Kendall and Haefeli Selected to Attend Leadership Institute

By Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson, January 5, 2022

Posted on behalf of Kirra Franzese and Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson

We are delighted to announce that two members of the IC community have been selected to attend the HERS Leadership Institute in the 2022-2023 academic year. Casey Kendall, Executive Director of Applications and Infrastructure in Information Technology, and Dr. Sara Haefeli, Associate Professor of Music History, will be supported in their attendance at this selective, intensive program that develops academic leaders from across the country.

Casey Kendall

Casey Kendall has been with the College since 2016, serving as the Director of Architecture and Infrastructure in the Office of Information Technology before being promoted to Executive Director of Applications and Infrastructure in 2019. In her current role, Kendall provides leadership and direction in the development and implementation of a digital strategy and oversees the planning, implementation, and operation of the technology infrastructure. In 2018, Kendall was appointed to serve as a member of the Imagining Ithaca steering committee charged with overseeing the development of the College’s strategic plan. Kendall was selected to the committee from over 100 nominations which identified each individual’s inventiveness, breadth of knowledge, and investment in Ithaca College. In 2020, Kendall was elected to a four-year term as staff trustee to the Ithaca College Board of Trustees

Prior to joining Ithaca College, Kendall spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Navy, supporting Department of Defense classified communication systems in the Office of Naval Intelligence and Naval Information Operations Command. Her professional affiliations have included the NorthEast Regional Computing Program planning committee and Educause’s Enterprise IT committee. Kendall has also participated in Educause’s Leadership training.

Sara Haefeli

Sara Haefeli joined the faculty of the IC School of Music in 2011, after ten years with the University of Northern Colorado. Since 2011, and throughout her faculty appointment at IC, she has remained deeply engaged in College and School service. During her tenure as chair of the Academic Policies Committee (2016 to present), the committee established transparent review procedures and streamlined processes for proposing new/revised curriculum, offering additional support for faculty and departments who are considering curricular revisions. Her varied forms of service to campus, including ICC subcommittees, program assessment/review committees, school search committees, and strategic plan working groups have made a meaningful impact on our community, as has her work as a faculty mentor. Additionally, Haefeli—an accomplished cellist and performer—has distinguished herself as a leader in her academic discipline, evidenced by receipt of a Fulbright Scholarship and editorship of the Journal of Music History Pedagogy. She is the author of two academic books and many scholarly articles and book chapters.

The HERS Leadership Institute prepares faculty and staff in higher education to develop a broad understanding of their institutions and of higher education more generally, to network with other emerging and current leaders, and to identify and design projects that can positively impact their campuses. The mentoring associated with the program aims to reduce the gender gap in higher education leadership.