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For 15 years University College (UC) carried forward the dream of an SU student who initiated a program as a project in her leadership class. Shadow Day, founded in 1998, was the brainchild of Kamika Dunlap ’99. It fosters community building, service and outreach by bringing fifth-grade students from Seymour Dual Language Academy to SU’s campus to discover and understand the opportunities available to them if they successfully complete high school.

Shadow Day celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. The first year brought 10 students to campus to “shadow” SU students for the day. This year, more than 60 fifth-grade students will be hosted by 35 SU students from fraternities, sororities and various student organizations. The day begins with breakfast at the Chancellor’s residence, followed by attending a class, touring the campus and having lunch in the student center.

At the end of the school day, the students are given a tour of the Carrier Dome, where they are greeted by SU’s mascot, Otto the Orange. The students also listen to various speakers who represent educational programs that are in place to support them in their educational journey.

UC Dean Bea González has been part of the mentorship program since its first year. “Shadow Day is very special to me because I attended Seymour School as a child,” González says. “The program has evolved over the years with an increase in the number of students we bring to campus and the involvement of more and more student groups. The SU students have such a positive experience, and many of them participate throughout their college career.”

González, a former member of the Syracuse City School District Board as well as a former member of the City of Syracuse Common Council, knows first hand the need for positive role models for city school children. “It’s about giving the Seymour students the opportunity to see themselves as college students,” she says. “When the fifth-grade students are paired with SU students who share the same culture and, perhaps, the same upbringing, they can identify with them. And the SU student can share the message of working hard and never giving up.”

González says that there are a lot of programs in place to help children succeed, and SU does a wonderful job partnering with the school district to provide the necessary support and services aimed at dramatically increasing high school graduation rates. “It’s important to interact with the students at an early age and make them aware of the systems in place to help them succeed,” González says. “Ninth grade is the year when the most students are likely to drop out. If we can connect with them before that critical year, hopefully, we can make a positive difference.”

University College underwrites the entire program and receives donations of school supplies from the SU Bookstore, a longtime partner. Partnership for Better Education, the Office of Alumni Relations, and the Office of Admissions also generously donate supplies.

 

The March 21 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP) will feature Matt Millea, deputy county executive for Onondaga County, and Megan Costa from the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency. The pair will discuss how good land use planning helps to preserve natural areas, improves air and water quality, creates a walkable community, supports transit, reduces energy usage and more.

Millea was appointed deputy county executive for physical services by Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney in 2010. In this position, he oversees the operations of nine county departments and assists the county executive with the development and implementation of the annual county budget. He has been charged by the county executive to manage the county’s “Save the Rain” effort, which is a multi-million-dollar public works program using both gray and green infrastructure approaches to mitigate sewer overflows into Onondaga Lake.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and guests are welcome to attend.

IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, visit uc.syr.edu/irp, call 315-443-4846 or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

IRP is a community program established by University College of Syracuse University, dedicated to the principle of lifelong learning.

The March 14 session of Thursday Morning Roundtable will feature Svante Myrick, mayor of the City of Ithaca. He will talk about becoming Ithaca’s youngest and first African American mayor, the challenges of running the city of 30,000, and his take on public service and civic engagement.

In 2008, his first year in office, Myrick chaired the committee to create the Ithaca Youth Council and also chaired the Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee, which led to the creation and endorsement of a master plan for promoting development while still preserving neighborhoods in Collegetown.

Myrick attended Cornell University where he studied communications.  He was a three-year board member for REACH (Raising Education Attainment Challenge), where he tutored underserved young people in Ithaca for eight semesters, and wrote editorials for the Cornell Daily Sun. Myrick also served as the assistant director of Student and Young Alumni Programs for Cornell University before resigning his position to run for mayor.

TMR meets from 8:15-9:15 a.m. at Drumlins, 800 Nottingham Rd.

For further information, contact Sandra Barrett, director of community programs, 315-443-4846, or visit www.uc.syr.edu/community/tmr. The TMR program is broadcast on WCNY-FM, 91.3 on Sundays at 8 p.m. and at www.wcny.org/radio/thursday-morning-roundtable.

Syracuse University has signed a pledge to join the Education Pillar of Got Your 6 and support student veterans by implementing and enhancing resources, programs and policies to support this population. Got Your 6 is a movement led by a consortium of major film and television studios, broadcast and cable television networks, talent agencies and guilds that are united in changing the conversation in America with regard to veterans and military families. Syracuse University is joining dozens of colleges and universities nationwide committed to heightening their support for current and future students who are also military veterans.

Leading the Got Your 6 Education Pillar: Transitioning through Education efforts are the Pat Tillman Foundation, Student Veterans of America and Operation College Promise, which are working collaboratively to collect pledges from 500 colleges and universities by June 2014.

“Working together, the Pat Tillman Foundation, Student Veterans of America and Operation College Promise, have selected a leading group of institutions that will make the commitment to the Got Your 6 Education Pillar, including SU,” says Chris Marvin, managing director of Got Your 6. “It is our mission to ensure many more colleges and universities will join us in pledging to support our veterans, which will have a lasting and positive effect not only on campuses, but in communities all across the country.”

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families, based at Syracuse University, is also part of Got Your 6.

For more information, contact Margaret Stearns, Veterans Resource Center Director, University College of Syracuse University at 315-443-3261 or mrstearn@syr.edu.

Have you considered taking courses this summer that will earn you credits and still get you home in time for a summer job? Summer@Syracuse is a great way to:

stay on track to graduate on time

boost your GPA

add a double major

 

Start planning now for these 2013 Summer Session dates:

MAYmester: May 13-24

Session I: May 20-June 28

Session II: July 1-August 9

Combined Session:  May 20-August 9

 

Click here to view a tentative list of summer courses or request a copy of the credit course schedule.

 

Interested in studying abroad this summer? Attend an information session on February 7 at 4 p.m. at SU Abroad, 106 Walnut Place on the SU campus.