Campus & Community

First Year Seminar Earns Collaborative Excellence Award

Wednesday, March 5, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

鶹ƵUniversity’s First Year Seminar (FYS): Shared Experience Week was honored with the Collaborative Excellence Award at the conference last month in Long Beach, California.

The award recognizes programs that represent strong partnerships between academic and student affairs in a way that supports and fosters student learning and positively contributes to the university. It was accepted by Shannon Hitchcock Schantz, director of FYS, and Jimmy Luckman, former associate director of FYS, now director of the LGBTQA+ Center at Pace University.

Shannon Schantz and Jimmy Luckman accept an award on behalf of First Year Seminar

First Year Seminar director Shannon Hitchcock Schantz and former associate director Jimmy Luckman accepted the Collaborative Excellence Award at the ACPA–College Student Educators International conference last month

“We are so honored to receive the Collaborative Excellence Award from ACPA,” Schantz says. “It showcases what we can accomplish when we work together to impact students’ sense of belonging on campus. Without our over 35 campus and community partners, we would not have been able to accomplish the goals of the Shared Experience Week, so this award is for everyone that has helped this initiative take shape over the last four years.”

, a semester-long, one-credit course, was started in 2021 as a way to foster a sense of community among incoming first-year and transfer students. An essential part of FYS, Shared Experience Week sends students across campus and into the local community to participate in service-learning projects that ultimately benefit all. Among the campus and community partners in that effort are the Office of Student Engagement, the Shaw Center, the Barnes Center at The Arch, 鶹ƵUniversity Art Museum, 鶹ƵAbroad, the Rescue Mission, Ronald McDonald House and others.

FYS Information Sessions for Faculty, Students

FYS is taught by lead instructors (faculty, staff and graduate students) with assistance from peer leaders (undergraduate students). Two upcoming events will provide more information for faculty and staff who would like to get involved.

  • A will be held Tuesday, March 25, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, 550 Bird Library.
  • A will be held Tuesday, April 8, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library.

For more information about the lead instructor role or partnering with the FYS team for the Fall 2025 Shared Experience Week, contact Schantz at 315.443.9035 or sschantz@syr.edu.