Faculty Representative to the Board, 2025 – 2027
Tula Goenka is a Professor of Television, Radio and Film at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the graduate program director for her department.
Goenka received her Master of Science in Television-Radio from Newhouse in 1986. She was a film editor for Mira Nair, Spike Lee, and James Ivor, among others, before focusing on producing and editing her own documentaries. As a filmmaker and public scholar, she believes in the power of storytelling to illuminate oppression, heal trauma, and create positive change, with a particular focus on women's rights, and social justice and the use of art and music to build awareness and preserve heritage. Goenka is currently working on the “Look Now Project” about those affected by breast cancer.
She is the author of "Not Just Bollywood: Indian Directors Speak" and created the SUBollywood program through Syracuse University Abroad. In 1989, Goenka co-founded Sakhi for South Asian Women, a New York City-based organization working to end violence against women, and she served on the Chancellor’s Task Force on Sexual and Relationship Violence from 2015-19. She is the founder and co-director of the annual Syracuse University Human Rights Film Festival and Digital Witness Symposium.
Goenka was born and raised in India and holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Madras and a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Communications Media from the University of Bombay. She received the Chancellor's Award of Excellence for Engaging the World (2009), the Chancellor's Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship (2014), was the Newhouse Endowed Chair of Public Communications (2016-19), and served as the Newhouse Dean's inaugural Leadership Fellow (2022-25).
Goenka is serving a two-year term as faculty representative from 2025-27. She participates in the Board Academic Affairs Committee and reports to the Board at Executive Committee and full Board meetings.