Applications for the interim assistant provost position will be accepted until September 15. DIIS dean Tanya Saunders, who simultaneously served as assistant provost, will now devote her energy and resources full time to DIIS.

President Thomas Rochon announces the formation of an Academic Roundtable that will develop ideas on ways to further build upon the tradition of excellence in the educational mission of Ithaca College.

I am pleased to announce that Carol G. Henderson will be stepping in as acting associate provost, beginning September 1. Carol is currently programs director in the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies, having moved to Ithaca from Washington State last summer to join the EcoVillage at Ithaca as part of a longtime personal commitment to environmental and community sustainability. She will serve in this capacity until June, while David García, associate provost, is on special assignment in the School of Humanities and Sciences this fall, and then on leave as an American Council of Education Fellow in spring 2009.

Ithaca College's leadership in environmental and sustainability education and operations will get a significant boost with the assistance of a three-year, $500,000 grant from the HSBC in the Community (USA) Inc. Foundation. Awarded to the environmental studies program, the grant will fund a number of noteworthy initiatives. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., part of one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations.