It is with profound sadness that I share with our campus community that an automobile accident has taken the life of one of our students, Kelly Perkins. Kelly was killed this morning while traveling to campus from her home in nearby Berkshire. She is the daughter of longtime Ithaca College employees Enoch and Debbie Perkins.
A first-year student, Kelly was in the preprofessional program in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance and a graduate of Newark Valley Senior High School. She was a student employee in Residential Life and in Parking Services.
This is devastating news and I ask that you please join me in holding Enoch and Debbie, and their son Eric, deeply in our thoughts and in our hearts, as well as all members of Kelly’s family, friends, classmates, fellow first-year students, and professors. Over the coming days in particular, please be sure to seek support as you need it, and take care of yourselves and those around you.
Support services for students are available through the Ithaca College Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling 607-274-3136. Faculty and staff can access the counseling services of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 1-800-327-2255. Space is available in the Office of Human Resources on the garden level of the PRW Center for employees who wish to talk or seek other support from the EAP.
We will have an opportunity to come together as a campus community tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in Muller Chapel to be with one another as we process the enormity of this loss. As always, the chapel is open at any time for those who wish to gather for reflection and prayer.
I am heartbroken to have to share this news with you today. I know that this loss is felt so deeply within our entire IC family, and I encourage all of us to lean on one another in this time of grief.
With sad regards,
Shirley M. Collado
President