The survey, composed by UU and OIRA collaboratively, will be emailed to a representative sample of 3,000 SU and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students. The transition to OIRA is in compliance with Student Association legislation. Previous surveys were distributed through SurveyMonkey.

The mandate for UU to collaborate with OIRA comes from the SA Disbursement of Surplus Funds bill passed in 2011.

The SA legislation stated that UU’s teaming with OIRA during the surveying process would ensure “that a broader base and more representative sample of the student body is surveyed.”

Trimmed down from previous years, the survey includes a more interactive system. To connect with the rest of the student body, UU is organizing social media opportunities for students to voice their opinions.

On Tuesday, May 28, UU concert director Kelly Benini will field questions on UU’s Twitter feed from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Students can ask questions by using the hashtag #AskUU.

The university’s legal expenses are listed in SU’s Internal Revenue Service Form 990. Nonprofit organizations file the form with the IRS each year. In 2011, the university reported that it spent $9,828,574 in legal expenses, compared to $5,120,316 in 2010. The 2011 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012.

Fine, former associate men’s head basketball coach, was fired on Nov. 27, 2011 after two former ball boys accused him of sexually abusing them in the 1980s. He has denied all wrongdoing and wasn’t charged after a nearly yearlong federal investigation.

The 990 form also shows SU’s legal counsel, Bond, Schoeneck & King, as the largest paid independent contractor, earning $4,003,580 in 2011. That’s about 16.9 percent more than in 2010, when SU paid the firm $3,425,082.

Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

There are several legal matters that remain with the allegations.

In March, a state Supreme Court justice ruled National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh — an insurance company SU had a policy with — must pay for the cost of state and federal subpoenas related to the Fine investigation and the university’s defense costs. SU said preparing the subpoenas cost “millions of dollars.”

That same month, Fine filed a defamation lawsuit against ESPN for reporting sex abuse claims against him. In February, a federal judge dismissed part of a libel lawsuit filed by Bernie Fine’s wife, Laurie Fine, against ESPN.

Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, the two former ball boys who accused Bernie Fine of sexual abuse, appealed a slander lawsuit against men’s head basketball coach Jim Boeheim in April as well.

The salaries and compensation of SU’s top-paid employees can be found in its Internal Revenue Service Form 990. Nonprofit organizations file the form with the IRS each year. The 2011 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012.

Like in 2010, SU didn’t pay for Boeheim’s entire salary.

Out of the $1,143,801 in base compensation, the university only paid $296,259. IMG Worldwide Inc., a global sports, fashion and media business, paid $600,000 and he earned $247,542 from holding the Big Orange Basketball Camp.

With $60,000 in bonuses and incentives; $490,905 in other reportable compensation; $106,485 in retirement and deferred compensation; and $17,470 in nontaxable benefits, Boeheim’s total compensation adds up to $1,818,661.

Though Boeheim’s total compensation in 2011 was about 4.6 percent less than 2010, he still earned about $800,000 more in total compensation than SU’s second highest-paid employee, former head football coach Doug Marrone.

Marrone had a total compensation of $1,031,653 — about 18.1 percent less than 2010 — with a base salary of $917,272.

SU paid $298,332 of Marrone’s base salary, and IMG Worldwide Inc. paid $618,940. He lost $92 for holding a summer football camp, according to the form, but that wasn’t included in this salary estimate.

He also received $50,000 in bonus and incentives; $15,913 in other reportable compensation; $24,500 in retirement and other deferred compensation; and $23,968 in nontaxable benefits.

After Marrone, Chancellor Nancy Cantor was paid $648,146 in base salary — about 5 percent more than the $615,327 she was paid in 2010.

Besides compensation, the form also shows the university’s endowment increased by about 3 percent. It went from $890,579,165 in 2010 to $916,521,664 in 2011, according to the form.

Rourke, who joined the staff in March as an assistant director, will help develop programing for student-athletes, according to a release on SU Athletics.

After graduating from Penn State in 2003, Rourke remained at his alma mater as a graduate assistant to the PSU football academic support program. After serving in that position from 2003-06, he moved to Arizona State for one year and acted as the academic coordinator for the football and men’s track and field programs. At ASU, he was also the career development coordinator for student-athletes.

Rourke then returned to PSU as the academic coordinator for football student-athletes. He was also the Director of the Athletic Director’s Leadership Institute. As the head of that program he managed athletes from all of the university’s 31 varsity sports.

In addition to those two positions at PSU, Rourke was the faculty advisor for PRIDE, a group of students against negligent fan behavior. He also was an instructor for student-athletes in their freshman seminar, mentoring them on how to balance sports and school.

Outside of his work at Penn State, Rourke became the chair of the N4A Model Practices Committee for the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. The committee works to develop plans to better education support for athletes across all universities and colleges.

Rourke held those positions from his return to Penn State until his departure for Syracuse this past March. Now promoted, he will balance his work with the N4A committee and daily operations within the Stevenson Academic Center.

As the program’s associate director he will oversee day-to-day operations and work to ensure high quality academic support for Syracuse athletes. He will work closely with Associate Provost Dr. Andria Costello-Staniec and Athletics Director Dr. Daryl Gross.

Rourke will strive to strengthen the relationship between the Stevenson Academic Center and the individual colleges on campus. He will closely monitor NCAA eligibility rules, Annual-Percentage Rate (APR), and Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for SU student-athletes.

Rourke graduated from PSU with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services education in 2003, and a master’s degree in higher education administration in 2006.

The No. 1 Syracuse men’s team will play fourth-seeded Denver in the final four on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Tickets for the men’s championship are $110, plus a $7 order charge.

The tickets include Saturday’s semifinal contests, the Division II and Division III championship games on Sunday, and the Division I title game on Monday afternoon. Seating priority is determined by 2011-12 Orange Club giving level, then by the date the order is received.

The No. 4-seed Orange women’s team will face top-seeded Maryland in the national semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Villanova (Pa.) Stadium. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for youth, as well as a $7 order charge. The tickets are good for both national semifinal games on Friday evening and Sunday night’s national championship game.

Ticket packages for both men’s and women’s championships will become available for pickup at the Carrier Dome Box Office at noon Wednesday.

Achille Messac, the chair of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, is expected to leave Syracuse University to become Mississippi State University’s engineering dean at its James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.

Messac was selected out of an estimated 40 applicants for the school, and was chosen for his academic experience at SU, said MSU executive vice president Jerry Gilbert.

“We felt he was a really good match for advancing our college and inspiring our faculty to greater achievements,” he said.

If approved by MSU’s Board of Trustees, Messac will be the university’s first African American dean, according to MSU’s May 17 press release.

His new responsibilities as the engineering dean will involve overseeing the school’s department heads, interacting with alumni and representing the Bagley College, Gilbert said.

Gilbert said he hopes Messac will set a vision for MSU’s engineering program that will help gain an international recognition for the Bagley College.

“We’re not really perceived as high in the rankings as we should be, he’s going to help with that,” he said.  “He did a remarkable job at (SU’s) mechanical and aerospace engineering department for raising their ranking in the engineering community and helped him raise their national stature. That’s great preparation.”

Messac became head of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at SU in 2010, a role that made him the second active distinguished professor in the school, according to a July 16, 2010 SU press release.

During his time, Messac helped improve L.C. Smith’s mechanical engineering program’s national ranking in the U.S. News & World Report, according to MSU’s press release.

Messac became focused on improving undergraduate teaching, increasing the amount of research grants and hiring more faculty members as the school’s department head since he came to SU in 2010, said Ariel DuChene, the assistant dean of external relations at L.C. Smith.

“He’s very passionate about engineering and education, which positioned him very well,” she said. “All of those things will probably help him take on this new role.”

He also won the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award in 2010 for his “outstanding and visionary leadership in the aerospace community” from the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, according to its website. This award is considered the highest international technical honor in Messac’s field, according to MSU’s press release.

Said MSU’s vice president Gilbert: “We certainly respect SU and recognize its quality and its stature, and we were delighted we could attract someone of Messac’s caliber from SU.”

And the Orange did just that.

“You can’t really compare our defense to when we first played Florida at the beginning of the year,” SU defender Becca Block said, “because we’ve obviously had a lot more experience and believe in each other on a whole different level.”

Syracuse’s defense took a tough stand against the Gators, who boast the No. 4 scoring offense in the nation, in the Orange’s 13-9 quarterfinal victory at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. SU advances to the final four in Villanova, Pa., where the Orange will take on No. 1-seed Maryland.

Three SU players were handed yellow cards in the first half, presenting Florida three man-up opportunities in a low-scoring first period.

“There were mistakes made,” head coach Gary Gait said, “but there were plays made … We’re all going to make mistakes but it’s how you rally and how you step up and respond to those mistakes.”

Kayla Treanor was sent to the sideline about nine minutes into the game, and a foul on Block gave UF’s Kitty Cullen a free-position opportunity against SU goalie Kelsey Richardson. Richardson was all over it.

The netminder deflected and saved the next two shots. But just as Treanor was released from her penalty, Natalie Glanell took her place.

Richardson continued to deny Florida, making a stop at the doorstep off a free-position pass. But before SU could get the ball back, the Orange succumbed to the Gators’ ball movement and UF scored from in close.

Toward the end of the first half, another yellow card again crippled Syracuse’s defense. But Richardson and SU’s man-down defense came up with two more saves and allowed the Gators just four goals by halftime.

“Our defense played great, even when we were man-down,” said Richardson, who finished with six saves – all in man-down situations. “They got very limited looks when we were man-down. We did have a couple of lapses, gave them multiple possessions, but one goal in three man-downs is awesome.”

While Syracuse’s defense in the first frame fought with its back to the wall, Florida goalie Mikey Meagher put forth one of her best games of the season with 12 saves, six in each half. Meagher entered the game ranked in the top five nationally with a 6.54 goals-against average and a .504 save percentage.

“I think Mikey did a phenomenal job,” UF head coach Amanda O’Leary said. “She played her heart out today and we couldn’t have asked for more from what we got from her.”

Even when Gait pulled Richardson and inserted junior Alyssa Costantino in the cage after halftime, the defense didn’t waver.

UF’s Ashley Bruns drew a free-position shot. Costantino deflected it over the top of the cage for one of her three saves.

On the same play, Block raced behind the net to be nearest to the ball as it rolled out of bounds, thus gaining possession. And with that possession, a score by Devon Collins extended the Orange’s lead to three goals as SU began to put some separation between itself and UF on the scoreboard.

But it wasn’t just the Orange defenders who hassled the Gators into 10 first-half turnovers. Syracuse’s pressing ride, though not as stifling as it was in previous performances, was responsible for thwarting three of Florida’s clear attempts throughout the contest.

Combined with Syracuse’s aggressive second-half offense, the Orange defense was consistently rock-solid when it needed to be. And because of it, Syracuse is final four-bound.

“Our defense played outstanding today,” Richardson said, “and that’s one of the main reasons we won that game.”

Two months later, Lamolinara is the center of attention. Lamolinara has been brilliant for Syracuse since he earned the starting nod following a strong second-half performance against Johns Hopkins.

His most recent gem – perhaps the finest of his college career – came Saturday afternoon at the University of Maryland, the school he used to call home. Lamolinara made nine saves, igniting No. 1-seed Syracuse (15-3) to a thrilling 7-6 victory over Yale at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. In the clutch, Lamolinara came through, propelling the Orange to the final four.

“I’m really happy to get the win, I’m really happy to the get to the final four for the first time with my team,” Lamolinara said, “but yeah, it definitely means a lot more coming from (Maryland).”

Lamolinara transferred to Syracuse after his freshman season. He’s from Arnold, Md., and lived in Maryland up until he decided to switch schools. Coming back and playing in front of friends and family made the win that much more special.

“To be honest, yeah, it probably does (mean more),” Lamolinara said. “I had never played out here on the turf, but I had a lot of family here today. I had a lot of people rooting for me, so to have a good showing in front of all of them means a lot.”

Lamolinara was sharp from the get-go. He saved Harry Kucharczyk’s shot late in the first quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Yale attempted 32 shots. Fifteen of them were on goal, but only six found the back of the net.

Conrad Oberbeck scored off a Michael Lipin missed shot midway through the second quarter. There was nothing Lamolinara could do. Oberbeck scooped up the ball in perfect position and the finish was a cinch.

But overall, Lamolinara underlined a dominant defensive effort. Syracuse held Yale scoreless in the game’s first 14-plus minutes and its last 13 minutes to come away with the win.

Nestled between a flawless opening stanza and a scintillating conclusion, SU’s defense did what it had to in the second and third quarters, too, thanks in large part to Lamolinara.

“I thought our defense played great all game long,” said SU head coach John Desko. “While we didn’t have it at one half, we picked it up on the other side of the field. I’m proud of the guys.”

Lamolinara made a few mistakes in the second and third quarter and Yale took a 6-4 lead. But he stepped up when he needed to, carrying the Orange to a win in the final minutes.

His most impressive save essentially kept Syracuse’s season alive. It came with less than two minutes to go and the score deadlocked at 6. Conrad Oberbeck unleashed a shot from just outside the crease. Lamolinara had a split second to react.

Syracuse’s season was in the balance. SU’s furious comeback to tie the score was almost for naught. As he’s done all season, though, Lamolinara made a big-time save. He flung his stick upward and deflected Oberbeck’s shot, eventually securing the ground ball.

“I thought about jumping out to pick it off before it got to the attack, but I just turned and kept my stick high,” Lamolinara said. “I was too close to the shooter for him to put it low so I just kept my stick high.”

One minute after Lamolinara’s doorstep save, Dylan Donahue gave the Orange the win, a shot that was made possible thanks to the netminder’s save and scoop. Lamolinara’s ability to make saves at the doorstep – a skill Desko has praised him for all season – glistened once again.

This time his heroics sent Syracuse to the final four.

With four seconds remaining Lamolinara thwarted Yale’s desperation attempt, sending Syracuse to the stage it’s desired for four years.

Two months removed from standing on the sidelines, Lamolinara was mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated their final four berth.

Said SU defender Brian Megill: “Dom just stood on his head when we needed him with that doorstop save and the last pass with four seconds left.”

She was fully dressed in uniform with a knee brace and the eye black that always covers most of her face on game day.

But Tumolo wasn’t needed as the rest of the Orange’s attack carried SU to victory.

All season long, especially in Tumolo’s absence, Syracuse was powered by the offensive prowess of first-team All-Americans Kayla Treanor and Alyssa Murray, and that continued Saturday afternoon. The duo combined for seven points and led the No. 4-seed Orange (18-3) to a 13-9 win over No. 5-seed Florida (18-3) in front of 975 at the Carrier Dome. With its defeat of the Gators, Syracuse advances to the final four for the fourth time in Gait’s six years as SU head coach.

“The bottom line is we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Gait said. “We looked at this game as an opportunity to demonstrate how much we’ve grown and how far we’ve come since the beginning of the year and I think from top to bottom, again, our players gave an incredible effort.”

The Orange will travel to Villanova next weekend to face top-seeded Maryland for a spot in the national title game.

Treanor set the tone for the Orange with a goal in the opening two minutes of the game to put Syracuse ahead, but it was not an easy first half. She didn’t record a point for the remainder of the period.

After the Orange went up 2-0, the Gators countered with three unanswered goals to take their first – and only – lead of the contest, feeding the lively Gator faithful. Meanwhile, the quick footwork of Florida’s Emily Dohony matched Treanor’s, and the UF defender repeatedly denied the SU attack any progress in dodging.

But it didn’t matter.

“They have threats from all angles,” Dohony said. “They’re very hard to stop.”

Murray silenced the Florida fans, spinning through a double team to find an open Kelly Cross to knot the score at 3-3 before firing a low free-position shot past Mikey Meagher.

UF’s Kitty Cullen scored to tie the score at 4 going into halftime. But Treanor began the second half like she started the first.

Less than a minute out of the break, Treanor dodged across the middle and rifled a shot over Meagher to put the Orange in front for good. She capped off her hat trick two minutes later by beating defender Kayla Stolins to the right and burying her third goal.

“And I know she’s going to do her best to get the best shot or opportunity,” Murray said of Treanor, “ … I think she brings it every game.”

After a score by UF’s Nora Barry at the 25:48 mark, Syracuse strung together a 5-1 run. Devon Collins scored twice in the 10-minute stretch – one goal after receiving a jump pass from Treanor – and Murray converted another free-position opportunity.

The Orange had jumped ahead 11-6 with fewer than 10 minutes remaining.

“At halftime, we talked about getting quality shots, getting in front of the net,” Gait said,” and throwing a fake, throwing a hitch, and putting the ball away.”

The Orange didn’t need Tumolo for her goal-scoring abilities, but her pregame warm-ups weren’t wasted.

For the last minute of the game, Tumolo took the field, caught two passes and passed them along. Tumolo – who has yet to have her torn ACL surgically repaired – wasn’t going to see any meaningful playing time, but she received one last chance to play on the Carrier Dome turf.

She then joined her teammates in a midfield celebration, to chants of “Villa-nova” – the site of this year’s final four – from the Orange faithful.

“She wanted an opportunity to say goodbye to the Carrier Dome crowd here,” Gait said. “And the game worked out in that players worked hard to give her that opportunity.

“ … They wanted her to step on the field and finish her career here. It didn’t finish a month ago, and it’s not over yet, so that was a nice message for the team to deliver.”

The game was over. The unthinkable was no longer a possibility. The season was still alive.

Barely.

No. 1-seed Syracuse (15-3) bounced back from a two-goal deficit with three minutes remaining to stun Yale (12-5) 7-6 in Saturday’s NCAA tournament quarterfinals at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md. SU advances to its first final four since 2009.

The Bulldogs held the Orange scoreless for a season-long 43:18 span and were three minutes away from their first national semifinal appearance since 1990 before the SU offense broke through. Syracuse scored three goals in the final 3:04 – including Dylan Donahue’s game-winner with 13 seconds left – to seize a game that nearly slipped through its fingers.

“As we all know, any win this time of year is a great win,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said.

For a while, though, it looked like the Orange wouldn’t get that win. Yale’s staunch defense held Syracuse scoreless from the 1:22 mark in the first quarter to the 3:04 mark in the fourth quarter.

SU trailed 6-4 as its final four hopes grew dimmer.

Chris Daddio and Ryan Barber anxiously paced the sideline, their posture sullen and their sticks draped against the ground.

But the Orange had been there before. It was there against Princeton, Rutgers and Cornell. Down in the fourth quarter and in need of a comeback.

Megill, JoJo Marasco and Co. almost became the first Syracuse senior class since 1979 to not make the final four. They almost went to the tailgate their family members set up after the game in somber spirits. They almost got an early start on their summer vacations, failing to crack the plateau they knew they could surmount.

Instead, the Orange came back once again.

“At the end we just bared down and took some very, very good shots and some smart shots and we pulled it out,” Marasco said.

Kevin Rice scored with 3:04 remaining, chopping the two-goal deficit in half. Luke Cometti tied the score at 6 less than a minute later, catching a pass from Marasco and whizzing a shot past Yale goalie Eric Natale’s waist.

Then came Donahue’s strike. Marasco toyed with the ball, watching the game clock dwindle. He found Donahue wide open just outside the crease, and Donahue delivered.

“I trust (Donahue) every time,” Marasco said. “He just puts the ball the whole year in the back of the net, and look what he did now in a quarterfinal game. It’s just huge for us.”

The scoring drought was a distant memory. So was SU’s trio of disappointing defeats: its 2010 first-round loss to Army, 2011 quarterfinal overtime heartbreaker against Maryland and 2012 first-round exit against Duke.

The bitter disappointment that left Megill and Marasco in despair was yesterday’s news. This year Yale was the team draped with disappointment, not Syracuse.

“It was a tough pill to swallow for us,” Yale head coach Andy Shay said, his head sinking downward.

In the opening minutes, the game looked like it would be a laugher. Early goals by Marasco and Cometti gave Syracuse a 2-0 advantage. Then Derek Maltz scored off a pinpoint pass from Rice and again later in the opening frame when Donahue found him straight away. Syracuse was up 4-0. A final four berth seemed inevitable.

But Yale bounced back, as it’s done all season. Brandon Mangan scored three goals, Conrad Oberbeck added two and Michael Lipin pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-4 with 13 minutes remaining in the game.

“The more film we watched, the more we realized what a good lacrosse team they were,” Desko said. “They don’t have any weaknesses.”

Yale’s defense – which ranked seventh nationally during the season – buckled down and left the nation’s ninth-best offensive team offensively inept and utterly confused.

Early in the fourth quarter, Rice attempted to replicate his feed to Maltz in the first half. This time the pass was broken up before it reached Maltz’ stick.

The minutes ticked down. The feet on the sideline shuffled. The fans squirmed.

Then came the furious comeback.

After Donahue’s eventual game-winner, Megill sprinted toward Lamolinara, who held up his right hand, urging Megill to wait 13 seconds to celebrate. Their work wasn’t finished yet. Almost.

Thirteen seconds later, when Yale came up empty, Megill flung his body in Lamolinara’s direction. He finally hurdled the final four road block.

Megill isn’t done yet, though. He won’t be satisfied without a national championship.

“There can’t be any letdowns,” Megill said. “We have to keep going.”