Dear Ithaca College Community:
The Ithaca College Board of Trustees convened in Los Angeles for its winter meetings, held Feb. 7-9. The board chooses to meet every few years in LA at trustees’ own travel expense, given our campus presence and the depth of our alumni base in that area.
In addition to our business meetings, we held two events to reinvigorate our relationships with alumni in Southern California.
An intimate dinner with stakeholders featured a panel discussion of notable alumni on The Future of Work: Disruptors in the Workforce & Higher Ed Solutions. The panelists were fellow trustee Traci Hughes ’85, Executive VP of Global People Success Services, SAP; Tariq Meyers ’14, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Untapped.io; Olufemi Ogundele ’11, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, UC Berkeley; and television writer/producer Liz Tigelaar ’98, creator of the series “Little Fires Everywhere” and “Tiny Beautiful Things.” Bob Iger ’73, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, gave a welcoming talk.
We also had the opportunity to host an alumni mixer, which brought together nearly 200 young alumni based in the region with current ICLA students. It was a wonderful evening of refreshments, networking, and celebrating the Ithaca College community on the West Coast.
In a third event, trustee Jeff Selingo ’95 led a conversation among college counselors from the Los Angeles area about the changing and challenging landscape of college admissions. We were pleased to help introduce Ithaca College to these individuals who have an influence on high school students and their families who are in the midst of their college explorations.
Board Actions
The board elected a new chair and vice chair, who will assume their roles July 1 for three-year terms. Congratulations to incoming chair John Neeson ’84 and vice chair Christopher Palmieri ’96.
- John is a leading authority on business-to-business marketing and analytics and co-founded the global B2B research and advisory firm SiriusDecisions. He is currently an adjunct professor at Boston College.
- Christopher is president and CEO of Commonwealth Care Alliance, a Massachusetts-based, not-for-profit health care organization.
The Board recognized the accomplishments of our faculty by awarding tenure and promoting 15 to associate professor, naming two as Dana professors, and designating 8 retired faculty as emerita/emeritus. You can read about these outstanding educators here.
Trustees also approved an expenditure of capital budget funds in FY25 to be used to procure materials for projects slated for the coming fiscal year. These include line items such as facilities updates; exterior cleaning; and maintenance, repair, and replacement work in areas that need it. The early release enables the college to begin the planning, scheduling, and ordering of material for this work, which will primarily take place this summer to minimize disruption to the campus.
Board Explorations
Former Ithaca College trustee and current President of Pomona College, Dr. Gabi Starr, led an immersion on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, focusing on the student experience. Starr spoke about what it means to work from an equity lens, and how an equity lens and DEIB principles impact the work of the Board.
Other sessions included updates from:
- Laine Norton, vice president for philanthropy and engagement. Highlight: While alumni giving participation lags peer institutions, our average Annual Fund cash received exceeds the midpoint among those schools.
- Shana Gore, associate vice president for enrollment and student success. Highlight: Student inquiries and campus visits are the highest they have been since at least 2020.
- Tim Downs, vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. Highlight: We are on pace to end the year with lower expenses, higher revenue, and a smaller deficit than was budgeted for FY24.
- David Weil '87, M.S. '89, vice president and chief information and analytics officer, led an ongoing conversation among the Board regarding the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence. He was joined by David Vuletich, a managing director for EAB Research Advisory Services, who shared some of EAB’s research and findings regarding AI and the future of higher education.
Trustees also welcomed the college’s newest vice president, Rakin “Rock” Hall, who began his tenure at the helm of the Division of Enrollment Management on Feb. 1.
The Board next meets, back on campus, May 16-18. Until then, we thank you for your commitment to the college and the educational experience we provide for our students. Have a great spring semester.
Sincerely,
David H. Lissy ’87
Chair, Board of Trustees
La Jerne Terry Cornish
President