Eighth President of Ithaca College

04/11/08

Message from C. William Schwab '69, chair, Ithaca College Board of Trustees, and Lawrence Alleva '72, vice chair, Ithaca College Board of Trustees.

It gives us great pleasure to announce to the Ithaca College community that we have reached a successful conclusion to our search for the College's next president. Dr. Thomas R. Rochon has accepted the offer of the board of trustees to become the eighth president of Ithaca College. Dr. Rochon will succeed Peggy Williams, who retires on June 1 after 11 years as president. Dr. Rochon will assume the presidency as of July 1, 2008.

Dr. Rochon was chosen by the board after careful and thoughtful review of feedback from the search committee and the members of the Ithaca College community. In choosing Dr. Rochon, the board found him to be the right new leader for continuing Ithaca College's ascent to be the standard of excellence for top-tier, private, comprehensive colleges in the United States. The board is confident that Tom's experience as a scholar, academician, administrator, academic fund-raiser, and leader in higher education will serve the College well at the local, state, and national levels in the coming years.

Tom's commitment and enthusiasm for the College's mission of fostering intellect, aesthetic appreciation, and character development in a very active, student-centered learning environment was very much in evidence during the search process. The members of the board of trustees are confident that Tom will continue to build upon the strong consultative and collaborative approach to shared governance that has existed under the leadership of Peggy Williams. View the complete press release on Tom's appointment:

Ithaca College Selects Thomas R. Rochon As Eighth President

Many of you had an opportunity to meet Tom when he came to campus in March, and I am sure you will extend a warm Ithaca welcome to both Tom and his wife, Amber, when he officially begins his duties at the College during the summer.

On behalf of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, I wish to extend our sincerest thanks to the Presidential Search Committee, which did an outstanding job in finding an exceptional candidate to become Ithaca College's next president. I also thank the entire Ithaca College community for recognizing the importance of the committee's work and supporting its efforts.