Forever Distinctive
Unique Learning Opportunities
Our proud tradition of welcoming and empowering learners and leaders of all backgrounds enriches the experiences of everyone on campus. We maintain our longstanding commitment to serving the nation’s veterans and the military-connected community. We’ve pioneered the field of disability studies, policy and law, improving access and providing educational opportunities to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We embrace innovation and entrepreneurship, helping students create, invent and establish their own businesses. Syracuse is for those who dream big and make it real.
The best place for veterans
210,000+
veterans, active-duty service members and their families benefitted from no-cost programs through the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families
318%
increase in enrollment of military-connected students over the past decade, supported by Syracuse’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs
Rosique working on editing his podcast, Deep Dive with Raul Rosique Jr.
Navigating New Horizons
A U.S Navy veteran, Raul Rosique ’24 was drawn to Syracuse for its academics and military-friendly reputation, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Falk College, and a certificate in healthcare administration from the College of Professional Studies.
Rosique embraced the Syracuse community and his academics, immersed himself in student activities and helped fellow student veterans adjust to campus life. He launched Deep Dive with Raul Rosique Jr., a podcast where he explored a variety of issues with other student veterans, including how they’ve navigated their transition to civilian life and higher education. “People at Syracuse care about your mental health, your well-being. They care about you as a human being and your success,” he says.
Read Raul’s story
Retired Navy aviator Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Coffey L’25 is a law student with an interest in legal advocacy.
Sky High Ambitions
Retired aviator Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Coffey L’25 amassed more than 2,400 flight hours and 300 carrier landings during her 20 years in the U.S. Navy. But of all the missions she’s carried out, Coffey is most excited about her current one as a student at Syracuse’s College of Law.
Coffey gains additional experience through the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, representing veterans and their families seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or military discharge upgrades. In 2023 she was one of only two second-year students arguing a case before a Veterans Law Judge on the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
Coffey credits Syracuse’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families for helping her make the transition from military to civilian life. “Syracuse’s enduring commitment to veteran and military-connected families is why I’m here,” she says. “Even though I’m older than most student veterans, I feel like I belong here. I’m with my people.”
Read Laurie’s story
Retired Navy aviator Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Coffey L’25 is a law student with an interest in legal advocacy.
InclusiveU student Shafreya Wilkins ’25 (center) gathers with classmates in Marshall Square Mall following an internship prep seminar.
My experience at Syracuse University has motivated me to do anything I want to do. It gave me so much confidence that I didn’t have before. People with disabilities can do a lot of things. Don’t let anyone limit what you can do. When I started this journey, I knew I could do it.”
— Shafreya Wilkins ’25
Inclusive Education Fosters Ambition
Shafreya Wilkins ’25 aspires to own and operate a food truck with mini dishes, such as tacos, sliders, truffle fries and slushies for the kids. For Wilkins, the food studies program at Syracuse’s Falk College provided a welcomed immersion in the world of cuisine and food systems.
Wilkins will earn a certificate in food studies through InclusiveU—an initiative of the School of Education’s Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education that welcomes students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to experience college life in a fully inclusive setting. Through classes, Wilkins improved her cooking skills and learned how food is grown, processed and distributed. In fall 2024, she interned with insurance firm OneGroup to gain business and marketing skills, supporting her goal of having her own food truck.
The Syracuse native enjoys the peer-to-peer mentoring that has helped her make friends and participate in campus activities. She’s honed her self-advocacy skills and attended Student Empowerment Day in Albany and a national student leadership conference in Colorado Springs, hosted by the Taishoff Center.
She credits InclusiveU for helping her become more independent. “InclusiveU has helped me have a better understanding of how to maintain a proper goal that I set for myself as far as time management and being prepared for class—and you have to be prepared for life because you never know what’s going to come up,” Wilkins says. “You need a team because everybody needs help. You need the proper systems to work for you.”
Read Shafreya’s storyDuring Syracuse Giving Day 2024, Kayla Burton G’19 of ESPN (left) interviews InclusiveU students Sam Clark ’24 and Shafreya Wilkins ’25, along with Beth Myers, Lawrence B. Taishoff Associate Professor of Inclusive Education, in a livestream broadcast from the JMA Wireless Dome.
During Syracuse Giving Day 2024, Kayla Burton G’19 of ESPN (left) interviews InclusiveU students Sam Clark ’24 and Shafreya Wilkins ’25, along with Beth Myers, Lawrence B. Taishoff Associate Professor of Inclusive Education, in a livestream broadcast from the JMA Wireless Dome.
A Community Welcoming To All
2018
Lender Center for Social Justice opens through the generosity of Marvin ’63 and Helaine Gold Lender ’65, promoting multi-disciplinary and dynamic collaborations that support the development of courageous and ethical scholars and citizens at Syracuse University who are committed to practices of social justice.
2021
The Intercultural Collective opens in the renovated Schine Student Center, bringing several cultural centers together in one central location on campus. Working together, these teams promote and celebrate intersectionality and inclusion.
2021
Our Time Has Come program builds on its 30-year tradition of student support and enrichment by expanding its leadership program to provide professional development and mentoring for students regardless of financial need.
2024
Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education celebrates 10 years of InclusiveU, and the Taishoff Family Foundation makes a new transformational gift to help grow the program and expand initiatives of the Center on Disability and Inclusion—creating more opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to experience higher education.
A Community Welcoming To All
2018
Lender Center for Social Justice opens through the generosity of Marvin ’63 and Helaine Gold Lender ’65, promoting multi-disciplinary and dynamic collaborations that support the development of courageous and ethical scholars and citizens at Syracuse University who are committed to practices of social justice.
2021
The Intercultural Collective opens in the renovated Schine Student Center, bringing several cultural centers together in one central location on campus. Working together, these teams promote and celebrate intersectionality and inclusion..
2021
Our Time Has Come program builds on its 30-year tradition of student support and enrichment by expanding its leadership program to provide professional development and mentoring for students regardless of financial need.
2024
Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education celebrates 10 years of InclusiveU, and the Taishoff Family Foundation makes a new transformational gift to help grow the program and expand initiatives of the Center on Disability and Inclusion—creating more opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to experience higher education.
Winston Schaumloffel ’25 demonstrates one of the many pieces students have created using the suite of 3D printers and other production technologies that are available for the community’s use in ITS MakerSpace.
Winston Schaumloffel ’25 demonstrates one of the many pieces students have created using the suite of 3D printers and other production technologies that are available for the community’s use in ITS MakerSpace.
Inspiring Creative Invention
It’s the spirit of experimentation and curiosity, as much as the technological resources, that has made Syracuse University’s ITS MakerSpace such a valuable support to a range of academic, creative and entrepreneurial endeavors. “We honestly could not have made this without MakerSpace,” says Elan Fullmer ’24, as he demonstrated the functionality of a propeller that he and his teammates
Open to all members of the University community, the fabrication lab and creative workshop hosts dozens of 3D printers of different capacities, including the most modern models and some of the largest in New York state; two laser engravers; embroidery and sewing machines; equipment for printing on vinyl, fabric and other materials; and a recording studio. It’s a lively and inviting space with the evidence of flourishing creativity all around.
“We honestly could not have made this without MakerSpace,” says Elan Fullmer ’24, as he demonstrated the functionality of a propeller that he and his teammates designed for their mechanical engineering capstone project.
As one of the 19 industry-sponsored projects the engineering capstone students engaged in during the spring 2024 semester, Fullmer and his teammates worked to optimize smallscale wind turbines for local power generation. His team created different versions of their design, ultimately producing their prototype on the largest 3D printer, which allowed them to create key elements as single pieces.
As Alexander Deyhim, their professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, put it, MakerSpace enables students to engage in the process of invention. “They have an idea, they design it, they get hands-on practical feedback from [MakerSpace] staff—and by the end of the day they have a prototype in their hand. This lets them communicate their ideas, have better discussions and fine tune the process,” he explains. “That’s a huge step in innovation.”
Read about MakerSpaceEntrepreneurial Mindset
7K
entrepreneurs served through the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries, an innovation community connecting the student entrepreneurs with a global network that supports innovators and business ventures
1st
inclusive design and entrepreneurship program in the country. Intelligence++ is a partnership of the Blackstone LaunchPad, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education and the College of Visual and Performing Arts
10 years
of the Orange Tank Competition at the Whitman School of Management, showcasing the innovative thinking of student entrepreneurs competing for cash prizes to support their ventures. Based on the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” students gain valuable feedback from alumni and business professionals who serve as judges
Engineering students Sydney Jud ’24 (left), Elan Fullmer ’24 (middle) and Kendra Miller ’24 used MakerSpace printers to create a prototype windenergy propeller as part of their industry-sponsored capstone project.
Expanding Digital Literacy and Online Learning
1st
fully online law degree with College of Law’s JDInteractive
8.3M+
downloads from SURFACE, Syracuse University Libraries’ open access institutional repository
300
online courses offered by the College of Professional Studies Center for Online and Digital Learning
The SENSES Project provides students with the equipment, instruction and space for self-exploration through audio production.
SENSES Amplifies Student Voices
The SENSES (Studying an Environment that Nurtures Self- Exploration in Students) Project launched in 2021 as an initiative to teach sound recording to Syracuse University students in the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and TRIO Student Support Services (SSS). Today this music and podcast production space is open to all students, intent on creating a more inclusive community around creativity.
“The SENSES lab has been a home away from home for me—a place where people can come in and be their true authentic selves and explore any and all artistic interests,” says Samantha Vallejos ’25, a member of the lab.
Vallejos—a triple major in law, society and policy; political philosophy; and political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs—came to Syracuse as a first-generation student from Colorado, intent on going to law school and becoming a defense attorney someday. Joining SENSES her first year, she helped the lab become a registered student organization and created a few podcasts—one where she talks with other first-generation students about their shared experiences as students of color or students from low-income families.
“It has really helped me to find a sense of belonging here,” Vallejos says.
Read about the SENSES Project
Members and leaders of the SENSES lab at the release party for their Valentine’s Day album, HEART/BREAK. They have also produced three other thematic albums since launching the lab.