Ithaca College Selects Two Accomplished Leaders as Vice Presidents

By Dave Maley, May 11, 2023

Laine Norton and Mark Eyerly will join the college on July 1.

Laine Norton and Mark Eyerly will serve as vice president for philanthropy and engagement and vice president for marketing and communications, respectively.

(Photos submitted)

Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish has announced the selection of two executives with proven records of success to fill critical leadership positions. Laine Norton will serve as vice president for philanthropy and engagement and Mark Eyerly will serve as vice president for marketing and communications. They will both join the college on July 1.

“I am delighted to welcome these two creative and accomplished professionals to the President’s Cabinet,” said Cornish. “They each bring to the college the talents and experiences needed to lead their respective teams in a direction that reflects and reinforces the strategic plan and the college’s vision for the future.”

Philanthropy and Engagement

Laine Norton comes from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she led a team that saw more than $50 million in growth in commitments.

Laine Norton has broad experience in creating effective development strategies and collaborating with deans, department heads, and other campus leaders to cultivate, solicit, and steward prospects and donors. She has served for the past four years as the assistant dean for advancement and external affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, leading a team that saw more than $50 million in growth in commitments as part of the Forever Orange campaign.

Norton will provide strategic and operational leadership for IC’s development and alumni engagement initiatives. This includes educating and engaging all stakeholders in the community — faculty, staff, students, alumni, board members, and senior administrators — in development efforts. She will identify and cultivate opportunities for alumni participation across the college and implement key engagement and fundraising metrics.

Norton began her advancement career in 2011 at the University of Nebraska Foundation, serving from 2015-19 as senior director of development in the College of Business. In that role she oversaw a team of fundraisers while maintaining a portfolio of major gift prospects and working with campus officials to articulate a vision for growing resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska.

“I believe in the transformational properties of higher education and the essential role philanthropy plays in achieving and maintaining progress,” Norton said. “I am enthusiastic and strive to prioritize maximum impact, while emphasizing donor priorities. I am excited to become a part of the Ithaca College team.”

Marketing and Communications

Mark Eyerly spent seven years as vice president for marketing communications at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

The vice president for marketing and communications is a redefined role at the college, designed to elevate the institutional brand and all marketing, communications, and messaging activities, and to ensure that internal and external audiences alike have an increased awareness and refined understanding of the college, its ambitions, and its role in higher education.

Mark Eyerly served from 2016-22 as vice president for marketing communications at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where he transformed the marketing communications function into a strategic partner for enrollment growth, fundraising success, and faculty visibility. His work helped the college achieve record highs in both admission applications and fundraising and made Lafayette a more visible player in the higher education sector.

Eyerly previously held marketing and communications leadership positions in the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and Temple University. He has also led a consulting practice that advised higher education and nonproﬁt clients on strategy, branding, media relations, and marketing. Earlier in his career, he served in communications roles at Cornell University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple and a master’s degree in organizational dynamics from Penn.

“I firmly believe that IC has the potential to become a national leader in demonstrating the relevance and value of higher education,” said Eyerly. “What better platform than a college where integration of the liberal arts, professional education, and graduate study is part of the DNA? Where the faculty consists of teachers who also are scholars and creators. Where an interdisciplinary curriculum complements learning for its own sake with preparation for professional careers and lives of service. And where there are tangible, effective commitments to confronting the sector’s economic challenges and creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.”