Dear Campus Community Members,

I hope you have all enjoyed the summer months, and are looking forward to the opening of our new academic year. We have so much to be excited about this year, and I want to personally invite you to join me at the All-College Gathering this Thursday, August 23, at Emerson Suites from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Last year, we opened up our All-College Gatherings to students, and we are continuing that opportunity, at both this meeting and at our January gathering, which is set for Thursday, January 31.

These meetings are moments for us to come together as a community of faculty, staff, and students to get important updates and information about the college and to think about our future. On Thursday, please feel free to arrive as early as 8:00 a.m. to catch up with your friends and colleagues over light refreshments.

While we would like as many members of the college community as possible to join us in person Thursday morning, if you are unable to attend, our gathering will be livestreamed here. I know that most of our students will not be on campus yet, and I would encourage our students—especially our new students—to join us online. There will also be an All-Student Gathering on Oct. 1 in Emerson Suites at 9:00 p.m.

Our agenda for Thursday's meeting will include:

  • A discussion of the strategic planning process, introduced by Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs La Jerne Cornish and led by members of our strategic planning design team;
  • Updates on enrollment, our college’s financial health, student affairs, academic affairs, human resources, and advancement;
  • An introduction to our new senior leadership team members: Provost Cornish; Bill Guerrero, vice president for finance and administration; and Guilherme Costa, vice president, general counsel and secretary to the board of trustees; and
  • Important announcements about the President’s Seed Grant Initiative and the President’s Fellows Program.

We are reserving about 15 minutes at the end of the gathering for you to ask questions of or share comments with me or any of the members of the senior leadership team. Questions can be asked in person during the meeting, or submitted online before the meeting using this brief form.

As a starting point for our discussion Thursday, I encourage you to read my message to the community from May 2, which gave some reflections on my first year as president and signposts for the road ahead.

I am looking forward to seeing you on Thursday and to kicking off an exciting new year for our community and for Ithaca College. I also hope to see you next Monday for our Convocation and Community Picnic.

All my best,

Shirley M. Collado
President

Sent via email August 20, 2018.