Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado recently appeared on the community affairs show “Central with J. Daniel Pluff,” which airs on Syracuse television stations Fox 68 and My 43. Collado and Le Moyne College President Linda LeMura answered questions on such higher education topics as access, affordability, and curriculum adaptations to meet the challenges of a changing workplace.
Collado said that an Ithaca College education has focused on meeting practical needs throughout its 125-year history.
“We have been all about theory, practice, and performance since our start as a music conservatory—the importance of studying theory, then practicing something deeply, and then performing it actively in the world. We have the rare combination of a liberal arts core, with a blend and complement of professional education that we lean in to, which is really important for the workforce.”
Collado pointed out that the integrative core curriculum introduced several years ago underscores the college’s deep commitment to the power of being liberally educated.
“Within our core curriculum we have themes that are completely about what it means to be a human being in a socially just society; what it means to be a citizen,” said Collado. “And the applications of integrity, ethics, and humanity are core to what it means to be liberally educated in general. Our students are deeply engaged within the academic program and extracurricularly in the community.”
With the cost of higher education continuing to increase, both presidents emphasized the need for colleges to develop local and regional partnerships with one another in order to better serve their students and their communities.
To view the entire half-hour interview, visit foxsyracuse.com/central.