What are your boldest aspirations for Ithaca College?
In five years, what do you hope IC will be doing differently?
These are the two questions that your Imagining Ithaca steering committee has begun asking around campus in the last two weeks. The Board of Trustees discussed them during their recent meeting on campus. We also introduced these questions at the October 25 all-faculty meeting and the November 1 all-staff meeting, gathering responses on note cards that we’re reading through right now.
We hope over the next couple of weeks that you will add additional responses online, or send a note through intercampus mail to the Office of the Provost, anytime an idea occurs to you. Why? Because your answers to those two questions will help us glean, from all of you, how best to articulate the college’s guiding vision, mission, and values.
- Our vision answers, “what is the difference we are trying to make in the future?”
- Our mission answers, “what do we do, for whom, and why?”
- Our values answer, “how do we commit to doing this work together?”
These are the guiding forces that will inform the ideas created and decisions made over the next several months—and the way we will stay true to the "bold realism" in the president’s charge to this committee. In her latest blog entry President Collado explores what’s at stake in embracing both boldness and realism with equal passion, and we encourage you to read that message to inform your thoughts.
Happening Next
- In just a couple of weeks we’ll share our first draft of the guiding vision, mission, and values for your feedback.
- We are planning for a public event in early December featuring Luvelle Brown, superintendent of the Ithaca City School District, to talk about the next generation of students who will be coming to Ithaca College.
Meet Your Steering Committee!
Who are the people meeting at 7:00 a.m. every Monday to plan for the future of the college? Why are they doing this work? What perspectives and expertise do they bring to the table? Each committee member has graciously agreed to answer a few interview questions and post a brief video so that you can get to know them better.
We are grateful for all of the energy and ideas you’re bringing to this important planning work so far. Thank you!
Sincerely,
La Jerne Terry Cornish, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Jason Freitag, Associate Professor, History
Imagining Ithaca Co-Chairs