Ithaca Mayor and School Superintendent to Engage Ithaca College Community in Discussion about Charlottesville Events

By Dan Verderosa, August 31, 2017

Ithaca Mayor and School Superintendent to Engage Ithaca College Community in Discussion about Charlottesville Events

In an upcoming event at Ithaca College, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick and Ithaca City School District Superintendent Luvelle Brown will reflect on the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and engage in a dialogue about how the Ithaca community can move forward.

“Moving Forward: A Conversation with Dr. Luvelle Brown and Mayor Svante Myrick” will be held from 4:30–5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the Emerson Suites, located in Ithaca College’s Phillips Hall. While seating is limited and the event is geared primarily toward the campus community, it is open to the general public.

Svante Myrick was elected as the first African-American mayor of Ithaca in 2011 at the age of 24. He had previously been elected to the city’s Common Council while still an undergraduate student at Cornell. This past spring, he was named to Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30.” 

Luvelle Brown has served as the superintendent of the Ithaca City School District since 2011. He was named to the National School Board Association’s “20-To-Watch” as well as the 2017 New York State School Superintendent of the Year. Brown is also a native of Charlottesville and earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Virginia. 

The discussion will be moderated by Sean Eversley Bradwell, director of programs and outreach at Ithaca College.

“As we begin a new semester with new opportunities, many of us are still struggling to fully understand the events of a tumultuous summer,” said Bradwell. “We wanted to be able to provide a space for us to come together as a community, to begin to explore some of those feelings and maybe provide some pathways forward for this semester and beyond.”

In her message to the campus community following the events in Charlottesville, President Shirley M. Collado said that there would be opportunities during the year “to explore and affirm how we will work together — to learn, lead, support and make progress on complex issues both in our society and on our campus.” In the spirit of that message, Bradwell said that attendees will be expected to participate in the discussion with Myrick and Brown.