For the third time in three years Syracuse University has changed the First-Year Experience, a program designed to engage incoming freshman and transfer students together with a unique, unifying experience.

Previously, students were required to read a book or attend a dance performance, which were discussed during first-year classes and seminars.

Last year, students were encouraged to become involved in special events and projects focusing on major issues within the city of Syracuse. Problems with keeping all the first-year students interested in the program has caused officials to change the program again, said Sandra Hurd, associate provost for academic affairs.

‘It’s hard to find a set of experiences that really will meet the needs of such a diverse incoming population. Students are interested in all sorts of things,’ she said.

Keeping the program, however, is essential for Hurd.

‘I think it gives students something to connect around, something to talk about, something to explore together,’ she said. ‘With nine different schools and 300 different majors, sometimes it’s hard to find common ground.’

This year, the program will hope to find common ground by focusing on events and discussions relating to one theme: disability. Instead of creating new events and opportunities for students to participate in, Hurd said, SU officials looked at what events were already booked on campus for this year and tried to find a similar thread.

‘One thing we are very conscious of is there’s so much going on at the university that creating more things is not as useful as highlighting what students are already interested in,’ she said.

Many events already booked on campus look at different types of disability from a host of different perspectives, she said. The events seemed like a nice combination of various events and speakers that would help gain the interest of first-year students and foster discussion, she said.

Hurd said if focusing on one theme seems successful as the first-year program, she and other officials will begin looking toward themes for the future.

However, SU will still keep the engagement piece of the program from previous years and will continue to encourage students to get involved within the city, Hurd said. Certain pre-orientation programs are aimed directly at involving students within the city of Syracuse, she said.

The disability portion of the program will kick off at the Chancellor’s Convocation for first-year students. The convocation is being held Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Carrier Dome.

Stephen Kuusisto, the new Renée Crown Honors program director, will address students as part of the convocation. Kuusisto, who is legally blind, is a disability rights advocate as well as an acclaimed author.

Kuusisto was appointed as director of the honors program in May and began during summer break. He and his wife also founded Kaleidoscope Connections, a company that promotes employee awareness of disabilities and customer service for people with disabilities.

Hurd said she will also be looking at events and exhibits hosted by the nine individual schools and colleges at SU to see if they are hosting events that coincide with the theme of the first-year program.

There are also many other events already set up on campus, including performances at the Landmark Theatre and Syracuse Stage. Students will be able to listen to speakers brought to campus as part of the Syracuse Symposium.

Said Hurd: ‘I think that looking at disability from dance, film, theater — from a number of different lenses — will give every student the opportunity to think about it from a different perspective.’

medelane@syr.edu

Published on August 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani