| |
 |
| |
| Greetings from the Dean | | | | Falk College is built on the values of social justice. It is critical for us to support one another in the efforts to combat monumental injustices and continued racism experienced by persons of color in America and around the world. I look to our Falk family—students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends—to be educated, be brave, and be active. I ask you to engage both your professional skills as advocates, as well as your humanity and personal values, at this time and at all times, to ensure the dignity of all. I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. I look forward to the day when our campus is full of students, staff, and faculty, and when we are safely able to give the Class of 2020 the commencement ceremony they deserve. But right now, I commend your resilience in the face of a crisis. I am so proud of the good our Falk family has created amidst the pandemic. Finally, your presence as a professional and as a person make your community, and our world, a safer, stronger, healthier, and more just place. Together, we will continue to bring change. Diane Lyden Murphy, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D.
Dean, Falk College | | | | | |
| Devotion to family, friends, food, and social justice: Remembering the life of Professor Evan Weissman |  | | Falk College extends our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Evan L. Weissman, Ph.D., associate professor in Food Studies and Nutrition, who passed away unexpectedly while at home with his family on April 9. | | | | | |
| | Professor Weissman touched the Syracuse community where he lived, and that he loved deeply, with his kindness, his energy and his passion for social justice. As an educator, mentor, scholar and friend, Professor Weissman was committed to the human condition, always problem-solving to build better communities. He inspired those around him to advocate for equity in the food system and beyond. Along with his family, the Falk College community, including current students and countless alumni working for food justice and social justice, will continue the work he believed in so deeply. Additional details about ways the community will come together to celebrate the life and work of Professor Weissman will be announced at a later time on the Falk College website, falk.syr.edu. Read the full tribute. | | | | | |
| Exploring the science of food and climate change |  | | Senior food studies major Sierra Endreny ’20 plans to take her career path in many different directions. “I am passionate about the environment, social justice, health, and food. The food studies program allows me to combine all my interests, and also gives me a broad array of skills and experience when looking for prospective employment,” she says. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Falk senior’s teaching fellowship was “unexpectedly challenging, tirelessly engaging, and utterly rewarding” |  | | After completing an internship at Mother’s Choice in Hong Kong, Tyler Ashley Smith’s next opportunity was closer to home: a three-month Teaching Fellowship with Generation Teach in Denver, Colorado, her hometown. “I applied on a whim and got an offer to teach seventh-grade reading and improv acting,” she said. Smith says this fellowship opened her eyes to a new career passion she didn’t know she had. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Activist by night, Marriage and Family Therapy Ph.D. student by day |  | | Montiniquë McEachern, Ph.D. realized that activism and relational therapy are not separate matters. McEachern says her approach to therapy—and the reason why she gravitated towards becoming a therapist—is that queer women of color, specifically activists, need representation in the psychological world. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Falk senior “seeing nutrition as a matter of health and social justice” |  | | This semester, senior April Hill ’20 worked with Salt City Harvest Farm to conduct environmental audits of food acquisition sites in Syracuse. She helped determine how community gardens may promote food security and cultural preservation among New Americans. Hill is a double major in nutrition, and citizenship and civic engagement, with a minor in Spanish. “Being a double major has really challenged me to view nutrition from a variety of different lenses.” Read this article. | | | | | |
| Two trips are better than one: Falk senior applies public health skills in East Africa |  | | For Alizée McLorg ’20, public health is everywhere—from mentoring young adults in local Syracuse schools, to analyzing demographic health surveys in East Africa. Her time at Syracuse has allowed her to do both, and in the process, discover her passion for improving the health of communities around the world. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Interpreting coronavirus news for Onondaga County’s Deaf community |  | | Graduate social work student Grace Cogan serves as a Deaf interpreter for Onondaga County’s daily COVID-19 briefings. In early March, she received an unusual request from Maggie Russell, director of interpreting services for Aurora of Central New York. The organization offers services for people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hearing impaired. Russell wanted Cogan to provide Deaf interpreting for daily news reports about the novel coronavirus from Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh G’05. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Two Falk sport analytics teams win at SABR Diamond Dollars competition |  | | For the sixth straight year, Syracuse University Sabermetrics Club members participated in the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics’ Spring Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Due to Covid-19, the students did not travel in March 2020 to Phoenix, Arizona, but instead presented virtually from SU’s campus. Four SU teams competed in 2020, with two teams winning their respective divisions. Read this article. | | | | | |
| Falk community during COVID-19 | | | | Falk students continue treating clients through virtual therapy Distance counseling and tele-support during the pandemic keep clients and student interns connected and build a stronger community. With the shift to virtual classrooms, fitness apps, and telehealth during the new coronavirus pandemic, clinicians have pivoted quickly to maintain standards of therapy care and avoid abandoning their patients during this high-stress time. Read this article. | | | | Public health in action: Applied epidemiology students host coronavirus community forum The March 10 forum was moderated by public health graduate student Pruthvi Kilaru and began with an overview on the coronavirus presented by Professor Brittany Kmush in the Department of Public Health who specializes in infectious and global disease epidemiology. Professor David Larsen presented on the current U.S. coronavirus situation and important next steps. Dr. Kathryn Anderson, an internal medicine physician and assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Upstate Medical University where she also serves as Director of the Center for International Research in the Institute for Global Health and Translational Services, addressed the clinical aspects of COVID-19. Read this article and watch the forum. | | | | Faculty, staff, alumni partnership exemplifies how the Orange community is supporting others Ken Marfilius, a faculty member in the School of Social Work, is doing his in part in what he calls a “grassroots movement” to help the battle with Coronavirus. Budmen Industries in Liverpool, N.Y., owned by Issac Budmen ’12 and Stephanie Keefe ‘12, made the decision to open-source the files for creating a 3D Face Shield that provides protection to health-care workers dealing with COVID-19 cases. Marfilius volunteered to run Budmen Industries’ communications operation. Read this article. | | | | Falk College instructor’s award-winning craft distillery joins fight against COVID-19 Chris Uyehara, a culinary specialist at Syracuse University’s Falk College and owner of Last Shot Distillery, is bottling hand sanitizer instead of his usual gold medal whiskeys. The scarcity of hand sanitizer was a concern for culinary specialist Chris Uyehara, so he investigated the problem to find out how he could help. Read this article and watch the video. | | | | | |
| Falk College faculty equip global community with COVID-19 information On the Falk College faculty are experts in public health, social work, human development and family science, mental health, and other subject areas of critical interest during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, such as health and exercise science and sport and society. They are focusing time and energy on sharing research data, best practices, and guidance with the media for the benefit of the public. Read this article. | | | | | |
