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Orange Academy Returns in Fall 2021 with Seven Courses and Discount for Syracuse University Alumni, Faculty and Staff

Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies announces online noncredit course offerings in two sessions for Fall 2021 as part of Orange Academy, which launched in 2020. The cost of each four-week course is $244, with a discounted rate of $195 per course available to Syracuse University alumni, faculty and staff.

“Orange Academy provides a unique pathway to access all that Syracuse University has to offer post-traditional students as well as those who have earned a college degree but are seeking further educational enrichment,” says Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies. “High school students are also welcome to take Orange Academy courses as a low-stress introduction to the University.”

Courses through Orange Academy are taught by Syracuse University faculty and instructors. The first four-week session runs from Sept. 20 through Oct. 15, with an enrollment deadline of Sept. 8. Course offerings are Film Production: From Script to Set (led by Donato Rossi, director and video producer at the Center for Online and Digital Learning); The Business of Sport (led by Professor John Wolohan from Falk College of Sport & Human Dynamics and the College of Law); Social Media Strategies (led by Melinda Sebastian from the School of Information Studies); and The Power of Your Chakras (led by Andrea Willis, director of academic programs at the College of Professional Studies).

The second four-week sessions runs from Oct. 25 through Nov. 19 with an enrollment deadline of Oct. 11. Course offerings are Historic Cases in Forensic Science (led by Professor James Spencer Ph.D. from the College of Arts and Sciences); Introduction to Brand Development (led by Rich Merrill, a Whitman alum and adjunct instructor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications); and Introduction to Project Management (led by Mark Borte, Syracuse University alum and adjunct professor at the School of Information Studies).

Orange Academy offers high engagement learning opportunities in a relaxed academic environment to those wanting to pursue a personal or professional passion or interest. There are no prerequisites to enroll in Orange Academy and no exams or graded papers, which provides the opportunity to advance knowledge in an open, welcoming setting.

“Orange Academy was launched in 2020 as a way to engage the Orange community during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Dean Frasciello, noting the partnership between the College of Professional Studies and the Office of Alumni Engagement. “Without having to leave the comfort and safety of home, students of all ages and backgrounds interacted with University faculty — and each other.”

The four-week noncredit courses provide weekly evening live sessions with supplemental content provided between class meetings. Attendees can strengthen their skills, learn a new craft and increase their knowledge base.

In 2020, Orange Academy students also had the opportunity to contribute to the University community, according to Jeff Comanici, executive director, Post-Traditional Advancement. Proceeds from the course fees for students enrolled in the Voices Matter: Why You Need to Talk About Race course contributed more than $4,000 to the College of Professional Studies’ Our Time Has Come (OTHC) scholarship fund. “The fund creates possibilities for underrepresented students at Syracuse University to earn their degree part time,” Comanici says. “The College of Professional Studies’ Our Time Has Come scholarship will be awarded through the College for the first time this fall thanks to the commitment and generosity of students in that Orange Academy course.”

To learn more or register for Orange Academy Fall 2021 courses, visit https://parttime.syr.edu/executive-education/orange-academy-online/. For more information about how to donate directly to the CPS OTHC scholarship, contact Jeff Comanici at jjcomani@syr.edu.

Announcing New Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management

Today’s businesses face unprecedented turbulence and disruption. Rapid changes in technology and the impact of globalization yield uncertainty. In response to the growing need for managers with the adaptability to succeed in the changing landscape of business in a global economy, the College of Professional Studies (formerly known as University College) announces a new online Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) degree in Business Management.

The comprehensive and interdisciplinary curriculum explores contemporary business concepts, including international business, strategy, finance, global leadership, communication, project management, marketing and organizational management.

Ideal for individuals interested in launching or advancing their careers in the business world, Syracuse University’s 120-credit Bachelor of Professional Studies degree in business management is fully online with weekly interactive live sessions that can be completed from anywhere in the world. This online undergraduate degree represents a partnership between the College of Professional Studies and the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

Registration for the fall semester is now open. Classes start Monday, August 30. For more information contact The College of Professional Studies at 315.443.9378, toll free at 1.866.498.9378 or email parttime@syr.edu.

Celebration of Life Honoring Syracuse Music Legend Eli Harris Set for July 17 at Hendricks Chapel

Elijah Harris Jr.

While a beloved Central New York musician died unexpectedly last year, he will be remembered this month not by how his life tragically ended, but by the spirit in which he embraced it.

Popular troubadour and local legend Elijah Harris, Jr., killed by a pair of hit-and-run accidents in April 2020, will be honored during a celebratory memorial service at Hendricks Chapel on the Syracuse University campus Saturday, July 17, from 3 to 7 p.m.

All members of the community are invited to this special observance being organized by his daughter, Lakisha Harris and her family, and hosted by Syracuse University’s College of Professional Studies. Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, the family asks that attendees wear masks to keep the community safe.

“Mr. Harris could be heard on the streets of downtown and across University Hill, where folks delighted in seeing his presence and listening to his special brand of music,” says Dean Michael Frasciello. “We’re proud to play a part in honoring him and the influence he had on many other musicians.”

The service will feature tributes by family members, friends, and performances by those who have been impacted by his artistry, as well as raffles for a portrait of Eli, as he was known, and a gift card from J Michael Shoes on Marshall Street. “My dad used music to communicate and to teach others how to love through music,” says Lakisha. “This celebration will be a reflection of his passion and inspiration.”

Last fall, the Harris family established the Eli Harris Scholarship Fund, through the College of Professional Studies, which will assist a part-time music student annually. For more information about the scholarship, visit here. To make a donation in memory of Eli Harris, please contact Jeff Comanici, executive director of Advancement and External Affairs, at 315.443.1409 or jjcomani@syr.edu.

For more information about Eli Harris’ memorial service, please contact Lakisha Harris at 315. 418.5536 or elialleyway@yahoo.com.

View a live stream of the service online at 3 p.m. EST on July 17 via Zoom: https://syracuseuniversity.zoom.us/j/96338491671

University College Becomes the Syracuse University College of Professional Studies

In its May meeting, the Syracuse University Board of Trustees approved renaming University College to the College of Professional Studies.

“Since its inception, University College has served as Syracuse University’s point of entry for part-time and adult learners,” says Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation. “As we set the conditions to launch and scale Syracuse University Global, the college’s new name better reflects its stature as a top-tier provider of professional degree programs, certificates and credentials to part-time students.”

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Online Cannabis Education Programs Meet Demand for Qualified Workers in the Industry

Written by: Andriana Ruscitto via Cannabis Business Times

Following New York legalizing adult-use cannabis in March, one university is already working to meet the growing demand for qualified and educated professionals in the emerging industry.

University College at Syracuse University, the academic college of continuing education and professional studies, has partnered with Green Flower, a cannabis education association, to offer four programs where individuals can receive non-credit certificates in Cannabis Education.

The four programs are: Healthcare and Medicine, Cannabis Law and Policy, The Business of Cannabis, and Cannabis Agriculture and Horticulture. Each course is six months and includes three eight-week online classes.

Individuals do not have to be a student at Syracuse to enroll in the course. University College Dean Michael Frasciello said the university expects the primary student population to be individuals already in the industry looking to upskill and further educate themselves or people looking to enter the industry. However, he suspects that more university students will show interest in the programs over time as the cannabis industry continues to expand.

Frasciello gives a general overview of each program:

The Cannabis Law and Policy program will cover business practices, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation, future opportunities in related career fields, intellectual property, social equity, labor law, environmental law and consumer law, including advertising, labeling and packaging, he said.

“What we expect that we’ll see interest in this program from lawyers who are practicing but want to build expertise in this area within their practice,” he said. “Certainly, paralegals, or others in specific areas of the industry like advertising, labeling and packaging, that need to have a [better] grounding in some of the legal and policy aspects of it.”

The Business of Cannabis program will cover a wide range of topics, from business to the fundamentals of cultivation. Some cultivation topics include processing, extraction, manufacturing, lab setup and protocols and distribution. While the business side covers retail, delivery, licensing, business ethics, marketing, human resources, sales, accounting, how to scale business operations, real estate, innovation, investment and more, he said.

“The interesting thing I think about this program is that students create a business portfolio,” he said. “Basically, the portfolio is [students] set up [their] own company and create a very high-level business plan. They will look at risk analysis, operations, project management and lots of case studies.”

The Health and Medicine program is specific to understanding medical cannabis properties, he said. The course will cover human physiology, health care ethics and law, the use of cannabis in health care practices for practitioners and more.

“Similar to where the business program has the portfolio, in this program, students [will be] partnered with integrated medical centers in the areas where they’re located or facilities to learn more about dosing, titration, administration—sort of drug interactions,” he said. “So, it [covers] some interactions that [they may] need to be aware of from a pharmacological perspective.”

The Agriculture and Horticulture program is the most “straightforward” of the four programs, he said.

Students run through how to engage in production effectively and sustainably, which includes management cultivation as well as statutory and administrative laws.

Similar to the other programs, Agriculture and Horticulture is also project-based, and students will be required to do case studies specific to their state on local jurisdiction for cultivation, he said.

“There is a chemistry or scientific component to the program [as well],” he said. “Students will cover plant chemistry, disease and threats, techniques and processes for harvesting and drying, trimming and processing, storage, and there’s a module on industrial hemp again. So, we are trying to attend to all of the opportunities within the industry.”

Frasciello added, “Our decision to make this a non-credit as opposed to a credit program is that the non-credit program allows us to customize better [the program] to meet workforce demand. When you attach a credit to something, there’s a lot of governance on the backend that has to come into play, and we felt that with the non-credit certificate, we could be more agile and responsive to the demand and interest as it increases.”

Essentially, the non-credit aspect gives the university the freedom to make changes to the curriculum as the industry evolves.

“There were some folks on my team that had the foresight to identify that the cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country,” he said. “Then we determined that we probably should be moving into space with a continuing education program, which is where Green Flower came in.”

Green Flower faculty members with years of experience in different aspects of the cannabis industry designed and developed the curriculum. The university worked with them to ensure that the curriculum aligned with the “tenets of rigor and excellence” that the university is known for in the online space, Frasciello said.

Professional instructors from Green Flower who are currently in the industry will be teaching the curriculum, which is essential to the university, as these individuals can teach from experience.

While the university was working with Green Flower last fall to get the curriculum approved, the state began to send strong signals that legalization would likely happen in the spring, Frasciello said. “It just aligned really nicely that we were able to get everything approved within the university through our governance process, and then the state announced [legalization],” he said.

Enrollment is currently open and all courses begin on June 28. Ever since the university released its first press release about it in April, the response has been great, he said. About half a dozen individuals have enrolled in the program and roughly 10 to 14 have inquired about it.

Designing a program like this to educate individuals on the cannabis industry and prepare them for jobs in the field is essential, Frasciello said, especially as New York and neighboring states move to legalize cannabis.

“Our mission here is to prepare individuals for success in whatever industry that they’re currently in or the industry or career that they want to move into—that’s our whole purpose here,” he said. “So, it was important for us to move into this opportunity because we want to be able to ensure that there are individuals in the industry who are informed, smart, capable, responsible and good practitioners.”