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TUESDAY
march 31, 2015 high 41°, low 23°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • Making a difference
dailyorange.com
P • Pat project
One year after graduating from SU, Dan Romeo is running for nomination for the Syracuse City School District Board of Education. Page 3
Professor emeritus Marvin Druger dedicated the Patricia Meyers Druger Astronomy Learning Center on Saturday in honor of his late wife. Page 9
S • Wingman
Syracuse long-stick midfielder Peter Macartney has locked down back-to-back opposing midfielders, and he wasn’t even with the Orange during fall practice. Page 16
University commits to divest from fossil fuels Workgroup what is divestment to assess free speech
By Sara Swann
asst. news editor
Syracuse University announced Tuesday that it is formally divesting endowment funds from coal mining and other fossil fuel companies.
SU will continue to seek investments through its endowment in companies that are focused on developing new technology involving solar energy, biofuels and advanced recycling, according to an SU News release. This commitment means that SU
will not “directly invest in publicly traded companies whose primary business is extraction of fossil fuels.” External investment managers at SU will also be directed to halt investments in these public see divestment page 6
Divestment is getting rid of investment in a particular item, in this case fossil fuels. Twenty-six colleges and universities have already committed to divest from fossil fuels, according to gofossilfree.org.
Board of Trustees chairman’s term to end in May Here are some of
the major happenings and decisions during Thompson’s tenure as chairman: Sept. 2012 The Campaign for Syracuse University surpassed its goal to raise $1 billion by the end of 2012.
Sept. 2013 Kent Syverud was named the 12th chancellor of SU following a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees.
Jan. 2015 The Thompsons made a major gift for the construction of the Ensley Athletic Center, which opened in January.
RICHARD THOMPSON, chairman of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, speaks following the announcement in September 2013 that Kent Syverud would be the university’s 12th chancellor. chase gaewski staff photographer
By Annie Palmer staff writer
Syracuse University Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Thompson will step down in May when his term ends. Thompson’s leave was planned by the university, said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs. He will likely receive an honorary degree as per tradition for nearly a century, Quinn said. Historically, chairmen leaving the university receive honorary degrees. Quinn said the university has honored this tradition dating back to H.W. Smith, who took office in 1922. He said he could not say if Thompson has officially been awarded the
degree yet, but that he expects SU will announce all recipients “very soon.” University Senators first saw the list of honorary degree candidates during a closed session at a March 18 meeting. Nominees are considered based on outstanding achievements, their resume and letters from other members of the university community, said Christian Day, chair of the University Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees. The list of nominees is kept confidential until each person accepts, he added. After the Committee on Honorary Degrees receives nominations, the list is given to the Senate for approval. The chancellor and the Board of Trustees then choose from the slate
of candidates, and the recipients receive their degrees at that year’s commencement ceremony, Day said. “We really try to bring in people who are really worthy,” Day said.
The tradition has been for outgoing Board chairmen to receive (honorary degrees). Samuel Gorovitz philosophy professor
A chairman’s average term lasts three to four years, said Samuel Gorovitz, a philosophy professor and former
dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Very few trustees receive honorary degrees,” Gorovitz said. “The tradition has been for outgoing Board chairmen to receive them.” Both Gorovitz and Day declined to comment about ongoing honorary degree nominations. When Thompson’s nomination came up in the closed session, a voice vote was used to determine if he would be approved to receive the honorary degree. Many senators abstained from voting, while a significant number opposed the nomination, according to three senators, who asked to remain unnamed due to nominations being private. see thompson page 6
Members discuss policy changes at first meeting By Claire Moran staff writer
The workgroup tasked with looking at Syracuse University’s free speech policies has started meeting, and its members are hoping to look at ways the policy can be improved moving forward. The Student Association and Graduate Student Organization have raised concerns that the current Computer and Electronic Communications Policy is too “vague” and “broad” when it comes to free speech. Last month, Chancellor Kent Syverud created a workgroup to address these concerns. The workgroup includes four students, two undergraduate and two graduate, one faculty member and one staff member. David Rubin, a professor and dean emeritus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, will act as the leader of the workgroup. The group met for the first time last week. Only four members of the group were able to attend the meeting, but Rubin said they have planned a number of other meetings and hope to get most of the work done before the student members of the group leave SU for the summer. At the first meeting, Rubin said they started defining the goals and main questions that the group hopes to address, including whether the group should look at free speech only as it applies to electronic communication or if it should broaden its focus to include other forms of speech. He said it’s difficult to write one policy that applies to everything. “So, for me, the goal is to try to establish the basic principles that we agree on, to look at some of the most common kinds of issues, offer our view on those common issues that are likely to come up often and then see workgroup page 6