IC News

Eric and Karen Smith Simon didn’t set out to put their names on a building—they set out to empower Ithaca College to achieve its potential as a leader in sustainability. What excites them isn’t the recognition, but the ripple effects: students inspired to lead, ideas gaining momentum, and sustainability taking root in visible, meaningful ways across campus. Their gift is a reminder that philanthropy doesn’t have to follow a script—it can be personal, quietly bold, and fueled by the passions that matter most to the giver.

In the spring of 2024, they established the Ithaca College Fund for a Sustainable Future—a resource designed not just to support existing programs, but to give the college agility to identify and unlock new opportunities on the physical campus, in the classrooms, and beyond. The fund helps IC weave creativity, collaboration, and sustainability-conscious thinking throughout the college’s five schools and administrative areas.

The Simons were energized by the arrival of Scott Doyle ’98 (parent ’28), who joined the college in 2022 as director of energy management and sustainability. His practical, forward-thinking approach—grounded in student engagement, measurable outcomes, and a long-term vision for climate neutrality—resonated with the Simons’ own values. Seeing a clear roadmap in motion, they recognized that their support could accelerate real progress.

“This is pragmatic sustainability,” says Eric. “It’s not sustainability just for the sake of the buzzword. Scott has built a comprehensive plan that’s a living document that can change as needed. It’s smart. I’ve seen sustainability plans where you think ‘that’s never going to happen.’ This is not that way, and it got us excited.”

Contrary to what one might expect, the fund isn’t allocated under the sole discretion of Doyle and the Office of Energy Management and Sustainability—it’s a cross-campus collaboration that reflects a deeper institutional commitment. Managed by the President’s Office along with Provost Melanie Stein, CFO Tim Downs, and the Office of Energy Management and Sustainability, the fund’s structure demonstrates the commitment that sustainability at Ithaca College should not be confined to facilities or faculty initiatives; it’s woven intentionally into both the physical campus and the academic enterprise. By involving leadership from both the academic and operational worlds, IC will ensure that green innovation isn’t siloed, but integrated, strategic, and aligned for short-term tactical wins and long-term strategic planning.

Currently, almost 80% of IC’s academic departments offer some sort of sustainability course. “We need to strengthen those course offerings and build strong sustainable bridges,” Doyle says. “The School of Humanities and Sciences is the foundation of sustainable coursework, but sustainable actions are strengthened from the expertise from our other schools. Take, for example, communications students and faculty at the Park School.”

“Real progress in sustainability happens when we cross boundaries,” concurs Provost Stein. “Our students care deeply about the future of the planet. By embedding sustainability into the curriculum, we’re not just preparing them for jobs, we’re preparing them to lead.”

Fittingly, during this very interview, Doyle mentions that his next stop is the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where he’s helping coordinate the reuse of lumber, furniture, and props from the recent production of Titanic the Musical . Looking ahead, he adds, there may be opportunities to work with the theatre to support sustainability and energy reduction measures.

Speaking of reuse, dining for thousands of students every day inevitably creates waste. With this funding IC can explore creative sustainability projects that may not fall in standard line items. As an example, Doyle and Campus Dining are exploring the possibility of funding a reusable container system in retail dining operations. Students would opt for reusable containers over disposables, take their meals to go, and then return the containers to be cleaned, sanitized, and put back into circulation. It’s a high-impact way to cut down on single-use packaging—and a perfect example of how pragmatic investments can lead to everyday sustainability wins.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, the fund is driving innovation through the newly launched Education for a Sustainable Future grant program. This initiative awards stipends to four faculty members to embed sustainability into their curricula. They are expected to create long-term plans to sustain this new content, share their outcomes with peers across campus, and offer recommendations for expanding cross-disciplinary, real-world sustainability education. The first group of grantees will be announced in June, with their offerings expected to launch in the 2025–26 academic year.

“These grants are a way to spark innovation at the course level and turn it into lasting change across the curriculum,” says Stein. “Our faculty are deeply passionate about preparing students to face the challenges that will meet their generation. This grant program gives them the resources and encouragement to think big and to explore how sustainability connects to their own disciplines in powerful and unexpected ways.”

While Eric and Karen are excited by the depth of Ithaca College’s sustainability efforts, they recognize a common challenge that often accompanies highly technical sustainability progress: visibility. Much of the impactful work led by Doyle and his team—whether it’s energy efficiency upgrades, composting expansion, or curriculum integration—happens quietly, embedded in the daily operations of campus life.

“Scott and the sustainability office have done a ton of great work,” Eric says. “They’re really being innovative. For example, there’s the solar farm [in Geneva, NY], but I don’t think many people know about it.”

Thanks to that solar farm and other efforts, IC’s campus is powered 100% by renewable energy sources. Eric says, “There’s an example of a challenge communicating both internally to students, faculty, and staff and externally to alumni and potential students all the good work the college is doing.”

Eric and Karen hope the fund can help IC publicly tell the stories of its sustainability wins. For example, Doyle notes that a professional-quality video about the solar farm can inform and inspire. With partnerships through Park Productions at the Roy H. Park School of Communications, the college could spotlight its sustainability with the same creativity and polish it brings to other flashy media projects.