Presidential Communications

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues:

Welcome back!

I hope to greet many of you in person during the coming weeks -- including at our All-College Meeting on Aug. 27. In the meantime, let me extend this virtual welcome with hopes that your summer was a time of rest, inspiration, and plenty of laughter with friends and family.

It certainly was anything but a quiet summer for the College and, as our students might say, we have the receipts. From an alumna competing in the Paris Olympicsand many other graduates involved in NBC's coverage, to our hosting on campus the New York state Special Olympics; from celebrating the London Center's 50th anniversary to holding an award celebration during Alumni Weekend; and from students conducting research as Summer Scholars to announcing the addition of women's wrestlingto our athletics program -- it's been an exciting summer!

We expect about 1,100 first-year and transfer students to join us beginning today, with a total of about 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students on campus by the start of classes next Monday. As you probably know, the new-student population is approximately 200 students below our target and we are reviewing budget projections accordingly. We will have more to share later in the semester, but we donotanticipate making any layoffs.

The Class of 2028 that begins arriving today comes from 20 nations, and 43% of the class is from New York State. Thirteen new students are children of employees, students of color constitute 27% of the class, and the average GPAis 3.37. Please joinme in welcoming the entire class to our community in the coming days. I look forward to them becoming a beautiful part of the tapestry that is Ithaca College.

Thank you for all you do for our incredible community.

La Jerne Terry Cornish
President

Dear IC Community,

Please be reminded that the Office of the President is hosting an All-College Welcome next Tuesday, August 27, during the common hour, from 12:10 – 1:05 p.m., in Emerson Suites. In addition, an Ice Cream Social will be held at 4 p.m. at the Dillingham Fountains.

These are in-person events for the entire community—faculty, staff, and students are welcome. As a reminder, if you cannot attend the meeting in-person, please emailpresident@ithaca.eduand a link to watch remotely will be sent to you.

The All-College Welcome is an opportunity for us to connect in solidarity and celebration as we welcome new students to campus, recenter ourselves around our goals for the year, and reaffirm the strengths of our community of care.

Our agenda includes:

• A research update by biology Professor Andrew Smith.
• Comments by council chairs David Gondek (faculty), Marilyn Dispensa (staff) and Rishabh Sen (student governance).
• Comments by Stanley Bazile, new VP for Student Affairs and Campus Life.
• Comments by Laine Norton, VP for Philanthropy and Engagement.
• An enrollment and financial update from VPs Tim Downs and Rock Hall.
• An overview of institutional priorities and goals for the year.

In October, we will convene once more for a more formal meeting, where I will deliver information about the state of the college.

I look forward to seeing you Tuesday, and I wish you a wonderful beginning to your academic year.

Take good care,

La Jerne Terry Cornish
President

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

Whether today marks a return to classes for you or it is your first day – the latter includes about 1,100 first-year and transfer students – welcome to Day One of what promises to be an exciting year of inquisitiveness, discovery, and experiences that will be too numerous to count.

At Ithaca College we attach great importance to our teaching philosophy of theory, practice, and performance. Here, education flows seamlessly among classrooms, laboratories, and rehearsal spaces; internships, sports practices, and student research; and the opportunity to bring it all together in our recital halls, on our athletic fields, and in everyday interactions.

We also place a high value on respect and accountability within our community. Everyone is to be treated with dignity, and we seek to create a social environment where everyone can flourish and be their authentic self. As another college president said to me recently, “We want our campuses to be safe spaces for every student – physically, socially, and emotionally – so that we can make each student intellectually uncomfortable.”

Given the ongoing strife in the Middle East and a contentious election campaign season here at home, let me emphasize, for all of us, but especially for our students, the central principles that will guide our life together as a community this fall.

Students, we expect you to be informed, thoughtful, and sometimes passionate about events around the world. We also expect you to behave in ways that are respectful of others. We value freedom of thought and speech, and we respect everyone’s right to peacefully demonstrate. But conduct that disrupts a college activity, poses a threat to the safety of others, or otherwise violates College policy, will result in disciplinary action.

Let me close by quoting Provost Melanie Stein’s remarks to our new students at last week’s convocation. She said:

“Imagine a world where we actively seek out conversations with people whose backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences differ from our own. Imagine the richness of understanding that emerges when we listen without judgment, seeking common ground even amidst disagreement. Imagine how much we can all learn from one another in a community where we consider all perspectives, in which we strive to understand the full picture for any given topic. Here at IC, you’ll have the opportunity to help build, and be a part of, just such a community.”

Have a great semester!

La Jerne Terry Cornish
President

President Cornish invites you to stop by the Peggy Ryan Williams Center Lobby for a cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa  this Friday, September 6 from 9:15 to 10 a.m.

This is not an official meeting, and there is no set agenda. This is simply an opportunity for us to connect.

If you find yourself in the neighborhood, please feel free to join us. Please continue to check the website for more events hosted by the Office of the President.

Hope to see you there!

Individuals requiring accommodations should contact president@ithaca.edu or 607-274-3111. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.

Stabilizing Enrollment and Meeting Budget Challenges

Read and view coverage of last week's All-College Welcome

Dear Campus Community,

Thank you to everyone who attended, in person or virtually, last week's All-College Welcome! It was great to catch up with many of you after a long summer apart.

As I said at the meeting, “There is hard work ahead. But as you have seen and heard before, we do hard things.” This IC News story summarizes our work for the year ahead. We will convene once again on October 22for a formal State of the College meeting. More details on that meeting will be shared in the coming weeks.

In case you missed last week's meeting, you may view a replay of the event here. You will not want to miss the capitvating presentations by biology Professor Andy Smith, Student Government Council President Rishabh Sen, and our new vice president for student affairs and campus life, Stanley Bazile.

I thank you for all that you do for the Ithaca College community, and I hope you will be well, stay well, and take good care.

La Jerne Terry Cornish
President