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University Politics

SU Chancellor Kent Syverud appointed to US Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council

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Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud will serve a three-year term on the the United States Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council.

By Sara Swann

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud has been appointed to the United States Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council, the university announced Thursday.

The appointment comes from DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who administered the oath and swore Syverud into the Academic Advisory Council on Wednesday during a council meeting in Washington, D.C. The chancellor is on the council with other academic leaders to advise DHS on issues of homeland security, career opportunities for graduates, campus resilience and academic research.

Syverud will serve a three-year term on the council and will help support it through its subcommittees on campus resilience; cybersecurity; international students; homeland security academic programs; academic research and faculty exchange; and student and recent graduate recruitment, according to an SU News release.

In addition to Syverud, the council consists of seven other members, according to the release. The other members of the council include:

  • Eric Barron, president of Pennsylvania State University
  • Bruce Benson, president of the University of Colorado
  • Renu Khator, chancellor and president of the University of Houston
  • Carol Leary, president of Bay Path University
  • David Pershing, president of the University of Utah
  • Robert Scott, president emeritus of Adelphi University
  • Michael Young, president of Texas A&M University

Johnson said in the release that each appointee “brings to the council a uniquely qualified expertise on the challenges facing our campuses and the intersections between academia and the mission of DHS.”



In the past, DHS’s Academic Advisory Council has given recommendations that have contributed to different initiatives enhancing Homeland Security’s engagement with the international student community; improvement of college and university preparedness; increase in outreach to students, faculty and schools; and development of future cybersecurity workforce leaders, according to the release.

During the council meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, the Academic Advisory Council created the Academic Subcommittee on Countering Violent Extremism to further DHS’s security and resilience efforts, according to the release.

Trent Frazier, executive director of the Office of Academic Engagement said in the release that Syverud brings not only a “deep understanding” of issues facing college campuses, but also a “firm grasp of the mission of DHS through his work at Syracuse University.”





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