Sitting in their home in Skaneateles, NY, Garry P’22 and Cindy ’88, P’22 Payne mention that they are looking forward to a weekend visit from their daughter, Chloe ’22, now that the InclusiveU graduate has returned from the inaugural, fully inclusive Syracuse Abroad immersion course in Italy, organized by the Center on Disability and Inclusion […]
On a mid-October morning, the stately chambers of the Onondaga County Legislature were filled with students and faculty from Syracuse University’s School of Social Work mingling with lawmakers and community leaders. They were gathered for the James L. Stone Legislative Policy Day, an annual event founded 26 years ago by Professor Emeritus James L. Stone […]
The Syracuse University School of Social Work Mourns Gerald M. Gross G’77, who passed away in Syracuse aged 82 on Oct. 18, 2025. Gross was born on Jan. 25, 1943, in Doylestown, PA. He earned his baccalaureate degree from Goshen College and master’s degrees from Case-Western University and Syracuse University (Instructional Technology, 1977). Originally a […]
In the Reflections series, the School of Education asks alumni to look back on their distinguished and fascinating lives and careers. A business owner, marketer, visual artist, adult educator, writer/editor, and career coach, Nora Carrol holds both a B.F.A (1971) and M.S. in Adult Education (1991) from Syracuse University. She also has three professional certificates […]
A partnership between a Syracuse University faculty member and staff at the Camden Life Center in Camden, NY, is testing the success of a recovery café as an innovative method of delivering community-based addiction services and wellness programming in rural areas. A recovery café is a non-clinical space for people overcoming trauma, addiction, and other […]
On Nov. 1, 2025, Pamela Odom G’03 will become the new Superintendent of the Syracuse City School District (SCSD), the third Syracuse University graduate in a row to take the reins of the city’s schools. A graduate of the School of Education’s Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership program, Odom follows Anthony Davis G’03 […]
Upstate New York’s Wayne County Partnership will benefit from a multi-million-dollar investment that will help it and six other communities across the United States reach their economic mobility goals by expanding enrichment and career-focused opportunities for young people. The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Opportunities for Adolescents initiative explores how schools, nonprofits, and other entities can strengthen […]
West Genesee (NY) Intermediate School teacher Dan Strumlok G’16, G’23 has traded leading platoons into battle for leading classrooms into knowledge. After three tours of Afghanistan with infantry units and leading a Marines infantry platoon, Strumlok returned to college to take an M.B.A. from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 2016 and then […]
Like many American Rust Belt cities, Syracuse is addressing the challenge of vacant lots and neglected properties—transforming these spaces into opportunities for renewal and growth as the city evolves beyond its manufacturing heritage. Research from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development highlights how vacant properties can strain municipal resources and affect community health […]
Kofi Dormah ’15 traveled an unconventional path to becoming a filmmaker. When he immigrated to the United States from Ghana as a child, he didn’t know a word of English. After years of grappling with the once obstructive language, he turned the challenge of writing into an asset for entering the entertainment industry, where he […]
When those who work in community school systems explain the impact of this approach in public education, they tell stories about the students they have worked with. For example, that of the middle school student who came to school with broken eyeglasses held together with tape, until coordinated efforts between school staff and outside agencies […]
Syracuse University School of Education’s Center on Disability and Inclusion (CDI) has been awarded $250,000 per year for three years from the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD). The grant will fund a pilot advocacy training curriculum and help CDI establish a statewide advocacy network for people with developmental disabilities and their family […]
With five generations, nearly three-dozen family members and close to 50 degrees—and counting—the Bradley and Webster families represent a true legacy of perseverance, education and Orange pride. Their story is not only one of academic achievement but of commitment to service, compassion and community—core values that continue to shape each new generation of Syracuse graduates. […]
Don’t expect Cheryl Meany ’02, G’06 to take much of a step back when she is honored at two upcoming West Genesee (NY) High School volleyball meets during 2025’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She will be on the sidelines as usual, serving as assistant coach of the Wildcat’s girls’ varsity team just as she was […]
Three School of Education alumni are among eight students and graduates from Syracuse University named as 2025 recipients of awards through the Fulbright US Student Program. In addition, one SOE student has been chosen as an alternate. The Fulbright US Student Program funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships and study/research grants […]
Do you consider yourself “math phobic?” If so, Eugenia Cheng’s upcoming Syracuse University concert and lecture might be the best “exposure therapy” you can get. Cheng brings her popular mix of mathematics and music to Hendricks Chapel on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, as part of her mission to rid the world of math phobia. “The […]
Mr. Smithers is the concerned parent—portrayed by professional actors—at the center of a challenged book clinical simulation designed for student teachers by the Center for Experiential Pedagogy and Practice in the Syracuse University School of Education (SOE). This simulation is one of the events planned for Banned Books Week 2025—from October 6 through 10—organized by […]
Sergeant Major (SGM) Lisa Cowboy, a native of Chilchinbeto, AZ, enlisted in the US Army in 1997, beginning her career as an information systems analyst. In 2007, she reclassified as a career counselor, broadening her expertise in soldier development, career management, and retention. Over more than 28 years of distinguished service, Cowboy has held a […]
Motivation, persistence, dedication, ambition. These are some of the skills that have propelled Maximiliano Jimenez G’25 toward a burgeoning career in student affairs and higher education administration. Now, thanks to a high school-to-college success program developed as a Syracuse University School of Education (SOE) master’s degree student, Jimenez is giving back to his community by […]
No matter how skilled, thoughtful, and well-prepared professors are—or how motivated and engaged their students might be—things sometimes go awry in the course of a course. In Snafu Edu: Teaching and Learning When Things Go Wrong in the College Classroom (University of Oklahoma Press, 2025), teaching practice expert Jessamyn Neuhaus, Director of Syracuse University’s Center […]
CNY disability expert worries federal announcements on autism are damaging and confusing (WAER | Sept. 25, 2025) Autism is in the spotlight after health and government officials in Washington claimed it can be caused by acetaminophen. A Central New York expert on disability and inclusion said she believes the statements can dangerously change perceptions of […]
Syracuse University School of Education (SOE) doctoral candidate Atiya McGhee has been awarded a prestigious American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year. McGhee adds this accolade to their SOE Research and Creative grant (2022) and Joan Burstyn Endowed Fund for Collaborative Research in Education award (2023); University Pre-Dissertation Summer […]
Over the summer, InclusiveU students attended the Mānoa Summer Intensive. a four day inclusive training program offered through the University of Hawaiʻi’s Center on Disability Studies (CDS). This intensive focuses on the concept of self determination, helping students learn how to make informed decisions and life choices through empowerment and preparation. Participants engaged in fun, […]
In the third edition of Leadership for Increasingly Diverse Schools (Routledge, 2025), editors George Theoharis, Professor of Educational Leadership and Inclusive Elementary/Early Childhood Education at Syracuse University School of Education, and Martin Scanlan, Professor of Educational Leadership at Boston College, provide both practicing and aspiring school leaders the theory, research, and practical guidance to foster […]
The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) recently hosted the Course Redesign Institute (CRI), guiding 20 faculty members in best practices to assess how they teach, changes to make a course more enjoyable and more effective, and high-impact tactics that boost learning outcomes and bolster student engagement. The three-day institute offered information, resources and methods faculty can use […]
Armed with troves of data, maps and charts, graphic visualizations and mathematical skills, groups of local high schoolers are taking innovative approaches to understanding and inspiring solutions to pressing community problems. They are participants in a program led by Nicole Fonger, associate professor of mathematics and mathematics education in the College of Arts and Sciences and […]
(Syracuse Post-Standard | Sept. 2, 2025) As students and teachers head back to school, implementing the Supreme Court Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling from this past June is, at best, messy, and, in reality, troubling. The case centered on picture books that were part of the regular curriculum. These picture books had LGBTQ+ characters and families. The Supreme […]
In her new edited volume—Interventions for Anti-Oppressive Clinical Supervision: Navigating Critical Praxis (Routledge, 2026)—Melissa Luke, Dean’s Professor of Counseling and Counselor Education, reimagines the current landscape of clinical supervision training and practice by offering 50 transformative interventions grounded in the principles of anti-oppression. Luke’s co-editor is Harvey Charles Peters G’19, Associate Professor at Montclair State […]
NEWS UPDATE: At the AECT 2025 annual conference, Professor Jing Lei, Professor Qiu Wang, and instructional design Ph.D. student Yanbei Chen, received the Teacher Education Division (TED) Best Proposal Award for their paper “Teaching Anxiety in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Examining the Impact of Digital Self-Efficacy and Social-Emotional Competence Among Pre-Service Teachers.” Professor Jing […]
Syracuse University School of Education welcomes four new faculty members in fall 2025, bringing expertise in literacy and learning; inclusive teacher preparation and special education; counseling and counselor education; and K-12 educational leadership. “Our new faculty strengthen the School of Education’s research and teaching capacity in some of our core academic offerings—inclusive teacher preparation, mental […]
It’s been a whirlwind 18 months for Syracuse University School of Education Advisory Board member Felicia Walker ’87, P’17. What started as a trip with friends to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has become a commitment to build out and maintain a pre-school/kindergarten in a small village close to the city of Arusha, some 100 […]
“I know special education because I lived special education,” writes Carly Rosen ’14 on her website advocateforaction.org. At school, Rosen developed her own learning style, which, “along with having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and later a 504 Plan to support me, had a meaningful impact that led to great success.” Rosen’s advocate was her […]
It started with trivia nights at the Inn Complete and a mutual fandom of Orange sports and grew into a life filled with Orange pride, campus milestones and a little one who thinks Otto the Orange runs the world. For Brianna G’20 and Kevin Shults G’20, Syracuse University isn’t just where they work—it’s where their […]
As point guard for the Orange women’s basketball team, Raquel-Ann “Roxi” Nurse McNabb ’98, G’99, P’25 was known for helping her teammates “make buckets”—a lot of buckets. The 1997 Syracuse University Athlete of the Year, two-time MVP, and three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star still ranks fifth in all-time career assists at Syracuse. Twenty-five years later, […]
Instructional design program alumnus Lawrence “Larry” Swiader ’89, G’93 has built a career at the intersection of storytelling, education, and technology—a path that’s taken him from the early days of analog editing as a student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications to leading cutting-edge educational projects using artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality […]
The University’s first inclusive study abroad trip has redefined what inclusive higher education looks like, blending immersive cultural experiences with academic exploration of inclusive education across borders. This two-week program, held in June 2025, brought together students with and without intellectual disability, reflecting a commitment to making global education more inclusive and accessible to everyone. […]
Laura Rouse holds a Certificate of Advanced Study (2017) and Ed.D. (2022) in Educational Leadership from Syracuse University School of Education. Her doctoral dissertation—”Unveiling the Unmarked Implications for Culturally Responsive Educational Leadership”—explores the ways Whiteness exists in predominately White rural pre-K through grade 12 public education. In 2024, Rouse founded Supernal Insights LLC, an educational […]
NY teachers push for AI protections in the classroom (Spectrum News | July 3, 2025) At a recent rally in Ithaca, teachers called on state lawmakers to protect the uniquely human side of their profession. Many fear that without regulation, AI tools could replace core parts of their job — and damage the critical teacher-student […]
When the latest national trend toward challenging children’s books in community and school libraries came to her small Western Pennsylvania town, Morgan Meddings ’25 was shocked and dismayed, but not intimidated. An honors student and inclusive elementary major, Meddings channeled her energy into developing a school curriculum designed to defend challenged books. This project was […]
Fretting over fireworks: Dealing with sounds, sights and smells this Independence Day (Via Spectrum News | July 3, 2025) The Fourth of July celebrates America’s independence, usually with concerts, cookouts and, of course, fireworks. Fireworks are meant to be exciting and bring joy to viewers, but for some military veterans, the displays can trigger tough […]
In May 2025, Syracuse University School of Education said “farewell” to Nick Piato G’22 after three years as program coordinator for The SENSES Project, which seeks to increase sense of belonging for students through the use of music and podcast creation. SENSES is an initiative of the TRIO Student Support Services program, part of SOE’s […]
Carolyn Fernandes ’25 remembers walking out of an interview for a design internship that she ended up not getting. She wondered if fidgeting with her nails—a common, repetitive expression of her nervous energy every day—was misconstrued as a sign of not paying attention and a reason for her not getting the position. Fernandes is part […]
You could say that lacrosse is in Neal Powless’s blood. Powless G’08, the University ombuds, is a school counseling master’s program alum and a member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan. He is the son, grandson, and brother of legendary lacrosse players. Powless picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time at age 2. […]