Dear Orange Friends:
In late October, I had the opportunity to teach a weekend class in negotiation. I have taught this class each semester, alternating between the Whitman School of Management and the College of Law.
I taught 48 students, the majority from the College of Law, and the rest from four other schools at Syracuse. It is an intense nine hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday, with students negotiating multiple agreements.
The class once again reminded me of three things. First, many folks here support our faculty and are integral to great teaching, even when they remain behind the scenes. Anthony De La Fuente, Class of 2019 from Falk College, served as my excellent teaching assistant for this course. Anthony had taken this class as a freshman. I had great support from Joel Whitney, computer consultant in the College of Law, and also his student assistant Sadikur Ahmed, Class of 2018 from the College of Arts and Sciences. Finally, Lisa Cummings, administrative assistant in the College of Law, and Tyler Dorholt from the Chancellor’s Office helped provide administrative and logistical support for nearly every aspect of the course. I could not have taught well without the efforts of this team.
Second, Syracuse students are spectacular. I have taught this course at many other places and Syracuse students compare very well. Each semester I teach here the students are prepared, engaged, observant and oftentimes brilliant.
Finally, teaching this class reminds me how much dedicated work our faculty devote to teaching our students well. I taught for one weekend and one credit; our faculty work very hard all semester and all year for our students.
On this Thanksgiving, I am grateful to all those who support and facilitate great teaching at Syracuse.
Sincerely,
Chancellor Kent Syverud