New ICView Site

Back issues

About us

Contact us

Submissions

Giving to
Ithaca

Alumni
Relations
Website

Ithaca College Home

We were stunned and deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of the College’s most loyal, dedicated alumnae. Susan DiPace ’74, alumni board vice president and volunteer with numerous College committees, died on December 13. She was struck by a car as she was walking from a Westchester mall after holiday shopping.

“Susan was a great friend to the College and to many fellow alumni, as well as to the staff in Alumni Hall, administrators, faculty members, and even current students,” said Marsha Eger ’70, who was recently named executive director of alumni programs. “She was tireless in her work on behalf of the College and alumni, and she was always upbeat and enthusiastic. Her death is a terrible tragedy, and we will miss her very much.”

In 2005 Susan was elected vice president of the alumni board of directors—a position she had held before, for three years in the 1990s. Altogether she spent 17 years on the alumni board, to which she was first elected in 1979, serving on almost every committee and chairing the Program Planning Committee and other committees at various times. She also held the position of secretary for a term.

A history graduate, Susan went on to earn a master of arts in counseling from Fairfield University in 1979. While working on her graduate degree she was a substitute teacher in history, English, science, and music at Rye High School in Westchester County, New York. From 1979 to 1988 she worked as operations manager and client liaison for a temporary placement agency in New York City. In 1988 she joined Nortel Networks, where she was employed at the time of her death as senior manager of human resources, responsible for a global team of more than 400 employees and specializing in coaching/problem solving, employee relations, and employee development.

Even when Susan was not serving on the alumni association board, she remained actively involved with Ithaca College, attending Network Nights in New York and Washington, D.C.; coming to campus for many Alumni Weekends and homecomings; participating in the revitalization of the NYC Alumni Club, which she chaired for several years; helping to establish the Westchester/Fairfield Alumni Club; acting as an alumni admission representative; guest speaking in numerous business classes; mentoring students through the Office of Career Services; and chairing her 20th and 25th class reunion committees. She was a generous donor to the Ithaca Fund and a host of College scholarships and programs, and a member of the President’s Associates. She was also serving as chair of the Ithaca College Westchester/Fairfield Counties Regional  Campaign Committee.

Susan was generous with her time, energy, and friendship on the professional and community service levels as well. A member of the Society for Human Resources and other professional organizations, she was on the New York Hall of Science/Nortel Networks Scholarship and Fellow Committee, supported the St. Anselm College Mark Janulis Scholarship Fund, and served on the Friends of Rye Town Park board of directors for some years.

It would be hard to find someone who cared more about Ithaca College and the IC community than Susan DiPace. In 2000, upon learning of her nomination to the board, she wrote, “I am dedicated to serving the Ithaca College Alumni Association Board of Directors and Ithaca College. I have been and will always be committed to Ithaca College. I strongly believe in giving and contributing back to the institution and community who have been a large part of my development. I am committed to volunteering in support of alumni activities. I am dedicated to increasing alumni participation, board visibility, and the role of alumni with the College.”

We will miss her.

—Maura Stephens