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Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

Winter break is concluding, and soon the Spring 2022 semester will be underway. Over the last several weeks, the University continued to advance our early efforts to transform the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center and create a new faculty center. Now that our community is together again, we are writing today to share important updates about this ongoing work and next steps.

Faculty Commons in Bird Library

We are in the process of establishing the Faculty Commons in Bird Library. Located on the fifth floor in Bird Library (room 548), this 5,000-square-foot space will be available exclusively to faculty to gather, work and meet. This space will open as a fully outfitted Faculty Commons in the summer but is equipped with temporary furniture and some equipment for use this semester. We encourage faculty to take full advantage of this dedicated space, which includes meeting rooms and individual workspaces. will also be open to serve students, faculty and staff visiting the library.

Space Continues to Be Available in Goldstein

While work continues at the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center, the second floor will continue to be available to faculty for by-reservation dining (reservations can be made by calling 315.443.3605), special events and gathering space. To schedule a special event with catered dining, please contact Catering Services at 315.443.3605. Goldstein continues to be an outstanding space to host guest lecturers for meals, meet with prospective faculty and gather among yourselves.

Club 44 Availability

In partnership with the stadium staff, we are pleased to announce that Club 44 will now be available for catered faculty lunches (six or more people). We are excited to offer this space to our faculty community and are working to finalize the reservation process, menu options and dining opportunities. More information will be shared directly with our faculty in the coming weeks as we work to align staffing levels and continue to navigate COVID. In the meantime, and are available for daily dining. And the is available for faculty hosted events; contact 315.443.3605 to coordinate your event.

Convening a Task Force

Lastly, team members in Academic Affairs, Auxiliary Services and Facilities are working to convene a formal task force, consisting of faculty, staff and administrators, to begin the process of determining the needs, aspirations and desires of faculty as it relates to a faculty-oriented facility. As previously stated, our goal is to create a state-of-the-art faculty center that fosters a comfortable, collegial and collaborative environment that meets the current and future needs of our diverse faculty cohort. We are excited about this work and look forward to collaborating with our faculty community. Jamie Winders, associate provost for faculty affairs, is currently developing a team of faculty from across campus, and by Feb. 7, we expect to announce the composition of the task force and lay out the timeline and feedback processes.

In the meantime, members of our community with immediate feedback or ideas can email provost@syr.edu.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed ideas and to those of you who will engage in the process in the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor and Provost

Pete Sala
Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer