Remembrance WEEK

It has been 15 years since the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 270 people, including 35 SU students returning from studying abroad. In memory of those students, the University established Remembrance Scholarships, which are awarded annually to 35 seniors. The University also created the Lockerbie-Syracuse Scholarships, which bring two Lockerbie Academy students to campus for a year of study. The scholarships are supported by generous gifts from C. Jean Thompson ’66 and SU Trustee Richard L. Thompson G’67, the Fred L. Emerson Foundation, and many other contributors.

Each November, the scholars host Remembrance Week, which culminates in a convocation at Hendricks Chapel and a rose-laying ceremony at the Place of Remembrance in front of the Hall of Languages. Among this year’s events were a community dialogue about the effects of terrorism, the annual distribution of 1,000 carnations, and the posting of photos of each of the 35 victims in buildings around campus. Scholars also volunteered at a soup kitchen and the Living Room, a home for people with HIV. “We have a wonderfully diverse group,” says Remembrance Scholar SarahKate Kirk ’04. “I think we do a good job representing the University.”

Nearly 200 students apply to become Remembrance Scholars each year, says Judith O’Rourke ’75, assistant to the vice president for undergraduate studies and a member of the selection committee. “Their duty to the campus is to remind us how much individuals can affect others,” O’Rourke says. Remembrance Scholar Robert Fiato ’04 says all the work is worth it. “I don’t think there’s a greater honor than to represent the [Pan Am] students,” he says.

For more information on the Remembrance Scholarship Endowment Fund, call the Office of Donor Relations at 315-443-1215.

Scholar/TEACHER
Physics professor Peter Saulson was named SU’s 2003 Methodist Scholar/Teacher of the Year. Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw announced the award during his annual address to the University community, citing Saulson’s contributions to physics and teaching. “He is a master at lacing his lectures with real-world examples, at being available to students for their many questions and concerns, and above all, at communicating his passion for his subject,” Shaw says. “He is also a sought-after mentor for graduate students, who praise him for his ability to teach them to become active and considerate members of the scientific community.”

Earlier this year, Saulson—an expert on gravitational physics—was elected by several hundred of his peers as spokesman for the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration. This $500 million National Science Foundation-funded initiative involves more than 44 academic institutions around the globe and holds the potential to help answer fundamental questions about the dynamics, origin, and structure of the universe.

Playing FIELDS
The University has upgraded its 43-acre Hookway property near South Campus, creating new playing fields for use by the Department of Recreation Services and the Department of Athletics. The $1.5 million project was completed this fall, and the fields will be open for action this spring.

The Hookway site now features five athletic fields for practices, scrimmages, and sports camps, and one large multi-use field for club and intramural sports. The five new Upper Hookway Fields, which jointly cover 13.6 acres, are regulation-size, grass game fields, and two of them are lighted. The Lower Hookway Field will be used for such Recreation Services activities as cricket, rugby, lacrosse, field hockey, and softball.

“These fields will provide extremely valuable practice and summer camp space in a self-contained and concentrated landscaped area,” says athletic director Jake Crouthamel. “Our field sport coaches are thrilled because they now have all the space they need to conduct their programs.”

News MAKERS

SU Trustee H. Douglas Barclay ’61, H’98 was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador. In October, as part of the confirmation process, the former New York State senator testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs.

Edward Bogucz, dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been named executive director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems. Bogucz has been the coordinator of the Center of Excellence since its inception in June 2002, while simultaneously serving as dean.

College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) student Erin Williams ’05 was crowned Miss Delaware and competed in the Miss America pageant.

Nikki Loiero ’04, a VPA music industry major, imitated country music star Shania Twain in the FOX television show, Performing As… She finished fourth in the episode, singing Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”

SU running back Walter Reyes ’05 established a Carrier Dome single-game SU rushing record with 241 yards in the Orangemen’s 38-14 victory over Central Florida. The previous mark of 239 yards was set by Dee Brown ’00 against Rutgers in 2000.