Diversity

The Division of Academic Affairs is responsible for all aspects of teaching and learning at Ithaca College. That means that our reach extends both inside and outside of the classroom, to encompass such programs as the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity; the Gerontology Institute; the Office of International Programs; and the Ithaca Seminar.

As the College’s mission statement makes clear, the campus community “thrives on the principles that knowledge is acquired through discipline, competence is established when knowledge is tempered by experience, and character is developed when competence is exercised for the benefit of others.” Those principles are woven throughout the fabric of the academic experience, and they are paramount in preparing our students to be responsible citizens in the global community.

A diverse campus provides for a setting that facilitates exchange among different perspectives and ways of being and recognizes that each individual is unique. It should provide students with the opportunity to explore these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment, where individuals understand each other and move beyond simple tolerance to the embrace and celebration of the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. Because learning occurs in the dynamic context of a global economy that moves peoples, cultures, and ideas around the globe, we want students to have the capacity to operate effectively in a number of settings, with people from a variety of backgrounds, and with ideas new to their experience.