The King

I’m supposed to have lunch today with my friend Ed who works here at the Newhouse School and an SU alum, Bob Guatierri. Bob likes to be called; “The King.” The King is in town for the premiere of “The Express” having come from Los Angeles where he owns a very successful graphics company called Design on the Fly. You have almost certainly seen some of his work. Have you ever watched the Oscars, ESPY’s or Emmy’s? Then you’ve seen his work. The King is one of those guys who when you meet him, you kind of wish you had 10% of his talent and confidence. When The King is in the room, everyone knows it.

So where’s this going? Bob Guatierri is one of many SU alums that graciously and willingly gives his time and money to help SU students get started in their careers as well advancing the educational initiatives of the Newhouse School. It’s not something he has to do. Goodness knows he has plenty to do running a successful business in Los Angeles. But for many reasons, he does this. It is, I think, one of the more important assets we have at Syracuse.

You may not realize this, but as faculty and staff, we are ALWAYS talking about you, the student. You may see us doing our jobs, teaching classes and going about our business but our “business” is you. What can we do to improve this curriculum? What kind of time are we spending on individual advising? Can we improve the way we organize our infrastructure? It never ends. An old boss of mine used to say that his company was on a highway that was always under construction. I liked that analogy. Thinking that you’re never in search of a new path is challenging.

Bob Guatierri is the kind of guy who reminds us here at SU that we always need to make sure we bring our A game to the Hill everyday. It would be tough to look him in the eye, or have lunch with him, and not be able to say we’re doing our best.

Long live the King!