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Syracuse University
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Syracuse University (also referred to as SU, Syracuse, or the 'Cuse) is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College. In 1870, Methodist ministers moved the college from Lima, New York to Syracuse, where it was chartered by the State of New York as a university.
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Encyclopedia
Syracuse University (also referred to as SU, Syracuse, or the 'Cuse) is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College. In 1870, Methodist ministers moved the college from Lima, New York to Syracuse, where it was chartered by the State of New York as a university. Since 1920, the university has identified itself as nonsectarian. Syracuse was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1966.
The campus is located in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, east and southeast of downtown, on one of the larger hills. It features an eclectic mix of buildings, ranging from nineteenth-century Romanesque structures to state-of-the-art contemporary buildings. SU is organized into 13 schools and colleges, with nationally-recognized programs in communications, business administration, public administration, and engineering.
Syracuse University athletic teams, known as the Orange, participate in 20 intercollegiate sports. SU is a member of the Big East Conference for all NCAA Division I athletics, except for the women's ice hockey, the rowing crew, and the men's lacrosse teams. SU is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
History
Founding
The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was founded in 1832 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Lima, New York, south of Rochester. In 1850, it was resolved to enlarge the institution from a seminary into a college, or to connect a college with the seminary, becoming Genesee College. The trustees of the struggling college decided to seek a locale whose economic and transportation advantages could provide a better base of support. The college began looking for a new home at the same time that Syracuse, ninety miles to the east, was engaged in a search to bring a university to the city.
After a year of dispute between the Methodist ministers, Lima, NY and contending cities across the state of New York, it was decided to move the former Genesee College to Syracuse, where it was to become the nucleus of Syracuse University. The college, its libraries, the students and faculty, and the college's two secret societies all relocated to Syracuse. On March 24, 1870, the state of New York granted the University its charter and Bishop Jesse Truesdell Peck was elected the first president of the Board of Trustees. George F. Comstock, a member of the new University's Board of Trustees, had offered the school of farmland on a hillside to the southeast of the city center. Comstock intended Syracuse University and the hill to develop as an integrated whole; a contemporary account described the latter as "a beautiful town ... springing up on the hillside and a community of refined and cultivated membership ... established near the spot which will soon be the center of a great and beneficent educational institution."
Expansion
Coeducation at Syracuse traced its roots to the early days of the Genesee College where suffragists like Frances Willard and Belva Lockwood distinguished themselves nationally. However, the progressive "co-ed" policies initiated at Genesee would soon find controversy at the new university in Syracuse. Colleges and universities admitted few women students in the 1870s. Administrators and faculty argued women had inferior minds and could not master mathematics and the classics. Dr. Erastus Otis Haven, Syracuse University chancellor and former president of the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, maintained that women should receive the advantages of higher education. He enrolled his daughter, Frances, at SU, where she was initiated in the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
In the late 1880s the University resumed construction on the south side of University Place. Holden Observatory (1887) was followed by two Romanesque Revival buildings – von Ranke Library (1889), now Tolley Administration Building, and Crouse College (1889). Together with the Hall of Languages, these first buildings formed the basis for the "Old Row," a grouping which, along with its companion Lawn, established one of Syracuse's most enduring images. The emphatically linear organization of these buildings along the brow of the hill follows a tradition of American campus planning which dates to the construction of the "Yale Row" in the 1790s. At Syracuse, the Old Row continued to provide the framework for growth well into the twentieth century.
From its founding until through early 1920s, the University grew rapidly. It offered programs in the physical sciences and modern languages, and in 1873, Syracuse added one of the first architecture programs in the U.S. In 1874, Syracuse created the nation's first bachelor of fine arts degree, and in 1876, the school offered its first post-graduate courses in the College of Arts and Sciences. SU created its first doctoral program in 1911. SU's school of journalism, now the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, was established at Syracuse in 1934.
The growth of Syracuse University from a small liberal arts college into a university was due to the efforts of two iconic men, Chancellor James Day and John Archbold. James Roscoe Day was serving the Calvary Church in New York City where he befriended Archbold. Together, the two dynamic figures would oversee the first of two great periods of campus renewal in Syracuse's history.
John Dustin Archbold was a capitalist, philanthropist, and President of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University. He was known as John D. Rockefeller’s right hand man and successor at the Standard Oil Company. He was a close friend of Syracuse University Chancellor James R. Day, and gave almost $6 million to the University over his lifetime. Said a journalist in 1917:
"Mr. Archbold’s … is the president of the board of trustees of Syracuse University, an institution which has prospered so remarkably since his connection with it that its student roll has increased from hundreds to over 4,000, including 1,500 young women, placing it in the ranks of the foremost institutions of learning in the United States."
In addition to keeping the university financially solvent during its early years, he also contributed funds for eight buildings, including the full cost of Archbold Stadium (opened 1907, demolished 1978), Sims Hall (men's dormitory, 1907), the Archbold Gymnasium (1909, nearly destroyed by fire in 1947, but still in use), and the oval athletic field.
Modern
After World War II, Syracuse University began to transform into a major research and educational institution. Enrollment increased in the four years after the war due to the G.I. Bill, which paid tuition, room, board, and a small allowance for veterans returning from World War II. In 1946, SU admitted 9,464 freshmen, nearly four times greater than the previous incoming class. Branch campuses were established in Endicott, NY and Utica, NY.
"The velocity with which the university sped through its change into a major research institution was astounding. By the end of the 1950s, Syracuse ranked twelfth nationally in terms of the amount of its sponsored research, and it had over four hundred professors and graduate students engaging in that investigation."
From the early 1950s through the 1960s, Syracuse University added programs and staff that continued the transformation of the school into a research university. In 1954, Arthur Phillips was recruited from the MIT and started the first pathogen-free animal research laboratory. The lab focused on studying medical problems using animal models. In 1956, the School of Social Work was founded which eventually incorporated into the College of Human Ecology. In 1962, Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. donated $15 million to begin construction of a school of communications, eventually known as the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications. In 1966, Syracuse University was admitted to the Association of American Universities, an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education.
Pan Am flight 103
On December 21, 1988, 35 Syracuse University students were among the fatalities in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The students were returning from a study-abroad program in Europe.
That evening, Syracuse University went on with a basketball game just hours after the attack, for which it was severely criticized. The conduct of university officials in making the decision was also brought to the attention of the NCAA. The day after the bombing, the university's chancellor, Dr. Melvin Eggers, said on nationwide television that he should have canceled the event.
The school later dedicated a memorial to the students killed on Flight 103. Every year the university holds "Remembrance Week" during the fall semester to commemorate the students. On December 21 a service in the university's chapel at 2:03 p.m. (19:03 UTC) marks the exact moment in 1988 when the plane was bombed. The University also maintains a link to the tragedy with the "Remembrance Scholars" program, when 35 senior students receive scholarships during their final year at the University. With the "Lockerbie Scholars" program, two graduating students from Lockerbie Academy study at Syracuse for one year.
Academics
Admission to Syracuse is competitive. For the Class of 2012, there were approximately 23,000 applicants for 3,060 seats in the Freshman class. The libraries have collectively over 3.16 million volumes. In fall 2006, the university had over 12,000 full-time undergraduate students and over 1,000 part-time undergraduate students, as well as almost 4,000 full-time graduate and law students and 2,000 part-time graduate and law students. In 2005–06, the university granted over 2,600 bachelor's degrees; nearly 2,000 master's degrees; over 300 law degrees; and more than 160 doctoral degrees. U.S. News & World Report ranked SU 53rd among national universities in the United States for 2009. Syracuse participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).
Degrees
SU offers undergraduate degrees in over 200 majors in the 10 undergraduate schools and colleges. Bachelor's degrees are offered through the Syracuse University School of Architecture, the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Information Studies, Martin J. Whitman School of Management, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Also offered are Master's and doctoral degrees from the Graduate School and from specialized programs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, College of Law, among others. Additionally, SU offers 24 Certificates of Advanced Study Programs for specialized programs for education, counseling, and other academic areas.
The university has offered multiple international study programs since 1911. SU Abroad, formerly known as the Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA), currently offers joint programs with universities in over 40 countries. The university operates seven international centers, called SU Abroad Centers, that offer structured programs in a variety of academic disciplines. The centers are located Beijing, Florence, Italy, Hong Kong, London, UK, Madrid, Spain, Strasbourg, France and Santiago, Chile.
National recognition and ranking
Many of SU's programs have been nationally recognized for excellence. A 2008 survey in the Academic Ranking of World Universities places Syracuse University in the top 100 world universities in social sciences.
The School of Architecture's Bachelor of Architecture program was ranked third nationally in 2008. The School of Information Studies offers library science courses at Syracuse University. Within the school, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the graduate program as the third best in the United States. It also has the top-ranked undergraduate Information Systems program, the second ranked program in Digital Librarianship, and the fourth ranked program in School Library Media. The College of Business Administration was renamed the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 2003, in honor of SU alumnus and benefactor Martin J. Whitman. The school is home to about 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The undergraduate program was ranked No. 39 among business schools nationwide by US News & World Report in 2008. The entrepreneurship program was ranked No. 8 by the US News & World Report in 2008, and No. 13 by both Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review in 2007. The supply chain management program was ranked No. 10 in the nation by Supply Chain Management Review. Also, the Joseph I. Lubin School of Accounting was named No. 10 in the nation by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The College of Law is ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report for its trial and appellate advocacy program and is an emerging leader in the relatively novel field of National Security Law. The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs combines social sciences with public administration and international relations. It is ranked as the top graduate school for public affairs in the US. The graduate program of the College of Visual and Performing Art is considered one of the top 50 programs in the US. The SI Newhouse School of Public Communications is one of the top ranked in the country and has produced alumni in many fields of broadcasting.
Faculty
Syracuse University has 909 full time instructional faculty, 106 part-time faculty, and 447 adjunct faculty. Approximately 88% of the full-time faculty have earned Ph.D.'s or professional degrees. The current faculty includes scholars such as United States National Academy of Sciences member Jozef J. Zwislocki, Professor of Psychology, who developed mathematical models on the mechanics of the inner and middle ear, MacArthur Fellow Don Mitchell, Professor of Geography, who has developed studies in cultural geography, Catherine Bertini, Professor of Practice in Public Administration, who has worked on the role of women in food distribution, Frederick C. Beiser, Professor of Philosophy, one of leading scholars of German idealism, Mary Karr, the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of Literature, who has received a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry, and John Caputo, the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Humanities, who founded weak theology.
Research
Syracuse University's main library is the Ernest S. Bird Library, which opened in 1971. Its seven levels contain 2.3 million books, 11,500 periodicals, of manuscripts and rare books, 3.6 million microforms, and a café. There are also several departmental libraries on campus. Many of the landmarks in the history of recorded communication between people are in the university's Special Collections Research Center, from cuneiform tablets and papyri to several codices dating from the 11th century, to the invention of printing. The collection also includes works by Galileo, Luther, John Calvin, Voltaire, Sir Isaac Newton, Descartes, Sir Francis Bacon, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Hobbes, Goethe, and others. In addition, the collection includes the personal library of Leopold Von Ranke. Making sensational headlines at the time, the university outbid the Prussian government for all 19 tons of Von Ranke's prized personal library. Other collections of note include Rudyard Kipling first editions and an original second leaf of the Gutenberg Bible. The university also is home to the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive, whose holdings total approximately 540,000 recordings in all formats, primarily cylinders, discs and magnetic tapes. Some of the voices to be found include Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, and Oscar Wilde. In July, 2008, Syracuse University became the owner of the second largest collection of 78 rpm records in the United States after the Library of Congress after a donation of more than 200,000 records. The donation is valued at $1 million and more than doubles the University's collection of 78 rpm records to about 400,000.
According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Syracuse University is a research university with a high level of research activity compared to other doctorate-granting universities. Through the university's Office of Research, which promotes research, technology transfer, and scholarship, and its Office of Sponsored Programs, which assists faculty in seeking and obtaining external research support, SU supports research in the fields of management and business, sciences, engineering, education, information studies, energy, environment, communications, computer science, public and international affairs, and other specialized areas. Since 1966, Syracuse has been a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of research and education.
SU has established 29 research centers and institutes that focuses research, often across disciplines, in a variety of areas. The Burton Blatt Institute advances research in economic and social issues for individuals with disabilities, and it has international projects the field. The Martin J Whitman School of Management supports the largest number of research centers, including The Ballentine Investment Institute, the George E. Bennett Center for Accounting and Tax Research, the Robert H. Brethen Operations Management Institute, Michael J. Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, The H. H. Franklin Center for Supply Chain Management, Olivia and Walter Kiebach Center for International Business Studies, and the Earl V. Snyder Innovation Management Program. Other notable research programs are The Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, the Alan K. Campbell Public Affairs Institute through the Maxwell School, and the Center for the Study of Popular Television through the Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Affiliated institutions
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), founded in 1911, operates its academic campus within the grounds of Syracuse University. Although established as the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, ESF has always been an autonomous institution that is not administratively part of SU. The residential-life program for ESF students is operated by SU, and its students live in SU housing and have full access to SU libraries. Students at both institutions have full access to courses at each university with no extra tuition needed. ESF students also take part in joint commencement exercises, and ESF students may participate in all SU student activities except NCAA sports.
State University of New York Upstate Medical University
The medical school was formerly a college within SU and was known as the Syracuse University Medical School. In 1950, SU sold the medical school to the State University of New York system. In the fall of 2009, a Master of Public Health degree program will be offered by the two institutions which is the first of its kind in Central New York and the first jointly offered by the two universities.
Utica College
Utica College, an independent private university located in Utica, NY, was founded by Syracuse University in 1946. Utica College became independent from SU in 1995, but still offers its students the option to receive a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University through a unique relationship between the two schools.
Campus
The university is set on a campus that features an eclectic mix of buildings, ranging from nineteenth-century Romanesque structures to contemporary buildings designed by renowned architects such as I.M. Pei. The center of campus, with its grass quadrangle, landscaped walkways, and outdoor sculptures, offers students the amenities of a traditional college experience. The university overlooks Downtown Syracuse, a medium-sized city (140,600 residents in 2008). The school also owns a Sheraton Hotel, Drumlins Country Club, a golf course on campus, the Joseph I. Lubin House in New York City, the Paul Greenberg House in Washington, D.C., and the Minnowbrook Conference Center, a 30 acre (121,000 m²) retreat in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York.
Main campus
Also called "North Campus," the Main Campus contains nearly all academic buildings and residence halls. Its centerpiece is "The Quad", which is surrounded by academic buildings, especially those of the College of Arts and Sciences. The North Campus represents a large portion of the University Hill neighborhood. Buses run to South Campus, as well as Downtown Syracuse and other locations in the city. Approximately 5,000 students live in the sixteen residence halls on the Main Campus. Most residence halls are co-ed. The Comstock Tract Buildings, a historic district of older buildings on the campus, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Three buildings on campus: the Crouse Memorial College and the Hall of Languages, and the Pi Chapter House of Psi Upsilon Fraternity, are individually listed on the National Register.
A few blocks walk from Main Campus on East Genesee St, the Syracuse Stage building includes two proscenium theatres. The Storch is used primarily by the Drama Department and the Archbold is used primarily by Syracuse Stage, a professional regional theatre.
South campus
After World War II, a large undeveloped hill owned by the university was used to house returning veterans in military-style campus housing. During the 1970s, this housing was replaced by permanent two-level townhouses for two or three students each, or for graduate family housing. There are also three small freshman-only residence halls which feature open doubles and a kitchen on every floor.
South Campus is also home to the Institute for Sensory Research, Tennity Ice Pavilion, Goldstein Student Center, Skytop Office Building and 621 Skytop Road (for administration) and the InnComplete Pub, a graduate student bar. Just north are the headquarters of SU Athletics located in the Manley Athletics Complex. Approximately 2,500 students live on the South Campus, which is connected to the main campus by frequent bus service.
Downtown
In December 2004, the university announced that it had purchased or leased twelve buildings in downtown Syracuse. Two programs, Communications Design and Advertising Design from the College of Visual and Performing Arts reside permanently in the newly renovated facilities, fittingly called The Warehouse, which was renovated by Gluckman Mayner Architects. Both programs were chosen to be located in the downtown area because of their history of working on projects directly with the community. The Warehouse also houses a contemporary art space that commissions, exhibits and promotes the work of local and international artists in a variety of media. Hundreds of students and faculty have also been affected by the temporary move of the School of Architecture downtown for the $12 million renovation of its campus facility, Slocum Hall.
The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, lead by Syracuse University in partnership with Clarkson University and SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, to create innovations in environmental and energy technologies that improve human health and productivity, security, and sustainability in urban and built environments. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2009. The Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company and the Community Folk Art Center will also be located downtown. On March 31, 2006, the university and the city announced an initiative to connect the main campus of the university with the arts and culture areas of downtown Syracuse and The Warehouse.
The Connective Corridor project, supported by of public and private funds, will be a strip of cultural development that will connect the main campus of the university to downtown Syracuse, NY. In 2008, an engineering firm is studying traffic patterns and lighting to commence the project. A design competition was held to determine the best design for the project.
Art collection
SU has a permanent art collection of over 45,000 objects from artists such as Picasso, Rembrandt, Hopper, Tiffany and Wyeth. More than 100 important paintings, sculptures and murals are displayed in public places around campus. Notable sculptures on campus include Anna Hyatt Huntington's Diana, Jean-Antoine Houdon's George Washington, Antoine Bourdelle's Herakles, James Earle Fraser's Lincoln, Malvina Hoffman's The Struggle of Elemental Man and Ivan Mestrovic's Moses, Job and Supplicant Persephone.
Student life
Syracuse University has a diverse student population, representing all 50 US states and over 115 countries. Approximately 10 percent of students are from outside of the US, and are supported by an international services department within the University's Division of Student Affairs. Approximately 41% of students in the fall 2007 undergraduate full-time class are from New York State (and 16% from New York City itself). Approximately 56% of that class are women.
Media
CitrusTV (formerly UUTV and HillTV) is the university's entirely student-run television station. CitrusTV produces news, sports and entertainment content that appears on the university's campus cable channel, the Orange Television Network, and online on the Web site and Syracuse.com. Some content also appears in Central New York on the cable channel Time Warner Cable Sports. The station used to be a part of University Union, the largest student organization on campus, until it split to become its own recognized student organization in 2004. The station was briefly known as HillTV until the middle of the fall 2005 semester, when the university shut the station down for controversial entertainment programming and demanded its reform. The station is located in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center, at the Waverly Avenue side of Watson Hall.
The school's independent student newspaper is The Daily Orange, founded in 1903 and independent since 1971. The D.O. Alumni Association recently celebrated the paper's 100th anniversary.
WAER (88.3 FM) is located on the campus of SU, and is an auxiliary service of the school. The station features a jazz music and National Public Radio format, with a news and music staff providing programming around the clock. It is best known for its sports staff, which has produced the likes of Bob Costas, Marv Albert, Mike Tirico, Sean McDonough, Ian Eagle, Brian Higgins, Dick Stockton and many others. Lou Reed also hosted a free-format show on WAER during his time at Syracuse University; this free-format radio tradition at Syracuse is carried on by WERW.
WERW is a student-run carrier current radio station broadcasting at 1570 AM, with studios located on the SU campus. Originally operating at 750AM, WERW was available only in the university's dorms and some other campus buildings. The station's current low power broadcast tower was erected atop the Day Hall dormitory in 1995 to allow it to broadcast at 1570AM while simulcasting on 750AM. With this new tower, WERW can be now heard all across the university campus and in adjacent areas of the city of Syracuse.
Student government
Founded in 1957, the Student Association (SA) represents the undergraduate students of both SU & SUNY-ESF. The SA, through the Student Assembly, oversees the allocation and designation of the Student Activity Fee that was first collected in the 1968–69 school year. The goals of the SA are to participate in the formulation of Syracuse University rules and regulations, by creating a unified student voice. The SA-SGA Alumni Organization maintains the history and an organizational timeline on its website.
The graduate students at Syracuse University are represented by the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) while the law students at Syracuse University are represented by the Law Student Senate. Each of the three organizations elects students to serve in the Syracuse University Senate, which also includes faculty and staff and is chaired by the SU Chancellor.
Fraternities and sororities
The Syracuse University fraternity and sorority system offers organizations that are members of the Panhellenic Council (NPC), the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, the National Multicultural Greek Council, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). In addition to SU students, SUNY-ESF students are permitted to join the university's fraternity and sorority system.
The oldest fraternity at SU is Delta Kappa Epsilon, which was founded in 1871 soon after the founding of the university, followed by Psi Upsilon in 1875 and Phi Kappa Psi in 1884. Sororities were also a part of the early history of SU. Alpha Phi was founded at SU in 1872, followed by Gamma Phi Beta in 1874 and Alpha Gamma Delta in 1904. Every IFC fraternity and NPC sorority was established at SU during the 20th century. The first NPHC fraternity, Omega Psi Phi was established at SU in 1922, and the first NPHC sorority, Delta Sigma Theta in 1973.
There are several notable alumni of the Syracuse University fraternities and sororities, including Dick Clark, a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Ted Koppel, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, and Ruth Stafford Peale, a member of Alpha Phi sorority.
Athletics
Syracuse University's sports teams are officially known as the Orange since 2004, although the former names of Orangemen and Orangewomen are still used informally. The school's mascot is Otto the Orange. SU fields teams in eight men's sports and 12 women's sports.
All teams participate in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference, except the women's ice hockey team, which participates in College Hockey America; the men's lacrosse team, which currently is independent, but will join a Big East lacrosse league in 2010; and crew, which participates in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges. The men's and women's basketball teams, the football team, and both the men's and women's lacrosse teams play in the Carrier Dome. Other sports are located at the nearby Manley Field House.
SU has 27 team national championships, including 14 men's lacrosse, six men's crew, two cross country running, and one each in boxing and football. One of the notable accomplishments is the men's basketball team's 2003 NCAA championship. Syracuse's victory over the Kansas Jayhawks gave them their first ever national championship in men's basketball. Carmelo Anthony was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) with 20 points in the win. Syracuse also avenged a second-round loss to Kansas two years earlier.
In 1959, Syracuse earned its first National Championship following an undefeated football season and a Cotton Bowl victory over Texas. The team featured sophomore running back Ernie Davis who, in 1961, became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Davis was slated to play for the Cleveland Browns in the same backfield as Jim Brown, but died of leukemia before being able to play professionally.
Syracuse played its first intercollegiate lacrosse game in 1916, and captured its first USILA championship in 1920. It would win USILA championships in 1922, 1924 and 1925. In the modern NCAA era, Syracuse is the first school to capture 10 National Championships, the most of any team in college lacrosse history. Most recently, Syracuse won the 2008 National Championship.
Toward the end of the 1970s, Syracuse University was under pressure to improve its football facilities in order to remain a NCAA Division I football school. Its small concrete stadium, Archbold Stadium, was seventy years old and not up to the standards of other schools. The stadium could not be expanded; it had been reduced from 40,000 seats to 26,000 due to the fire codes. Syracuse University decided to build a new stadium. In 1978, Archbold Stadium was demolished to make way for the Carrier Dome, which was to have a domed Teflon-coated, fiberglass inflatable roof. It would also serve as the home for the men's basketball team, as a replacement for Manley Field House. The Carrier Dome was constructed between April 1979 and September 1980. The total construction cost was $26.85 million, including a $2.75 million naming gift from the Carrier Corporation.
Alumni
Syracuse University has over 230,000 living alumni. Prominent alumni of the university include bestselling novelists Joyce Carol Oates, John D. MacDonald and Alice Sebold; William Safire, Pulitzer Prize winning commentator ; historian Sir Moses I. Finley; Arthur Rock, cofounder of Intel; Donna Shalala, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States; Robert Jarvik, inventor of the first artificial heart implanted into human beings; Eileen Collins, first female commander of a Space Shuttle; and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a part of the Saudi royal family. The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications produced several alumni in sports broadcasting, including Bob Costas, Len Berman, Sean McDonough, Matthew Berry and Mike Tirico. Notable SU alumni in the performing arts include Dick Clark, Peter Falk, Aaron Sorkin and Vanessa L. Williams. The university's athletics programs alumni include Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Tim Green, who played football for the Atlanta Falcons and is now a commentator for National Public Radio, and Jim Brown who had a long football career with the Cleveland Browns and acted in a number of movies.
See also
Photo gallery
External links
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