Syracuse University will weather this storm, too (Guest Opinion by Grant Reeher)

Grant Reeher is a senior research associate in the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and a professor of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The views expressed are his own. I have not always been an outspoken cheerleader for Syracuse University, but I did have a strong reaction to the Wall Street Journal piece by Douglas Belkin and Roshan Fernandez ('Why Syracuse Can't Attract the Students it Needs to Pay the Bills,' Aug. 29, 2026). It was unfairly framed, and there almost seemed to be animus coming from the writers — and certainly from some of their sources. (I'm assuming that anyone reading this essay is already familiar with the gist of that piece, so I will not try to summarize it here. You can read syracuse.com's coverage here.) It's true that the university's financial problems do have some parallels with those of the struggling smaller colleges, and I think it's also true that we overextended ourselves in some programs and efforts in recent years. But we've always recognized the central importance of foreign students, not only to our financial model, but also to what we're striving to accomplish for the experience of all our students. Our foreign students benefit everyone — the students who are citizens, the faculty, the staff and the city. One of those students, a young man from China I've helped mentor since his arrival in 2024, recently told me he was hoping to stay and work in the U.S. once he completes his master's degree. That's the ideal outcome. Losing a big chunk of those students was an exogenous shock to the system that the article treats as a permanent change, but past political experience suggests that it is likely temporary. I can imagine multiple scenarios in 2029, from either a Republican or Democratic new president, in which many of the current tight restrictions are reversed. And I also believe that the foreign students will come back when they are welcomed back. The almost overnight change in worldwide attitudes toward the U.S. following the election of Barack Obama is just one data point. Grant Reeher is a senior research associate in the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and a professor of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. (Provided photo by Kathy Sowards) Provided photo by Kathy Sowards Furthermore, it's essential to recognize that the region is on the cusp of a new economic era, thanks to Micron's commitment and our political, civic and educational leaders who made it happen. It's hard not to believe that it will help lift the university, if not carry it. Chancellor Mike Haynie's background is in entrepreneurialism, and I imagine that will serve the university well in leveraging the moment. In addition, I've been here long enough (34 years and counting) to have seen some earlier structural readjustments, and we've weathered them relatively well. Recall, for example, that SU dealt with Covid much better than many other peer institutions, in particular those with medical schools. The university's comparatively small endowment has obviously held us back over the years, making us more sensitive to short-term challenges and less able to capitalize on longer-term opportunities. I've always been puzzled by it, given the large size and accumulated wealth of the alumni base, and by my impression of some of the university's fundraising strategies and assumptions. But this inflection point may offer an opportunity to reconfigure the approach and make the fondness for Orange more green. No change in academic direction can work without the involvement and buy-in of the faculty. That lesson has been learned a few times since I've been here. Haynie's early transparency and apparent willingness to engage and listen are hopeful signs. And while I agree with Haynie that we cannot 'cut' our way out of the problem, an additional significant financial problem for the university, not touched upon by the article, is the explosion of administrators at the assistant and associate dean level over the last 25 years. Syracuse is far from alone here. These positions are expensive, and they multiplied in response to various concerns and demands. Many of them were related to the expansion of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, although many predate them. Some of the accompanying programs and initiatives were ill-conceived and cost the university a lot of money, such as the aborted effort to provide a gateway course that pushed DEI themes, but which very few of the faculty actually wanted to teach. The problem of universities becoming too top-heavy has been the subject of inside-education critiques for a while. I'd recommend the university take a hard look at that, though I'm not confident that the panel empowered by the chancellor will be willing to go after that protected turf. The article has understandably created a stir on campus. It will no doubt hurt us, especially with the parents who are wealthy enough to pay the university's sticker price. But we are not an isolated, gritty place. We are a vibrant, real place with real problems — not some tropical or desert Shangri-La — with a rich history and a rich future.