ICView Magazine

Part of IC’s goal this year will be to develop our curiosity about those around us and to tear down the walls that keep us from fully engaging with others, especially those who might seem different from us. It is too easy to seek out people who are largely like us and to build around ourselves comfortable networks of people who share our perspectives and beliefs. Last year, I embarked on a “listening and learning” tour with alumni across the country and then with members of our community back on campus. My goal was to hear their diverse voices and perspectives and to learn more about what makes Ithaca College special.  

I hope our alumni readers will fondly remember their own first arrival on campus and their own experiences with a sea of new faces and new ideas. Perhaps more than any other time in our lives, college provides a chance to engage with new people, to get to know others—their backgrounds, their perspectives, their beliefs, their cultures. After college, those are the conversations we are likely to miss in our daily lives, but they are the moments we must try to recreate. If we come to conversations in earnest and with pure intent, we can question without prying and hear without judging.  

Though South Hill has always been a place to form lifelong connections among peers and mentors, not all of those moments of connection can be expected to happen organically. We must be intentional in creating an environment that fosters those connections and ensures that all students, faculty, and staff can flourish as their authentic selves. We took a giant step forward this year with the establishment of the Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, which includes our BIPOC Unity Center. The work of these centers will more effectively and robustly advance our goals while also addressing the acts and incidents of intolerance and racism that continue to be reported on college campuses.

In cultivating curiosity, we also must break free of our digital worlds and explore the geographic communities around us. This issue of ICView includes a stellar example. Across Tompkins County, our student–athletes are working to raise money and awareness for important causes, to help sustainable practices in our community, and to improve the lives of our neighbors, especially the youngest and most vulnerable (see page 28). These experiences are invaluable for our students and vital for our community

Our curiosity must also help us question the nature of “possibility,” especially about what we and others label as “impossible.” Years ago, a high school teacher was once curious about a graduating senior who thought college was impossible. She spent a few moments and made a few calls on that student’s behalf, getting her an admission interview for college. If that teacher had not, I promise you that I would not now be writing this as president of Ithaca College.

Just as my inspiring teacher saw a future me that I could not envision for myself and put me at the heart of her efforts, educators across our campus are doing exactly that. Students who dreamed of accomplishing their goals sometime after college are being asked, “Why wait until after graduation? Why not today?” Even in national spotlights, students and faculty are partnering to further research and showcase their talent. For example, two groups of students practiced their skills and honed their experience on one of the biggest stages in the world: the Super Bowl (see page 16). 

Countless examples of modern technology, art, and especially medicine were once considered impossible, and now they are a new reality, one that our inquisitive community is helping to create. Interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance are conducting research and innovating treatment protocols that help provide stroke patients with the best possible outcomes (see page 22).  

We must continue to question what is possible on our own campus as well, finding ways to challenge our assumptions and build where we find opportunity. In 2022, for example, we launched the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance—featuring a structure that enhances the ability to promote our strengths in these distinctive disciplines as well as our dedication to building upon the proud legacy of our founding as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music. 

Our recently launched Center for Student Success and Retention and revamped Center for Career Exploration and Development further demonstrate our determination to ensure that programs are purposefully constructed, organized, and staffed to help achieve our goal of becoming a national model for student success, engagement, and well-being. 

Finally, we have fully implemented the Ithaca Commitment, which provides a higher level of support for students and families. Our innovative approach to addressing the affordability of a college degree simplifies the process of applying for financial aid and reduces the uncertainty of college costs by capping the increase in tuition, fees, and room and board and by providing a transparent four-year financial forecast for every undergraduate student.