Cornell Woodson '09 has been named the young alumni chair of the Ithaca Fund.

The young alumni chair is a newly created role designed to engage young alumni, to deepen the pride associated with supporting the College, and to strengthen the understanding of the impact of the Ithaca Fund among young alumni.

"As an alumnus, I get excited when I hear about what's happening on campus, and I don't think I'm the only one," Cornell said. "This new position has the possibility to bring young alumni into a more frequent, more interesting conversation with the College, and that's a mission I believe in strongly."

Alongside Ithaca Fund national chair Mike Kaplan '85, Cornell has been working to drum up support for the Ithaca Fund's alumni challenge. In a nutshell, if 7,000 alumni make a gift to IC by May 31, an additional $100,000 will be contributed by a group of trustees and alumni. Since this challenge is about numbers, not dollars, Cornell says young alumni should be particularly interested in participating.

"The most important thing for young alumni to recognize when it comes to giving is that it's not about the $10,000 gift or even the $100 gift," Cornell said. "Gifts of $10 or $15 add up, and mean that the College can continue to offer today's students the same opportunities we benefited from."

While at IC, Cornell earned his bachelor's degree in communication management and design. He was active in many clubs and organizations and in 2008-9 served as president of the Student Government Association. He is now pursuing a master's degree in higher education and student affairs administration at the University of Vermont.