Faculty know more about student life than administrators, and their voices should matter to Invest Syracuse

Editor’s note: The Daily Orange Editorial Board met with Syracuse University administrators to discuss the Invest Syracuse initiative unveiled in July. This editorial is the fourth in a four-part series based on that discussion. You can read more about Invest Syracuse here.

Invest Syracuse may be a “five-year plan,” but its effects will continue far beyond that timeline.

The 100 faculty hired under the initiative, many of whom will be on a tenure track, will need to be paid, and student experience improvements will be longstanding — details administrators made clear in a discussion with The Daily Orange Editorial Board. The $60 million raised through donations and the tuition increase are considered “recurring investments,” said Amir Rahnamay-Azar, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Students who provide feedback at forums this fall will have graduated by the time the initiative technically ends. Next year’s freshman class — the first to pay Invest Syracuse’s $3,300 tuition premium — won’t be on campus then, either. But many of the faculty here today will, and their feedback should be consistently considered as the initiative develops.

SU employs 920 tenured and tenure-track faculty, according to its website. Many of those employees have either been here for years and are likely here to stay. They remember SU through all its achievements and crises. And they’ve built up concerns as well — some of which are addressed under Invest Syracuse.

On the other hand, many administrators have years of higher education experience under their belts but don’t have the institutional memory essential to providing thoughtful input for Invest Syracuse. While there may be administrators working on Invest Syracuse with longer tenures, they still can’t provide the same insight faculty can.

Faculty members interact with students every day. They hear students’ thoughts on academics, housing and other minutia of student life. They’re also providing the university’s primary product: education.

Administrators have made clear that the main goal of Invest Syracuse is enhancing student life. Students are the university’s primary customers, but they are customers who come and go. Student concerns that go unaddressed are forgotten as each graduating class walks the Carrier Dome stage.

Faculty are listening on campus, in classrooms and in departmental offices every day, and they have been for years. It’s safe to say they have an idea of what students have always needed — and what they’ll need beyond the next five years.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. You can read more about the editorial board here.