Syracuse University names Barnes to lead Board of Trustees

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Steven W. Barnes is set to be the next chairman of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees.

Barnes takes over when the four-year term of the current chairman, Richard L. Thompson, concludes during the board’s annual meeting held this weekend of the university’s commencement, according to a Syracuse University news release. Thompson will become chairman-emeritus and will be awarded an honorary degree by Syracuse at commencement.

Barnes was named to the Board of Trustees in 2008, and has served on two of the board’s committees: the executive committee and the investment and endowment committee. His term as chairman will run through May 2019, the release stated.

Barnes is a managing director at Bain Capital, a global investment firm with $80 billion in assets under management. He has been with the company since 1988, and has served as CEO/president for several of the firm’s portfolio companies. He currently leads the firm’s North American Private Equity group. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Barnes held senior management positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. He serves as co-chairman of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and is a long-term member of the Whitman Advisory Council.

“Steve is a wonderful advocate and supporter of Syracuse University,” Thompson said in the news release. “He has shown compelling leadership through his work on the Board of Trustees, and as Co-Chair of Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which has helped move that organization to its current national prominence. I know Steve has the capacity, drive and expertise to skillfully lead this University into a new era, working with the entire board and Chancellor Syverud.”

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com