John Chapple can relate to the students who lived in the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center during their freshmen year in 2005, because he, too, was a ‘Skytop refugee’ in the 1970s.

As an undergraduate political science major, Chapple and others were slated to live in the newly built Skytop building. Yet when they arrived on campus, the building was incomplete, and they were forced to scramble for housing.

Now, more than three decades later, Chapple will take on issues like student housing as the newly elected chairman of SU’s Board of Trustees.

Chapple will be chairman-elect for a year and will work with current president John Couri during the transition which will commence in May 2008.

‘It’s been a wonderful experience. I think we’ve accomplished a lot,’ Couri said in an interview during the summer. ‘We are delighted to have John Chapple as the next chairman.’

Chapple’s accession to chair began with the Board Organization and Nominating Committee (BONC) sending letters to all trustees and emeritus trustees seeking nominations for chairmanship. The group, made up of six trustees that meet on a periodic basis, asked candidates to accept their nominations before forming a slate.

While many trustees received multiple nominations, Chapple received the most and was interviewed by BONC. (The committee also interviewed all nominees before electing Chapple to serve a six-year term, which is reaffirmed yearly).

Chapple said one word comes to mind when he thinks of the job bestowed upon him: ‘honored.’ He said this is an opportunity to give back to the university that launched him into his successful career, which included a run as chief executive officer of telecommunications giant Nextel.

‘Syracuse had such a strong developmental influence on myself,’ Chapple said. He equated being offered chair to having the president offer the position of secretary of state. Declining is not an option.

‘It was something that I certainly gave a lot of serious thought,’ he said.

Chapple can speak at length on a number of issues that challenge SU. He supports Cantor’s policies while talking tough on both controlling rapid tuition increases and solving the fragile student housing situation.

‘One of the things that is tangible and you can look at right away is financial aid,’ Chapple said. ‘To the extent that our fundraising efforts are successful, you would be funneling that money back into that arena.’

Chapple’s extensive business background-CEO at Nextel, executive vice president for AT&T Wireless, chief operating officer for Orca Bay-leads to the occasional slip into finance jargon when discussing his visions for SU.

He does not believe in strict cost controller. He said that SU needs to spend money to continue growing and sees the upcoming chancellor’s fundraising campaign, with an estimated target of $1 billion, as critical.

‘I don’t believe the university can save itself to success,’ Chapple said.

As the outgoing chairman, Couri said that Chapple’s experience at running a publicly traded company will help him greatly as chairman. He should know; Couri is the co-founder and former CEO of Duty Free International Inc. (now Duty Free Americas Inc.). The chain of duty-free shops, which grew with great success under Couri’s leadership in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is found in the nation’s airports and along its borders.

When Couri was elected chairman of the board in 2004, he said he would serve three years, but he will end up serving five.

He said he was satisfied in helping the chancellor move the mission of the university forward. Couri is especially proud of the $250 million building program, downtown movement and increased collaboration between SU’s 13 schools and colleges.

‘You try to do the best job you can while you’re there,’ he said. ‘We didn’t do things to try to be remembered,’ he added regarding his legacy.

One of Couri’s goals is also on the agenda of his successor. Chapple is determined to increase the university’s recognition on regional, national and international levels.

Chapple said the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is a great example for the rest of the university.

‘It’s ranked No. 1 as a government school, and Harvard is No. 2,’ he said. ‘It’s an example of how Syracuse has accomplished more.’

Chapple is on Maxwell’s advisory board and a graduate of Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program. Yet, he has not strayed far from the undergraduate without an apartment in the 1970s. That experience has influenced his thoughts on student housing.

‘I understand it’s been an issue in the past. I lived it,’ Chapple said.

And he understands that in order for the university to grow academically and increase its recognition, it needs a place for its students to sleep.

‘If we are not focused on that, then it’s really one step forward, two steps back,’ Chapple said. ‘Bring in more diverse students. But if you don’t have the facilities to support them…then just like in business, you’re going to lose your customers.’

Chapple will spend the next year getting better acquainted with influential people across campus. He will work to get as involved in Syracuse as he was in the years following his 1975 graduation, when he was a teaching assistant for popular professor Bill Coplin.

And though he now lives in Seattle, there was no doubt who Chapple was rooting for in Syracuse’s first football game against the University of Washington last Friday.

‘I bleed Orange,’ Chapple said.

Published on September 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm