Marriage & Family Therapy  News

Mary Kiernan, Colleen Cameron, and Fei Pei were honored with 2025 Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics Faculty of the Year awards for excellence in teaching, service, and research, respectively. The honorees were nominated by their peers for outstanding teaching, scholarship, and internal and professional service contributions and announced by the Falk College Faculty Council in late April.

Here’s a look at the 2025 honorees with comments from their award presenters:

Chef Mary Kiernan, M.B.A.

Undergraduate Director, Food Studies, and Teaching Professor, Nutrition and Food Studies
Evan Weissman Memorial Faculty of the Year Award for Teaching Excellence

“It’s hard to imagine a more fitting honoree for an award that bears Evan’s name. In so many ways, Mary embodies Evan’s philosophy—his passion for student mentorship, commitment to teaching, dedication to social consciousness, and, of course, his dedication to food studies.

“Mary is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, where she is known for transforming her classrooms into dynamic, immersive spaces. Her courses—spanning food safety, systems management, and urban food systems—equip students with essential technical skills while also challenging them to explore the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of food.

“What truly distinguishes Mary in the teaching kitchen is her ability to bridge theory and practice. Whether she’s redesigning core curricula, mentoring independent projects, or advising students, she brings clarity, creativity, and compassion to everything she does.

“Her leadership as Undergraduate Director for the Food Studies program, her engagement with professional networks, and her commitment to inclusive, culturally rich programming and hands-on culinary experiences enrich our campus and our community. Mary’s work exemplifies excellence in education—and the spirit of this award.”

Learn more about Evan Weissman, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Food Studies and Nutrition who passed away in 2020.

Colleen Cameron, CCLS, M.Ed.

Undergraduate Director and Professor of Practice, Human Development and Family Science
Faculty of the Year Award for Excellence in Service

From presenter Tracey Reichert Schimpff, M.A., Ph.D., LMFT, Graduate Director and
Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy:

“Colleen is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), and a certified Child Life Specialist and End of Life Doula. She has been with Syracuse University since 2009, serving students, her Department, and the field.

“Her nomination letter states, ‘Colleen has always exemplified the very best of student-focused work and a commitment to our students and program. She is uniquely and wholly committed to the success of our students and has always gone above and beyond. Overall, Professor Cameron’s service work has been exceptional both in its breadth and in its impact.’

“In the nomination materials, it was noted that Colleen’s signature service is heading the Child Life program. It is an endorsed program that leads graduates to become certified Child Life Specialists. This requires knowledge of requirements, oversight of curriculum, and guiding students through the process that leads to certification. Colleen single-handedly ensures that this program continues.

“This past year, Colleen also served as Undergraduate Director in HDFS, managing curriculum, working with admissions and marketing, and engaging directly with students (and sometimes families). In a year of transition, I imagine this has been quite an undertaking!

“In HDFS, Colleen also serves as faculty advisor and chair of the Student Engagement Committee, which was created to increase student voice and connection. From what I understand, this committee has grown, and students have benefited greatly from Colleen’s dedication. Colleen served as mentor for Renee Crown honors students and led the HDFS New York City Career Immersion Trip, a trip that is highly regarded by HDFS students.

“In addition to the significant roles she plays in HDFS, Colleen also served at college and university levels. In 2024, Colleen was selected to serve on the Human Development Task Force. She was very committed to the process, and worked diligently to gather information and advocate for her department.

“Collen serves on the Syracuse University Senate and its Research and Creative Scholarship Committee. Collen is also engaged in service to her profession, acting as Director of the Conference Committee and Co-Chair of the Clinical Experience Task Force for the Child Life Academic Society. Finally, Colleen has even found time to volunteer at her school district and community council.

“It seems obvious that Colleen has made significant contributions to students, her department, and the larger University. She serves with commitment and leads with passion and professionalism. I am proud to call Colleen my colleague.”

Fei Pei, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Faculty of the Year Award for Excellence in Research

“Dr. Pei, who is in her fourth year in the School of Social Work, is a dedicated and productive researcher. Her advanced quantitative work demonstrates a clear research focus and trajectory and contributes to a crucial discourse in our field on the effects of neighborhood conditions, including violence, on children’s development.

“Fei has published 37 peer-reviewed articles in top-ranking interdisciplinary journals, including “Child Abuse and Neglect,” “Development and Psychopathology,” and “Children and Youth Services Review.” In 2024, she published four articles–three of which are first-authored–and submitted four additional manuscripts that are currently under review.

“In 2024, Fei also submitted four external grant applications, including three NIH (National Institutes of Health) applications for which she is principal investigator. Three of these applications are still under review and could use our collective good vibes!”

Olympic gold medalist and visionary executive Benita Fitzgerald Mosley says it has been her lifelong mission to help people win gold medals in business–and in life.

“My gold medal is the gift that keeps on giving,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “I am forever grateful, so I want to pay that gift forward.”

To get there, Fitzgerald Mosley highlights five “Olympic rings” to help people achieve their goals: Have a good start, set high goals, run your own race, power through hurdles, and have a strong finish.

“You have to ask yourself, why not me?’’ Fitzgerald Mosley says. “Why can’t I be the best in the world at what I do?”

From becoming the first African-American woman to win the 100-meter hurdles at the 1984 Olympics to her current role as chief executive officer of Multiplying Good, Fitzgerald Mosley has persistently broken barriers and advanced the idea that sport has the power to inspire and change the world.

Her enormous impact as a results-oriented leader in the Olympic, non-profit, and corporate worlds is why Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan asked Fitzgerald Mosley to be the keynote speaker at the Falk Convocation at 12:30 p.m. May 10 in the Lally Athletic Complex.

“Benita’s ‘why not me?’ message encourages us to challenge societal expectations and embrace our potential, while Multiplying Good is helping people bring about positive change and inspiring them to do more,” Jordan says. “The life lessons and insights that Benita will share May 10 will provide valuable inspiration to our graduates and all of us.”

Using Fitzgerald Mosley’s five Olympic rings, here is her remarkable story:

Have A Good Start

Fitzgerald Mosley often uses a quote from former American politician and motivational speaker Les Brown, who said, “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.”

Fitzgerald Mosley’s parents, Fannie and Rodger Fitzgerald, were both educators and they encouraged Fitzgerald Mosley to get started in as many extracurricular activities as possible in their hometown of Dale City, Virginia. By participating in gymnastics, softball, majorettes, and track, and learning the piano, violin, flute and piccolo, Fitzgerald Mosley discovered what she loved and was good at and where to focus her attention.

“They were very supportive and stood by me in every aspect of my life,” Fitzgerald Mosley says of her parents. “They celebrated my every achievement, large and small, and I loved to make them proud.”

While she became the first chair flute for the Gar-Field High School symphonic band, Fitzgerald Mosley says she wasn’t very good at softball and grew too tall to be a gymnast. But middle school physical education teacher, family friend, and gymnastics coach Gwen Washington was also the coach of the track team and when it became obvious that Fitzgerald Mosley had outgrown gymnastics, Washington suggested she join the track team because she had seen Fitzgerald Mosley outrun the boys in gym classes.

“So I went out for the track team and started winning races from the very beginning,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “It wasn’t until I was 12 years old and in the seventh grade that I even discovered my athletic prowess.”

Set High Goals

As a high school freshman sprinter and hurdler, Fitzgerald Mosley helped the track team win its fourth consecutive Virginia state championship. She was a teammate of senior Paula Girven, who represented the United States in the high jump in the 1976 Olympics and qualified for the team in 1980. Their high school track coach, Anne Locket, also led the girl’s gymnastics and basketball teams to state championships.

“Coach Locket said to me, ‘You know, you can be an Olympian someday just like Paula,’ and I looked at her like she was from Mars,” Fitzgerald Mosley says, smiling. “But having a coach believe in you and say that to a youngster at 14 years old, it set me up for great things to come.”

By 1980, Fitzgerald Mosley was 18 and already a track star–and an industrial engineering major–at the University of Tennessee, where she would become a 14-time All-American and four-time NCAA hurdles champion. Like Girven, she made the 1980 Olympic team but didn’t participate because the United States led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Fortunately for Fitzgerald Mosley, she was still in college and had the benefit of having access to coaching, training equipment, and the highest level of competition in college. This was a time when Olympic athletes were strictly amateurs who couldn’t make money off their athletic achievements, and many athletes who qualified for the 1980 Games, like Girven, weren’t able to return for the 1984 Games.

“At that point, people didn’t have these long careers spanning three- and four- and five-Olympic Games that started with my generation because they started to allow us to make money while we were competing,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “The two other hurdlers that were on the Olympic team with me in 1980 didn’t make it again in 1984, so that was their one and only chance to be an Olympian.”

Run Your Own Race

For Fitzgerald Mosley, the last decade of her professional career has been similar to her Olympic performance where she kicked it into an even higher gear to beat the favorite, Great Britain’s Shirley Strong, and win the gold medal.

In 2016, she was named CEO of Laureus, a nonprofit organization that believes sport has the power to change the world. After stints as a senior advisor for Airbnb and president of the FundPlay Foundation, Fitzgerald Mosley was hired for her current position as CEO of Multiplying Good in July 2023. The mission of Multiplying Good is to help people reach their full potential and discover their power to deliver impact and bring about meaningful change.

“I really believe in– and care about–coming to work every day leading an organization that’s ultimately impacting people’s lives in a positive way,” she says. “That’s the utmost kind of thrill for me.”

Over time, Fitzgerald Mosley says all her experiences led to this moment of clarity where she realized she can help people and organizations win gold medals in life and business. That’s her daily focus, whether she’s leading Multiplying Good, serving on the Board of Directors for the Special Olympics, or speaking to a stellar group of graduates from Falk College.

“Where I can show up in the world is to truly help young people derive the benefits of sport participation in communities that otherwise wouldn’t have those opportunities, by funding those organizations, by helping them build their capacity so they could serve more young people, not just in the United States, but around the world,” Fitzgerald Mosley says.

Power Through Hurdles

Like one of Fitzgerald Mosley’s races, the line from Olympic gold medalist to influential executive may have been a relatively straight one, but not without its hurdles.

Fitzgerald Mosley’s bid for the 1988 Olympics was slowed by an ankle injury that required surgery in 1987. Still, she qualified for the Olympic trials and was leading in the finals before she tripped over the last hurdle and missed making the team by 1/100th of a second.

“The hardest team to make in the world is a U.S. team, particularly in swimming and track and field, where you pick yourself, no one picks you,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “You have strep throat, you hit a hurdle, you fall in a race, you’re injured, sorry, you don’t get to go.”

Fitzgerald Mosley wasn’t able to capitalize financially on her Olympic success the way athletes can today, so she didn’t have a lot of money when she retired from running. But she did have her industrial engineering degree from Tennessee and found a job with a defense contractor, where she was working on projects such as conducting time and motion studies for the M1 Abrams tank or creating software design documents for the Seawolf submarine.

“Don’t get me wrong, these are all important things. And of course, I have the utmost admiration for the people who serve in our military,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “But I just wasn’t the person to do that kind of work, and I think it was because it wasn’t aligned with my passion.”

After working as president and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications (now called The WICT Network), an organization dedicated to empowering women leaders, Fitzgerald Mosley started to hit her professional stride with jobs as Chief of Sport Performance for USA Track and Field and COO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

“My career in both sport management and nonprofits was born at that point in time, when I realized I didn’t have to train three to six hours a day to participate in sport,” she says. “That was the big light-bulb moment for me to get that opportunity to work first for Special Olympics International and then with the Olympic and Paralympic Committee and have my heartstrings pulled by the mission of the organization.”

Have a ‘Strong’ Finish (a.k.a. Not Today Shirley)

Fitzgerald Mosley took full advantage of her second chance at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where she needed to beat Strong. At the 1983 World Championships, Strong had defeated Fitzgerald Mosley, a fitness fanatic who noticed that Strong was smoking cigarettes following their race.

“She’s smoking and she just beat me? She will never beat me again,” Fitzgerald Mosley told herself. “The next year (at the Olympics), I saw her smoking a cigarette between the semifinals and finals, and that reminded me of my vow.

“In the finals when we were racing, I saw her out of the corner of my eye, and I said to myself, ‘Not today Shirley,’’’ she says.

Fitzgerald Mosley ran the race in 12.84 seconds, beating Strong by 4/100th of a second to become the second U.S. woman and the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles. The 1984 track and field events were held in the Los Angeles Coliseum, where Babe Didrikson became the first U.S. woman to win what was then the 80-meter hurdles in 1932.

“It was magical,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “To be on your home soil and walk into a stadium with 90,000 people screaming ‘U-S-A’ and cheering for you once you win, there’s nothing better.”

Fitzgerald Mosley has been inducted into several halls of fame, but she says perhaps her greatest honor occurred when she was selected as one of eight U.S Olympians to carry the Olympic flag into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali capped the ceremony by lighting the Olympic cauldron.

“We had practiced the night before under the cloak of darkness because no one knew who the eight of us were going to be that were walking in,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “And we didn’t know Muhammed Ali was going to be the one who lit the torch.

“It had a mission impossible-type of feel to it, and that was pretty cool to be in on the inside of that little secret as well,” she adds.

Fitzgerald Mosley says she owes everything to her sport experiences, from winning the gold medal to her college education to meeting her husband, former Brown University football player Ron Mosley, with whom she has two grown children; a son, Isaiah, and a daughter, Maya, who runs track at the University of Maryland. She is most grateful to her parents, who encouraged her to get out there and keep trying until she found her passion.

“I would just say to young people in particular, don’t let your fear of failure get in your way of pursuing your dreams,” Fitzgerald Mosley says. “Because even if you fall somewhat short of the ultimate dream, you’re going to be so much further along toward that dream and that goal than you ever would have been if you didn’t start in the first place.”

Syracuse University faculty members were honored with the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award at a campus ceremony April 24. The award, given annually by the Graduate School, honors professors who have had a significant impact on graduate education through teaching, service and research or creative activities.

This year’s awardees, chosen by an interdisciplinary committee of graduate students, are the following:

• Nick Bowman, associate professor of communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Catherine García, assistant professor of human development and family science, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
• Joon Young Kim, assistant professor of exercise science, Falk College
• Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Claudia Miller, professor of mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences
• Angela Oliverio, assistant professor of biology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Natalie Russo, associate professor and associate chair of psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Yiyang Sun, mechanical and aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Eman Tadros, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy, Falk College
• Qiu Wang, professor of higher education, School of Education

“We know that talented faculty members are the cornerstone of a quality graduate education,” says Peter Vanable, dean of the Graduate School. “This awards program gives us an opportunity to hear directly from our students, as well as from faculty, staff and alumni, about which professors have had a significant positive influence on their studies. We are delighted to recognize these ten individuals for their dedication and contributions to the University.”

A Syracuse University News story by Wendy S. Loughlin originally published on April 25, 2025.

“Organized by master’s students in the Marriage and Family Therapy program, as well as Ph.D. candidates and supportive staff, the event is designed to celebrate the trans community and provide resources and a safe and affirmative space for socialization and connection,” says Marriage and Family Therapy master’s student Sophia Widdekind, vice president of the Trans Team.

More than 370 people attended the 2025 Trans Support Day April 5 at Peck Hall, just north of the Syracuse University campus. This year’s event was particularly impactful as the trans community faces unprecedented societal and legislative discrimination throughout the United States.

This year’s attendees had the opportunity to connect with more than 25 trans-affirming providers, including local businesses and organizations that support–and advocate for–the trans community. The event also included arts and crafts, makeup and hair tutorials, and free clothing made possible by an overwhelming amount of donations.

To learn more about Trans Support Day, we asked Trans Team President Emet Oden and Vice President Widdekind to share their thoughts on the event. Here’s what they wrote:

Emet Oden ’25, Marriage and Family Therapy master’s student

“Trans Support Day (TSD) is needed more and more every year, especially now with the rights of so many trans people being threatened and stripped away. TSD creates a space for the Central New York trans community to get connected with affirmative health, social, and beauty services, find clothing, and make connections within the trans community. Attendees told us they find joy in the connections they make at TSD and are already looking forward to next year’s event.

“One of the many things I appreciate about TSD is that it highlights the resiliency and strength of the trans community. Organizing and showing up for each other is nothing new in the trans community. Trans people, particularly Black and Latina trans women, have been at the forefront of trans liberation and the liberation of all oppressed peoples, recognizing that trans liberation will not happen until all oppressed people are liberated.

“My hope for the Trans Team and for TSD is that we can further learn from our trans ancestors and elders about how to show up for all trans people, making TSD a more affirmative space for trans people who embody a wide range of oppressed (and privileged) identities.”

Sophia Widdekind ’25, Marriage and Family Therapy master’s student with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Child Therapy

“April 5 was our third year hosting Trans Support Day, and we broke our attendance record with just over 370 attendees! This year, we added local affirmative business owners to our usual plethora of medical providers for surgery and hormone consultation, legal counsel for name and gender marker changes, LGBTQ+ resource centers, and so many more.

“We also had a donation-based free clothing store for folks looking for a wardrobe refresh for a job interview or who wanted to express their true identity through clothing for the first time. We also partnered with some phenomenal hair and makeup artists for free consultations and makeup application, with the sole mission of attendees feeling incredible and confident when they walked out the door.

“This event was special because everyone involved donated time out of their busy schedules to help uplift the trans community, especially during a time when fear and uncertainty are so painfully prevalent. The joy and gratitude we received as feedback gives us the fuel we need to continue to expand what we have to offer and reach communities far outside the Syracuse region in future years. We hope to inspire incoming students to join the team and join the fight for equal rights and access for everyone.”

About the Trans Team and MFT

The Trans team is part of the Syracuse University Couple and Family Therapy Center in Peck Hall, and students on the team receive specialized training to provide gender-affirmative therapy for transgender people and their families and assist in the readiness process for medical gender transition. Read more about the Trans Team in this story from Syracuse University’s central marketing content team.

The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics prepares students to work with marginalized populations, at-risk youth, and the LGBQ and transgender communities. In the Couple and Family Therapy Center, marriage and family therapy students gain supervised, hands-on clinical experience while providing free therapy services to families, couples, and individuals across Central New York. Visit the MFT webpage to learn more about academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities.

Dear Falk College Family,

Happy Syracuse University Giving Day! March 27 is the day when Syracuse’s global community unites for 24 hours of impact, friendly competition, and plenty of Orange pride!

Here in Falk College, we’re promoting giving that provides Falk students with transformative learning experiences from the classroom to the community and around the globe.

You have several giving options. Visit our campaign page to give directly to the Falk College Dean’s Fund, or visit our giving page if you’d like to give to a different fund that will support students in a specific program. For our friends in the human dynamics’ programs, please know that gifts to your programs will follow you to your new homes in Arts and Sciences, the Maxwell School, and the School of Education.

Please consider making a gift today to help our students reach their full potential!

Sincerely,

Jeremy S. Jordan, PhD
Dean and Professor
Falk College

The annual Trans Support Day hosted by Syracuse University’s Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Trans Team is always an important event for members of the local trans community.

But this year it is perhaps more important than ever as the trans community faces unprecedented societal and legislative discrimination throughout the United States.

Trans Support Day 2025 will be held from 12 to 4 p.m. April 5 at Peck Hall, 601 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, just north of the Syracuse University campus. The event is free and open to the public.

“Trans and nonbinary folks of Central New York, please join us for Trans Support Day,” says Department of Marriage and Family Therapy Associate Professor Deb Coolhart, Ph.D., LMFT, who founded the Trans Team in 2004. “We know this time is extremely difficult politically and that you are receiving plenty of messages that imply that you don’t matter.

“We want you to know that you are valid, valued, beautiful, and loved,” Coolhart says. “The event is a celebration of you, and a place to connect with each other and be supported by your protective allies.”

Attendees at this year’s Trans Support Day will have the opportunity to connect with 25 trans-affirming providers, including 12 local businesses and organizations that support–and advocate for–the trans community. Available resources include legal support, affirming medical care, hormone providers, affirming wellness providers, free clothing and makeup, makeup and hair tutorials, and support for teens.

The event will also include a live band, and the Trans Team has received an overwhelming amount of donations for a free clothing drive, which is regular feature of Trans Support Day. Last year’s event attracted more than 250 people despite a snowstorm, and organizer Tristan Martin says he’s expecting a larger crowd this year as the event continues to grow from its formative years with less than 50 attendees.

“Trans Support Day is a day filled with community and positivity,” says Martin, Ph.D., LMFT, CST, an assistant teaching professor.in the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy. “The MFT Trans Team works together planning logistics for the event all year long to ensure that we provide a day that trans people can feel connected and celebrated.

“This year, more than ever, we are recognizing the importance of Trans Support Day and the powerful impact we can have to show trans people they belong, and they are supported,” Martin adds. “This is a day for providers and businesses to also connect as a form of allyship in the Central New York community. In moments of opposition, as history has shown us, community connection and allyship are crucial pillars towards liberation.”

The Trans team is part of the Syracuse University Couple and Family Therapy Center in Peck Hall, and students on the team receive specialized training to provide gender-affirmative therapy for transgender people and their families and assist in the readiness process for medical gender transition. Read more about the Trans Team in this story from Syracuse University’s central marketing content team.

About MFT

The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics prepares students to work with marginalized populations, at-risk youth, and the LGBQ and transgender communities. In the Couple and Family Therapy Center, marriage and family therapy students gain supervised, hands-on clinical experience while providing free therapy services to families, couples, and individuals across Central New York. Visit the MFT webpage to learn more about academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities.

A new partnership between Syracuse University and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) will create academic pathways for current and former players. Under this agreement, Syracuse University will offer market-relevant and industry-specific online degrees, certificates and credentials, as well as a range of non-credit professional development and executive education training programs, courses and workshops.

Responsive to the MLBPA’s desire to expand opportunities for career growth to its thousands of players, the new cross-campus collaboration taps into the expertise of several of the University’s schools and colleges, including the new David B. Falk College of Sport, the Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Whitman School of Management and the College of Professional Studies (CPS).

“My fellow deans and I are excited to partner with the Major League Baseball Players Association to provide the Syracuse University experience to those interested in pursuing our vast academic offerings,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan, whose initial discussions with the MLBPA inspired the creation of this new initiative. “This partnership reflects our collectively held value that higher education should be achievable for everyone, regardless of the demands of their profession or personal circumstances. For athletes and professionals with unpredictable schedules, our online programs offer the perfect balance of flexibility, robust academic support and real-world applicability—all without compromising their careers.”

“The Major League Baseball Players Association is thrilled to partner with Syracuse University to provide our members with exceptional educational opportunities,” says Chris Singleton, MLBPA special assistant for player resource programs and a former major league outfielder. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting players both on and off the field, ensuring they have access to world-class academic resources that empower their personal and professional growth.”

The MLBPA represents the 1,200 players on major league 40-man rosters, as well as approximately 5,500 minor league players. This new partnership creates opportunities for these players to pursue several noteworthy objectives, including the following:

• Skill Development and Post-Career Readiness: The partnership will align market-relevant curricula and programming with players’ post-career aspirations and needs, ensuring they acquire meaningful skills and knowledge.
• Research and Innovation: The MLBPA and Syracuse will collaborate on research projects that inform progressive and advanced programming for professional athletes. These efforts may lead to the development of new technologies, products or processes, benefiting the MLBPA and other professional athletic organizations.
• Practical Experience: The partnership will provide Syracuse students with opportunities for internships, co-op programs and hands-on projects with the MLBPA. This practical experience will enhance learning, make students more competitive and serve as a potential pipeline for talent to the MLBPA and other professional athlete associations.
• Networking Opportunities: Players will gain access to professional mentors associated with Syracuse in sports, broadcasting and business, to aid them in post-playing career development and job opportunities.

Dedicated admission specialists and academic advisors will tailor academic pathways in support of the unique needs of each participant. These educational opportunities will be accessible through a number of formats, including online, on campus and at Syracuse’s Study Away sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The University will also offer an online academic English program to prepare non-native English speakers for success in their non-credit programs, courses and workshops.

Visit the Syracuse University College of Professional Studies website to learn more about this innovative partnership.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives, and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals, and impact beyond what’s possible.

Chandice Haste-Jackson, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Student Services and interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, has been selected by the Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University (HBCU ELI) as one of 46 outstanding candidates for its 2025 Community of Fellows.

This milestone celebrates individual achievements and underscores the critical importance of nurturing the next generation of executive leaders within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Now in its fifth year, HBCU ELI is noted as one of the most prestigious executive leadership programs for HBCUs in the United States.

“I am honored to have been selected for the 2025 HBCU ELI Community of Fellows,” Haste-Jackson says. “Given the climate of higher education today, it is imperative that leaders are prepared to navigate through uncertainty and crisis and embody the skills and dispositions necessary to address contemporary and emerging issues.

“Participating in the HBCU ELI provides the opportunity to expand my skills and knowledge of higher education administration, and engage and learn from esteemed Legacy Leaders who have led institutions through the social, economic, racial, and historical contexts of higher education in this country,” she says.

Haste-Jackson, an associate teaching professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, has held a variety of leadership positions, including: Interim Director of First Year Seminar (FYS 101), Director of the Syracuse University School of Education Liberty Partnerships Program; Executive Director of a transitional housing homeless shelter for women and children; Executive Director of an historical African American settlement house; and Assistant Director of an inner-city community center.

Haste-Jackson received her bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Syracuse University, her master’s degree in behavioral sciences-psychology from Cameron University, and her Ph.D. in child and family studies from Syracuse (now Human Development and Family Science). She currently serves on several nonprofit boards and is a consultant for the My Brother’s Keeper Syracuse initiative founded by President Barack Obama.

The Community of Fellows are proven executive leaders and change agents who participate in a series of virtual and residency seminars providing knowledge and hands-on skills. HBCU ELI offers a transformative learning experience that empowers participants to address the complex challenges facing HBCUs today. Through academic excellence, practical experience, and mentorship, graduates emerge as visionary leaders who are prepared to drive positive change and advance the legacy of HBCUs.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, HBCUs were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating Black Americans. Although these institutions were developed in an environment of legal segregation, they contributed substantially to the progress of Black Americans by providing access to higher education. The HBCUs of today welcomes students from all ethnic and international backgrounds and lead the way in creating inclusive and transformative cultures of belonging.

About HBCU ELI at Clark Atlanta University

The HBCU Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University (HBCU ELI) is a groundbreaking incubator for recruiting and developing the future presidents of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. ELI equips high-potential leaders with tools and strategies that support the education and business goals of more than 100 HBCUs. Through ELI, the ability of HBCUs to survive and thrive is improved. In addition to granting thousands of degrees each year, HBCUs boast illustrious alumni like Martin Luther King, Jr., Oprah Winfrey, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, among others. Visit hbcueli.com for more information and join the conversation on social media @hbcueli; #hbcueli.

Voices of Service