SU announces new chancellor

Kent D. Syverud, Dean of the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will be the 12th Chancellor and President of Syracuse University. Chancellor-designate Syverud will begin his tenure as chancellor on Jan. 13, 2014.

Richard L. Thompson, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, alerted the Syracuse University community early this morning with an email stating the news.

According to Thompson’s email, Syverud set himself apart from the rest throughout the selection process by the “impressive range and depth of experience he brings from having been a faculty member and academic leader at some of the nation’s best universities, by his demonstrated leadership on some of the most important issues facing higher education and the world today, and by his profoundly thoughtful and collaborative spirit.”

Syverud has had previous appointments at Michigan, Vanderbilt and Washington University, and has had many published articles and served as editor of a leading journal in his field. He has also credited with bringing the Washington and Vanderbilt University law schools to greater national prominence, and served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

He is a public scholar who partners with others to address crucial issues facing the nation and the world, currently serving as one of only two trustees appointed to oversee the $20 billion trust established to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Thompson said in his email.

Syverud and his wife, Dr. Ruth Chen, an accomplished environmental toxicologist, are parents to three grown sons: Steven, Brian and David. Chen will hold a Professor of Practice appointment at SU.

“Chancellor-designate Syverud is a dedicated, award-winning teacher, as well as a leader in tackling some of the greatest challenges facing higher education today, including curricular reform and the strategic use of technology in teaching to assure both high quality and high value,” writes Thompson.

Thompson invites the community to welcome Syverud and Chen to the SU family by gathering in Hendricks Chapel today at 1 p.m. The event can be live streamed.

For more information, visit www.syr.edu.