The Daily Orange sat down with Chancellor Kent Syverud on Wednesday for a 22-minute interview on topics including student life, proposed Title IX changes and fundraising. Here are five takeaways from the interview:

Syverud said a “cultural change” may be needed to implement the coming recommendations from SU’s Greek life review

Syverud said he is aware that nearly a dozen SU Greek organizations have been sanctioned in recent months for conduct violations including hazing and physically threatening behavior.

He said he thinks the implementation of coming recommendations in the university’s review of Greek life, which was launched after last spring’s Theta Tau videos controversy, will involve “cultural change” on campus. The results and recommendations from the review will be released before the start of the spring 2019 semester, he said.

The review included a “top-to-bottom” assessment of all SU’s Greek life policies, activity and culture.

“I’m confident that we’re gonna have a much-improved Greek life as a result of the work that’s been done in the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience,” Syverud said. “I think that it addresses the right issues in the right way, and I think the aspiration is to get to best practices.”

SU has suspended or expelled four Greek organizations since fall 2017.

Theta Tau was permanently expelled in April after videos surfaced showing people in the fraternity’s house using racial and ethnic slurs. SU announced the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity’s suspension last April after a months-long investigation into hazing. Alpha Epsilon Pi was suspended in February for conduct that threatened the safety of a student participating in the new member process. The SU chapter of Delta Tau Delta was suspended in fall 2017 for conduct violations that included hazing.

Syverud said there are parts of the proposed Title IX changes that are “seriously problematic”  

Syverud said he is concerned about aspects of proposed revisions to Title IX guidelines that would give additional protections to students accused of sexual assault. The chancellor said he has read the proposal himself but has not yet received feedback from campus working groups and university administrators.

“I will say from my own reading, which is now not yet informed by the advice of all those folks, there are some seriously problematic aspects in the proposed regulation,” Syverud said.

The revised rules would allow students accused of sexual assault to cross-examine their accusers. Schools that receive federal funding, including SU, would be required to hold live student conduct hearings. The definition of sexual harassment under the proposal would be limited to include only “unwelcome conduct” that denies a person equal access to an educational program or activity.

The new regulations, which were proposed by the Department of Education in November, are currently open for public comment. Syverud said SU has not decided yet whether it will submit a comment as an institution or whether it will provide its feedback to groups of higher education institutions.

Syverud said SU is working on addressing its “party school” ranking

When the Princeton Review ranked SU the No. 1 “party school” in the country in 2014, Syverud said the title was a “wake-up call” for the university. The university has consistently been ranked among the top 10 party schools in the country based on surveys that “indicated a combination of low personal daily study hours (outside of class), high usages of alcohol and drugs on campus and high popularity on campus for frats/sororities,” according to the college rankings website.

SU was ranked the No. 4 party school in the country in 2018.

“I continue to believe that being high in the party school rankings of Princeton Review is not what we should aspire to,” Syverud said on Wednesday. “It’s not a part of our mission.”

The chancellor said funding for undergraduate research and admissions through the Invest Syracuse initiative, a $100 million fundraising campaign to improve the university’s academics and student experience, has been directly related to addressing the party school ranking. He also said the university has been working to create options for student life “that are different than the choice between Bird Library or a massive off-campus party.”

Renovations to Archbold Gymnasium and Schine Student Center are also intended to change student culture, he said. But he added that it’s a balancing act to create conditions for a healthier campus.

“The university, or the university administration, cannot treat students like they’re in a daycare center and we’re responsible for controlling every aspect of their social and personal lives,” Syverud said. “We can help create a culture and spaces, as can student groups and student organizations, but college should not be entirely like being a camper in a middle school summer camp.”

Syverud said SU is on track to meet its fundraising goals and spending cuts have already been identified

Syverud said he is confident the university will meet its two-year goal to raise $40 million for financial aid as part of the Invest Syracuse initiative. SU raised $20 million in its first year and has currently raised nearly $13 million with six and a half months left in the second year, Syverud said.

About $30 million in administrative spending cuts, another component of the initiative, has been identified. There are $22 million in spending cuts in SU’s current budget, and the remaining $7 to $8 million cuts will be implemented over the next two years, Syverud said.

Syverud said administrative cost reductions have already been communicated to staff and he doesn’t expect restructurings or layoffs. Many of the cuts have been on student-facing services and improving efficiency, he said.

Syverud said SU’s Board of Trustees wants to interact more with students and faculty

Syverud said the Board of Trustees wants to be more engaged with the campus community. Kathleen Walters, SU’s new Board of Trustees chair, wants to make sure there’s more interaction directly between the Board, faculty and students, he said.

The chancellor said the feedback he receives from students and faculty is that they often don’t know how the board works, the board’s responsibilities and how the university is governed.

“The feedback I get is there’s a real need for more communication and more education that can only come from the (board and students and faculty) interacting,” Syverud said.

He said he doesn’t believe many people know the board is all volunteers and is heavily dominated by former SU students.

Published on December 14, 2018 at 1:07 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18