The sound of drills, hammers and sanders filled the Skybarn on South Campus on Feb. 20, as 141 student volunteers came together to build beds for children in the Syracuse community who don’t have one to call their own.

The partnered with the Syracuse chapter of to work toward SHP’s mission, “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.”

Throughout the day, the energy inside the venue was upbeat. Students who had never picked up a power drill were guided by more experienced SHP volunteers, sawdust collecting on sneakers as bed frames took shape across the floor.

Over the course of two two-hour shifts, volunteers built 116 bed frames, surpassing the goal of 100 and more than doubling what was done during the inaugural build in 2024. There was laughter, encouragement and a shared sense of purpose that organizers said made the day unlike anything they had experienced before.

A Growing Commitment

The growth of the program has been striking. When SUVO first partnered with SHP on a 2024 build, the group completed 44 beds. In 2025, that number jumped to 88. This year’s total of 116 represents not just a record, but a reflection of deepening commitment across campus.

Students from a wide range of programs and organizations showed up to help, and novel fundraising efforts, such as pie-in-the-face events, helped cover the cost of materials. The planning team included SUVO President Ava Portney ’26, Vice President Ryan Edwards ’26, Secretary Lara Sare ’26 and Treasurer Cody Wade ’26.

Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens ’85 stopped by and addressed volunteers, drawing a direct line between a good night’s sleep and a child’s ability to reach their potential. She noted that 10% of students in the Syracuse City School District lack a permanent address.

“No one’s potential is defined by where they live,” Owens said, “but their ability to be prepared to be the best they can be definitely is affected by how they live.”

She thanked the Syracuse students on behalf of the entire city, telling them the experience of giving to someone who may not be empowered to give to themselves would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Portney said the eagerness she witnessed among student volunteers was inspiring and proof that community, even in discouraging times, has a way of sustaining itself. “Community is the closest thing to good we can have as humans,” she said.

Wade told the volunteers that a bed is far more than a piece of furniture. “A bed is safety. It’s dignity. And most importantly, it’s hope.”

He urged every volunteer to go a step further and help deliver the beds into the community on a future Saturday. SHP expert volunteers bring community members directly into the homes of families in need to assemble and set up the beds on-site.

‘This Is Where You Sleep’

Dave Hoalcraft ’85, a Syracuse native who worked for the University for 39 years, is now co-president of the Syracuse chapter of SHP. He described one of the deliveries he made in the community that remains at the forefront of his mind. A young girl pointed to a blanket and stuffed animal on the floor when telling him where her bed was. Once the bed was assembled, complete with new bedding, it dawned on her that she now had a safe and cozy place to rest her head at night.

“Sixty times you gave us the opportunity to tell this little girl: ‘This is where you sleep,” Hoalcraft told the first shift of volunteers, which completed 60 bed frames. “You did a lot more than play shop today—you gave 60 kids a warm, safe place to sleep.”

With each passing year, more students have learned about the cause, spread the word and shown up ready to work.

The build has become one of the most anticipated volunteer events on campus, a rare occasion where the output is something tangible: a sturdy wooden frame, carefully sanded and assembled, that will soon hold a mattress, sheets, bedding and a sleeping child who might otherwise have had nothing beneath them but the floor.

For the children of Syracuse who will receive these beds, the impact may be difficult to measure but is impossible to overstate. As Mayor Owens said, everyone’s day begins with how they laid their head the night before. Thanks to 141 Orange volunteers, 116 more children in Syracuse will have a chance to take part in a good night’s sleep.

To volunteer for a bed build, bed deliveries, donate bedding or make a monetary donation, visit . For more information about SUVO activities, email suvo@syr.edu.

The (CSE), launched last fall, brought together the University’s student support programs into a single administrative structure in order to build synergies and better serve students.

As of last week, those programs are now together in a single physical space as well, at .

“This move truly creates a centralized hub for student success, academic support, engagement and persistence,” Assistant Provost for Academic Programs and CSE Director Tommy Powell says. “It brings together multiple high-impact student support offices with a shared mission: helping students thrive academically, personally and professionally from their first day on campus through graduation.”

CSE serves all undergraduate students, with a focus on student transition and adjustment to college; academic skill-building and coaching; retention and persistence; engagement, belonging and experiential learning; and clear communication and coordination across support services.

CSE comprises multiple programs working closely together:

• First Year Seminar
• Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS)
• Retention and Student Success
• SOURCE (Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement)
• Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising
• Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP)
• McNair Scholars Program
• Our Time Has Come Scholars
• Remembrance Scholars
• STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) and CSTEP (College Science and Technology Entry Program)
• Shaw Center for Public and Community Service
• Living Learning Communities

Student-Athlete Academic Services, located in the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, is also a core part of the CSE.

The building is located at the corner of Sims Drive and College Place, adjacent to Sims Hall. Drop-ins are welcome.

For more information, call 315.443.2005.

The Nutrition Initiative consists of three programs:��Books and Cooks, a literacy, culture, and cooking collaboration with Syracuse City School District elementary schools;��Food Busters, a program for Syracuse high school students that explores the science behind food through hands-on activities and experiments; and��Cooking on the Hillside, where Hillside employees in the�� program provide cooking lessons to Syracuse high school students.

Shaw Center Assistant Director����oversees a team of seven Nutrition Initiative leadership interns who create the curriculums, purchase and prepare food, and arrange travel for Nutrition student volunteers who participate in the program.

The current faculty advisors from the Department of Nutrition—Associate Teaching Professor ��(Books and Cooks), Associate Professor����(Food Busters), and Associate Teaching Professor�� (Cooking on the Hillside)—suggest and review lesson plans for the interns.

The leadership interns for the fall 2025 semester included Nutrition Initiative coordinator Zoya Ansari ’26 (nutrition science major), Trinity Delgado ’27 (exercise science major in the Falk College), Sophie Denham ’27 (neuroscience and psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences), Lily Judelsohn ’28 (nutrition major), Natalie Kloman ’27 (nutrition major), Mae Neuman ’27 (nutrition major) and Tracey Rodriguez ’27 (nutrition science major).

For the leadership interns, the common threads for joining the Nutrition Initiative are their fascination with nutrition, and their interest in giving back to the Syracuse community.

“Nutrition is important, especially for young children and teenagers to keep their bodies going and to maintain their health to prevent other problems,” Ansari says. “So going into these classrooms and teaching children nutrition is very important, and we’re doing it in a fun way that makes them excited about making food and trying it.”

Story by Matt Michael and Cathleen O’Hare

For students who are looking to get involved in community service this year, the University’s has plenty of options.Such programs as the Literacy Corps, Balancing the Books, STEM Initiative, Nutrition Initiative and Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO) offer students opportunities to make a difference in the greater Syracuse community.

Undergraduate students of all years and majors are invited to explore involvement opportunities. Representatives from the Shaw Center and other recognized student organizations will be at the today, Tuesday, Sept. 9; Wednesday, Sept. 10; and Thursday, Sept. 11, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.�� on the Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle to meet with interested students.

Volunteer opportunities include the following:

Syracuse University Literacy Corps (SULC)

A signature program of the Shaw Center, places literacy tutors in elementary schools in the Syracuse City School District, other area schools and in community organizations to provide K-12 students with one-on-one mentoring and academic support. The Literacy Corps is a paid position, and are currently being accepted through Friday, Sept. 12.

SULC was one of the first programs that Elyas Layachi, a junior mathematics major in the College of Arts and Sciences and an inclusive adolescent education major in the School of Education, got involved with at Syracuse as a first-year student.

“As a student in education, SULC has given me a glimpse into the profession of teaching, specifically in diverse learning environments with students from different backgrounds and speaking so many languages,” he says.

Layachi is now a leadership intern in the Shaw Center, hiring and onboarding tutors, processing program data and organizing such events as professional development trainings and tutor orientations.

“I highly recommend that anyone who is interested in working with the younger population, wants to be more involved in the greater Syracuse community and enjoys having new experiences apply for this position,” he says.

Balancing the Books

is a financial literacy mentoring program offered through a collaboration of the Shaw Center, Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the Syracuse City School District. Volunteer tutors commit a minimum of one year to working with a consistent cohort of middle school and high school students at Huntington Pre-K-8 School and Henninger High School. Tutors work with students on financial literacy, reading, writing, mathematics and other skills. This opportunity is available to Whitman undergraduates only.

STEM Initiative

volunteers facilitate hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities in classroom and after-school settings, engaging in small groups with student participants to help them improve their science, computing, reading and math skills. The initiative consists of two distinctive programs:

• STEM Explorers
  STEM Explorers is a mentoring program for middle school students in the Syracuse area with support from focused on the engineering aspect of STEM.
• Syracuse University Information Technology Experience (SUITE)
  SUITE is a mentoring program for elementary school students in the Syracuse area focused on the technology aspect of STEM.

Both programs seek to further STEM passion in K-12 students and encourage them to pursue those interests into high school and beyond. The STEM Initiative is open to all University undergraduates, regardless of year or major.

Nutrition Initiative

The is a collaboration with the David B. Falk College of Sport and consists of three programs: Books and Cooks, a literacy, culture and cooking collaboration with Syracuse City School District elementary schools; Cooking on the Hillside, providing cooking lessons to participants in the Hillside Work Scholarship Program; and Food Busters, a program for high school students that explores the science behind food through hands-on activities and experiments.

Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO)

is a recognized student organization that is open to any student. Housed in the Shaw Center, it organizes volunteer events and connects students with volunteer opportunities in the community through the .

“The SULC tutor position, as well as our other volunteer opportunities, offer SU students a unique, challenging and rewarding reciprocal learning experience,” says Carla Ramirez, assistant director of the Shaw Center. “In addition to assisting the community with various learning initiatives, tutors develop lifelong and professional skills.”

Pamela Kirwin Heintz ’91, G’08 came to Syracuse University to finish the bachelor’s degree she began decades earlier at Smith College. Little did she know the journey she was about to undertake would foster her engagement with thousands of undergraduate students and become her life’s work.

As the University’s celebrates 30 years, Heintz, associate vice president and the center’s founding director, is preparing to retire from the career that has been her passion. Looking back on the past three decades—and the legacy she is leaving—fills her with pride, awe and gratitude.

Heintz brought a trove of lived experience to the reboot of her educational journey—as a mom, a real estate agent, a community volunteer and an elected member of her town’s planning board. She met with Bea González, former dean of University College (now the ) and an advisor at the time, who told her policy studies might be a better fit for her than the economics studies she had started at Smith. González connected Heintz with Bill Coplin, professor of policy studies in the . Heintz remembers being the only adult student in Coplin’s PAF 101 class.

“I loved the work,” Heintz says. “It gave me an academic framework around the actual work I’d been doing, and it helped me understand much more how to think about doing this kind of work.” Under Coplin’s mentorship, Heintz finished her degree and continued to dive deeper into community-focused work.

Planting Roots for Community Work

Around the same time, Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw came to Syracuse as Chancellor and associate of the Chancellor. In a for a recent 30th anniversary celebration, Mary Ann Shaw said there was a feeling on campus that students and faculty wanted to be involved in work that extended into the community.

“My husband and I knew we needed to corral this initiative and desire,” she said. The students needed to be involved in something that was meaningful and something that would contribute to their growth and learning as students but also prepare them for a world that was quickly changing.

The Shaws soon found the right person to lead this new initiative. “I then had the great opportunity to meet Pam Heintz. I just thought, ‘this is the woman,’” Shaw said. “The center would not be what it is today without Pam Heintz. She really made it happen and developed this legacy.”

The early years were filled with strategic work, building collaborations with faculty members and community organizations to incorporate service learning into coursework. Over the years, the center has worked with as many as 70 courses and collaborated with the to pair teaching faculty with undergraduate student consultants for an exchange of perspectives on teaching and learning in a particular course.

The first Shaw Center cohort, which engaged in literacy work in the community, numbered 13. Currently, the Shaw Center has 351 student tutors and volunteers who work more than 10,000 hours with two thousand students in Syracuse city schools. The center also supports 96 community organizations, collaborates with 150 campus partners and coordinates student volunteers connected to 17 service-learning courses.

Outreach includes literacy initiatives; Balancing the Books, a Whitman School of Management collaboration that teaches students financial literacy; a STEM initiative; and a nutrition initiative. Public relations and service-learning interns work collaboratively to build connections between the Shaw Center, the University and the community.

Since 1993 the University, through Parking and Transit Services, has collaborated with the Shaw Center to support a detailed daily transportation network to get all Syracuse students to their tutoring and community placements. In 1993, the service transported 15 students and in 2024 transported 875 students.

To make this all happen takes a strong leader who can think strategically and find solutions. At the 30th anniversary celebration, Chancellor Kent Syverud said Heintz has led the Shaw Center quietly, effectively and loyal to the values of the University. “I think Pam has been a treasure to this university,” said Syverud, who chose Heintz as this year’s recipient of the Forever Orange Award, which she received at the One University Awards ceremony on April 11.

Fostering a Sense of Belonging

In addition to building and guaranteeing the quality and efficacy of Shaw Center programming, Heintz has played a huge role in nurturing the center’s interns and tutors.

Maria J. Lopez ’05, G’12, assistant director of scholarship programs in the Office of Multicultural Advancement, served as a leadership intern at the Shaw Center during her undergraduate years. As such, she supported the entire office.

“It was there that I first learned what it meant to work in a place with real purpose,” Lopez says. “The Shaw Center provided me with an invaluable window into how civic engagement, nonprofit organizations and public policy intersect to influence educational access. Through my work, I had the opportunity to meet community leaders, build relationships with local organizations and gain a deeper understanding of the Syracuse community.”

Lopez says Heintz and the Shaw Center staff were instrumental in fostering her sense of belonging on campus.

“For nearly 25 years, Pam Heintz has remained a mentor, advocate and supporter,” Lopez says. “She spoke my name in important rooms and fought for me when my financial aid package was insufficient to keep me enrolled. Pam believed in the Shaw Center as a living-learning classroom where, if students are given the space to develop their ideas, they will thrive.”

As a mentor, Heintz always reminds her students that they will never truly know the impact they are having on the children they work with.

“We’re just doing it one kid at a time—and that’s all you can do,” she says.

What’s next for Pam Heintz? She is still deciding that. But you can be sure that whatever it is, it will involve making the community a better place.

In case you missed it: Check out episode #176 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast, “Celebrating 30 Years of the Shaw Center Being the Hub for Academic Community Engagement.” In the , former Shaw Center volunteer Derek Wallace ’00 and current student volunteer Claire Ceccoli ’25 discuss how their involvement with the Shaw Center transformed them into leaders in their communities.

Last year, the Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO) took on its first bed build event on campus. The organization teamed up with the local chapter of to build 44 beds for children in the community. This year, led by SUVO President Claire Ceccoli, the student organization truly doubled down.

More than 200 members of the University community came together on Feb. 21 at the Skybarn on South Campus to build 88 beds for children in the local community. The space was a hive of activity, as volunteers sanded, tapped, drilled and assembled wood bed frames under the watchful guidance of SHP volunteers.

SUVO, which is supported by the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, collaborated with seven campus student groups to raise more than $16,500 to cover the cost of all materials needed. In addition, SUVO partnered with the Student Association’s “Spring Into Action Community Service Initiative,” which funded an additional $5,500. Each bed costs $250 to produce.

The seven student groups that contributed to the fundraising efforts included Alpha Phi Omega, Delta Sigma Pi, Franklin Supply Chain Club, Kappa Theta Pi, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Oxfam and the Winnick Hillel Center. Members of those organizations, along with many other student organizations, participated in the build.

Odette Sherk, vice president of the Franklin Supply Chain Club, said the build was the perfect opportunity for the club to give back to the Syracuse community while also learning more about their area of study.

“In class we learn a lot about assembly lines and the challenges that can arise when working on an assembly line,” said Sherk, a junior supply chain management and marketing management major in the Whitman School of Management and an environment, sustainability and policy major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Sherk is also a Shaw Center intern. “Participating in the bed build gave our student volunteers real life experience on an assembly line where we could witness some of these things we learned about in class occurring.”

Thousands of Beds

SHP is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of “No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town.” The Syracuse chapter of SHP delivers an average of 30 beds a week and delivered its 6,000th bed in the community last weekend. There is still a list of more than 400 applicants in the area waiting for a bed.

Dave Hoalcraft ’85, a University retiree, is co-president of the Syracuse chapter of SHP. On Friday, he was orientating new volunteers to the build and making sure that things were running smoothly.

“I grew up one mile from here,” Hoalcraft said on Friday as he looked out over the build. “This is what it’s all about … community. Students giving back to our town. It’s amazing.”

‘Building the Build’

Ceccoli, a senior dual public relations and psychology major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences, said the process of “building the build” was challenging. She had to pivot and find new ways of raising funds this year. As the project developed, a wave of support from students materialized on both logistics and fundraising. “I’ve been so impressed by the way the students have stepped up and rallied around this because it takes a village,” she said. “People I barely knew were reaching out to me saying ‘how can I help?’ I’m just so grateful to go to a university with others who step up in this way.”

Volunteer spots were filled quickly, mainly by word-of-mouth. “As soon as sign-ups went out, everyone was jumping in to sign up, which is such a great problem to have,” she said.

Ryan Edwards, a junior computer science major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a Shaw Center intern, moved lumber from a truck to the building space. He also participated in last year’s build. “People forget that a bed is a basic necessity, and some kids don’t have that,” he says. “I am happy to be here helping to make a difference.

Dayton Kandrovy, a sophomore in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is philanthropy chair for the rugby club team and arranged for some of his teammates to volunteer. “I received only positive feedback on the event and everyone was wondering when the next one is,” he said. “I will definitely be seeking out more ways to volunteer and create more opportunities for my team to give back.”

Purpose-Driven Work

A year and a half ago, Ceccoli had not heard of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Now, after leading the last two bed builds, she plans to be engaged in nonprofit work after graduation. “My whole life, I’ve been searching for purpose-driven, mission-driven work. I want something where I’m able to use the gifts that I have to help and empower others and bring communities together,” Ceccoli said. “The Shaw Center has really helped me learn how to do that and given me the leadership skills to take on an event like this.”

“The most important thing to me is I want students to walk away from this with a positive experience because I want to show them that volunteering is fun and they can do it and it’s accessible,” she said.

Ceccoli has been on deliveries and sees the excitement of children when they see their bed—and bedding—for the first time. She keeps a wood chip in her pocket, taken from one of the builds, to remind her of the importance of this work.

“When I reach in my pocket, I feel that wood. It’s a reminder of the privilege I have, and the work that still needs to be done and is happening in this community,” Ceccoli said. “It’s just really, really powerful.”

To volunteer for a bed build, bed deliveries, donate bedding or make a monetary donation, visit .

The Office of Sustainability Management hosted ’Cuse Collections during the last week of the Spring 2024 semester to provide a convenient location for students to donate unwanted and gently used items before leaving for the summer. The office partnered with local nonprofits and charities to get the donated items into the hands of those in need, helping to reduce dumpster waste while assisting the local community.

“We are grateful to the Office of Sustainability Management for organizing this event,” said Lydia Montgomery, project manager at A Tiny Home for Good, a local Syracuse nonprofit. “As we work to build community and assist our tenants in creating homes, events like these support our mission for long-term supportive housing.”

Bedding, clothing, shoes, refrigerators, microwaves, household items and more were collected and donated. On-campus departments such as the Mary Ann Shaw Center helped to recruit volunteers. Student volunteers and peer-to-peer educators assisted donors and helped the organizations picking up donations.

In total, over 70 gray bins of items (equivalent to roughly half of an 18-wheel tractor trailer) were donated to 11 organizations, including the Rescue Mission, RISE, A Tiny Home for Good, Mary Nelson Youth Center, Catholic Charities, YWCA, InterFaith Works, Center for Justice Innovation, Huntington Family Center, Spanish Action League of Onondaga County and the Westside Family Resource Center.

“Catholic Charities was able to acquire much-needed clothing items from the event,” said Kerina Herard, program manager of emergency services for Catholic Charities of Onondaga County. “Every day, people come to our door at Cathedral Emergency Services in need of clothing. Thanks to ’Cuse Collections, we are better able to provide for them. This opportunity will make a significant impact on the lives of those we serve.”

Former Sheraton Hotel Donates Furniture

As ’Cuse Collections wrapped up for the semester, the former Sheraton Hotel was able to make a big contribution to the effort. As the hotel closed its doors after Commencement to prepare for its conversion into a 400-bed residence hall, the building’s 200 rooms were cleared of furniture, linens and bedding ahead of the start of construction. The hotel’s furniture was transferred to a local warehouse, where organizations could collect donated items. The response was overwhelming: TVs, mattresses and chairs were quickly reclaimed and given to those in need.

“Mattresses from the Sheraton Hotel will be steam cleaned and used in several of our housing sites,” says Montgomery. “Donations like these allow us to serve more people in the Central New York community.”

Sustainability Management plans to host ’Cuse Collections on an annual basis. For more information, visit the .

The number 44 holds a special significance on the Syracuse University campus, and in true University fashion, 44 children in the City of Syracuse will soon receive new beds and bedding—some for the first time—through a project that has touched the hearts and hands of several dozen University students, staff and organizational volunteers.

The 108 volunteers gathered on Feb. 23 at Skybarn on South Campus for a three-hour workshop to sand, drill and assemble wooden bunk beds. The group included 86 University students, 11 staff, faculty and retirees, plus 11 other members of the Syracuse chapter of (SHP).

SHP, whose mantra is “No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town,” is one of 270 chapters nationwide. The organization’s mission is to build and deliver new beds and bedding to children who may have been sleeping on a couch or the floor, and who, in many cases, have never had a bed of their own.

The Syracuse SHP group has partnered with the for Public and Community Service—the University’s hub for academic community engagement—for several years. Though the chapter has built and delivered 4,564 beds to Syracuse-area children since it began in 2018, 870 kids are still on the waitlist. SHP leaders say 76% of the beds built here will go to children who live within two miles of campus.

Friday’s event was organized by (SUVO) president ’25, a dual public relations and psychology major from Norwalk, Ohio. She says this is the first time in a decade that SUVO has initiated a large-scale volunteer project, and it’s one that seemed to resonate with everyone who heard about it.

“Hundreds of children in Syracuse are currently sleeping on the floor. We often take a bed for granted, but it can have such an impact on one’s overall physical and mental health,” Ceccoli says. “A bed is not something I’ve ever given a second thought. I crawl into my bed when I’m sick, need a safe place or want some alone time. SHP’s goal of providing children who need but don’t have that safe space is such a worthy mission that I’m humbled and honored to leverage student resources to help a community partner.”

advisors Karrie Catalino and Mackenzie Jackson encouraged Ceccoli to bring the bed-building initiative to campus. Planning began in September 2023. Ceccoli applied for Student Association funding and SUVO was awarded nearly $12,000 to cover the costs of all materials and bedding. Once SUVO started promoting the event, volunteers eagerly signed on, including Phanstiel Scholars, Our Time Has Come Scholars and Kessler Scholars. Others reached out, too, including the University’s Brighten a Day unit, the Construction Management Club and Jonathan French, associate teaching professor and undergraduate director in the chemistry department in the , Ceccoli says.

Past and Current Employees

Several current and retired University employees are involved as volunteers with SHP and have been instrumental in the local chapter’s efforts. In 2018, employees Jon Wright, now retired from , and Jeff Pitt ’91, director of information technology services at the College of Arts and Sciences, formed the chapter and still serve as its co-presidents. Back then, they approached Dave Hoalcraft ’85 to join them. A 36-year University employee who retired in 2021, Hoalcraft now volunteers as SHP’s shop manager and bed-building trainer.

Pitt says he likes that SHP fulfills two needs in the community. “One is the obvious one of providing a warm, comfortable place to sleep for children in need. The second is subtler: providing an outlet for people who want to give back to the community but who don’t know how to get started.”

Hoalcraft says the group’s mission “was a direct bullseye for me [so] I jumped right in. I am ‘Forever Orange,’ so doing a bed build with students on campus means a lot to me. I get to help a lot of kind people build beds for children in our community and ultimately help get children their own beds. It is awesome that Syracuse University students give back directly to the children in the community where [the students] live.”

On-Campus Spark

This is the first time SHP has held a mobile bed build on campus, and Ceccoli thinks the location has been key to the success of the event. “I think it can sometimes be intimidating for students to get off campus,” she says. “SUVO is seeking to connect students to the community and to inspire them to volunteer by making this opportunity accessible. We hope they will continue beyond this event to help SHP build or deliver more beds.” SUVO plans to provide students with information about additional volunteer opportunities.

“This is a beautiful testament to the interest and passion Syracuse University students have for community engagement,” Ceccoli says. “I want to work in the nonprofit sector. This is so real for me and to think of the impact we’ll be making on these children’s lives and their families’ lives while amplifying SHP’s mission is wonderful. Quite literally, I’d do this for the rest of my life.”

Kathryn Bradford ’06, Shaw Center administrative coordinator and SUVO advisor, says she is extremely proud of how Ceccoli used knowledge from her classes and her Shaw Center leadership development intern experience to take the project from idea to reality through diligence, passion and positivity. “Hopefully this experience will encourage more students to participate in community engagement as a continuing part of their educational experience and beyond,” Bradford says.

Are you engaged in a volunteer activity that is having an impact on the greater community? In upcoming editions of SU Today, we plan to profile some of our faculty, staff and students who are making the world a better place through community service. Please email internalcomms@syr.edu with your story.

The Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO) will host an on-campus bed building event in collaboration with the nonprofit organization (SHP). The event will take place on Friday, Feb. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m at SkyBarn on South Campus. These beds will be made for children in the greater Syracuse area who do not have a bed.

This is the first time SHP has done a mobile bed build on the University campus. Student volunteers will build 40 beds from scratch in three hours with assistance from the organization’s members. The event is open to all students; students must register on .

“We often take a bed for granted, but it can have such an impact on one’s overall physical and mental health. This is an opportunity for Syracuse students to support the community right from campus. Please join us to learn valuable skills, strengthen community relationships and support such a worthy mission,” says Claire Ceccoli, president of SUVO.

SHP is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of “no kid sleeps on the floor in our town”; volunteers build, assemble and deliver bunk beds to children in need. The Syracuse chapter of SHP has already built and delivered 4,564 beds to the community. There is still a list of 870-plus applicants waiting for a bed in the area.

SHP build manager Dave Holcraft says, “I am very excited about teaming up with Syracuse University students on campus to build beds for children in our town who currently do not have a bed of their own. With help from groups like Syracuse University we can work toward our mission.”

As a student-driven event, supported by the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, SUVO members hope to strengthen engagement between the campus and community. By offering volunteering opportunities directly on campus, the goal is to inspire and empower students, encouraging them to sustain and strengthen community relationships beyond the event.

SUVO is optimistic that this collaboration with SHP will become an annual tradition, Ceccoli says.

Up to 100 new community engagement service positions tutoring children and teens in and other area schools have been made possible by a new grant to the program.

The grant from the for $700,000 will support the hiring of additional undergraduate students for tutor positions for the next two years. The University’s Literacy Corps tutors primarily work with elementary school students but also with middle and high school students at Syracuse City Schools, other Syracuse-area schools and at community organizations throughout Greater Syracuse, according to , Shaw Center assistant director and Syracuse University Literacy Corps program coordinator.

Students interested in participating can apply now through the end of January. Positions begin in February 2024. Those hired can continue the positions throughout their years at the University. In many cases, students can also use their work as community service hours to fulfill academic program requirements, Ramírez says.

How to Apply

Interested candidates may or through Career Services’ (job posting #8425846). Ramírez also encourages applicants to visit the Shaw Center at 111 Waverly Ave. in person to apply and to learn more about the role.

Reciprocal Value

The 25-year literacy partnership between the Shaw Center and the Syracuse City School District is based on the core principle that literacy provides a foundation for lifetime success, from schooling to employment to navigating life challenges such as maintaining wellness and accessing health care, says , associate vice president and Shaw Center director. The Cabrini Foundation grant is a recognition of the importance of the program and literacy skills in general and especially to maintaining health, she says.

While teachers report about an 88% improvement in classroom participation, behavior, attendance and literacy skill development for tutored students, the benefits go both ways. “The teachers are extremely pleased with the outcomes, and for a program to be consistently in place for this amount of time indicates its success and impact for both the community and the University,” Heintz says. “It also helps our students understand the challenges of doing community-based work and shows them how to have more consistent, effective, authentic relationships and partnerships.”

Ramírez affirms how tutors benefit from the experience. For many, she says, the community is reflective of home, and being involved here helps them feel a sense of belonging. “We tell our tutors that they’re not only helping and teaching students in the district but that this work provides learning opportunities for them, too. They are working on communication skills and building professional skills, but while they’re teaching, they’re also learning from the kids that they tutor.”

Katie McPeak ’24, a senior policy studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been a Literacy Corps tutor since her first year at Syracuse. She has enjoyed all her tutoring work and especially likes helping older students with college preparation. “This has helped me develop my skills and I’ve become much more outgoing,” she says. “I think it’s very important to become engaged with the community you’re living in for four years while building your professional skills. This has been an amazing experience. Syracuse is a beautiful community and I think everyone should be really excited to get involved.”

Position Details

• Undergraduate students of all grades, majors, programs and colleges are welcome to apply.
• Applicants must be in good academic standing.
• Prior tutoring experience is not required; training is provided.
• Positions pay $15 per hour.
• Students must work eight to 10 hours a week in blocks of a minimum of three hours.
• Tutor transportation is provided by the Shaw Center’s shuttles.
• District teachers coordinate tutor classroom placements.
• Since Syracuse City School District students speak more than 70 languages, multilingual speakers are encouraged to apply.

The Office of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Academic Affairs has announced the appointment of Miranda Traudt G’11 as the assistant provost for arts and community programming. Traudt will report to Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives, and will begin her duties May 1.

Traudt will provide operational and programming leadership for arts, humanities and community-focused academic initiatives at the University and within the Syracuse community to support faculty and student engagement. She will work closely with the Coalition of Museums and Art Centers, South Side and Community Initiatives, Light Work, the Shaw Center and various community partners and stakeholders.

Traudt is an experienced arts administrator and educator who has managed art centers and galleries in the region and has been responsible for multi-faceted arts programming. Most recently, she oversaw the curation, administration and promotion of arts and cultural initiatives at the State University of New York at Oswego, where she developed and implemented a shared vision for a comprehensive arts program serving campus and community audiences. At SUNY Oswego, she also spearheaded creation of the college’s first artist-in-residence program that focused on artistic engaging with issues of diversity, intersectionality, inclusion and belonging.

Previously at Syracuse University, she served four years as the managing director of Point of Contact. She also served as program director at Auburn’s Schweinfurth Art Center and has taught in the areas of arts management and museum studies and art history at several area colleges and universities.��

Traudt received a B.F.A. in the history of art and design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She earned two master’s degrees, one in museum studies and another in art history, from Syracuse University in 2011.

“We welcome Miranda back to the Syracuse University campus. We are excited to put her skills and knowledge to significant use in this integral role serving multiple arts, humanities and community relations arenas,” Haddix says. “She will be a wonderful asset to this office’s wide range of operations at the many important centers, art spaces and organizations we work with and with our campus and community stakeholders.”

Group projects are critical to the applied learning that takes places across the University campus, and not least to the Bioengineering Capstone Design course led by , associate teaching professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Yung’s course asks student teams to develop real-world solutions to biomedical challenges, taking them from concept through prototype design. It can be a challenging environment.

“These are long projects, and students are working day in and day out,” says Yung. “But I began to notice my student teams were having a hard time with the collaboration and with concepts such as shared leadership and how to accommodate and adapt to other team members.”

Adds Yung, “Having a partner to help me take a look at team dynamics would be awesome, and it would help with real needs in my teaching practice.”

In fall 2022 Yung got such a partner: Zoe Rennock ’24 a (SSE) student in the School of Education, whose focus area is “Schooling and Diversity.” The program that brings Yung and Rennock together is the (PIE), a initiative.

Happy Coincidence

PIE pairs faculty and students for a semesterlong exchange of perspectives on teaching, learning and inclusivity in a particular course. Faculty members sign up voluntarily and are paired with a student—often one from the SSE undergraduate degree program or the —who is not enrolled in the course.

“The Partnership for Inclusive Education was developed in summer 2020, in the wake of campus and national protests, such as #NotAgainSU and May 2020 unrest in the wake of the George Floyd murder,” says PIE Coordinator . “It’s a perfect complement to the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) compliance initiatives all staff and faculty must participate in. PIE extends the DEIA focus over an entire semester, with one student collaborating with one faculty member on one course. The program contextualizes DEIA initiatives within a student-professor relationship that encourages respect, reciprocity, and shared responsibility.”

Willingham-McLain says that the program defines “inclusion” as being culturally responsive to all students. “We define it together—students and faculty—during our orientation,” she explains. “We ask, ‘What does inclusion mean broadly?’”

Responses include, “That all students are invited and supported in learning” and “That each student is respected as having a unique set of experiences.”

“For this program, inclusion means creating culturally responsive learning environments for all students at Syracuse by opening a systematic exchange of perspectives on teaching and learning,” says Willingham-McLain.

The relationship between PIE and the School of Education began in summer 2020. SSE undergraduates must complete more than 270 hours of applied learning experiences across campus and in the community, including internships and shadowing. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding these placements became a challenge for program coordinators Kathy Oscarlece and Professor .

“SSE needed placements, and we needed students. It was a happy coincidence,” says Willingham-McLain. A PIE internship can be an especially perfect fit for an SSE student going into K-12 or higher education. “It can be a plum internship because students get to pull back the curtain on faculty and discover how much they care about students and the depth of their concern.”

Classroom Dynamic

Rennock, a junior, started discussing how to fulfill her two semesters of internship credits with Kathy Oscarlece in spring 2021. “Kathy brought up the Partnership for Inclusive Education, and because my concentration is in Schooling and Diversity, it went perfectly hand-in-hand.”

Paired with Professor Yung for the fall 2022 semester, the two began meeting in August, to discuss what Rennock’s consulting role would be—to attend classes, observe project teams and communication among students, and give Yung recommendations for improvements.

“The main thing Professor Yung wanted help with was for each group to manage its teamwork and to include everyone in their discussions,” explains Rennock. “As the capstone course evolves into its second semester, group work can become unorganized and dynamics can become a little more tense.”

“In our teams of four there are naturally students who like to participate more,” observes Yung. “Leadership roles naturally emerge, but other students can feel muted and alienated. I might not be aware of this. But with Zoe observing, she can assess each team for who is and isn’t communicating. Then we can take action. For example, Zoe might send out material about shared leadership, or I might discuss teamwork best practices with everyone.”

Adds Rennock, “I brought what I learned from my education classes about including people and group dynamics, as well as how we support students with disabilities such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. I also learned a lot about project-based learning.”

Yung explains that Rennock helped with another classroom dynamic, the relationship between Yung’s teaching assistant and the class environment. “Zoe helped onboard my TA. He is new to the country and from a more lecture-based academic setting, so he was also new to the concept of student collaboration. Zoe noticed he was not fully comfortable at first. She is kind of like the connective tissue that helps the course run harmoniously, helping me to build trust among the student teams and among the leadership team.”

Stepping Up

PIE creates a unique space, says Willingham-McLain. “It’s where students and faculty think together about learning without grading or evaluating each other. There’s nothing else like this program on campus.” For students, PIE is an opportunity to “step up” their professionalism: “It’s on them to organize weekly meetings, observe classes, ask open-ended questions, and give feedback.”

The program is also an undergraduate research and publishing opportunity. For instance, in November 2022 SSE student Jingzhe (Jackson) Qi ’23 co-presented on PIE at an educational development conference in Seattle, Washington, while SSE alumna Madison Jakubowski ’22 co-presented “Creating and Sustaining a Student-Faculty Partnership for Inclusive Education” at Pedagogicon 2022.

Ultimately, Willingham-McLain says she loves the “nimbleness” of the program and deeply appreciates her partnerships with the School of Education and Shaw Center. “They have access to students, and I have access to professors,” she says. “I’m looking forward to the next push toward expanding this program and ways to incentivize more faculty to join.”

That enthusiasm is shared by Yung and Rennock. “It’s a great program,” says Yung. “I’ve been recommending it to my ECS colleagues and have even brought one of them on board.”

Adds Rennock, “I’d recommend that other professors do the program. When student consultants and faculty develop a good relationship, we can make change.”

As for how useful her PIE internship will be to her career, Rennock says she is thinking of teaching young children: “This experience can be used across grades, for teaching skills such as interpersonal communication and project-based learning.”

Learn more about the School of Education’s , or contact Timothy Findlay, assistant director of undergraduate admissions and recruitment, at twfindla@syr.edu or 315.443.4269.