Newhouse Insider: Tuning Into Virtual Programming at SU

One of the rays of sunshine that has poked through the dreary, cold, still-in-pandemic spring semester has been the phenomenal level of virtual programming available. Some have been Syracuse-wide presentations while others are more intimate conversations. Here are just a few:

The University Lecture Series is fairly well-advertised and announced early in each semester. These lectures bring phenomenal leaders, Pulitzer prize-winning authors, and groundbreaking artists to speak to Syracuse students. This semester saw people like Misty Copeland and Nyle DiMarco cover issues of race, accessibility, and the current pandemic. These one-hour talks are open and advertised to the whole school so they can be a bit busier than some of the others but are worth taking the time to watch. The most recent of these was a conversation with Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham, it also served as a double hitter and was the opening keynote to the Deaccessioning After 2020 symposium.

Deaccessioning After 2020 was put on by the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the College of Law. Deaccessioning has been a buzzword in the art and museum world for the past year or two and this symposium was a phenomenal examination of pressing issues and discussions related to it. The symposium pulled in key figures in the debate surrounding deaccessioning including Christopher Bedford, Kaywin Feldman, and Carrie Mae Weems. It was attended by upwards of 800 people. Throughout the year, Syracuse hosts a variety of symposium-style events in coordination with different departments. 

To have access to the Newhouse alumni list, you need to attend two Career Development Center talks throughout the year. Although they may seem like just another hoop to jump through, they are packed with value. The CDC as a whole is a great resource for everything from having someone look over your resume to practicing your elevator pitch. This semester they are running a two-part session on job hunting in the communications field. The sessions are exceptionally useful because they provide advice as well as tangible tips and tricks. 

Different Newhouse programs also bring in speakers throughout the year. This year has seen the Golding program bring Soraya Nadia and McDonald and Alex Ross while Sports Media has brought Eric Salat and Cameron Lynch. These talks are a little bit harder to find but will often circulate on social media with sign-up links. Coming up on May 3rd is a conversation with David “Shingy” Shing as part of the Leaders in Communication series.

Coming up in a couple of weeks in SU’s own TEDx conference. The 2021 theme is The New Age on Enlightenment and will feature phenomenal speakers and stories. One of these speakers is Newhouse’s own Professor Tula Goenka who is a filmmaker and activist as well as professor. I have been lucky enough to be working with Professor Goenka on The Look Now project. 

Whether you are a current Newhouse student looking to add some more value to your final months here or a member of the class of 2022 looking for ways to maximize the value of your next year, I cannot recommend SU’s virtual programming enough.