Syracuse University officials on Monday discussed the university’s impact on the community and local initiatives involving the city school district and veterans, during a student media briefing.

SU will partner with the Syracuse City School District to provide scholarships to local students for its Summer College program, said Bea González, vice president for community engagement.

Student participation in the Summer College program in the school district is limited because of the cost of the program, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and founding executive director of SU’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families. SU received grants in the past to help fund those scholarships, but the university will now fund the program nearly in its entirety, González said.

 “Just one of those touchstone kind of experiences can change the trajectory of a young person’s life,” Haynie said.

 The university annually provides more than $20 million in scholarships to local underserved students, González said.

SU and its veterans-focused outfits, the IVMF and the National Veterans Resource Center, have also increased their work training programs for locals.

Regional construction workers have been working on the NVRC as a result of a training program for underemployed and unemployed workers in the Syracuse area, which also includes the region’s veteran population.

“For Syracuse University to thrive, our community must thrive. And for our community to thrive, Syracuse University must thrive,” Haynie said.

Published on January 28, 2019 at 9:11 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001