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Passing through the corridors of the Newhouse School of Public Communications, a four-legged creature may seem out of place, like he’s wandering aimlessly. But the 9-year-old golden retriever is not lost; Willow knows his way around.

Willow’s owner, department chair and associate professor of advertising at Newhouse, Edward Russell, jokes that Willow knows her way around Newhouse more than most of his students. Willow can successfully complete one of the (arguably) most challenging tasks of a Newhouse student or teacher: navigating between the three Newhouse buildings without getting lost.

Before the pandemic, Russell’s office was in Newhouse 2, and Willow knew how to move from his office to his colleague, Kristen Northrop, assistant director of Newhouse’s Office of Research and Creative Activity (who Russell said is Willow’s biggest fan).

“I’d go, ‘go to Kristen.’ Willow would literally go over to Newhouse 3 — down the hall, cut across and go right to her office,” Russell said. “She knew the way all by herself. I hadn’t seen her in three minutes of the walk, and sure enough, she was in there.”

Bear, a 12-year-old cavachon, has joined his mom MaryAnn Monforte, an SU professor, to work since he was a puppy. Bear has been to exam review sessions, office hours and more. Avery Magee | Photo Editor

Willow is not the only dog to join their parents for work at Syracuse University. Many professors and faculty bring their pets to classes, office hours and exam review sessions. Some join their guardians only on special occasions, while others are regular class guests.

That’s the case for 3-year-old golden doodle Bauer. He is one of the most recognized faces in the Whitman School of Management — not just because both his parents are Whitman professors. Every other Wednesday, he can be found surrounded by students for Bauer Hour: Pet Therapy. But, that’s not the only time students can interact with Bauer; he is a frequent student in his mom’s classes and a visitor in his dad’s.

Bauer’s mom, Elizabeth Wimer, said she wanted to have a dog who could also serve her students. Bauer began his training to be a therapy dog at 12 weeks old, while Wimer became a certified pet handler — that means Bauer goes everywhere his mom goes.

“He is really good at connecting students that sometimes hang out at the edges of social groups or maybe aren’t as engaged in class as others. So he’s obviously not trained for that, it’s just kind of the personality of who he is,” Wimer said. “He is good at finding the person that’s a little quieter or that might have some trouble fully engaging in a high-paced class.”

Edward Russell’s 9-year-old golden retriever, Willow, knows her way around campus. She can even navigate between buildings. Avery Magee | Photo Editor

Most of the time, Bauer gravitates toward these people naturally. He then attracts more students to socialize with one other, Wimer said. Bauer is so “popular” among students that he has nearly 1,000 LinkedIn connections.

But Bauer isn’t the only friendly face in Whitman. Bear, a 12-year-old cavachon, has been attending exam review sessions, office hours and more with his mom, MaryAnn Monforte, who’s been an accounting professor in Whitman since 2007. Monforte said Bear still feels like a “puppy” because of his enthusiasm to be at Whitman. Sometimes, Bear can be spotted wearing a Syracuse-branded leash and collar.

Monforte often also brought her neighbor’s and best friend’s dog Hazel to office hours and exam review sessions. Before Hazel died last month, she and Bear were inseparable, Monforte said.

“As soon as I pulled into the university garage, Hazel would start whimpering and then, of course, Bear would get all excited,” Monforte said. “They’d be barking to get out and get into Whitman.”

The dogs’ tails would wag as they approached the Whitman steps, eager to meet with Monforte’s students. That excitement is mutual. Freshman Phoebe Lemmon said it has been hard to be away from her pets in college, but Bear and Hazel’s appearances at review sessions and visits to Monforte’s office hours made the transition a little easier.

Instead of dreading accounting exams, Lemmon said she looked forward to a test because it meant guest appearances from the pups.

Sometimes, Bear is the only reason that Monforte’s students even attend her review sessions or office hours, she said. But she doesn’t mind, because most of the students end up staying the whole review session and complete the review questions.

Monforte isn’t alone. Some professors, like Russell, have been bringing their pets to SU since they first came to campus. In Russell’s case, that was nearly 22 years ago. At the time, David Rubin, a Newhouse dean from 1990 to 2008, encouraged professors to bring their dogs to school. Russell brought his late dog, Holly, and since then, Russell’s brought three generations of his dogs to Newhouse: Holly, Lucy and now, Willow.

As Willow grows older, Russell doesn’t bring her quite as often. But when he does, she’s a hot commodity in the classroom, he said. In Russell’s senior capstone class, Willow acts as a student herself, sitting through an 80-minute class in one of the chairs as if she were a student herself.

Since last February, when Wes Whiteside rescued Franklin, he has become a frequent guest in his dad’s office. Franklin even has his own toys in the space. Avery Magee | Photo Editor

In other classrooms, dogs aren’t just another student or furry friend. When discussing “difficult subjects” like foreign exchange markets in Wimer’s classes, she incorporates Bauer into the concepts to make them more approachable — like saying “Bauer bucks” instead of currency.

Bauer can sometimes appear as any other student in his mom’s class: sitting up in the rolling chairs, his back-straight up against the chair, following his mom as she moves from the chalkboard to the smart board. Even Bauer’s “fellow classmates,” like SU sophomore Lilly DeWildt, notice how concentrated he is on his mom’s lectures.

“Most of the (dogs) that I’ve met up and run at you, they’re kind of chaotic in that way,” DeWildt, who has taken five of Wimer’s classes, said. “Bauer is kind of the opposite of that. He’s a very chill guy.”

DeWildt said the presence of a furry friend, like Bauer, can reduce her stress. During a visit last semester to Wimer’s office, DeWildt was feeling stressed and sought advice from Wimer. But the comfort came from more than just her professor; having Bauer to pet calmed her down, DeWildt said.

DeWildt has been connected with the pet’s LinkedIn page since last fall, when Wimer urged her students to add Bauer and use his page as an example for what their own networking pages should include.

When Wes Whiteside, office’s associate director, brings his rescue dog, Franklin, to work, Whiteside can probably be found in his office — with a baby-proof dog gate outside the door — or walking Franklin during his lunch break. If it’s cold outside, Franklin, a 2-year-old terrier mix, stays warm with his orange Carhartt jacket.

But before Franklin, there was Archie, who died in February 2024. Many of the students who stopped by the Newhouse 3 Office of Community, Culture and Engagement to see Archie, returned to see Franklin, Whiteside said.

Since Franklin became acclimated after his rescue last February, he has become a frequent guest in the office. Although Whiteside hasn’t brought Franklin to any of his COM 100 classes, he always emails his students to let them know Franklin is in so they can visit.

Like Wimer, Whiteside said having Franklin can make the college experience easier for students who may be having a bad day or missing their dogs at home.

“Being in an open office and having somebody as friendly as this, I think it goes a long way. And it makes me happy to see him bring them joy,” Whiteside said.

Similarly, the reason Russell still brings his dog to work with him leads back to one moment years ago when Lucy’s presence in Russell’s office during finals week made a freshman’s day. The student knocked on his office door, asking to pet Lucy — which Russell agreed to and returned to his work.

Five minutes later, Whiteside looked up, and the freshman had his arms around the dog. Lucy’s head was leaning against the student’s shoulder.

“That’s why they’re here,” Russell said.

Published on March 19, 2026 at 12:43 am
Contact Lily: lvzucker@syr.edu