Calling it the honor of a lifetime, J. Michael Haynie officially took the helm Friday as the 13th chancellor and president of Syracuse University. The Air Force veteran came to SU 20 years ago to teach an entrepreneurship course and quickly rose to leadership positions. He now leads the institution into what he acknowledged are unprecedented times for higher education. At Friday’s inauguration, Haynie said historians may call this the “age of acceleration,” with rapid changes coming from artificial intelligence and climate to democratic institutions and information. He told faculty they need to be ready to take on the challenge.
“You are being asked to prepare young people for conditions that do not fully exist yet, for problems whose edges are still forming for a technological and social landscape that may look unrecognizable by the time our freshmen earn their degrees.”
Haynie said faculty cannot shield students from difficulty, but rather help them cultivate courage through uncertainty. He told students not to mistake the University as a shelter from the world they’re inheriting.
“Use this place as a proving ground for that world," he said. "Take the class that unsettles and challenges what you may think you already know. Sit in a room with a person who sees it differently than you do. Choose the harder argument over the comfortable applause line and recognize that doing all of that is not extra credit. That is actually the real work.”
Haynie said the university faces choices in the years ahead about where they invest and grow and what they let diminish. He acknowledged he doesn’t have all the answers, but promised to ask questions with honesty and without fear.
