Letters From Whitman

From the Dean

From the Director of Alumni Engagement

From the Assistant Dean for Advancement

Announcement Regarding Change in Leadership of the Whitman School

Gene Anderson, dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management since 2017, announced he will conclude his time at Syracuse University on June 30. After more than five years at the Whitman School, Anderson will return home to his native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to become the Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration. Alex McKelvie, associate dean for undergraduate and master’s education and professor of entrepreneurship, will serve as interim dean, effective July 1. This news came after the Spring 2022 Whitman Magazine was completed.

From Campus to Community:

Whitman Initiatives Provide Programs, Services and Connections to the Greater Syracuse Community

Syracuse University looms large on “the Hill” overlooking the City of Syracuse, with the silhouette of the Dome visible from almost every angle in the skyline. The campus is home to approximately 22,000 students—3,000 at the Whitman School alone—and is one of the area’s largest employers. The site of over 40 research centers and institutions across almost every academic discipline, the University is infused with a strong sense of entrepreneurial spirit and love of learning, and has the good fortune to be supported by an Orange network that totals a quarter of a million alumni.

But the University does not exist in isolation, nor does it want to. It is an intricate part of the local community and committed to being a good neighbor and sharing its resources for the betterment of those around us. The Whitman School of Management plays a big role in this effort.

On the following pages, you will read about how our students roll up their sleeves to engage with those in the community—particularly underserved populations—and use their know-how to help others thrive. And you’ll see how many of our graduates stay to make the city their home, using their professional skills and leadership abilities for the benefit of those who live and work in Central New York.

Students watch a presenation in a classroom

New Service Engagement Initiatives Reach Out to Assist Syracuse City Communities

While Whitman School students are required to complete 50 hours of community engagement for their degrees, they have many ways to do so. However, Diane Crawford, executive director for institutional culture at the Whitman School, noticed that not many students were choosing to get involved with volunteer opportunities off-campus, particularly within the underserved communities in the City of Syracuse. She also realized that many students were struggling to meet their requirements because they wanted an opportunity that would hold some personal meaning or connection for them.

Whitman Alumni Add Value to the Syracuse Community

While Whitman alumni are located all over the world, some can be found just minutes away from the University campus, sharing their talents and enriching the city of Syracuse and its surrounding communities. Scott Friedberg ’14 and Ryan Benz ’11 M.S. are doing just that, as they not only run their existing businesses locally but continue to share their entrepreneurial spirit in the place they call home.

Scott Friedberg poses inside The Guilded Club

Young Alumnus Syracuse Business Owner Has Gilded Dreams

Scott Friedberg ’14 started his first business in middle school, building a snow removal company in his northern New Jersey hometown. As a seventh-grader, he hired a team of friends and matched the pricing of area landscapers. His competitive edge was developing the logistics around allowing customers—many of whom needed to be shoveled out before their commute to New York City—to schedule a specific time for service. Friedberg continued growing the business until he left for college six years later.

Cultivating a Community

Malls today differ from their glory days of the ’80s and ’90s. Gone are the neon lights beckoning shoppers in, music stores filled with rows of cassettes and later CDs, and kids using up a month’s worth of allowance in quarters at the arcade. The modern mall is becoming less about being a place to shop and more about bringing a community together. This is exactly what Ryan Benz ’11 M.S. had in mind when his company, Redev CNY, and his partners put in their bid to redevelop ShoppingTown mall in DeWitt, New York.

Engaged Syracuse: Whitman Interdisciplinary Programs Offer Students the Opportunity to Combine Business with Medicine or Law Degrees and Much More!

One of Whitman’s goals is to continue to be a leader in providing undergraduate and graduate students with the interdisciplinary skills they need to be more marketable and more engaged citizens on campus, within their workplaces and in the community. These efforts are components of Whitman’s goal to “Engage Syracuse,” aimed at broadening the School’s portfolio of dual and/or joint major and degree opportunities, while also building academic partnerships with the other colleges and schools across the University and in close vicinity to campus.

Class of 2022: A Year of Resilience

You have weathered an incredible experience, whether you were locked down somewhere on campus or battling masks and distancing during the in-person return to classes this fall. You should be proud of how you have navigated these different sets of learning experiences. Your ability to manage this experience makes you truly unique. Remember this journey and when you look back, reflect on the resilience you have learned here.

Congratulations to the Whitman Class of 2022! Go Orange!

Read the List of Graduates

2022 Whitman Scholars

Each year, Whitman Scholars are chosen from the senior class through a competitive selection process and have a demonstrated history of engagement and leadership at the Whitman School and Syracuse University. Read about the 2022 Whitman Scholars as they share their thoughts on their experiences.

2022 Graduate Student Spotlights

Learn more about some of the Whitman School graduate students and their experiences by reading the following.

Student Spotlights

REHAN “REH” BALSARA ’23

ANUSHREE JAGDISH ’23 MBA

DELANIE WEST ’23 MBA

MINGWEI “MAX” LIANG ’23 Ph.D.

New Ph.D. Students Show Strength in the Face of Adversity

Moving to a new city and starting a Ph.D. program can be challenging under the best of circumstances. But for three international students, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the journey to the Whitman School into a lengthy, nerve-racking and costly odyssey.

Orange Central 2021: Honoring Exemplary Alumni, Syracuse Samplings

John Torrens presents a check to the Orange Tank grand prize winner

Orange Tank 2021 Awards $41,000 to Student and Alumni Entrepreneurs

Five Under Five: Yuhong "Ellee" Chen ’18 (WHIT/iSchool)

Our Five Under Five column features a Q&A with a Whitman School graduate of the last five years. In this issue, meet Yuhong "Ellee" Chen ’18 (WHIT/iSchool), a native of Guangzhou, China, who now resides in New York City.

Class Act 2022: Ensuring the Future of Business is Orange!

Class Act is a giving campaign held each year and led by student ambassadors who encourage their peers to make a gift in honor of their graduation. The campaign is a way for students to adopt an early understanding of the importance of giving back and, through philanthropy, to help to enhance the experience of those who follow them.

From Malls to Microchips, Alumna Helps Put Syracuse on the Map

When Barbara Ashkin 74 (A&S), 77 M.S. was studying accounting at Syracuse University in the mid-70s, there werent many women accountants in the workplace. That didnt stop her, however, as Ashkin built on her business education and her natural leadership abilities to leave her mark on the greater Syracuse landscape.

Seizing the Moment to Offer Real Value to the Syracuse Community

Melanie Littlejohn ’97 MBA was six months pregnant when her boss at National Grid suggested she pursue an MBA at Syracuse University. She liked the idea but assumed she’d have to put it off until after the birth of her son. Instead, her boss told her to “seize the moment.” So, just a few weeks later, Littlejohn found herself a member of one of the first cohorts of the Whitman School of Management’s Executive MBA Program.

Whitman at Work: Dual Degree Program Helps Recent Grad Carve Out Career Opportunities Combining Business, Engineering

Patrick Riolo ’20 (ECS), ’21 MBA always had an interest in health care, and a desire to create things that “would give value to people.” This led him to pursue a degree in bioengineering at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) as well as an MBA in entrepreneurship through the H. John Riley Dual Engineering/MBA Program.

Scott W. Klein and Family Share Their Orange Legacy from Coast to Coast

Scott W. Klein ’79 was only 11 years old when he visited his older brother, Dennis Klein ’72, over Parents Weekend at Syracuse University in 1968. He had never seen another college campus but, when it was Scott’s turn to apply to college, he had only one in mind.

Deb Leone address the audience at an IMPRESS event

Sharing Her Expertise and Showing Her Generosity to Benefit the Whitman School

Deb Leone ’86, ’87 MBA didn’t think twice about attending Syracuse University. She thought the School of Management would be a “good fit” for her and decided to major in accounting. This decision helped put her on a path to a prestigious 30-plus year career at Goldman Sachs, as well as a long-standing commitment to giving back to her alma mater.

May 2022 Class Notes

April 2022 Class Notes

March 2022 Class Notes

February 2022 Class Notes

January 2022 Class Notes

December 2021 Class Notes

November 2021 Class Notes

Focus on Faculty

Whitman Professor Firmly Grounded in Syracuse University and the Community

John Petosa L’95 jokes that he is “a kind of Swiss army knife” of teaching. Indeed, since 2003 the professor of practice has led classes in business law, banking, entrepreneurship, as well as accounting. But what Petosa’s students are really benefitting from are his career experiences from over a decade of a variety of jobs, fields and community work.

The Shopping Mall Crisis: What Will It Take for Them to Recover? Is There any Hope?

Ray Wimer G’97 (A&S), G’98 (EDU) is a professor of retail practice and shares his thoughts about what it will take for shopping malls to recover, and if he sees any hope.

Faculty Publications, Media and Awards and Honors

The Whitman Research Newsletter highlights awards, honors, new research and more from Whitman’s research faculty.

Read Our Latest Research Newsletter

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