Important Communications

Academic Year 22-23

Dear Colleagues, 

Are you a continuing full-time faculty member with the rank of associate professor or above, interested in serving as an impartial/neutral listener and resource for faculty colleagues to mediate conflicts, provide feedback, and suggest referrals to other sources as needed regarding concerns they may encounter in their work at Ithaca College? Interested in being part of a small team working together to provide this service to faculty? Join the faculty ombuds team! Full description of the positions and expectations are below.

To apply, please submit a cover letter addressing your interest in and qualifications for the position, a current CV, as well as some indication of the level of reassigned time (between 3 and 12 credits, depending on the size of the team) which you would want to accommodate, to provost@ithaca.edu by April 10, 2023. If you have any questions, please email me directly at mstein2@ithaca.edu.

Best,
Melanie I. Stein
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Position Description: Faculty Ombuds Team

A team of faculty ombuds, ideally including team members from different schools, would both offer choice to faculty seeking ombuds services, increasing the likelihood that a faculty member seeking ombuds services would have someone outside their department or school, and allow for mutual support and consultation between members of the ombuds team. Having more than one ombuds would also facilitate management of potential conflicts of interest. Each faculty ombuds will receive a membership in the International Ombuds Association, and will be expected to engage with the resources they provide. In addition, they may attend one college-funded conference or training offered by the organization. Collectively, the faculty ombuds team will receive 12 credits of reassigned time for their administrative work, which could be divided amongst 2-4 faculty members.

A Faculty Ombuds serves as a confidential*, approachable, impartial/neutral listener and resource for faculty members, helping to mediate conflicts, provide feedback, suggest referrals to other resources as needed, and foster respectful, inclusive, and ethical behavior and fair process. A Faculty Ombuds listens to the concerns of faculty, facilitates constructive dialogue, and assists in evaluating available options. Responsibilities include: 

  • offering confidential* assistance to Ithaca College faculty of all ranks and positions with informally resolving conflict or other concerns, and issues related to employment, tenure and/or promotion process (including appeals or potential appeals);
  • offering guidance to chairs, deans, the Provost, and evaluative bodies associated with the tenure and/or promotion process in addressing individual and collective faculty concerns;
  • maintaining a deidentified log of faculty requests and records of de-identified information; and 
  • providing, as a team, an annual report to the Provost, President and Faculty Council, or other parties as appropriate, regarding all concerns that faculty have (i.e., reports are limited to trends, no identifying information or confidential information is relayed in the reports) and soliciting additional information to address structural concerns if patterns are found and recommendations need to be made institutionally.
  • One member of the team should attend Faculty Council Meetings ex-officio.

A Faculty Ombuds offers informal services and does not replace formal processes available to the Ithaca College community. In the event that conflict, concern, or issue should arise for faculty members of Ithaca College, the first and most important consideration is that those involved should attempt to communicate and resolve the problem on their own and/or at each successive supervisory level up to the Provost. Should the faculty find that they are not able to resolve the issue on their own, a Faculty Ombuds is available for consultation and can assist with a potential mediation. Any mediation notes should be destroyed immediately following the mediation.

*All communication to a Faculty Ombuds regarding issues brought to a Faculty Ombuds are “off the record” and confidential unless the information shared falls within a requirement where a Faculty Ombuds is a mandatory reporter under law or policy (e.g., Clery Act, or unlawful discrimination and/or harassment).

Position Qualifications

Current member(s) of the Ithaca College faculty with the rank of associate or above, in tenured or non-tenure eligible notice appointments, who will (each) be appointed for a three-year, part-time term (though we may consider staggered appointments initially in order to ensure continuity). The individual(s) in this role retains faculty status. Knowledge of campus policies related to faculty, including promotion and tenure policies; proven ability to provide leadership in a culture that values collegial decision-making and to work successfully with a broad range of individuals and groups; ability to represent the College effectively with internal and external constituencies; and excellent organizational, interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills are required. Evidence of understanding or experience with conflict management, mediation, or related dispute resolution preferred. Training will be provided.

Dear Colleagues, 

A few updates for you as spring break arrives:

Midterm grades
A reminder that mid-term grades are due by 10pm on Wednesday March 22.

Summer/Fall Course Registration and Advising
Summer course registration has begun and Fall course registration begins on Tuesday April 11. Academic advisors should plan to meet with advisees in advance of course registration as per guidance from Deans’ offices.

Akademos 
Please submit your textbook adoptions for all Summer and Fall 2023 courses at Ithaca.textbookx.com (the site is also accessible via the apps.ithaca.edu webpage as “Akademos”). We ask that you submit this information for Summer courses by April 2, and for Fall courses by April 10. This will help us comply with federal requirements to make course-specific costs available to students. If you have courses for which students will *not* need to purchase textbooks, please enter that information in the Akademos site so that students know this. Course readers or unpublished materials should be made available to students through the learning management system.

Before submitting orders, we encourage you to search the Ithaca College Library’s collections to learn whether IC owns digital copies of any text(s) you plan to require. Access to electronic course materials already owned by the Library may help achieve additional savings for our students.

If you need support with the course submission process, you can review this tutorial or contact our liaison, Weeli Ko (wko@akademos.com).

Thanks for submitting your orders and to everyone for helping students stay informed about their likely course expenses.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

Commencement Weekend 2023
All events will be held in the Athletics & Events Center

  • Community Concert on Friday, May 19 at 8:30 pm
  • Graduate Hooding will take place on Saturday May 20 at 1pm.
  • Commencement Eve Concert will take place on Saturday May 20 at 8:30pm with fireworks to follow, weather permitting. 
  • Commencement will take place on Sunday May 21 at 10am.

If you need regalia, information on renting or purchasing regalia from the Campus Store can be found at https://ithaca.shopoakhalli.com. The deadline for ordering academic regalia is March 29. The Campus Store cannot guarantee delivery on orders after that date.

We hope spring break offers you a chance to catch your breath; thank you for everything you do!

Melanie I. Stein, Provost and Senior Vice President Academic Affairs 
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost, Faculty Affairs 
Stacia Zabusky, Associate Provost, Academic Programs 
Christina Moylan, Associate Provost, Graduate and Professional Studies  

Submitted on behalf of The Office of the Provost

We’re gearing up for the periodic reaccreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Every 8 years, Ithaca College is required to submit a Self-Study Report, followed by a campus visit by an MSCHE board of examiners.

Our last accreditation report and visit occurred in 2017-2018. This means we will be submitting our next Self-Study Report in fall 2025, with the follow-up campus visit in spring 2026.

It takes multiple years to pull our self-study together, and requires the whole campus community — staff, students, and faculty — to get involved, whether by serving on a working group, responding to requests for input and data, or attending campus meetings and focus groups. The Self-Study is our opportunity to tell our story and show who we are, how we’ve come through some challenging times together, and how we are poised to move forward in our continuing efforts to provide our students with rewarding intellectual and co-curricular experiences that support them to be successful personally, academically, and professionally.

Although it takes a village to pull this together, it also takes leadership.We are pleased to announce that two dedicated IC colleagues have agreed to serve as co-chairs to lead us through the extensive, multi-year process of the Middle States review, with support from Mai An Rumney, the manager of accreditation and assessment for academic affairs. The co-chairs are:

Te-Wen Lo, associate professor in the department of biology, and John Fracchia, career and technology engagement specialist in the Center for Career Exploration and Development. See below for more information about these colleagues.

Te-Wen and John have our thanks and gratitude for stepping up to these important roles.

The self-study timeline:

Spring 2023 - a period of pre-planning.

AY 2023-24: design of the self-study process, working groups established

AY 2024 -25: working groups gather and analyze data and begin drafting the report

AY 2025-26: Self Study completed and submitted to MSCHE; campus visit by MSCHE board.

Our co-chairs:

Te-Wen Lo brings years of experience as a faculty member dedicated to the success of students. In addition to teaching biology, Te-Wen has mentored countless undergraduates in laboratory research. She is the Co-PI of the NSF-funded LSAMP grant focused on increasing the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in STEM fields, working in close collaboration with colleagues in OAOA to implement the program. Since coming to IC in 2013, Te-Wen has received multiple awards, including the IC Women of Distinction Award, the Most Inspirational Faculty Award (International Student Group), the Student Choice Award (OAOA), and the Faculty Excellence Award.  Te-Wen is also an exemplary institutional citizen, participating on faculty committees in the department, in H&S, and at the all-college level.

John Fracchia brings to this role 28 years as a dedicated IC staff member, beginning in Residential Life, and for the last 23 years, in Career Services. As a career engagement specialist, he supports students in their career exploration activities; as the technology specialist, John has played a key role in the implementation of the online career development and recruiting platform Handshake. He has taught in the IC Honors program, served as the staff trustee on the IC Board of Trustees, and as treasurer on the Ithaca College Staff Council. John also has extensive ties to community and professional organizations, having served as a board member of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium, as a council member for the Town of Caroline, and as president of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the new leadership for the Integrative Core Curriculum and Ithaca Seminar programs.

Beginning in summer 2023, Prof. Chrystyna Dail (School of Music, Theatre, and Dance) and Prof. Amy Quan (School of Humanities and Sciences) will serve as the Director of the ICC and the ICSM Faculty Coordinator, respectively.

Chrystyna is a tenured associate professor in the Theatre Studies Department, in the Center for Theatre and Dance. A theatre historian, her work focuses on theatre and social activism, which was the topic of her 2016 book Stage for Action: U.S. Social Activist Theatre in the 1940s. Since coming to IC in 2011, Chrystyna has been deeply involved with advising, curriculum, and assessment, and has particular experience with ICC curriculum and assessment. In addition to teaching in Theatre Studies, Chrystyna developed and taught an ICSM, as well as ICC Capstone and diversity-designated courses. In addition, she participated in a variety of committees working to develop and implement the ICC, including participating in the process to design the assessment rubric for Creative Arts courses, e-portfolio review and assessment, and, while a member of the H&S General Education Committee, developing assessment processes for the H&S CLA and providing professional development for colleagues designing capstone courses in their departments. She also held the position of Coordinator for Assessment in H&S for three years, working closely with faculty colleagues across H&S in designing and refining learning outcomes assessment processes, and leading the H&S assessment committee in their annual review of department assessment reports.

Amy joined the faculty of the Department of Writing as assistant professor in 2017, teaching a variety of writing courses as well as mini-courses for the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and Ithaca Seminars. For the last three years, she served as the chair of the department’s Composition Committee and the director of the first year composition program, a role that has brought her into contact with colleagues and students from across our campus. In addition to her long-standing teaching in the ICSM program, Amy has deep experience with the ICC as well, participating regularly in the faculty committee reviewing proposals for the Writing Intensive designation, and participating as an evaluator of academic writing in the ICC e-portfolio assessment process. Her interest in assessment led her to join the H&S Assessment Committee for two years. Prior to coming to IC, Amy spent over 20 years on the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she coordinated the college writing program, and mentored faculty and colleagues in a wide variety of fields as they developed and taught first year core courses with rich content and appropriate pedagogy to support first year student success.

We are delighted that these experienced faculty colleagues have agreed to take on these important all-college responsibilities.

Dear Colleagues, 

Welcome back from what we hope was a restful winter break, and we are excited to begin the spring 2023 semester alongside you shortly. We are sharing below highlights of upcoming events and reminders regarding coursework as you prepare for the semester ahead: 

Mark Your Calendars 

Please reserve time on your calendars to attend these important all-college events occurring in late winter/early spring: 

Attend a Tenure and Promotion Workshop 

These workshops are offered for faculty to ask questions about the tenure and promotion process. Prospective tenure candidates and promotion-without-tenure candidates, prospective review committee members, etc., are all welcome. These workshops will be facilitated by the Office of the Provost and offered on Wednesday, Feb 15 from 12:30 - 2:00pm and Thursday, Feb 23 12:10 - 1:30pm in the Taughannock Falls room in Campus Center. 

Offer a Summer Sessions Course  

The Office of Extended Studies will be soliciting courses for the summer sessions soon with proposals due in early February. Please watch Intercom for more details and/or speak with your department chair if you are interested in offering a course during summer session. We are especially interested in offering undergraduate courses that assist students with making progress on major or minor degree requirements, ICC coursework, or other elective courses that generate high demand.  

Check Your Syllabus 

Reminder about Excused Absences Required Under the Attendance Policy  

The Ithaca College attendance policy is available within the syllabus template. As a reminder, students must be excused from class or examinations: 

  1. on days that conflict with religious beliefs, in which case the faculty member is responsible for providing the student with an opportunity to make up the work missed, and the absence does not count towards any instructor-established maximum absence policy for the class. 
  1. for family or individual health emergencies, and to appear in a court of law. 

Please review the attendance policy in your syllabus to ensure it complies with these requirements and that you are properly supporting students with absences that must be excused. 

New Language to Reflect Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) 

The syllabus template now includes two options for DEIB syllabus insert language for faculty to choose from if so inclined. 

Confirm your Textbook Adoptions  

If you have any doubts about whether the textbook requirements for your courses that appear in Akademos are up to date, please log in there and confirm. Note that even if you are not requiring students to purchase textbooks for a course, that information needs to be entered into Akademos for transparency with students. 

Response to COVID 

This will be our final academic update related to COVID unless a change in conditions warrant additional communications. As announced on Intercom in November the college is no longer maintaining a separate student isolation space, the COVID Dashboard is no longer in use, and employees are no longer required to submit a positive test result using the self-reporting form. In addition, there were important changes for employees in reporting required time away due to COVID-19 to review. Testing will still be available in Boothroyd Hall. We continue to encourage that you prioritize your health by staying up to date on the latest COVID-19 boosters and a flu shot. There are no updates to the syllabus health and safety statement, which can be found here.   

Best wishes for the start of a new semester! 

Sincerely, 

Melanie I. Stein, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 
Stacia Zabusky, Associate Provost, Academic Programs 
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost, Faculty Affairs
Christina Moylan, Associate Provost, Graduate and Professional Studies 

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

As we draw to the close of a busy fall semester, I wanted to reach out to thank each of you for the robust academic experience you have provided to students throughout this semester. 

Please take a minute to read through some very important reminders regarding the end of the semester and steps to prepare for the upcoming spring and summer semesters:  

Policy on Remote Instruction/Completion of the Semester 

Coursework must be offered in the modality that is approved and displayed in HomerConnect. Faculty may not, as a general policy, approve students to complete coursework or the remainder of the semester remotely. As always, faculty have the latitude to consider alternative arrangements to complete coursework for students who may be experiencing a temporary illness or must be absent for reasons approved under the Attendance Policy. Otherwise, students are expected to be on campus and completing coursework in the approved modality. If you have a student who is unable to finish coursework due to more significant medical or personal issues, please work with your dean’s office to explore available options such as an incomplete, course withdrawal, or a leave of absence.   

Final Examinations and Grade Submission 

Final examinations are scheduled from Friday, December 9 through Wednesday, December 14 at the published examination times. If you have any concerns about your scheduled exam space, please reach out to registrar@ithaca.edu no later than 48 hours prior to your exam meeting to request possible reassignment to a different space. Final grades are due in HomerConnect no later than Wednesday, December 21 by 5:00 p.m. Please see the intercom announcement by the Registrar that includes other important dates and information related to grade submission and completion of academic standing.  

Academic Affairs Searches 

We are seeking applications for two faculty leadership positions within academic affairs – the Faculty Coordinator for the ICSM Program and the Academic Director for the Integrative Core Curriculum. These applications are due Friday, December 16. Please see Provost Communications and Updates for details.  

Instructional Development Fund 

Refine or update your teaching skills, cultivate expertise, develop innovative instructional materials and resources, and/or enhance the diversity, equity, and inclusion of pedagogy and curriculum with an Instructional Development Fund (IDF) grant from the Center for Faculty Excellence. IDF grants are available to all continuing full-time faculty. Proposals are due Sunday, January 15 by noon. Please see the intercom announcement for more information. 

Spring Semester Preparation  

Spring 2023 Textbook Orders and Akademos: If you have not finalized Spring 2023 information about course materials in the Akademos system, please take a moment to log in, review your spring courses (and winter courses if you are teaching during the winter session), and ensure that your information has been fully submitted—even if you are simply noting that no course materials are required.  

Spring Syllabus Template:  The syllabus template that includes a list of required content plus additional, optional inserts is accessible at this link. While there have been no changes to the template, if you have not reviewed your syllabi recently it is important to do so to ensure that it contains current required language and disclosures.  

Summer Sessions Teaching 

Teaching Continuing Students During Summer Sessions: It’s not too early to start thinking about offering an undergraduate course during the summer sessions! We are especially interested in offering undergraduate courses that assist students with making progress on major or minor degree requirements, ICC coursework, or other elective courses that generate high demand. We will be soliciting interest in summer coursework when we return from break and completing our roster in early February. Please take some time during winter break to consider the opportunity and be on the lookout for information posted to intercom in January.  

Teaching Incoming First Year Students During the July Summer Session: We are planning to offer the one-credit foundational and deep-dive courses (called “IC Advantage”) during the July summer session specifically for our incoming first-year students. If you have a passion for teaching, supporting, and making connections with our first-year students, please reach out to oes@ithaca.edu so that we can connect with you as we finalize plans for those courses. 

Teaching High School Students During the July Summer Session: We are seeking faculty interested in teaching a three-week course (July 3 – July 21, 2023) for our Summer College for High School Students. Classes are typically 10-15 students and should be taught at the introductory level on a topic in the faculty's field/area of specialization. See the intercom announcement for more details or reach out to Joslyn Brenton, Faculty Director, at jbrenton@ithaca.edu to express interest.   

International Travel with Students 

The Office of International Programs has resumed processing applications for faculty-led, college-sponsored international travel with students. If you would like to propose a program, more information is available at this link. Please be mindful of the long lead time for approval so early preparation is essential. Deadlines are as follows: 

  1. For Winter 2024 programs: proposal due by January 31, 2023 
  2. For Spring Break 2024 programs: proposal due by February 15, 2023 
  3. For Summer 2024 programs: proposal due by May 31, 2023 

We are particularly interested in short-term programs that take advantage of the Ithaca College London Center during the summer between late May and early July (please note that the Center is not available for programming mid-July thru early August to prepare for the incoming Fall cohort of students).  

Sincerely, 

Melanie I. Stein 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Dear Colleagues,

After more than four years of enthusiastic and effective commitment to the Integrative Core Curriculum and the ICSM Program, the current faculty leaders of these programs — Susan Delaney (associate professor of writing in H&S) and Andrew Utterson (associate professor of screen studies in the Park School) — will be stepping down from their posts at the end of this year. We are deeply appreciative of their dedication and resilience; together, Susan and Andrew steered these important programs through the pandemic challenges without hesitation, successfully sustaining the quality of the programs, effectively and compassionately responding to student concerns, and addressing faculty needs and interests. They both also contributed in significant ways to the work of the Task Force to revise the core curriculum, efforts that were realized in this year’s catalog. We owe them our thanks and gratitude.

This also means that these crucial academic programs are in need of new leadership!

We seek to appoint an Academic Director for the Integrative Core Curriculum and a Faculty Coordinator for the Ithaca Seminar Program to three year terms (with possibility of renewal); these appointments will begin July 1, 2022. Each position comes with reassigned time, a summer stipend, and the expectation that the incumbents will teach in their respective programs. Faculty members with a rank of associate professor or professor, in either a tenured or non-tenure eligible notice appointment, are eligible to apply.

For detailed position descriptions and information on the compensation, please see these documents:

ICC Director Position

ICSM Coordinator Position

It is worth noting that the scope of responsibilities for these positions has been revised, following the recommendations of the ICC Revision Task Force. The Academic Director of the ICC has an expanded role that incorporates more administrative responsibilities and includes a focus on assessment; the ICSM Faculty Coordinator’s role has been correspondingly re-focused on faculty mentoring, curriculum and assessment, and 4th hour seminar programming. Both positions report to the Associate Provost for Academic Programs; both are supported by a full-time staff program coordinator and by the Manager of Accreditation and Assessment for Academic Affairs.

Interested faculty should send a current CV and a letter detailing their interest in the position to the office of the provost (provost@ithaca.edu) by December 16. Appointments will be announced no later than February 10. We welcome inquiries in advance of official applications; please reach out to the current incumbents or to Associate Provost Stacia Zabusky (szabusky@ithaca.edu) with questions and we will do our best to answer them.

Thank you,

Stacia Zabusky
Associate Provost for Academic Programs 

Dear Graduate Students Completing Degrees in 2023, 
 
I hope you are enjoying your final fall semester. I believe I speak for all of our faculty and staff when I say how wonderful it has been to support you as you complete your journey as an Ithaca College graduate student. 
 
My purpose in writing to you today is to share the college’s plans for your Graduate Hooding and Commencement on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET in the Athletics and Events Center’s Glazer Arena. We are excited to share with you an important change we’re making to create a more student-centered experience for our master’s and doctoral candidates.  
 
Starting this year, the Graduate Hooding will transition into a Graduate Hooding and Commencement ceremony celebrating the individual accomplishments of our graduate students. During the ceremony, you will be formally hooded by your respective faculty, and we will formally confer your graduate degree.  
 
Due to the smaller numbers involved with the Graduate Hooding and Commencement ceremony on Saturday, all family and friends of graduate students are cordially invited to attend. There will not be a limit on how many guests you may bring and tickets are not required. The ceremony will also be live streamed. 
 
You will need to register to participate in this ceremony—please watch your inbox in early March for an email with additional details. As the date draws closer, more information will also be shared via the Ithaca College Commencement website.   
 
We are making this change so that our graduate students and their supporters can participate in a single, focused event that marks the completion of this significant accomplishment.  
 
Please note that we will follow college public health protocols and guidelines in existence at the time for all on-campus events. 
 
Class of 2023, it is our intention to offer you a meaningful, joyful moment that is reflective of all the magic that is Ithaca College. I cannot wait to celebrate with you and your loved ones in May.  
 
Sincerely, 
Melanie I. Stein 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Dear Class of 2023, 
 
I hope you are enjoying your final fall semester at Ithaca College. I believe I speak for all of our faculty and staff when I say how wonderful it has been to support you as you complete your journey as an Ithaca College student. 

My purpose in writing to you today is to share the college’s plans for your Commencement on Sunday, May 21, 2023. Over the past several academic years, we gained critical insight into how best to celebrate you at your Commencement. 

Last May, we saw how meaningful it was for students to walk alongside, sit next to, and graduate with their friends from across campus. We also heard from our graduates that they wanted to be united in celebration with their entire class, rather than just a portion of it.  

With this in mind, Ithaca College will host a single Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2023, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET inside the Athletics and Events Center's Glazer Arena. The May 2023 Commencement ceremony is offered to students who are graduating in December 2022, as well as May, July, August, October, and December 2023.

Students are required to sign up to participate in this ceremony—please watch your inbox in early March for an email with additional details. As the date draws closer, more information will also be shared via the Ithaca College Commencement website.  

Each graduate will have the opportunity to request up to four guest tickets when completing their sign up registration. The ceremony will also be live streamed, and alternative viewing locations will be set up on campus for any guests who cannot join us in the Glazer Arena. 

Please note that we will follow college public health protocols and guidelines in existence at the time of this on-campus event.  

Class of 2023, it is our intention to offer you a meaningful, joyful moment that is reflective of all the magic that is Ithaca College. I cannot wait to celebrate with you and your loved ones in May.  

Sincerely, 
Melanie I. Stein 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

The Office of the Provost invites you to consider making nominations for honorary degrees to be conferred by the Ithaca College Board of Trustees at May Commencement 2023.  Nominations must be received by completing the Honorary Degree Nomination Form available on the Provost website – Honorary Degree Nomination Form.  Rationale and supporting data are expected at the time of nomination, and the nomination form must be filled out completely.

The criteria are:

  • The nominee possesses a record of outstanding personal/public achievement, community service, philanthropic endeavors and interest in education and/or humanitarian programs.
     
  • The nominee is known for outstanding scholarly contributions and/or demonstration of some other significant service of benefit to humanity or Ithaca College.
     
  • The nominee has made outstanding contributions in the private sector of our society (i.e., the clergy, law, medicine, business, education, etc.) in ways that harmonize with the heritage, character, and mission of the College.

Completed nomination forms should be sent to the Office of the Provost: provost@ithaca.edu.

Nominations will continue to be accepted until close of business Monday, November 7, 2022. 

For information on the process, the Honorary Degrees Advisory Committee or the timeline, please go the Policy Manual, Section 1.7.2.6.

Dear Campus Community, 

Now that the fall semester is underway, I would like to share with you the college’s plans for a December Commencement. This announcement was also shared directly with our December 2022 graduates, as well as their family members and supporters, earlier today. 

As you may remember, last year we took an important step toward creating a more student-centered experience by transitioning our December celebration into a full Commencement ceremony celebrating the individual accomplishments of our graduating students. 

Again, this year, the name of each graduating student who is present and would like to participate will be announced as that student crosses the stage, allowing us to fully recognize the proud moment that college graduation represents, as well as the incredible efforts and sacrifices that have been made to realize this accomplishment. 

In addition, graduates will receive their diploma cover and medallion during the ceremony. Latin honor cords will be given out prior to the ceremony through the Office of the Registrar.

Our December Commencement will be celebrated in person on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. inside the Athletics and Events Center's Glazer Arena. For planning purposes, a back-up inclement weather date has been set for Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. 

Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend December Commencement, and more information will be shared later in the fall semester. Please be sure to visit Ithaca College's Commencement website for the latest updates.  

I look forward to celebrating with you and our graduates on December 11.  

Sincerely,

Melanie Stein
Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to an in-person All Faculty Meeting on Thursday, September 15th at 12:10 - 1:05 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, co-hosted by the five academic deans and myself. We hope you will take advantage of this time to get to know all of us a bit better, and to hear about our thoughts regarding opportunities for collaborative innovation in academic affairs. Although our time is limited, we’ll make sure to make space for sharing some ideas and hearing your questions about our work together; we envision this session as only the beginning of many rewarding conversations to come.

Please contact provost@ithaca.edu if you need an accommodation, Zoom or otherwise.

Looking forward to our time together,

Melanie I. Stein
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to be beginning another academic year together on campus!

We have a few quick academic-related updates for you in advance of the all-college welcome on Thursday, August 25th (during the noon hour in Emerson Suites):

  • Support of Students in COVID Isolation: We start the academic year, not surprisingly, with some students who must be in COVID isolation. Currently, many of those isolated include our first-year students. This is not prompting a change in the college operating status, and faculty are not expected to provide dual or remote instruction. But nonetheless we wanted you to be aware, since first-year students may experience challenges managing the transition to college alongside COVID isolation during the first week of classes.  Thank you for any sensitivity you can exercise in helping to acclimatize students to course expectations and provide latitude, where possible, in completing assignments that may be due while they complete their isolation. 
     
  • Syllabus Template: The refreshed syllabus template is available. The template includes the required components of an Ithaca College syllabus and links to important policy language to include in your syllabus. The use of the template is important as it helps us to ensure that our students receive consistent information across all coursework they complete at the college.  
     
  • Attendance Policy: The Ithaca College attendance policy is available within the syllabus template. We would like to highlight that students must be excused from class or examinations:
  1. on days that conflict with religious beliefs, in which case the faculty member is responsible for providing the student with an opportunity to make up the work missed, and the absence does not count towards any instructor-established maximum absence policy for the class
  2. for family or individual health emergencies, and to appear in a court of law

Please review the attendance policy in your syllabus to ensure it complies with these requirements and that you are properly supporting students with absences that must be excused.

We appreciate your attention to these matters that will all help with supporting student academic success this semester. We are looking forward to seeing you at the first all-college faculty meeting on Thursday Sept 15th (again during the noon hour).

Best wishes for the start of a new semester!

Melanie Stein, Provost
Christina Moylan, Associate Provost
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost
Stacia Zabusky, Associate Provost

Dear Faculty,

We are soliciting nominations for a vacant faculty seat on the Teaching Resource Allocation Committee (TRAC). 

This standing committee, created in 2021, reviews all requests for full-time continuing faculty positions, and makes recommendations to the provost about which positions should be approved and searched.  The committee consists of all deans, three faculty members selected by the process described below who serve staggered 3-year terms, and an additional faculty member who serves on APC.  The faculty representatives continuing on the Committee for 2022-23 are Nick Kowalczyk (H&S, Dept. of Writing) and Julia Lapp (HSHP, Dept. of Health Promotion and Physical Education).

Please submit nominations (including self-nominations) to provost@ithaca.edu by September 1, 2022.  If you are nominating someone other than yourself, please confirm that your nominees are willing to serve before sending them forward.  To be eligible, faculty members must have served at least five yearson the full-time faculty at Ithaca College and hold the rank ofassociate professor or professor, although tenure is not required.  Ideally, those serving on this committee will be able to think institutionally, rather than preferentially toward a department or school, and they will be comfortable working in a strictly confidential setting. 

All nominations will become part of a pool to be reviewed by the Executive Committee of Faculty Council (FCEC) and I.  In considering the nominations, the FCEC and I will strive toward achieving a group which reflects the demographic diversity of the faculty, and a mix of academic and governance experience, time at the college, and disciplinary perspectives.  After consulting with the FCEC, FCEC will recommend three of the nominated faculty, unranked, to me for consideration, and I will appoint one faculty member to serve a three-year term expiring 2025. 

TRAC will meet once in September and once in November, but the most substantial work will occur between the beginning of the spring semester and April 15, 2023.  Weekly meetings will be required during this period of time. 

Thank you for considering this opportunity.

Best,

Melanie I. Stein
Provost and Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Staff Colleagues, 
I am looking forward to the official start of this new academic year with our Convocation ceremony on August 17.  This will be my first Ithaca College Convocation as Provost and I am very excited to join you and the campus community in this ceremonial welcome of our new students. 

In keeping with the spirit of celebrating our students, I would like to personally remind and encourage you to attend Ithaca College’s Convocation ceremony on Wednesday, August 17.  I am asking that staff be a part of the welcoming chute and the procession this year.  It will make the event so much more special for our new students. 

I encourage staff attending Convocation to wear your department/unit shirts, uniforms or other Ithaca College clothing to help identify you to the new students as members of the staff community. Staff members who own academic regalia and wish to wear it to the ceremony are, of course, free to do so.

The Convocation schedule is below, and I look forward to seeing you there!

August 17 Convocation

9:45 - 10:00 a.m. - Faculty and Staff Arrival for Welcome Chute - A&E Center –

Faculty and staff will form a welcome chute to greet new students as they arrive at the A& E Center. Please report to 1st Floor, south entrance.  Enter through the door at the east end – Higgins Stadium or at the west end second floor entrance by the pool.  Committee members will assist with line-up.

10:15 a.m. - Students will begin walking to their seats through the staff and faculty chute.  

10:45 a.m. - Convocation Procession Begins- A&E Center

11:00 am. - Estimated time of Ceremony 

12:00 p.m. - Community Picnic

I encourage you to participate in these events and look forward to celebrating the start of the 2022-23 academic year with you on August 17.  

Melanie I. Stein 
Provost & Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs

I am thrilled to have the honor of announcing the beginning of a new chapter in the celebrated history of arts education at Ithaca College with the naming of Anne Hogan as the inaugural dean of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Currently the dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts (CCFA) at the University of Memphis, she will begin her new position at IC on August 1. 

As announced in January, the School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts—which is currently located within the School of Humanities and Sciences—will come together as the new School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, which will be established on July 1. The incoming dean will be supported by two associate deans, Ivy Walz from Music and Steve TenEyck from Theatre and Dance. 

We made the decision to bring these two distinguished programs together in order to remove barriers to cross-divisional collaborations and enhance our ability to prepare students for multidisciplinary artistic careers in the 21st century. Anne is an inspiring, strategic, and creative leader who will bring a distinctive vision for the future while maintaining an unwavering commitment to building upon the proud legacy of our founding as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music. 

At the University of Memphis, Anne has led in the planning, development, and delivery of all CCFA programs and policies; the formation and implementation of the college’s strategic plan; and efforts to ensure an inclusive learning community, including the implementation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. During her time as dean, the school increased enrollment, retention, and graduation rates; improved the diversity of the undergraduate and graduate student populations; and inaugurated new undergraduate majors and online certificate programs. 

She also founded the University of Memphis Institute for the Arts and Health, designed to foster and secure funding for transdisciplinary research and community engagement bridging the arts, social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields. 

At Ithaca College, Anne looks forward to establishing more cross-disciplinary training and creative activities, both within the school and across IC, and to partnering with other higher education and arts institutions, nationally and internationally. She believes it is essential to establish the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance as a leader in diverse and inclusive practices in the arts and education. 

Anne understands the necessity of engaging with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders, and will work collaboratively to design and implement a strategic plan that will ensure the school’s long-term success and impact. 

This is truly an exciting opportunity to bring to our campus a dean who will champion the strength, rigor, vibrancy, and scope of the total performing arts experience at Ithaca College, deeply rooted in learning through theory, practice, and performance. 

You can learn more about Anne’s impressive background and experience, along with what she considers her foremost priorities, in this news story.

I want to thank associate professors Chrystyna Dail and James Mick for co-chairing this very important search. And I express my deep gratitude to professor Keith Kaiser and associate professor Ivy Walz, who have each served one-year terms as interim dean. 

Please join me in welcoming Anne to our new school, our college, and our extended campus community. 

Regards, 

Melanie Stein 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 

I am excited to announce that Amy Falkner—a longtime leader in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University—has been appointed as the next dean of Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications. Amy will begin her new position at IC on August 1, 2022.

From her early career in newspapers, through her years teaching in the classroom and conducting and presenting research, to serving for the past decade-and-a-half in academic leadership roles within a comprehensive communications education program, Amy has demonstrated the understanding and expertise that we have been seeking in our next Park School dean. Her experiences and qualities will serve our current and future Park School students well in preparing them for the ongoing transformation to the realm of digital media.

Indeed, in her current role as senior associate dean and previous service as both acting and interim dean of Newhouse, she has been responsible for advancing the school’s mission by leading the development of timely, relevant curricula; acquiring, allocating, and managing fiscal resources; maintaining and improving facilities; and attracting and retaining talented faculty and staff and exceptional students.

Amy is interested in bringing people together around a shared vision to achieve positive results, with a record of building cross-campus partnerships and joint graduate programs and of leading, inspiring, and motivating those who work for and with her. She has leveraged these strengths at the university level serving on the Strategic Planning Task Force and SU Abroad Council; and co-chairing the Free Speech Working Group, among other accomplishments. In the Newhouse School, she oversaw the development of the curriculum for the online digital communications master’s degree program and co-chaired the Undergraduate Online Degree Exploratory Committee; oversaw the Faculty Development Program; and helped cultivate a multimillion-dollar gift from the Newhouse Foundation.

Amy has also been active in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) space while assisting Syracuse University in finalizing its DEIA strategic plan. In the Newhouse School, this included implementing new faculty training on topics such as implicit bias, oversight of faculty recruitment, hiring and retention showing sustained growth in BIPOC and female faculty populations, holding listening sessions with students of color and their allies, being the point person for student bias reports, supporting intercultural events, and rolling out a new 3-credit diversity class required of all 2,000 Newhouse undergraduates.

As a researcher, Amy has studied the purchasing behaviors and media usage of LGBT consumers. For six years, she led the “Gay and Lesbian Consumer Online Census,” a national annual survey with 10,000 respondents intended to help Fortune 500 advertisers understand the complexities of the LGBT market. Results were used to develop and implement communications campaign strategies.

You can read more about Amy’s background and experience in this news story.

I offer my thanks to the search committee, chaired by associate professor Jack Bryant, and extend my deepest appreciation to professor Jack Powers, who has led the school for the past two years as interim dean.

Please join me in welcoming Amy as she brings her exceptional talents to our Ithaca College community.

Regards,

Melanie Stein
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Campus Community,

It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of experienced administrator and educator Michael Johnson-Cramer as the new dean of the Ithaca College School of Business. He will begin his new position at IC on July 1, 2022.

Michael is currently a professor of management at Bentley University, considered one of the nation’s top business schools. During the 2019-20 academic year he served as Dean of Business and of the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley. Prior to that he spent 15 years at Bucknell University, where he was on the global management faculty and his administrative experience included service as Associate Dean of Faculty for the College of Arts and Sciences, founding director of the School of Management, and interim dean of the Freeman College of Management.

In seeking a dean for the School of Business, we were determined to find someone who would be a hands-on, inspirational, and collaborative leader for the school’s academic, teaching, and research enterprise, interested in the holistic development of our students and with an unwavering and proven commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Michael has a demonstrable record of achievement in all of the above during his higher education career. His personal commitment to inclusion and his desire to create just organizations rooted in understanding and empathy derives from being a first-generation college student. He believes that creating experiences within and beyond the classroom can transform students’ lives, that business education should serve a higher purpose in business and society, and that good leadership can build systems that make both of those things more likely.

I want to thank the search committee, chaired by associate professor Christine Bataille, for its work in developing an outstanding pool of worthy candidates.

I especially want to express my gratitude to professor Alka Bramhandkar, who has so ably led the school as interim dean for these past two years.

You can read more about Michael’s background, and his vision for our School of Business, in the college’s news story 

Please join me in extending to him a warm welcome to Ithaca College.

Regards,

Melanie Stein
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

The academic deans of each of our five schools celebrating the class of 2026 at this year's convocation ceremony!  From left to right: (Dean Johnson-Cramer, Dean Hogan, Dean Falkner, Dean Gleitman, and Dean Petrosino)

The academic deans of each of our five schools celebrating the class of 2026 at this year's convocation ceremony!  From left to right: (Dean Johnson-Cramer, Dean Hogan, Dean Falkner, Dean Gleitman, and Dean Petrosino)