Dear Orange Friends:
I have been reading a lot of books by our faculty lately, and learning a lot. Next week I’ll alert you to a couple of them that are representative of the extraordinary work Syracuse aspires to.
But this week, I just want to spotlight the booths—or more precisely, the traffic booths—in the middle of the streets (and in parking lots) at various key entrance points to our campus. They are on Skytop Road, University Place and South Crouse, among other places. Some maps here label them “Welcome Center.”
That sounds grandiose for a building of less than 25 square feet. But “welcome” is exactly how the people who staff these booths make me feel. I mostly see the folks in the booth on South Crouse next to Newhouse, and usually that means I see Ed or Diana .
They greet me each day, but I notice they also greet everybody else, in cars and on foot—at least those who take the time to look at them. I have watched them answer a thousand questions with a smile (including, a hundred times a day, “Where is the Admissions Office?”). I have watched them do this cheerfully when it is 20 degrees below zero, and when it is raining cats and dogs.
So here’s to Ed, Diana and all our colleagues in the booths. I thank them for their cheer and patience, and for making a great first impression on those seeing this place in person for the first time.
Chancellor Kent Syverud