News

Notable Veteran Alumni: Major General Max Baratz

Max BaratzMajor General Max Baratz is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future. 

Max Baratz was born on 1934 and raised in Aurora, Illinois. His childhood hobby was stamp collecting. His father enlisted in the Army during World War I and served as a noncommissioned officer in the Signal Corps, and his mother was a recent immigrant, coming to the United States from Poland as a young child.

With the Class of 1956, Max Baratz graduated Syracuse University cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and served as a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. After graduation, he was commissioned as a regular army officer in the infantry due to his recognition as a Distinguished Military Graduate, and later in his career, inducted into Syracuse University’s Army ROTC hall of fame. That summer, Max Baratz married Carole Bogage. They were blessed with two sons and one daughter.

In August 1956, Max Baratz graduated Infantry Officer Basic and received his first assignment as the Pioneer/Ammunition Platoon leader of 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division and later transferred to 3d Battalion, 18th Infantry. Six months later, he joined the Army Reserves where he continued his platoon leader, command and staff time. He graduated from the Engineer Officer Advance Course and was promoted to Command and General Staff College with the 3rd Battalion, 18th Infantry at Fort Riley. In 1976, as a Colonel, Baratz was selected to be the 416th Engineer Command’s Chief of Staff and; in 1979, Baratz was selected as a Brigadier General in the Army Reserve. In 1983, after 11 years of service in the 416th Engineer Command, the Army selected him as commander, then nominated for Major General by President Reagan. 

Prior to returning to active duty, Baratz was a retail stockbroker for H. Hentz & Company, functioning as a block trader representing 20 major brokerage houses. After experiencing much success at H. Hentz, he became a member of the largest floor exchange-the Midwest Stock Exchange. Starting as a broker, Max Baratz quickly climbed the ranks to serve as the Executive Vice-President of Billings, Inc.

It wasn’t until 1991, during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, that Major General Baratz was called to active duty to serve as the Deputy Commanding General for Reserve Affairs, overseeing one of the largest mobilizations since WWII to support the Gulf war. Shortly after, Major General Baratz was again called to active duty to be Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Reserve Command, responsible for the training and readiness of almost all Army Reserve units in U.S. Three years later, he was selected to be the Chief of the Army Reserve in 1994. Under his direction, Army Reserve units were the first into and the last out of Haiti, in support of Operation Restore Democracy, with more Army Reservists mobilized in support of peace keeping efforts in Bosnia than were mobilized during the Vietnam conflict.

Max Baratz served his country for over four decades and under nine different presidents, when he decided to retire on May 24, 1998. General Baratz’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the  Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

Max Baratz is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Notable Veteran Alumni: David C. Knapp

David C. KnappDavid C. Knapp was an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Born in 1927, David C. Knapp grew up in Syracuse, New York. With the Class of ’47, Knapp received a Bachelor’s of Art in political science from Syracuse University. A year later, he walked across the stage to receive his M.A. from the University of Chicago. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army’s 2nd Armored Division in Ft. Hood, Texas to eventually serve in Korea and West Germany from 1950 to 1952.

Knapp certainly enjoyed the college lifestyle as he immediately returned to Chicago to complete his Ph.D. in political science after his military service. Knapp graduated in 1953 and was immediately offered the faculty position of assistant professor of government at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). From 1955 to 1961, he served as assistant to the president and associate professor. His able skills as an administrator and leadership abilities developed in the Army quickly gained recognition, as he was promoted to Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at UNH. During his tenure, Knapp was granted two highly competitive, merit-based fellowship grants: one international educational exchange as a Fulbright Scholar in Finland and another as a Bullard Fellow in forest research at Harvard University.

In 1963, Knapp left UNH to become associate director of the Study of American Colleges of Agriculture, financed by the Carnegie Corporation and based at the University of Maryland, College Park. While working on this study, Knapp also became director of the Institute of College & University Administrators of the American Council of Education. Five years later, he accepted the inaugural position of Dean of the New York State College of Human Ecology, a statutory college within Cornell University. His success as Dean gained the attention of Cornell University administrators, who later appointed him Provost in 1974, responsible for organizing the merger of the Human Ecology College with the Graduate School of Nutrition.

After leaving Cornell, Knapp became president of the University of Massachusetts (UMass), a position he held from 1978 to 1990. His main mission was to renew the social purpose and reputation of the university. Under his brilliant 10-year leadership, UMass established the Polymer Science Research Center and Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Institute to support the growth of technology industries, created the Corporation for Educational Telecommunications to make the university a pioneer in distance learning, expanded the UMass system from three to five campuses, and enhanced its international profile.

For Knapp’s efforts in strengthening international relations with Japan and Germany and establishing new ones with China and Russia, he was awarded several honors. In 1990, the Emperor of Japan awarded him with the Order of the Rising Sun, the third highest order bestowed by the Japanese Government for his distinguished achievements in international relations. In 1992, Knapp was also recognized for his efforts in promoting development and trade between Massachusetts and Baden-Württemberg, Germany with the Staufer Medal. After retirement from presidency at UMass in 1990, Knapp was named President Emeritus and served as the Ralph Waldo Emerson Professor for three more years. Knapp continued to serve on governing boards of several organizations and has several scholarships in his name. Knapp passed away in April 2010. 

David C. Knapp was an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Student Veteran Cynthia Kao-Johnson Creates “Resilient Documentary” at Syracuse University

Documentary Film and History (DFH) graduate student Cynthia Kao-Johnson entered the military with a creative mind and left with the added benefits of skills and discipline. Now she wants to make a difference by igniting conversations about sensitive topics through her skills in documentary filmmaking.

Kao-Johnson is a mother of three, an active-duty army wife, and a veteran who was in the Army Reserve from 2009 to 2013. According to her, being a reservist is living in both the civilian and the military world at the same time. She is used to having a civilian job while living in a military world. This gave her a unique advantage but it also created trouble. It was a surreal experience when she left that world. Not having to go to drills, or having people understand the acronyms that had become part of her vocabulary, took some getting used to. Feeling it was time to explore a different world, she enrolled in the DFH program at Syracuse University. Kao-Johnson came back to grad school searching for individual creativity, and to see how she could shape her storytelling in an artistic and provocative way.

“I was a broadcast journalist with the Air Force. I did a lot of camerawork. So I have a lot of creativity and a yearning for the freedom that documentary film-making affords.”

Throughout the year the program requires the students to put together a thesis film in order to complete the graduate program. Kao-Johnson’s film revolves around veterans’ experiences with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is a complete feature-length film. It deals with understanding PTSD and what veterans go through paralleled with how the community and outside world perceive it. She brings to life different war eras and how PTSD was experienced in earlier times because the actual term did not exist until 1980. Older vets sometimes did not even know they struggled from the disorder.

This topic is very close to Kao-Johnson as she personally struggled with PTSD herself. This encouraged her to integrate her story into the film as she felt that the veterans she was working with were making an impact on her life as she hoped she was making an impact on theirs. So the film to her is not just surveying different troops and chalking out a story, it is something much closer to heart. The film showcased at the end of last month. She has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to market and distribute the movie further. The trailer can be viewed on YouTube.

The Master’s of Documentary Film & History (DFH), a joint degree program between the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is the only program in the country designed for students seeking the skills and knowledge to produce documentary films on historical subject matter.

 

Meghavaty Suresh is a Graduate Assistant at IVMF currently pursuing a Master of Science in New Media Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She holds a Master’s in Management and Bachelor’s in Commerce from Mumbai University.

 

 

Alumnus Receives Medal of Honor for Wartime Courage

SheminMOH2Sergeant William Shemin ’24, a graduate of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor today at the White House. The award was presented to Shemin’s two daughters, Ina Shemin-Bass ’53 and Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51.

The President relayed Shemin’s tale of saving three wounded fellow soldiers despite a barrage of machine-gun fire during his service in France during World War 1. Eventually, Shemin would assume command of his platoon following the death of the platoon’s senior leaders.

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Three generations of the Shemin family (and Syracuse University graduates) celebrate the fourth generation and William Shemin’s Medal of Honor presentation at the White House on June 2, 2015. Front row (L-R): Ina Shemin-Bass ’53, holding the MOH, and Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51 (daughters of William Shemin). Back row (L-R): Scott Bass ’15 (great grandson), William Cass ’08 (great grandson), Rachel Forman ’05 (great granddaughter), Seth Forman (Rachel’s husband), Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84 (granddaughter) and Sam Cass ’13 (great grandson).

In his sentiments during the presentation, President Obama stated, “It has taken a long time for Henry Johnson and William Shemin to receive the recognition they deserve. And there are surely others whose heroism is still unacknowledged, and uncelebrated. So we have work to do, as a nation, to make sure that all of our heroes’ stories are told. And we’ll keep at it, no matter how long it takes. America’s the country we are today because of people like Henry and William. Americans who signed up to serve and rose to meet their responsibilities and then went beyond, the least we can do is to say we know who you are. We know what you did for us. We are forever grateful.”

The Medals of Honor were the 44th and 45th that President Obama has awarded.

View the Medal of Honor presentations at https://youtu.be/EusxvUrgKQg.

 

 

 

Medal of Honor Recipient: William Shemin ’24

medalofhonorThe late William Shemin, World War I veteran, is an alumnus of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. You should know his story because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Syracuse University, the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF) are proud to commemorate Sergeant William Shemin of the U.S. Army, a 1924 graduate of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. To our knowledge, William Shemin will be Syracuse University’s first and only graduate to earn the Medal of Honor.

On May 14, 2015, President Barack Obama announced that he would posthumously bestow the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s highest decoration for valor, to Sergeant William Shemin of Bayonne, New Jersey and Private William Henry Johnson of Harlem, New York for their heroic efforts on the Western front in World War I. President Obama will present the medal to Shemin’s daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth, in Washington on June 2, 2015. Shemin-Roth, an SU alumna from the class of 1951, has been advocating for this recognition for the past decade.

Imagine the vast fields of northern France during the Great War—earthen trenches for miles, overwhelming German fire across the Vesle River, and your comrades falling victim to German bullets. Sergeant Shemin, a nineteen-year-old soldier from just outside New York City, was thrown into that very fearful situation. There he was, fighting with the Company G, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. Engrained with a commitment to brotherhood, Shemin repeatedly exposed himself to heavy machine gun and rifle fire, crossing out of the trenches into no-man’s land to save his wounded comrades. After the officers and senior non-commissioned officers fell victim to this terror, Shemin took control of the platoon and displayed quick instinct and impressive initiative under fire, during which he was wounded by a machine gun bullet that pierced his helmet and was lodged behind his left ear. The Allied American-French forces fought valiantly and successfully pushed the Germans back across the Vesle and Aisne Rivers, eliminating the threat of the Germans taking Paris. Within the larger Allied victory of the Aisne-Marne campaign, Sergeant Shemin exemplified the highest degree of valor, bravery, and loyalty to his wounded and fallen comrades, which resulted in Shemin being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest decoration for combat valor.

After his honorable discharge in 1919, Shemin returned to Syracuse, having been previously stationed locally with the 47th Infantry Regiment. He enrolled in Syracuse University and graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University (now the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry). While at Syracuse, Shemin showed great promise in the classroom but also on the fields of friendlier strife, playing football and lacrosse. After graduating from Syracuse, Shemin launched a landscaping and gardening business in the Bronx, New York. He raised three children, Elsie Shemin-Roth ‘51, Emanuel “Manny” Shemin ‘52, and Ina Shemin-Bass ’53 before passing away in the Bronx in 1973 at the age of 77.

Sergeant Shemin left a long legacy of service to our country and a legacy of Orange Pride at Syracuse University. All three of his children, Elsie, Emanuel, and Ina, attended Syracuse. His daughter-in-law, Rhoda Lee Zisman Shemin, graduated in 1953, and met her future husband Emanuel Shemin ‘52, a former University Trustee from 1997-2009, while at Syracuse. Four of Sergeant Shemin’s great-grandchildren have attended Syracuse; they are Rachel Forman ’05, William Cass ’08 (co-chair of the University’s Metro New York Leadership Council), Samuel Cass ’13 and Scott Bass ’15, in addition to one of his granddaughters Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84, who now serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).

The Shemin family has been incredibly generous to the University over the past fifty years. A highlight is the Shemin Family Lecture Series in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ fashion design program, which is designed to bring young alumni and other industry professionals to campus to meet students and help them understand the business of fashion. A collaborative effort between VPA and Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management, the Shemin Family Lecture Series focuses on fashion and business, and the promotion of interdisciplinary study. The Series was created with the generous support of the late Emanuel “Manny” Shemin ‘52, his wife, Rhoda Zisman Shemin ‘53, and their daughter Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84.

Manny and Rhoda Shemin have been particularly engaged in the life of Syracuse University, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the Whitman School of Management. Their philanthropy has supported scholarships to students enrolled in the Whitman School and they helped fund the 300-seat Emanuel and Rhoda Shemin Auditorium in the Shaffer Art Building in 1990. They also donated funds to build the Rhoda Shemin Student Lounge in the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life, in addition to funding the creation of the Manny Shemin Resource Room in the Stevenson Education Center for the academic support of athletes at Manley Field House in 1995. Their service to the university is also evident in Emanuel’s twelve-year tenure on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, including nine years on its executive committee and service on the Board’s Academic Affairs and Facilities Committees. Manny was an integral contributor to campus beautification at SU; over the last ten years of his life, Manny annually selected from the Netherlands 1,000 daffodil and 200 tulip bulbs and donated them to Syracuse University.

Following service in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Manny created Shemin Nurseries from his father’s retail nursery in the Bronx in 1955. The company pioneered the concept of the international nursery and garden supply distribution center and became the largest wholesale horticulture distribution business in the world, with centers throughout the United States, Canada, and Holland. Louis G Marcoccia, executive vice president and chief financial officer remarked, “Manny was a thoughtful person and successful businessman with an engaging personality. I always enjoyed our conversations about University matters.”

Marcoccia’s sentiments about the Shemin family are also shared by Thomas J Foley, the executive associate dean for Institutional Advancement at the Whitman School of Management. Foley remarks how Manny’s passion for landscaping and plants was also transferred to SU Athletics. For example, Manny donated dozens of trees that frame the athletic fields around Manley Field House. Foley highlights Manny’s connection with the university: “Manny was the salt of the earth; his father’s values were instilled in him and he passed those values on to future generations. The Shemin family (four generations of SU alumni) epitomize what you hope a Syracuse University family would be. They became part of the SU community and we became part of their philanthropic fabric.”

Before passing away in 2009, Manny also served on the Corporate Advisory Board of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Both he and Rhoda were integral supporters of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national initiative run by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, designed to offer cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with service-related disabilities.

The Shemin family has steadfastly supported Syracuse University over four generations and exemplifies the idea of service to one’s alma mater. We sincerely appreciate all that the Shemin family has done for our university.

There were many influential forces pushing to award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Shemin, including pressure from veterans groups to Department of Defense investigators. Over the past several years, the Department of Defense has been investigating, back as far as WWI, instances of combat heroism that would warrant awarding of the nation’s highest military decoration for valor—the Medal of Honor—but where the Medal of Honor was not awarded given possible discrimination based on race or religion. One of the cases under investigation was that of our alumnus, William Shemin, who was Jewish. Due to bipartisan support, the U.S. Congress passed the William Shemin World War I Veterans Act, signed into law by President Obama, which allowed the Department of Defense to investigate any discrimination in the designation of awards to Jewish service members, which effectively allowed Shemin to receive the Medal of Honor. Elsie Shemin-Roth ‘51 spearheaded this campaign, joined by Representative Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO) and Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Dean Heller (R-NV), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and John Boozman (R-AR). Upon receiving news that President Obama would bestow the medal, Senator McCaskill said in a statement, “Discrimination should never play a role when our country pays tribute to extraordinary acts of courage and selfless sacrifice. I couldn’t be prouder that we were able to correct these past injustices and that William Shemin and other Jewish heroes will get the recognition they deserve, and the national gratitude they earned.”

Syracuse University, the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families are very proud to collaboratively commemorate Sergeant William Shemin and deeply appreciate his service to our nation. Syracuse University has a long and proud history of helping veterans and our military personnel succeed when they come back from service. We are honored to include Sergeant William Shemin ‘24 and his family of Syracuse University alumni as integral members of the larger story of America’s veterans, the U.S. military, and Syracuse University.

Sergeant William Shemin ’24 is an alumnus of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University and the only graduate to receive the Medal of Honor. You should know his story.

 

 

Notable Veteran Alumni: John M. McHugh

John M. McHughJohn M. McHugh, the 21st Secretary of the Army, is an alumnus of Syracuse University. You should know his story because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

           

McHugh is a native Central New Yorker—born in Watertown in 1948 and a graduate of Watertown High School. After high school, McHugh attended Utica College, a satellite campus of Syracuse University at the time, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1970. He later attended the Nelson A. Rockefeller Graduate School of Public Affairs at the State University of New York at Albany, where he received a Master of Public Administration in 1977.

 

McHugh started out working in city government in Watertown, but quickly engaged himself in political service after graduate school as an aide to State Senator H. Douglas Barclay from 1977 to 1984. After Barclay stepped down from the New York State Senate in 1984, McHugh won Barclay’s seat and represented the 46th NYS Senate district. After eight successful years in the state senate, McHugh decided to run for New York’s 24th Congressional District in 1993, ultimately winning the predominately conservative district. McHugh served for nine terms as representative for the 24th (now 23rd) congressional district from 1993 to 2009.

 

As ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, McHugh fought vigorously to protect Fort Drum from budget cuts, support major acquisition projects, and attract new military-related jobs to the district. He served on the House Committee on International Relations and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; he also chaired the Subcommittee on the Postal Service. In addition, McHugh co-chaired the House Army Caucus, a bipartisan organization that educates other Representatives and their staffs about Army-related issues and programs.

 

Viewed as a pragmatic, centrist Republican, a 2009 New York Times article stated, “Mr. McHugh … is part of a vanishing breed in the House: centrist Republicans from Northeastern states.” His ability to work across the aisle with Democrats and Republicans garnered great respect from top party members on both sides, including President Barack Obama. Most notably, President Obama nominated McHugh in 2009 to succeed Pete Geren as the Secretary of the Army. As Secretary, McHugh is responsible for the U.S. Army’s annual budget of over $200 billion, the health and welfare of more than 1.1 million active duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve soldiers, and nearly half a million civilian employees and contractors.

 

John M. McHugh is an alumnus of Syracuse University and the Secretary of the Army. You should know his story.

U.S. Secretary of the Army Visits Syracuse University

Former Congressman, representing CNY and Northern New York, John M. McHugh discusses veteran and military-connected programs at SU


The Honorable John M. McHugh, Secretary of the U.S. Army and former member of Congress representing Northern and Central New York, visited Syracuse University on Thursday morning, May 21, to learn more about the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and the many veteran and military-connected programs and services offered at Syracuse University.

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Secretary McHugh’s visit included a brief stop at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, where he received an update on SU’s Defense Comptrollership Program (DCP) – a military degree program that represents a unique cooperative endeavor between Syracuse University and the Department of Defense (DoD) – and spoke with Military and DoD Civilian members of the DCP, Class of 2015.  More than 1,600 graduates of this program have provided meaningful contributions in demanding management positions.

SectArmySecretary McHugh then attended a discussion with the leadership team from the ‎Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF).  The meeting provided an opportunity to brief Secretary McHugh on the IVMF, its programs, research, community engagement and collaborations enacted in service to America’s veterans and military families.

An additional morning session followed at the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs where SU Chancellor Kent Syverud participated in a review of Syracuse University’s efforts to best serve veterans, military-connected students, and military family members who are students or employees at Syracuse University.

“The Secretary’s visit to Syracuse University speaks directly to the work we are doing for those who have served the nation in uniform,” states Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs, and IVMF Executive Director Mike Haynie.  “Secretary McHugh is well aware of Syracuse University’s historic commitment to veterans, and IVMF’s mission to fully leverage the intellectual, human and social capital of higher education, in service to America’s veterans and their families.”

Secretary McHugh, in anticipation of his visit to Syracuse, shared, “Syracuse University is a leader in offering timely and rigorous programs designed for the military and for our transitioning service members.  I am looking forward to learning more about SU’s efforts in this area, as well as gaining a better understanding of the IVMF’s programs and initiatives, and the national impact the institute is having on our nation’s veterans and military families.”

Secretary McHugh specifically pointed out the impact the Boots to Business program has on those serving in the U.S. Army. Operated by Syracuse University, Boots to Business is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP).  The Boots to Business program has been delivered at 46 Army bases in five countries and 21 states.  More impressive is that 45% of all Boots to Business applicants in 2014 were transitioning service-members (8,230) of the U.S. Army.

Real Dads Wear Orange: From Afghanistan with Love

Sergeant Bryane Greene is thousands of miles away deployed in Afghanistan but his heart and soul are back home with his family especially since his oldest child, Harmony, graduated from college this month. The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs at Syracuse University made certain that Sergeant Greene could watch his daughter receive her degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University through an online live stream. It was a moment he will always cherish.

SFCGreenedaughtersGraduationMy name is Bryane A. Greene; I was born in Chicago, Illinois and currently reside in California. I have been in the military for over 16 years and with two deployments it has not been easy as a dad. Having a family structure in which everyone supports each other as we do makes times like this easier yet they are still missed. I am currently deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan, finishing up on the second leg of an 18-month tour.

Harmony is the oldest of six and it was an honor to watch her take that walk across the stage and graduate from college. Seeing a young lady with so much desire and heart never give up or give in has been wonderful. Knowing that when times got hard being away from home, to see her go through the growing pains of becoming a woman and knowing how to handle those situations, to get to this day was incredible. At times, she had to work late hours to finish her class work, all the while trying to have a normal college lifestyle, too.  Let’s just say that I have watched her not just receive her degree, but I have seen what road she had to take to get there, and it makes me even prouder of her accomplishment. She has the strength beyond measure to achieve whatever she sets out to attain no matter how hard the road is.

I remember when we first took Harmony out to Syracuse, going to her dorm and seeing that our big girl was turning into a young woman right before our very eyes. She made the first step in pursuing her dream, and to see her excitement in just shopping for things for her college room was beautiful.  With all that Harmony has experienced at Syracuse, I can confidently say that it was a good fit. She was able to do what she wanted, which was to be on her own and in control of her own success. Yes, missing home was hard at times, but the Syracuse community kept her busy and now, four years later, she has accomplished what she set out to do: earn her degreeand move towards accomplishing the rest of her goals.  To Syracuse, I say thank you; for you are regarded by our entire family as a great university. Being from Chicago, Blue and Orange fit right in.  So now I have the Blue and Orange of both because “Real Dads Wear Orange.” Go Cuse!

Sergeant Bryane Greene is expected home this fall and he eagerly awaits reuniting with his family.

For more information on the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, visit https://veterans.syracuse.edu.

Syracuse University 1924 Alumnus to Receive Medal of Honor Posthumously

medalofhonorSyracuse University celebrates the recognition of 1924 alumnus, William Shemin, who will receive his long-deserved Medal of Honor–the nation’s highest military decoration for valor—for conspicuous gallantry during World War I on June 2, in a White House ceremony. President Barack Obama will present the medal to Shemin’s daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51, who was instrumental in ensuring her father’s service and valor were recognized.

Shemin, who was stationed in Syracuse prior to deploying to France, returned to pursue studies at Syracuse University in 1919 and graduated in 1924. During his studies at SU, he was also a member of the Syracuse University football and lacrosse teams.  Many of Shemin’s descendants have attended Syracuse University, some of which include his son, Emmanuel “Manny” Shemin ‘52, who served as a University Trustee, his daughters Elsie Shemin Roth ’51 and Ina Shemin-Bass ’53, his granddaughter, Leslie Shemin-Lester ’84, who currently serves on the College of Visual and Performing Arts Deans Advisory Council, and his great-grandson William Cass ’08, who is co-chair of the university’s Metro New York Leadership Council.

To our knowledge, William Shemin is Syracuse University’s first and only graduate to earn the Medal of Honor.  Information on his courageous action is available at http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/shemin/.  President Obama’s announcement of William Shemin as the nation’s newest Medal of Honor recipient is posted at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/14/president-obama-award-medal-honor.  A more in-depth story can be found here.

Notable Veteran Alumni: Steve Kroft

Steve KroftSteve Kroft is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

 

Born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1945, Steve Kroft was destined to become a journalist. He attended Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communication, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1967 and was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Like many other young college graduates during the Vietnam War, Kroft was drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, a district of Ho Chi Mihn City (formerly Saigon). Once in Vietnam, Kroft’s journalistic abilities were soon recognized by the Army and he became a reporter for the Armed Services Network, reporting on American progress in Vietnam, in addition to covering the 25th Infantry Division’s invasion of Cambodia. Kroft’s journalistic abilities led him much success in the Army, winning multiple Army journalism awards and a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in a combat zone.

 

After his honorable discharge from the Army in 1971, Kroft returned to Syracuse, working as a broadcast journalist for WSYR-TV for three years. He later left Syracuse and studied at Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism, earning his master’s degree in 1975. Kroft then went to Florida, working for the Washington Post in Jacksonville and WPLG-TV in Miami, where his work was noticed by CBS News. While in Miami, Kroft was offered, and later accepted, a correspondent position in CBS News’ Northeast Bureau in 1980. He later joined the Dallas bureau for two years before returning to Miami to cover Latin and South America, during which he famously covered the US invasion of Grenada and the civil war in El Salvador.


CBS News transferred Kroft to their London office, having recognized his knack for telling the most pressing stories of the time. There, he produced one of his most famous segments for 60 Minutes on the assassination of Indira Gandhi, for which he received his first Emmy Award. He later served as the principal correspondent for a CBS News magazine show, West 57th, until 1989, when he joined the award-winning 60 Minutes as a correspondent. Throughout his tenure on Sixty Minutes, Kroft has received significant critical praise, winning 11 Emmy Awards, five Peabody Awards, and two Columbia University DuPont Awards. His success has taken him from the contaminated fields of Chernobyl, Ukraine to Iraq during the Gulf War, to the violence in Northern Ireland, to the White House with his famous exclusive interview with Bill and Hillary Clinton in 1992, which many say was one of the defining moments of the 1992 presidential election.

 

Kroft’s success and incredible resume with CBS News has garnered him a great deal of success and recognition. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from Indiana University, Binghamton University, and Long Island University, in addition to having received the University of Albany’s Medallion of the University and Syracuse University’s prestigious George Arents Award, the highest honor Syracuse University bestows upon its alumni.

 

Kroft remains engaged with Syracuse University, from lectures and talks in the S.I Newhouse School of Communications to serving as a life trustee on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. Syracuse University continues to hold Steve Kroft in the highest regard as one of its most successful alumni.

 

Steve Kroft is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.