An Ithaca Forever Community

GOAL: Cultivate an Ithaca Forever community, inspired by the power of the Ithaca College experience.

Goal Co-Chairs

  • Schelley Michell-Nunn (local community)
  • Gretchen Van Valen (staff)

Alumni Expertise Action Group

Leveraging and increasing the alumni engagement with the college and with students is key to creating an Ithaca Forever community. This group will explore opportunities for alumni engagement in student recruitment and retention.

Action Group Members

  • Co-chair: Nicole Eversley-Bradwell (staff)
  • Co-chair: Katlyn Kohler '21 (student)
  • Kerrianne Blum '22 (student)
  • Kaylee Collins (staff)
  • Maura Donovan (staff)
  • Bill Durant '86 (alum) 
  • Emily Haff '14 (staff) 
  • Diedra Harkenrider (staff) 
  • Meredith Jorgensen Cooke '02 (alum) 
  • Michael Kaplan '85 (alum) 
  • Kimberly Lieb (staff)
  • Grace Madeya '23 (student)
  • Christina Moylan (staff)
  • Abigail Scaduto (staff) 
  • Brandon Schneider '17 (alum) 
  • Antara Sen '23 (student)
  • Tara Tetzlaff (staff) 
  • Lynnore Thames '89 (alum) 
  • Anne Woodard '81 (staff) 

Additional Goal Objectives

This initiative will be tackled by specific operational units and will not call for an action group to be formed:

Develop a comprehensive philanthropy strategy that sustains the strategic plan:

  • Identify funding opportunities via a comprehensive campus project prioritization process guided by the strategic plan with the final list prioritized and approved by the president.
  • Develop a culture of philanthropy—internal/external; create a viable faculty/staff annual fund; and identify the top donors with visits to the top major donors, calls to the next tier, and letters to the final tier.
  • Connect new and existing donors in the database with our priority areas so they may learn firsthand about the extraordinary work being accomplished at IC, supporting the Ithaca Forever strategy. The process will include donor screening, ranking, and gift capabilities for major gift solicitation and cultivation.
  • Harness the increasing diversity of our donor base to reach out to a broad range of prospective donors to learn about the issues that motivate their giving and to introduce them to a wider range of effective giving options. The process will be expedited by the implementation of a comprehensive campaign directed by the strategic plan.