Ithaca College President La Jerne Terry Cornish has been selected as one of the 100 most powerful people in New York’s higher education community. City and State New York magazine’s 2023 Higher Education Power 100 list placed Cornish in the #20 spot.
The list recognizes those in New York making the biggest difference, both on campus and off, in higher education. While primarily made up of college and university presidents, it also features lawmakers, labor leaders, philanthropists, advocates, and others most influential in the world of postsecondary education.
“This honor is for Ithaca College as much as it is for me,” said Cornish. “On behalf of this institution and the students, faculty, and staff who I have the privilege of serving, I am grateful to be recognized among these other distinguished higher education leaders.”
In its profile, the publication notes that in her previous role as provost, Cornish was the primary architect of the college’s Ithaca Forever strategic plan, helped lead the Return to Campus Task Force during the pandemic, and supported a successful effort by the college to earn a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation grant from the National Science Foundation to advance STEM opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Cornish moved up from the #25 spot on the 2022 list, which came out shortly after she was named president after having served in an interim role.
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