Bea González Named University Liaison to Posse Scholar Program

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud has appointed University College Dean and Special Assistant to the Chancellor Bea González to serve as the University’s liaison to the Posse Foundation scholarship program.

In her capacity as liaison, González will work closely with the foundation to select Syracuse’s annual cohort of Posse Scholars; work to foster a supportive Posse community on campus; and help identify and support faculty members serving as mentors to each incoming group of Posse Scholars.

“Bea is a natural choice for this important position,” says Chancellor Syverud. “She has a long record of supporting the needs of, and generating opportunity for, students from a wide range of backgrounds. The Posse program is an important link in the University’s network of outreach to promising students from diverse backgrounds. This appointment will make that link even stronger and further advance Syracuse’s commitment to building and sustaining a richly diverse student body.”

Established in 1989, the Posse scholarship program identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse recruits and trains these promising students and sends them in multicultural teams—posses—of 10 students to partner colleges and universities around the country, where they receive full-tuition scholarships for four years.

Syracuse has been a part of the Posse scholarship program since 2011. It currently participates with the Miami chapter of Posse and this fall welcomed 10 new Posse Scholars from that city.

González came to Syracuse University in 1984 as an academic advisor for University College, and since that time has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility. In 2004, she was selected to serve as interim dean of University College and became permanent dean in 2007.

Since February 2015, she also has had a joint appointment as special assistant to the Chancellor, focusing on student affairs. In that capacity, she focuses on student retention and success, strategic planning, day-to-day services, and policies and procedures relating to student learning, success, and support.