Sad News for Our Campus Community

By News, October 16, 2024

Dear Members of the Ithaca College Community,

It is with profound sadness that I notify our campus community of the tragic loss of one of our students. Kit Kelly, a sophomore in the Roy H. Park School of Communications, took their own life on October 15.

A graduate of Unionville High School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Kit was majoring in Television Digital Media Production and worked on campus in the Towers Marketplace.

Please join me in keeping in your prayers Kit’s family, friends, classmates, colleagues, professors, and everyone whose life they touched.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will extend its walk-in hours through Friday, October 18, for students affected by this loss. Impacted students can visit during business hours to request a session with a counselor. Counselors are also available to IC students at any time when the Counseling Center is closed by calling 607-274-3136 and selecting the #5 prompt. Additionally, ICare is available to provide support and help students access resources.

Students in distress and needing immediate assistance should contact the Office of Public Safety at 607-274-3333.

Free and confidential support and resources for those experiencing crisis and their loved ones can also be found 24/7 by calling 988 to reach the national Suicide and Crisis Hotline.

Faculty and staff can access the counseling services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 1-800-327-2255.

The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life has a website dedicated to grief resources and is also available to provide support for all campus community members by emailing spirituallife@ithaca.edu.

We will have an opportunity to come together as a campus community to celebrate Kit’s life on Monday, October 21, at 4:00 p.m. in Muller Chapel.

In the meantime, I ask that you continue to take care of yourselves and one another, and to keep Kit and their loved ones close to your heart.

With sad regards,

Stanley Bazile
Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life