W
hen Ally Price arrived at the Chancellor’s House’s annual Shabbat dinner in December 2024, she had one goal beyond the event itself.
She approached Chancellor Kent Syverud first.
“I was like, ‘Hey, odds you would give me a tour of the house?’” Price recalled. “And he was like, ‘You have to ask the one in charge. You have to ask Dr. Ruth Chen.’”
So, Price found Chen. And when Price informed her that she had to find the “big boss man,” Chen, she recalled, “started dying laughing” — and then, after composing herself, took Price on a tour of the entire house.
“She’s just such a little bundle of joy,” Price said. “She is just so happy to be there. She loves talking to students.”
In her time at Syracuse University, Chen has touched the lives of countless students, not only as a professor of practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science or as the chancellor’s wife, but through a commitment to helping students feel at home.
“She came here with an agenda to be helpful and to make a difference,” Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, a distinguished professor and former chair of the Biomedical and Chemical Engineering department, said. “And that necessitates that you learn about the place, and the people and the connectivity of the inter-ecosystem here.”
Now, 12 years since their arrival in 2014, Syverud and Chen’s time at SU has come to an end. Syverud announced on April 15 he would immediately step down after his brain cancer diagnosis. Though he will no longer serve as president of University of Michigan — something he called a “homecoming” — he and Chen will still return to their alma mater, where he will serve as a professor in the Law School and a special advisor to the Board of Regents.
“Syracuse is a better place because of Ruth’s service and impact,” Syverud wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange.
Ruth Chen and outgoing Chancellor Kent Syverud walk on the Shaw Quadrangle in an academic procession ahead of Syverud’s 2014 inauguration ceremony. Students, faculty and staff representatives attended the ceremony, which was held in Hendricks Chapel. Daily Orange Archive
Before arriving at SU with Syverud, Chen had a renowned career in environmental toxicology. She served as a state toxicologist for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health and a human health epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health.
Chen received her Ph.D. and MPH in environmental toxicology from UMich, where she met Syverud, and a master’s of science in biomedical sciences from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
In 2006, Chen began as a professor of practice at Washington University in St. Louis, where Syverud was appointed dean and held the title of “Ethan A. H. Shepley Distinguished University Professor” at the School of Law. Chen specialized in environmental risk assessment, energy and environmental economics and risk management decision-making. She also led a professional engineering master’s degree program and an international education program at WashU.
“At WashU, I had seen the multi-faceted impact that she’s had on our programming and our student body in global engagement, for instance,” said Sureshkumar, who worked alongside Chen as a professor of chemical engineering at WashU.
Four years later, Sureshkumar, who moved to SU to serve as chair of the Biomedical and Chemical Engineering department, represented ECS on the university’s chancellor search committee. When Syverud was selected as SU’s 12th chancellor, Sureshkumar said he was thrilled to know that Chen could be coming to SU.
Chen was jointly appointed in the biomedical and chemical engineering and the civil and environmental engineering departments as a professor of practice in 2014, bringing her expertise in fundamental and applied clinical aspects of toxicology, Sureshkumar said, as well as experience in international, cross-disciplinary initiatives.
She took the time to form connections with departments, colleges and people, allowing Chen to launch several impactful and effective initiatives that supported an inclusive environment, Sureshkumar said.
But just as often, Chen’s impact came down to a casual conversation in Link Hall. Or even a two-word greeting.
Zhenyu Gan, an assistant professor in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department, met Chen at his first faculty retreat when they sat at the same table. After he introduced himself onstage and returned to his seat, Chen offered Gan, a fellow UMich alum, a simple, but memorable, “Go Blue.”
Gan, who has taught at SU for about six years, made an appointment with Chen to discuss life and career advice as he approaches the stage of applying for tenure, where he said she’s pointed him to various resources and opportunities.
“I’m actually the only person in my family who kind of stayed in academia and this kind of tenure-track path. I need a lot of advice, but to be honest, I don’t really have a lot of people to talk to,” Gan said. “She gave me a lot of life advice and career advice … She’s not only a very good colleague, I think she’s almost like my mentor.”
That same sentiment extended to students as well, even those she never taught.
Ruohan Xu, a 2023 alum of SU’s mechanical and aerospace engineering program, never took a class with Chen. She connected him with a research opportunity, which he continued for four years. Xu knows Chen’s support in job searches, resume building or general career guidance isn’t just unique to him.
“She gives all she can to the students,” Xu said.
Xu still remembers Chen’s address at his International Student Welcome Dinner in 2019. The annual event is part of Welcome Week, allowing new students to meet SU faculty and staff.
Her speech focused on how international students should engage with the community and ways to succeed at SU. Chen, who came to the United States as an international student herself, also spoke in Mandarin Chinese for a few minutes — something that eased Xu and fellow international students in the new environment.
“Ruth’s connection to this campus has always been rooted in her commitment to students, and nowhere is that more visible than in her support and advocacy of our international student community,” Syverud wrote.
Xu developed a closer relationship with Chen in 2020 through his A Hand for Wuhan project, which aimed to send medical supplies to areas affected by COVID-19, raising over $52,000 in donations. He said Chen came directly to him and his team members to support and help coordinate on-campus resources.
“At that time, I started to realize, ‘Hey, Dr. Chen really cares about the students, really cares about the initiative,’” Xu said. “She understands the difficulty (and) what we’re trying to do as international students.”
After the outbreak of COVID-19, Xu was one of few students to stay on campus. He said he felt supported by Chen and the Center for International Services, whether it was finding South Campus housing or receiving support throughout the summer.
Director of International Student Success Ling Gao LeBeau has met many higher education leaders who support and collaborate with international students — but none of them compare to Chen.
“She’ll exhaust her efforts and then (do) anything to help a student out,” LeBeau said. “I think that’s something we don’t see that often.”
Chen also expressed support for LeBeau’s peer mentorship program, which helps international students navigate their freshman year at SU. Ashley Kim, an international student who has served as a mentor for two consecutive semesters, said Chen was always there to support the program — whether attending in person at events or commenting on LinkedIn posts.
“She gives this aura of being there for us, no matter what we need help with or when we need help. And I can clearly see how she works hard, especially for the international students,” Kim, a junior studying economics and information management and technology, said.
Chen poses with Ashley Kim, an international student who has served as a peer mentor for two consecutive semesters. Kim received an Outstanding Peer Mentor Award in 2025 at an award ceremony hosted at the Chancellor’s House. Courtesy of Ashley Kim
Jenny Dombroske, executive director of community engagement, recalled Chen’s excitement when discussing her planning of the International Thanksgiving Celebration — an annual event typically held in the JMA Wireless Dome that introduces international students to the American Thanksgiving experience.
“That holiday is an opportunity to bring our international students to a place where they can be with each other and be with people who want to celebrate together and get to know each other. And I think that was very important to her, and I know that she was very proud of that,” Dombroske said.
The tradition was established in the 1980s by the late Rev. T.E. Koshy, a former SU chaplain and international student. After stopping for a few years, Syverud and Chen brought the tradition back to campus, Jay Koshy, Evangelical Christian chaplain and T.E. Koshy’s son said in a statement.
“We have such a great diversity here, and the approach I always witnessed with Dr. Chen was how we can make every student feel (at) home here. And Thanksgiving dinner for international students was one of those,” Imam Amir Durić, assistant dean for religious and spiritual life at Hendricks Chapel, said.
The International Thanksgiving Dinner, Hands for Wuhan project and Chen’s advocacy for innovative programs to support international student success demonstrate how Chen has given of herself in ways that deepen belonging and celebrate everyone’s contributions to the SU community, Syverud wrote.
Durić noticed a similar sentiment in Chen’s Operation Orange Warmup initiative, an annual coat drive collecting new and gently used coats for students and families in need. Chen, who had served as a board member for Interfaith Works — a local nonprofit and partner of the initiative — helped the Office of Community Engagement pull partners from across campus toward the unified objective of getting coats, Dombroske said.
“She really infused a lot of heart into this,” Dombroske said. “She really cared about our citizens around our community who in these cold winters don’t have what they need. And then also some of our students who maybe are here studying, but coming from a much warmer place and also may not have the things that they need for their first central New York winter.”
Courtesy of Dara Harper
This emphasis on student needs stood out to Alison Murray, the assistant dean for student assistance at Hendricks. Murray said Chen was well-attuned to the campus’ diversity and varying needs. For instance, she noticed that, when the number of students identifying as food insecure increased, Chen and Syverud would donate food to the Coach Mac Food Pantry in Hendricks.
“She was a very student-first kind of figure at the university,” Dombroske said. “She’s thinking about what the students’ experiences are, and if they have what they need, and if they have the things that make them feel comfortable and safe.”
Chen and Syverud furthered their support of the student experience through a focus on religious and spiritual life at SU. They opened their doors to various religious groups and supported new fellowships and programs, such as the Global Interfaith Leadership Project.
Chaplains and students look forward to these annual gatherings, Koshy wrote, which reflect their hospitality and intentional investment in Hendricks, the chaplaincies and broader student community. The dinners allowed students to interact personally with Chen and Syverud in a “welcoming and informal setting.”
Ivan Shen first met Chen at one of these dinners at the Chancellor’s House, specifically for the SU Catholic community — something he quickly realized was not typical of other universities. The two talked the whole night, he recalled, discussing Catholicism in China, religion on campus and Hendricks’ Chinese Christian Fellowship.
“I found it quite fascinating because it’s technically not part of her duty as the chancellor’s wife to do anything, because her formal job is a professor of practice,” said Shen, who graduated in 2025 with a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in music history and cultures.
Chen greets a student at Syverud’s first introduction and press conference in 2013. Syverud and Chen came to Syracuse University from Washington University in St. Louis. Courtesy of Syracuse University Photo & Imaging Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries
Chen is heavily involved behind the scenes of these events, Syracuse’s Hillel Jewish Student Union Executive Director Jillian Juni wrote in a statement. Chen tries to speak to as many students as possible throughout the night, modeling a welcoming presence with Syverud for the SU community.
Though dinners at the Chancellor’s House span back decades to Chancellor Melvin Eggers’ tenure, Sureshkumar said, Chen elevated and broadened this tradition, opening it to more faculty, students and staff.
Even in Ann Arbor, the couple plans to maintain its tradition of opening their doors. Gan said Chen offered him an invitation to their house for a meal the next time he visits UMich.
Though Chen leaves SU alongside Syverud, her former students and colleagues are confident that her commitment to fostering a culture of belonging will continue. And her love for the Orange will remain strong.
“She’ll leave the campus, but I truly believe that her support for the international students’ community, and also her connection to Syracuse University will not fade,” Lebeau said.
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Photo by Avery Magee | Photo Editor
Disclaimer: Ally Price is an opinion columnist for The Daily Orange. Price did not influence the editorial content of this article.
Published on April 23, 2026 at 12:55 am