SYRACUSE — A man who Syracuse University described as a “highly engaged trustee” is the first person of color serve as chairman of the university’s board of trustees.

The board members unanimously elected Jeffrey Scruggs, Syracuse said in a Nov. 4 announcement. He succeeds current board chair Kathleen Walters, whose term concludes in May 2023. 

Scruggs earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. But, as Syracuse noted, he has a “deeply personal connection” to Syracuse University.

His father, Otey Scruggs, was an award-winning professor of history in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs from 1969 until his retirement in 1995 and “was considered a pioneer in the field of African American history,” the school said 

Otey Scruggs died in 2014. In 2018, his son Jeffrey was appointed to the Syracuse board of trustees and “quickly became a leading voice” on issues related to finance and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.”

“Jeff’s financial acumen is unmatched,” Walters said. “But it is his generosity of spirit that has made him an outstanding trustee. He is committed to creating an extraordinary experience for each and every one of our students that honors the diversity of thoughts, perspectives and culture that each one brings to our community.”

In April 2021, Scruggs was named to co-lead the board’s advisory committee on University Climate, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility after serving as co-lead on the board’s special committee on University Climate, Diversity and Inclusion that was constituted in December 2019. 

Recommendations from the special committee included investing $50 million to identifying, hiring and retaining a more diverse full-time faculty; enriching and modernizing the curriculum; enhancing the residential student experience; strengthening and prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across all training, programming and facilities planning; and reimagining the role of the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety. 

In his work on the board’s advisory committee, Scruggs was charged with providing oversight of the university’s efforts to foster a more diverse and inclusive culture and a welcoming and equitable campus environment and promised to support the long-term work that will bring lasting and meaningful change to our community.

“Jeff is the kind of trustee most valued by leadership,” Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said. “He brings a wealth of professional leadership experience and business expertise, and is committed to doing the hard work. He is passionate about equity and opportunity in higher education. And, he believes deeply in accountability and delivering on the promises we make to our students, our faculty and our entire campus community.”

Scruggs and his wife, Robbin Mitchell, funded a lecture series in the department of history to honor his father. They also created the Otey and Barbara Scruggs Maxwell School Scholarship with a long-term gift commitment to provide merit scholarships to undergraduate students enrolled across the Maxwell School disciplines. 

The scholarship is designed to help the Maxwell School and Syracuse University retain undergraduates who have already begun to prove their capabilities and potential, and to help support racial, cultural and gender diversity within the student body.

Scruggs joined Goldman Sachs in 2008 as a managing director after more than 20 years in the financial sector, almost all as an investment banker with PaineWebber Incorporated and UBS Securities. He left UBS Securities after serving as managing director and director of the Public Finance Investment Banking Group. 

For the past 12 years, Scruggs has been the head or co-head of the public sector and infrastructure group within the investment-banking division at Goldman Sachs, Syracuse said.