University Celebrates Installation of Bruce Strong as The Alexia Endowed Chair at the Newhouse School

Syracuse University celebrated the official installation of award-winning photographer and faculty member Bruce Strong as The Alexia Endowed Chair during a ceremony at the Newhouse School. 

With Strong’s family, Newhouse colleagues, industry professionals and students in attendance, the event on Saturday, April 5 in the Newhouse 1 atrium included a medallion presentation for Strong led by Interim Provost Lois Agnew as well as remarks from Chancellor Kent Syverud.  

The Alexia began in 1991 as the Alexia Foundation, created with the mission to promote cultural understanding and peace by supporting photographers as agents for change. Peter and Aphrodite Tsairis founded the foundation in partnership with the Newhouse School to honor their daughter, Alexia Tsairis. The 20-year-old photography major was killed in the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, as she was returning home from a semester abroad in London. 

The Tsairises sat in the front row during the ceremony, with relatives and family friends also gathered for the celebration, as well as David Sutherland, a professor emeritus and the program’s founding chair.

Since its inception, the program has provided nearly $2 million in funding in support of hundreds of students, professional photographers and filmmakers. In 2021, the program transitioned to the Newhouse School and became The Alexia. 

The following year, The Alexia Chair position was endowed in large part through a $2 million gift from Xin Liu, co-founder and president of The Enlight Foundation and an Alexia grant recipient more than 30 years ago. The Enlight Foundation’s gift provides continuous support for grants and fellowships, as well as teaching, research, programmatic and educational opportunities that inspire more impactful storytelling.  

The Alexia continues to receive support through generous donations from alumni, friends, professionals and corporate sponsorship. 

“Honestly, I do not see this position simply as an honor; I see it as a responsibility,” Strong said. “As The Alexia Endowed Chair, I promise to work tirelessly to build a community that pierces darkness with light—to help others create images that convey understanding, promote meaningful conversation and inspire action.”  

“In the end, the true power of documentary photography is not just in what we see. It’s in the voices it amplifies, the beauty it reveals, the perspectives it challenges and the change it ignites,” Strong said. 

During the ceremony, Syverud also presented Strong with a gift befitting of the occasion: a signed first edition of “HALFWAY TO FREEDOM: A Report on the New India” by pioneering photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White.   

At Newhouse, Strong teaches photography, video, audio and multimedia storytelling to undergraduate, graduate and military students. He has mentored College Photographer of the Year winners and earned a prestigious Meredith Teaching Recognition Award from Syracuse University. He also has been recognized for his teaching by the National Press Photographers Association. 

Strong has traveled to nearly 80 countries during a decades-long career. He has worked at newspapers and freelanced for international publications and nonprofits. His images have been published in Time, National Geographic and other magazines.  

Strong has also served as a Knight-Wallace Kellogg Public Policy Fellow at the University of Michigan, focusing on the intersection of journalism and the arts in developing community leadership, as well as the Knight Fellow at Ohio University. 

Dean Mark J. Lodato also noted Strong’s encouraging demeanor and spirit of collaboration with faculty and staff at Newhouse.  

“In my five years as dean at Newhouse, I consider my appointment of Bruce to lead The Alexia program as truly one of my best decisions,” Lodato said. “He truly honors the mission and values of The Alexia program.” 

Newhouse Students, Faculty Make Exceptional Showing With 17 Honors at AEJMC Festival of Visual and Interactive Media

Newhouse students and faculty had a fantastic showing with 17 wins, including five Gold Awards, at the Festival of Visual and Interactive Media contest, sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s VISCOM division for the best in design, interactivity, photos, video and advertising. 

The winners span nearly all Newhouse majors, with students taking the top three prizes in the Video/Film category and visual communications assistant professor Michael O. Snyder earning two faculty awards for his photo projects.

Winners

Photo Essay, Gold – “Beating the Odds,” Diana Valdivia (The Fall Workshop)

Photo Single Entry – Journalism, Bronze – “Police officer funeral,” Patrick King (The NewsHouse)

Photo Illustration, Bronze – Sculpting with Luminosity, Andrew Skiver (SALT) 

Video/Film, Gold – “The Thread Remembers,” Maxine Wallace and LJ Guerra

Video/Film, Silver – “A Tale of Two Cities: Reclaiming Niagara Falls and Salinas “

Video/Film, Bronze – “Fright Night: An American Family Story,” Kayla Breen 

Animation, Gold – “Lotus,” Elizabeth Carlson

Advertising, Gold – “Wear the Change,” Gabriella Enriquez

Advertising, Bronze – “One Eagles Nation,” Jack Wojtowicz and Micaela Kraker

General Design, Silver – “Cisco Swank,” Noa Putman

General Design, Bronze – “Neil Minet Brand Identity,” Sammy Swiss

Multimedia, Silver – The Baldwin Fund, Pixels and Print Staff – Alex Hodge, Arlo Stone, Rongpeng Zhang, Rebecca Skier, Ania Johnston, Dara Pershing, Chelsea Palmer, Patrick Firrell, Alex Levy, Laura Knaflewski, Dean Lourenco, Max Meyer

Multimedia, Bronze – “Canal Keepers,” Canal Keepers Staff

Interactive & Motion, Silver – “GameSense,” Arlo Stone

Interactive & Motion, Bronze – Baldwin Fund 3D/Immersive Experience, Elizabeth Carlson, Samantha Mai Currier, Darren Cordoviz, River Taylor, Charlotte Little (Pixels & Print)

Faculty:

Photo Story, Gold – Michael Snyder, “The Queens of Queen City“

Photo Story, Silver – Michael Snyder, “Hidden Waters“

Seth Gitner Appointed to National Press Photographers Foundation Board

Newhouse School faculty member Seth Gitner has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF).

The appointment acknowledges Gitner’s “significant contributions to visual journalism and multimedia storytelling,” the foundation said in an announcement. The NPPF is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the field of photojournalism through education, awarding scholarships and fellowships to individuals who have demonstrated ability or promise in the field of visual journalism.

Gitner is an associate professor in the visual communications and magazine, news and digital journalism departments at Newhouse. He teaches courses in multimedia storytelling, video journalism, digital design and sports photography.

Gitner also serves as web developer and visual storytelling advisor for TheNewsHouse.com, the school’s award-winning student news platform.

Besides his NPPF work, Gitner has maintained close ties to the industry through various leadership roles with the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), including national secretary, national event committee chair and technology committee chair. He was co-director of the NPPA’s multimedia immersion program for 14 years.

Before joining the Newhouse School in 2009, Gitner was a photojournalist and multimedia editor at newspapers in Maryland and Virginia, including The Roanoke Times and Roanoke.com.

Currently, Gitner is working on the third edition of his textbook “Multimedia Storytelling for Digital Communicators in a Multiplatform World,” which is used at the Newhouse School.

Student Spotlight: Murphy McFarlane

Murphy McFarlane likes to push herself. A determination to perfect her craft of visual storytelling has produced several impressive achievements, like winning a prestigious Hearst Journalism Award and completing a photography project in the Alexia Fall Workshop at the Newhouse School.  

But what McFarlane considers her proudest accomplishment is a documentary that gave voice to struggles against environmental injustice shared by two communities separated by more than 1,600 miles.  

McFarlane was heavily involved in producing “A Tale of Two Cities: Reclaiming Niagara Falls and Salinas,” a project that resulted from an innovative collaboration between students at Newhouse and the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico, with limited financial and equipment support from Canon U.S.A.  

The documentary, which captured life in communities in western New York and Puerto Rico, tapped into McFarlane’s interests as a dual major in geography and photography with an emphasis in cinematography, and her desire to focus on stories about the effects of climate change. 

“Being able to produce and edit stories that center on environmental justice and amplify voices that often are not heard is work I know I can be proud of,” she said. 

Milton Santiago, an assistant professor of visual communications, led the Newhouse contingent on the project. McFarlane helped to produce, edit and conduct research. She sat in on the student panel when the film premiered at Newhouse in September 2024 and traveled to Puerto Rico to promote the film with students from Sagrado.  

It was “a major achievement and an overwhelming experience that I am extremely grateful for,” she said. 

McFarlane was originally drawn to Newhouse’s renowned journalism programs when she was looking at colleges while growing up in her hometown of Chicago. She started as a magazine, news and digital journalism major in August 2020, but “I knew after taking COM 117 that I needed to be behind the camera,” she said. “I wanted to do both journalism and film.” 

That led McFarlane to switch into the visual communications program at Newhouse.  
 
Little did McFarlane know, that switch would result in her being the first student to take classes, like Nonfiction Video Storytelling, in Newhouse’s new—and at the time still unofficial—cinematography track. The track officially launched in 2023 for both visual communications and television, radio and film majors at Newhouse. Fueled by her passion for behind-the-camera work and desire for professional growth, McFarlane collaborated with Santiago and provided feedback on the still-developing curriculum.  

“Coming into a program that hasn’t been built yet, and being the only student going along this trajectory was very difficult at times, but Professor Santiago was always there to answer any questions or offer equipment, and help me really grow and develop my films to be the best that they can be,” she said.

One of those films was a documentary made last fall titled “Full Circle,” chronicling a Central New York farmer and her family who produce meat and poultry sustainably. The work earned McFarlane notoriety including first-place honors in the 2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Multimedia Narrative competition and the Associated Collegiate Press Awards, as well as placing third at the White House News Photographer Association. 

The experience of attending the Hearst National Journalism Awards Championship in San Francisco last June was “life-changing.” 

“Just being there, with the ability to meet a ton of peers and professionals was rewarding,” she said. “I felt honored and inspired to be pushed to create a story like never before.”  

In last fall, she found herself challenged during the Newhouse Alexia Fall Workshop, where students are coached by industry professionals and alumni to create multimedia projects.  

McFarlane, who gravitates towards telling stories through video, was encouraged by her coaches Lauren Steel and Lynn Johnson to do a still photography story on a sport fisherman and hunter in Baldwinsville, New York, where the workshop took place. Leaving her comfort zone paid off. 

“If I don’t challenge myself, I am never going to grow. Now I know I am capable of making a still photo story and being proud of it,” she said. 

McFarlane encountered a different challenge last spring after suffering a concussion serious enough that she delayed graduation and took a couple more semesters to finish her degree program. Although she didn’t take part in the May 2024 convocation ceremony, she was named a Newhouse Scholar in 2024 and honored with the Dr. Frank Meola Photography Prize.  

After Newhouse, McFarlane is considering pursuing documentary production work in Chicago. She knows she wants to continue to pursue passion projects around climate education and social justice issues.  

“It is going to be hard to leave but I am excited to see what the future holds,” she said. “Newhouse has been a really amazing community, and I feel like I’ve been impacted by almost every professor here, along with students.” 

Student Spotlight: Surya Vaidy

Surya Vaidy remembers watching “Tom and Jerry” cartoons at age 10 and appreciating the quirky typography and title screens. He didn’t realize it then, but those eye-catching visuals from the animated classic inspired Vaidy’s passion for multimedia and design. 

That drive led him to Syracuse University, where he graduated in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in geography from the College of Arts and Sciences and a minor in photo, video and design. But Vaidy felt like he still had more to learn after completing that minor, and decided to return to the Newhouse School to further explore his creative side and pursue a master’s degree in multimedia, photography and design (MPD). 

He pursued graduate school with the help of a Forever Orange Scholarship, which provides half of the tuition for Syracuse University students the fall after graduating with their bachelor’s degree.  

Studying at Newhouse allowed Vaidy to view photography as more than just a hobby. The opportunity to complete a master’s in multimedia, photography and design felt like a “sign from the universe,” he said. 

In 2023, Vaidy won a Gold Award in the Interpretive Eye category in the international College Photographer of the Year competition. This past September, six of Vaidy’s photos were selected to be shown at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in China.  

Vaidy credits visual communications faculty members Greg Heisler, Paula Nelson, Bruce Strong, Renée Stevens, Milton Santiago, Ken Harper, Seth Gitner, MaryAnne Golon and RC Concepción for guiding him at Newhouse.  

“Being taught by people who have done the things that I want to do has been invaluable,” Vaidy said. “Through them, I have received access to people who have a name, place and legacy the industry.” 

Vaidy, though, isn’t quite sure what he’s going to do next, because he was exposed to so many ideas and potential career paths during his time in the master’s program. 

He said it was nerve-wracking to admit to himself that there were career options other than photography, but his professors and classes introduced him to new topics, and he learned to fall in love with the technical aspects, artistic components and the human connection of visual communications.  

“There are these revelations you have once you start doing at a higher level what you thought you wanted to do in the field, and what you are introduced to at school. And you kind of balance, and you start figuring [out] … where do my new loves align,” Vaidy said.  

“And for me, I think photography for a publication, magazine or newspaper, would be a lovely start,” he added. “But I also think I would like to be behind the desk, behind the scenes, working as an editor, coordinating with people.”  

One of Vaidy’s most memorable experiences at Newhouse was covering the Empire State Winter Games in February 2024. He was never interested in sports photography before that assignment in Lake Placid; he left knowing that he could cover sports, too.  

Vaidy ended his classes in December, and hopes to defend this thesis and graduate in May 2025. He said his only regret is that he didn’t ask more questions earlier during his time as a Newhouse master’s student. 

“To have people who challenge you, not in a destructive way, but in a constructive way—that changes you for the better,” Vaidy said. “That that gives you a platform to boost off” your career.

Photo Gallery: The Alexia Fall Workshop

For more than two decades, the Alexia Fall Workshop has offered an opportunity for Newhouse visual communications students to hone and develop their multimedia skills under the guidance of coaches and faculty at the top of their fields. At this year’s workshop from Oct. 17-20, students spent that Friday uncovering stories nestled in the daily life of Baldwinsville, New York, from the bustle in village shops and restaurants to the entire day at C.W. Baker High School culminating with the Bees’ football team winning that night.

On Saturday morning, students fanned out around the village again to photograph scenes around Seneca River where Lock 24 still operates before spending the remainder of the weekend transforming these experiences into photo galleries and multimedia projects. A showcase of the workshop’s images and stories will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, at Baker High’s main auditorium.

Take a look back at the amazing work of students, faculty and coaches from this inspiring weekend.

The Alexia Launches New Scholar Initiative for Top Visual Storytelling Students, Young Professionals 

The Alexia is launching a new scholarship program designed to offer top-tier visual storytelling students or young professionals an in-depth opportunity to explore the world of visual communications while earning a master’s degree at the Newhouse School. 

Organizers named Md. Zobayer Hossain Joati, a photographer from Dhaka, Bangladesh, as the inaugural Alexia Scholar recipient. The announcement was made earlier this month ahead of this weekend’s Alexia Fall Workshop.  

Through grants, scholarships and special projects for photographers, filmmakers and other visual creatives, The Alexia promotes the power of visual storytelling to shed light on significant issues around the world.  

The Alexia Scholar recipients will receive full credits to complete their master’s degree, serve as a paid assistant to The Alexia endowed chair, participate in the Fall Workshop, and take part in The Alexia grant judging weekend in the spring.  

The initiative is made possible through the generous support of the Newhouse School and private donors committed to empowering promising talent so that they might become influential visual storytellers. The goal is to award a scholarship on a periodic basis—and ultimately each year—pending funding, said Bruce Strong, associate professor of visual communications and The Alexia Endowed Chair at the Newhouse School.  

The Alexia began in 1991 as the Alexia Foundation, created with the mission to promote cultural understanding and peace by supporting photographers as agents for change. Peter and Aphrodite Tsairis established the foundation in partnership with the Newhouse School to honor their daughter, Alexia Tsairis.  

A photography major at Newhouse, Alexia Tsairis was killed at age 20 in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. She was returning home from a semester abroad in London. 

In 2021, the program transitioned to the Newhouse School and became The Alexia.  

Joati’s work focuses on sociopolitical issues, gender equality, cultural norms and underrepresented communities. He is a contributor to Zuma Press, a member of the VII Community and an Up-Next member of the Diversify Photo Community.  

After earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Joati pursued his passion and graduated with a professional diploma in photography from Counter Foto – A Center for Visual Arts in Bangladesh.

Busy Week at Newhouse Highlights Commitment to Journalism Education, Future of Storytelling 

A busy week at the Newhouse School highlights Syracuse University’s commitment to journalism education and exploring new and innovative ways to tell stories. 

The eventful period starts Tuesday with the 2024 Empire State School Press Association (ESSPA) conference and awards ceremony for high school student journalists and advisers from across New York State.  

The Newhouse Mobile Journalism Summit begins Thursday, bringing together journalists, industry leaders, students and educators for three days of programming that explores emerging trends across mobile and social media platforms. 

The annual Alexia Fall Workshop also takes place this weekend, bringing in top professionals from around the world to join Newhouse faculty in encouraging students to  

use photography, audio, video, motion graphics, design and words to become exceptional storytellers who engage the community. 

In this 60^th anniversary year of the school, the series of events emphasize Newhouse’s steadfast dedication to its founding mission to provide the best journalism education in the country.  

Empire State School Press Association Conference 

ESSPA was co-founded in 1937 by M. Lyle Spencer, dean of what was then the School of Journalism at Syracuse University, and journalism professor Douglass W. Miller. The annual conference draws aspiring journalists from high schools across the state. As journalism evolves, ESSPA seeks to inspire scholastic journalists and recognize their work and creativity through the contest program.  

Newhouse Mobile Journalism Summit 

The Newhouse Mobile Journalism Summit is highlighted by the Mobile Me & You Conference, spotlighting cutting-edge mobile journalism practices from industry leaders and educators.  Now in its 10^th year, this marks the first time the Mobile Me & You Conference has traveled to a host institution beyond the Midwest. Members of the  Journalist Association of New York will be a part of the weekend events, conducting résumé and reel reviews for students. More than 100 industry leaders, journalists, students and educators are expected to attend as they explore emerging trends across mobile journalism.   

• Mobile Me & You:  The conference, which will be hosted by Newhouse for the first time, explores how to think differently about storytelling on mobile and social media platforms to better reach the audiences of today and tomorrow. Since its inception in 2015, Mobile Me & You has helped more than 800 journalists and students learn how to better use mobile and digital tools in reporting. The conference highlights new and innovative techniques and best practices to look ahead at newsgathering in an ever-changing landscape.  

• Journalists Association of New York: Formerly known as the New York State Associated Press Association, JANY is focused on journalism training and advocacy for journalists across New York State. 

Alexia Fall Workshop 

Founded by Newhouse visual communications faculty in 1999, the Alexia Fall Workshop gives photography students the opportunity to tell visual stories about the world around them. Top professionals from around the world engage with students to identify, observe and artfully communicate enlightening stories and spotlight issues that Americans face in everyday life. 

Award-Winning Faculty: Milton Santiago 

One of the first tenets of Milton Santiago’s teaching philosophy puts an emphasis on encouraging students to take risks. Then, he’ll teach them the skills to master the field of cinematography. 

“Students need to take big creative swings free from the fear of failure. I want students to know that they can take creative risks in their projects and that I’ll support them every step of the way,” said Santiago, an assistant professor of visual communications. 

Santiago earned the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for Early Performance this past spring; the honor symbolizes teaching excellence among tenure-track faculty in their first five years; promotes teaching excellence; and encourages a culture of collegial mentoring among members of the Syracuse faculty. 

“I am incredibly grateful to have been tapped for this recognition,” Santiago said. “I love working with students, so what I have drawn from the award more than anything is encouragement. I am energized that the atmosphere I strive to create in my classroom is helping students find their power in visual storytelling.” 

After a 15-year career as a content creator, director of photography and then professor at Columbia College Hollywood in Los Angeles, Santiago brought his expertise east to the Newhouse School in 2021. 

Santiago is inspired by his students each day. He strives to have his students absorb lessons in the classroom and use all they’ve learned to tell moving stories.  

“Nothing we do [in class] goes to waste,” he said. He wants students to walk away from their time in his classroom by embracing their own abilities to confidently tell stories. 

“Cinematography and visual communication are powerful vessels for the telling of diverse stories reflecting a multiplicity of perspectives and experiences,” he said. “Through this discipline, students can learn to make the specific universal and in doing so evoke emotions in their audiences that lead to understanding, empathy and impact.” 

This is the fourth in a series of four stories about Newhouse faculty honored by Syracuse University in 2024 for teaching and research excellence.

Newhouse Alumnus Chris Bennett G’22 Creates Award-Winning Short Film

In his time at the Newhouse School, multimedia, photography and design alumnus Chris Bennett G’22  worked on a short film that extended far beyond the classroom.   

For his master’s thesis, Bennett created “Level One,” a four-minute fully animated piece that takes the viewer through a video game race between two brothers. The project has received national recognition in the animation community, being selected to screen at over 20  film festivals and winning at the Cayuga Film Festival. From concept to final edit was a year-long process executed during the graduate program, Bennett says, and the short film was paramount in securing his current position as a motion designer at Trusted Media Brands in Wisconsin.

How did you develop the concept and storyline for your short film?

I wanted to do a fully animated film for my master’s thesis and knew that going in. It’s based on playing video games with my brother, and that’s how we bonded. He was six years older than me, so if we played sports, it’d probably be a little unfair. Video games were more of a level [playing] field to hang out. 

What lessons and skills did you learn while creating your short film?

I learned pre-production and production things from Professor Shaina Holmes’s visual effects class, from file management to the overarching production schedule. Scheduling, labeling, organizing and producing the shots is like her bread and butter. That translates to animation and was a way to really break down a project from scripts to storyboard. Then trying to come up with a story and writing it is the hardest part, and having a nice arc from a climax to rising action. So I felt like a race would just be as simple, like beginning, middle and end. 

What does the recognition that your film has been receiving mean to you?

It’s awesome. I went to grad school and was 26 years old. I thought it was kind of a career pivot, and now I’m working full time as a motion graphics animator and get to go to these festivals for animation for something I did. It’s kind of a dream come true. 

How have your Newhouse coursework and experiences impacted your development in animation and your career?

Newhouse gave me a lot of flexibility to learn what I wanted and also pushed me to know if you’re going to do it big, do it right. So I took the time to make this film what it could be, and it’s obviously still a student film, but I think it still shows a lot of skill sets, from writing to software use and design. Classes in motion design, typography, design and visual effects are huge pillars, but I still like harking back to my work every day. 

What advice would you share with other Newhouse students interested in or pursuing animation or a project like this?

I would say start small. Do a really short project and don’t shoot for the stars right away. And ask for help when you don’t know how to do something. Asking for help is really how you build your network.