Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Liz Liddy today announced that she has appointed Cathryn Newton, dean emerita and professor of earth sciences and of interdisciplinary sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, to serve as a Provost’s Faculty Fellow.

The third faculty member in recent weeks to be selected for the newly created position, Newton will focus on academic philanthropy; large-scale academic space planning, including that of the Campus Master Plan committee and other groups; and academic programming initiatives related to these two areas.

“Serving our faculty, students and staff is an honor—as is this remarkable opportunity to work with Liz Liddy and the other Faculty Fellows,” says Newton. “I will row a strong oar for the University.”

Liddy says Newton’s passion for scholarship and research will be tremendous assets as the University works to further enhance academic facilities and resources that generate exceptional learning experiences for students.

“Cathryn has consistently shown herself to be an outstanding teacher, researcher, mentor, leader and collaborator, with a firm commitment to excellence across the academic disciplines,” Liddy says. “She also is deeply collaborative, and I look forward to working with her to ensure our students and faculty have the resources and support needed for world-class scholarship and innovative research to thrive here at Syracuse.”

Newton joins Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor and chair of political science, who will focus on strengthening internationalization; and Shiu-Kai Chin, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, who will guide the implementation of the University’s academic strategic plan.

In 1983, Newton joined the faculty of Syracuse University, where she became an award-winning scholar and teacher, a powerfully effective mentor of women in the sciences and co-founding director of the Women in Science and Engineering Program, and a nationally admired leader in paleontology, ocean sciences and higher education. She served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for eight years before assuming her present position as the University’s only Professor of Interdisciplinary Sciences—a position that recognizes the broad scope of her scientific work as transcending the boundaries of any one discipline.

As dean, Newton played an instrumental role in several major initiatives, including construction of the Life Sciences Complex, renovation of the Tolley Humanities Building and development of the Central New York Humanities Corridor.

The Provost’s Faculty Fellow positions were created with the goal of expanding channels of communication and opportunities for collaboration among the Provost’s Office, University leaders and the faculty. They are one-year appointments, renewable annually by mutual consent, and each fellow has a designated focus area. During their appointment, they are charged with assessing needs and interests in those areas, developing opportunities and communicating with the campus community about those opportunities.