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Syracuse University will transfer its human dynamics programs from David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics to other colleges by fall 2025, according to a Wednesday afternoon news release.

Effective July 1, 2025, SU will move all four human dynamics programs out of Falk. The Marriage and Family Therapy and Human Development and Family Science departments will merge into one program housed in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. The public health program will move to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and the social work program will join the School of Education.

The change will not affect students graduating from these majors this semester or in spring 2025, the release states. SU will officially begin transferring students next July, with the intention of having them matriculated by the start of the fall semester.

“I know this has been a challenging time, and there are still many details that will need to be worked out in the coming months,” Falk Dean Jeremy Jordan wrote in a Wednesday afternoon college-wide email. “We will keep you informed as those details are finalized, and as we continue with this transition we ask for your patience and cooperation.”

SU transferred the departments based on compatible “academic synergies” between schools, according to the release. The change serves to “enhance the academic and community impact of these programs (and) grow enrollment,” among other goals.

In April, SU first announced its decision to drop “Human Dynamics” from Falk’s name, making it the first college at a Research-1 institution to solely focus its academics on sport. The announcement left faculty, staff and students in Falk’s human dynamics programs feeling uncertain, as SU’s initial communications did not clarify plans for the non-sport departments’ futures.

SU established a task force dedicated to the future of human dynamics programs, announced in the initial April message. A separate group focused on “elevating” Falk’s sports management programs had already been in place since March 2023.

After hosting several town halls and gathering feedback on the changes to Falk, former Provost Gretchen Ritter assembled the Human Dynamics Task Force at the end of May. The 15-member task force — composed of SU administrators, human dynamics faculty and other community stakeholders — drafted a report of recommendations, which they submitted to the provost at the end of October, according to Wednesday’s release.

The decision to move Marriage and Family Therapy, Human Development and Family Science, Public Health and Social Work was “informed in large part” by the task force’s recommendations, according to Wednesday’s release.

Prior to the university’s campus-wide announcement, the deans of each SU college affected — including Arts and Sciences Dean Behzad Mortazavi, Maxwell Dean David Van Slyke and School of Ed Dean Kelly Chandler-Olcott — issued a school-wide email to their respective student bodies about the decision.

In Mortazavi’s message, the dean welcomed students of the Human Development and Family Science program, which is the new combination of Marriage and Family Therapy and Human Development and Family Science. He said he believes Arts and Sciences’ interdisciplinary focus best suits the new department.

Van Slyke and Chandler-Olcott’s messages echoed Mortazavi’s tone. Both said they look forward to welcoming the new students into their schools and highlighting how their respective schools will accommodate the newly-added departments.

Published on November 14, 2024 at 1:10 am

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu