Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz named interim Hendricks dean as Konkol steps down
Hendricks Chapel Associate Dean Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz will step in as its interim dean, Syracuse University announced Sunday. Kai Nguyen | Daily Orange File Photo
Associate Dean of Hendricks Chapel Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz will step in as its interim dean, Hendricks announced Sunday. Her appointment comes after current Hendricks Dean Rev. Brian Konkol announced he would leave Syracuse University in the new year.
Kantrowitz will oversee the chapel’s staff, budget, programs and community engagement. She will also help nurture religious, spiritual and ethical relations at Hendricks by collaborating with students, faculty and chaplains in the community, according to Hendricks’ website.
Konkol stepped down to become president of Valparaiso University, a private Lutheran college in Indiana. Konkol has served as dean since 2017 and worked as a professor of practice in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
As the inaugural associate dean of Hendricks Chapel — a role created in 2018 — Kantrowitz supports chaplaincies, religious and spiritual groups, as well as the Student Assembly of Interfaith Leaders, according to SU’s website.
Before being appointed for the position, she served as SU’s interim senior associate vice president for the student experience and dean of students.
Kantrowitz also oversees the university’s food pantries and the Student Opportunity Fund, a student donation fund through Hendricks for non-academic necessities, according to SU’s website.
An SU alum, Kantrowitz worked at five other universities before returning to SU in 2002.
Hendricks will search for a permanent dean in the spring semester.
