City and State’s Higher Education Power 100 List Recognizes Ithaca College President

By Danica Fisher ’05, April 8, 2022

La Jerne Terry Cornish among the top 25 most powerful in New York higher education.

President La Jerne Terry Cornish has been selected as one of the 100 most powerful people in New York’s higher education community. City and State New York magazine’s 2022 Higher Education Power 100 list placed Cornish in the 25th spot. This list honors the most influential leaders in academia statewide, including leaders of several colleges, universities, and professional schools.

“It is truly a privilege to represent Ithaca College alongside some of New York State’s most committed leaders in higher education,” shared President Cornish. “I am honored to receive this distinction, and proud to lead our IC community.”

Cornish is the 10th president of Ithaca College and took office on March 7, 2022. Prior to this appointment, she served as interim president from August 2021 to March 2022, and as provost and executive vice president after joining IC as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs in July 2018.

“It is truly a privilege to represent Ithaca College alongside some of New York State’s most committed leaders in higher education. I am honored to receive this distinction, and proud to lead our IC community.”

President La Jerne Terry Cornish.

In addition to leading the college’s academic affairs division, during her tenure at Ithaca Cornish served as the primary architect of Ithaca Forever, the college’s five-year strategic plan. The plan was created during the 2018-19 academic year, and formally endorsed by the Ithaca College Board of Trustees in June 2019.

The plan, which contains nine transformative goals, aims to achieve the college’s vision of becoming a global destination for bold thinkers seeking to build thriving communities. Understanding the urgent need for significant and visionary change in the higher education business model, Ithaca Forever provides a blueprint for a sustainable future anchored by a commitment to inclusive, responsive, and student-centered action.

Since stepping into the interim president role, Cornish has helped launch the physician assistant studies graduate program and announced a new music, theater and dance school.

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