Cerri Banks ’00, G’04, G’05, G’06, dean of students and vice president for student affairs at Skidmore College, will deliver the convocation address at the 2019 School of Education convocation ceremony on May 11, 2019.
In her role at Skidmore College, Banks is responsible for the academic and social progress of students. She oversees all offices in student affairs, including athletics, campus life and engagement, health and wellness, residential life, career development, student diversity programs, and student academic services. She is the chair of the School of Education Board of Visitors, and a member of the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors. Committed to educational reform and issues of inclusion, Banks draws from educational, feminist and critical race theory in her work as the dean and in her teaching, research and writing.
“I’m so proud to call Cerri a School of Education alum,” says Joanna Masingila, dean of the School of Education. “She is an outstanding leader in higher education and has contributed greatly to the School of Education through her leadership as the chair of our Board of Visitors. I am excited that our 2019 graduates will be able to hear from her as our convocation speaker.”
Before joining Skidmore in August 2016, Banks served as vice president for student affairs and dean of the college at Mount Holyoke College and the dean of William Smith College at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
She received a bachelor’s degree in inclusive elementary and special education, and master’s in cultural foundations of education, and a Ph.D. in cultural foundations of education all from the School of Education, as well as a C.A.S. in women’s and gender studies from the College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in sociology of education, cultural studies, multicultural education and qualitative research.
Banks’ published work includes “Cultural Capital and College Success” (2009), “Teaching, Learning and Intersecting Identities in Higher Education” (2012) and “No Justice! No Peace! College Student Activism, Race Relations and Media Cultures” (2020), as well as numerous articles, book chapters and presentations on culturally relevancy, identity and learning, and other subjects.
More information on the School of Education convocation ceremony can be found on the School of Education website.