President Shirley M. Collado has created two new initiatives designed to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration and to develop the talent of faculty, staff and students. These initiatives came about as a result of the recommendations from the recent campus climate survey and themes emerging from her deep engagement with the Ithaca College community.
The president announced on Thursday, November 30, that she will offer seed grants to faculty and staff for the spring 2018 semester, and that the President’s Fellows Program will launch in the 2018-2019 academic year. Both initiatives are supported by the president’s discretionary fund, which includes a $100,000 Helen Gurley Brown Genius Grant, awarded to President Collado by the Pussycat Foundation in August.
“Early on in my tenure as president, I decided that I wanted to invest these discretionary resources back into our community in ways that would encourage and support every member of our campus community in exploring their potential as learners, educators, leaders, professionals, and human beings,” Collado said in Thursday's announcement. “Supporting these initiatives through my president's fund is, for me, an intentional, personal decision that underscores my strong belief that this next chapter of Ithaca College’s existence belongs to all of us. I am excited to invest in bold, innovative ideas generated by our campus community and in leadership opportunities that will empower our faculty, staff, and students.”
Offering Seed Grants to Launch Transformative Faculty and Staff Ideas
Faculty and staff are invited to apply for seed grants that will fund collaborative and innovative projects that demonstrate the potential of and interest in interdisciplinary work on campus. The emphasis is on new ideas and fresh perspectives, and grants will be awarded to efforts that are initiative-focused, not program-focused, and can range from $2,000 to $25,000.
Grant applications will be taken online; the deadline to apply is Friday, January 5, 2018. Grants will be awarded in January 2018 and must be used before May 31, 2018, the end of the college’s fiscal year.
“My hope is that the seed grants will give our community a chance to illuminate the challenges and opportunities they see, to activate the leadership needed to make change, and to lay the groundwork for the future of the college,” Collado said Thursday. “Proposals that strengthen existing opportunities will be welcome, but the emphasis of this grant is to provide a launching pad for inventive, aspirational approaches to the work we do here at Ithaca College.”
Find out more about the seed grant program and how to apply.
Introducing the President’s Fellows Program
The new President’s Fellows Program is open to faculty, staff and students and will begin in the 2018-19 academic year. Two faculty, one staff member and two students will be selected as the first class of fellows. This one-year fellowship will move participants outside of their normal work environment and field to experience a new professional opportunity on campus, develop leadership capabilities and receive mentorship in an unfamiliar area of interest.
“I deeply believe that for an institution to be great, it must invest in the development of its campus community through programs that identify and cultivate talent and leadership among faculty, staff and students,” Collado said. “My ultimate vision for the President's Fellows Program is that it will help create our college’s and higher education’s future leaders: tomorrow’s deans or vice presidents, future governance chairs, or transformative committee leaders.”
More information about the President’s Fellows Program will be shared later this academic year.
For more information about the initiatives, contact Melissa Daly, chief of staff in the Office of the President, at 607-274-1574 or mdaly@ithaca.edu.