Athletics at Ithaca, most famously championed by J.J., blossomed after the move to South Hill. Between 1979 and 1996, Ithaca won 11 NCAA Division III national championships in football, baseball, wrestling, women's soccer, and field hockey -- including an amazing three titles within one 12-month period. Ithaca's tradition of athletic excellence continues under Peggy Williams's presidency: appropriately enough, three women's teams -- gymnastics, softball, and crew -- have won four national championships (in 1998, 2002, and 2004/2005, respectively).
President Williams and Students at the Celebration of Service
All this growth gave us more than a few reasons to celebrate, and in 1992 we got that chance. The former Ithaca Conservatory of Music, which had sometimes teetered near bankruptcy, turned 100 years old, and we celebrated for a full year with special concerts, symposia, stage productions, athletic events, and galas.
We also turned our attention to solidifying Ithaca's standing as a student-centered comprehensive college. To that end, we embarked on yet another ambitious construction program, starting with a building for the health sciences and one dedicated to fitness. And a major expansion and renovation of Ford Hall -- now the James J. Whalen Center for Music -- furthered the reputation of our founding school.
The summer of 1997 brought us a strong, civic-minded leader who is continuing Ithaca's commitment to quality education. Peggy R. Williams, the first woman to head the College, initiated a strategic planning process to guide our path over the next decade. Among the top priorities of the College's institutional plan are increasing diversity on campus, strengthening our academic programs, and enhancing our students' educational and residential experiences.
Starting with her inauguration, Williams also affirmed and expanded Ithaca's long tradition of community involvement. From the Community Plunge in the fall to the Celebration of Service every spring, students, faculty, and staff regularly volunteer their time and expertise to local organizations and agencies. Further evidence of the College's concern for the community's social and environmental health is its leadership role in Sustainable Tompkins, a regional sustainability initiative.
Thus Ithaca College remains an integral part of the town that shares its name. It's now a mile or two up the road and more than a century away from where it all began. But not so far away, really, in spirit.
