Whitman Values: Alumni Supporting an Inclusive Community

Inclusion and collaboration are among the core values of the Whitman School. These values go hand-in-hand to foster diversity.

Whitman alumni from all career stages come together to support initiatives like scholarships for diverse students and opportunities to participate in experiential programs. Meet some of the alumni and learn more about the funds they support.

Our Time Has Come

Launched in 1987, the Our Time Has Come Scholarship Program (OTHC) has awarded more than 1,700 scholarships to first-generation and underrepresented students. Whitman alumni are catalysts of this Universitywide initiative.

Michael Blackshear 

“The cost for higher education is increasingly rising and becoming, for some, cost prohibitive,” says Michael Blackshear ’91, senior vice president, chief compliance and privacy officer, and head of diversity, equity and inclusion at Ryan Specialty, an international specialty insurance organization with operations in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. “With the recent Supreme Court decision making affirmative action unconstitutional as an admission criterion, we have been forced, as donors, to better understand and assess the long-term impact on diverse enrollment at Syracuse. The Our Time Has Come program is one very important way that we can support and retain diverse students on campus.”

In 2022, Blackshear endowed a scholarship for first-generation and underrepresented students of color at Whitman, along with ongoing support for OTHC and other initiatives.

Gisele Marcus

Gisele Marcus ’89 is an expert in operations with Fortune 100 leadership experience as well as a professor of practice in diversity, equity and inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis. Marcus has endowed an OTHC Scholarship at the Whitman School, among other philanthropy. “Collective giving to scholarships at a university isn’t just about funding education; it’s about weaving a tapestry of opportunity, where every thread, every contribution creates a welcoming embrace,” Marcus says. “Together we build, not just futures, but a community where doors swing, open wide, inviting all to walk through and thrive.”

Both Blackshear and Marcus are members of the University Board of Trustees.

Dean’s Fund

Orange runs deep in Dayna Hornung’s ’22 family. Her father and grandfather, Bob Hornung ’87 and Don Hornung ’53, are also Whitman alumni, and her brother Jeff Hornung ’24 is a management major. Her sister Margot Hornung ’27 is in the College of Arts and Sciences. Hornung landed her current job at Beekman Social—led by CEO Jeffrey Tousey G’14 (NEW)— through a Syracuse connection.

Dayna Hornung

Hornung began giving back early in her career to the Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Scholarship Fund. The fund supports students who have demonstrated commitment to community service, diversity and fostering equity and inclusion.

“I feel very loyal, and it’s such an obligation for me to give back,” Hornung says. “I know it helps students have that experience that they might not have access to without help.”

Semester in NYC

Student success isn’t just about financial support through traditional scholarships. During the Semester in NYC program, students gain valuable experience though internships, academic coursework and social programs.

Robert Laughlin ’87 and his family created a fund to give students access to experiential programs like the Semester in NYC. Laughlin, global head of trust and wealth planning at Citi Private Bank, said, at the time the fund was created, “My hope is that this gift might be a catalyst to others to see the benefits of this type of experiential learning and donate, so that Syracuse University, particularly the Whitman School, can be more prominent in New York City.”

Robert Laughlin

This year marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Martin J. Whitman ’49, H’08, and no conversation about giving for an inclusive Whitman community would be complete without mentioning him. Along with his extensive philanthropy to the school that bears his name, Whitman and his wife, Lois, were among the earliest supporters of OTHC.

With the help of the entire alumni community, the Whitman vision continues to thrive.