Corporate and Foundation Giving

Dillingham

IC’s partnership with Ithaca-based financial institution Tompkins Trust Company began more than 75 years ago, when Tompkins Trust canceled much of the college’s debt as the institution grappled with the impact of the Great Depression. Since then, the company has provided grants for many buildings on IC’s campus and to the Friends of Ithaca College, an organization with which many of the bank’s employees are involved.

Football

Tompkins Trust has also funded numerous scholarship endowments, including the Judge James J. Clynes Jr. Study Grants, the Joseph M. Hartnett Scholarship, and the Thomas R. Rochon Scholarship. The company has also been a major annual sponsor of IC’s main-stage theatre season and intercollegiate athletics department.

“As the husband and father of Ithaca College graduates, I’m pleased that Tompkins Trust Company has been a partner to this fine academic institution for much of its existence. Supporting the local organizations that help our communities thrive is at the heart of who we are and what we do. We’re honored to be associated with Ithaca College, and we look forward to our continued and close collaboration for many years to come.”

GREG HARTZ, PARENT ’13 PRESIDENT AND CEO, TOMPKINS TRUST COMPANY

Patient Simulation

Non-IC students work with a high-fidelity human patient simulation manikin in this photo provided by CAE Healthcare.

Experiential learning opportunities are at the heart of an Ithaca College education, and corporate partners such as the Hearst Foundation are crucial in empowering the college to realize these opportunities. A recent grant from the foundation will support the installation of an innovative Patient Simulation Lab, slated to open in the Center for Health Sciences for the fall 2021 semester. The lab will be set up like a real hospital room and include two state-of-the-art, high-fidelity patient simulation manikins that can be preprogrammed with lifelike scenarios. Students will be able to perform diagnostic tests on the manikins, including monitoring their breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure, as well as get electrocardiogram (ECG) readings and place intravenous lines.

“Students will have to react like they would with a real patient, but in a low-stakes environment,” explains Samantha Brown, assistant professor and assistant director of clinical education in the Department of Physical Therapy. In addition to the manikins and laboratory equipment, the grant from the foundation covers the cost of a learning management system that allows faculty members to record students’ interactions with the manikins, store the video online, and provide valuable feedback by debriefing the simulation videos with the students.

“The Hearst Foundation has been a proud supporter of Ithaca College since it established an endowed scholarship fund for underrepresented students in 1996. We are pleased to provide this new grant to establish a simulation lab to train future health professionals to successfully respond to critical medical needs, including those affected by COVID-19 and emerging public health issues.”

GEORGE IRISH EASTERN DIRECTOR, HEARST FOUNDATION