and staff. Colosi’s path to Syracuse began at SUNY Oswego, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling...
Aaliyah Muolo Vergara’s interest in mental health first took root in high school, when she started taking courses that introduced her to concepts in psychology, sociology, and human development. The new perspective these disciplines provided was revelatory. “I grew up in a culture where we didn’t really talk about mental health. I’d always struggled, since...
The New York State Education Department has named Syracuse University School of Social Work—housed in the School of Education—an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) in the state. The approval is for a three-year term that runs through Oct. 31, 2029. The School of Social Work is already an approved...
On April 4, 2024, Blaise Anthis ’27 contacted the central office of Pi Kappa Phi (aka Pi Kapp) about starting a chapter at Syracuse University. A year later to the day, he and 72 other “founding fathers” were initiated into the historic brotherhood that includes National Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda and Earth Day...
Co-edited by Susan Thomas, Associate Professor in the School of Education, and Antonio T. Tiongson Jr., Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, both of Syracuse University, Intimacies of Anti-Asian Violence (Fordham, 2026) brings together a diverse cohort of contributors working to trace the genealogies, geographies, and the entanglements of anti-Asian violence. Representing...
Coco Wing Yun Wong G’27, a Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s degree student and a former graduate student employee in Health Promotion at the Barnes Center at the Arch, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Charles Schaefer Play Therapy Scholarship. This award is given to just one student nationally each year by the...
Ken Marfilius, Associate Teaching Professor of Social Work and Faculty Director of Online Programs and Strategic Initiatives in Syracuse University School of Education, has been named Educator of the Year by the New York State Social Work Education Association (NYSSWEA). Marfilius, whose also serves as Associate Director of Education and Training at the Syracuse University...
Jessamyn Neuhaus, Director of the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE), has been named the inaugural Meredith Professor of Teaching and Learning Excellence. The appointment, part of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship Program, is among the University’s highest teaching honors, recognizing faculty who combine excellence in the classroom with a...
Adapted from a keynote given at The Summit: Syracuse University Into the Future—Future in Focus. Part of the celebration of J. Michael Haynie’s inauguration as the 13th Chancellor and President of Syracuse University on Sept. 18, 2026. Have you ever completely changed your mind about something you were once sure of? Turns out, it is...
Lindsay W. Kowalski ’05, G’06 graduated Syracuse University School of Education with a double major in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education and Anthropology, along with an M.S. in Literacy Education (Birth-Grade 6). At Syracuse, she worked at the Living Schoolbook under the mentorship of Jerry Rispoli, training as a technology mentor to support students and...
With the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and an international reckoning around social and racial inequity, youth have experienced an immense amount of collective trauma and disconnectedness from school, workforce, and other educational pipelines. A new book—Resilient Futures: Addressing Collective Trauma and Marginalization in Out-of-School Time Spaces (Emerald, 2026)—explores how, in this tumultuous time, out-of-school time...
