Provost Communications

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

AI and Teaching/Learning: New this year, the CFE and Provost’s office have prepared a statement of values related to the use of Generative AI in teaching and learning, to guide faculty. In addition, on the syllabus template (see the next item) there is a link to three options to choose from if you are seeking syllabus inserts clarifying whether students will be permitted to use GAI in their classwork, and how/whether the instructor would be using GAI.

Syllabus Guidelines:  As always, on the Provost’s Faculty Resources page, you can find updated syllabus guidelines. This includes links to: college policy about required elements on a syllabus; a refreshed syllabus template that provides both required and optional syllabus inserts; and guidelines for how to incorporate Credit Hour Expectations and Time Spent into the syllabus.

Please take a moment to review these materials and incorporate these updated materials into your syllabi (some links in the refreshed template are new!). In this way, you can help ensure that our students receive consistent information across all the coursework they complete at the college.    

Attendance Policy: The Ithaca College attendance policy can be found on this dedicated catalog page. 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  
3. to participate in local, state, or federal elections.  

Staffing Updates: There have been some staffing changes over the summer in our office. Please welcome:

• Kristin Morse and Sage Weber. Kristin and Sage have joined the office this summer as Academic Specialists. Kristin’s role has a primary focus on faculty affairs, Sage’s role focuses primarily on curriculum and extended studies. We are very excited to have them both on board!

CFE Leadership: Matt Clauhs will be returning to his department full-time in Fall 2027 after a distinguished term as CFE co-director since Fall 2022. His many contributions have made a profound impact on faculty success! For those who might be interested in a CFE Co-Director position beginning Fall 2027, please be on the lookout for a call for applications.

Course reserves: If you will be putting course materials on reserve through the library for Fall courses, please plan to submit those as soon as possible in general, the library asks you do this at least 2 weeks before the start of the semester. Requests should be submitted via Canvas using the Course Readings tool. Please also see this Intercom post for more details from the Library about support with course readings.

Canvas advising sites. All advisors have an Academic Advising site in Canvas. The course site provides a space for advisors to share resources, post Announcements or send messages with Inbox, and invite students to set an appointment using Scheduler. The Academic Advising site builds consistency for students across the college, meeting the request of both students and faculty to have academic advising resources in one space and on a familiar platform.

If you have any questions, feedback, or need support with the Academic Advising site in Canvas, please contact Matthew Clauhs, Co-Director, Center for Faculty Excellence (mclauhs@ithaca.edu) or Jenna Linskens, Director, Center for Instructional Design & Educational Technology (jlinskens@ithaca.edu). 

Deadlines 

Upcoming Events   

We are looking forward to seeing you at the first all-college faculty meeting and best wishes for the start of a new semester! 

Melanie Stein, Provost 
Ingrid Johnston, Associate Provost
Chris McNamara, Associate Provost 
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost 

Chris McNamara, our Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies, plans to retire from Ithaca College on June 30, 2027. Chris joined Ithaca College in 2006 and spent 17 years as a graduate faculty member in Physical Therapy and Director of the Occupational and Physical Therapy Clinic. As a faculty member, she taught orthopedic assessment and intervention across classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings. In her role as clinic director, in addition to managing daily operations, Chris collaborated with faculty to transform the clinic into a required experiential learning component, and successfully expanded student access to a broader, more diverse spectrum of patient populations. Outside the clinic, Chris was deeply engaged in campus governance, serving 14 years on Faculty Council, including three terms as chair.

In 2023, Chris was appointed Associate Provost of Graduate and Professional Studies. In this role, she has provided steady and collaborative leadership for the college’s graduate programs, the Office of Extended Studies, and the Office of Study Abroad. She has built strong partnerships across academic affairs and seeded new collaborations across divisions. Chris has successfully expanded graduate program offerings while continuously strengthening the infrastructure and support systems vital to graduate student success. We are so appreciative of her service in her current role.

Therefore, the Office of the Provost is seeking applicants for the position of Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies, to begin July 1, 2027.

The successful candidate will have primary responsibility for graduate program planning, including financial resource management, graduate awarding, and the continued development of infrastructure to support graduate education. The individual will work in close collaboration with representatives from the offices of admission, marketing, enrollment communication, and finance to maintain successful graduate programs and to expand the college’s graduate offerings. Working closely with graduate chairs, this individual will also oversee the Graduate Council. Additionally, this individual will provide direct supervision and oversight of the Office of Extended Studies, and the Office of International Programs, including the Ithaca College London Center and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services. Additional responsibilities include providing supervisory oversight for relevant offices and participating in committees or other groups as assigned by the provost. This individual will collaborate with the other associate provosts, relevant college offices, and faculty staff/committees across campus to implement strategic plan initiatives, administer programs, and provide academic and faculty affairs recommendations to the provost as appropriate. Alongside the other associate provosts, this individual may be asked to assume responsibility for oversight of the Division of Academic Affairs in the absence of the provost.

Qualifications: Current member of the Ithaca College faculty who will be appointed for a three-year, 12-month term (renewable upon mutual agreement of the individual and the provost). An earned terminal degree; knowledge of best practices, current issues, and future trends in higher education and curriculum; 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.

Application Process 
To apply for this position, please submit a current CV and a letter explaining how your experience supports your ability to fulfill the specific position duties to provost@ithaca.edu. Applications are due by the close of business on September 23, 2026.

The Office of the Provost is seeking applicants for the position of co-Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence to begin July 1, 2027. Appointment will be a 3-year 12-month term (expiring June 30, 2030) with possibility of extension. Matt Clauhs will be cycling off from this position at that time to return to his department, and we will be seeking a co-Director to serve alongside Amie Germain, who will continue in the role. Our extensive thanks to Matt for everything he has done for faculty and the College in his five years in this position!

The co-Director position comes with 12 credits reassigned time per year and a summer stipend.

The successful candidate will:

• Provide leadership in planning, organizing, and managing all responsibilities of and services offered by the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE), including faculty development programs, activities, and events.
• Develop, implement, assess, and continuously improve all elements of faculty development, with an emphasis on areas specified in the College's strategic plan.
• Promote an institutional culture of faculty engagement and continuous learning, provide advice on organizational development as it relates to faculty roles and responsibilities, and work collaboratively with Human Resources, Information Technology Services, and other areas of the College offering professional development programs and opportunities.

Qualifications: Must be a member of the current Ithaca College faculty with a Ph.D. or other appropriate terminal degree; significant college-level teaching experience; a record of scholarly engagement and productivity; broad general knowledge of issues and trends in higher education as they relate to the faculty role; strong leadership, supervisory, interpersonal and communication skills; and demonstrated capacity for successful leadership and administration of faculty development programs and events. Interest and expertise in any of the following areas are welcomed: integrative curriculum; instructional technology; student centered learning; civic engagement; distance learning; learning communities; scholarship of teaching and learning. Candidates are also welcome to share other areas of interest and expertise that might be relevant in the role.

Application Process 
To apply for this position, please submit a current CV and a letter explaining your interest in the position and how your experience supports your ability to fulfill the specific position duties to provost@ithaca.edu. Applications are due by the close of business on September 23.

Dear Colleagues,

A few updates for you at the semester midpoint:

Midterm Grades 

Midterm grades are due by 5pm Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Midterm grades are one of our most effective mechanisms for supporting student success ; they provide students with timely feedback about their progress while there is still runway to improve, and aid retention efforts by allowing the Academic Support Center to engage students. Submitting midterm grades on time is a tangible way you can support students; thank you for your partnership and commitment to student success! 

AI Guidelines

A reminder about the statement of values related to the use of Generative AI in teaching and learning; if the direct link proves uncooperative, you can navigate to the statement by clicking on the “Guidelines for Instructional Use of AI” tile on the Resources for Faculty webpage.

Winter/Spring Course Registration and Advising

Winter course registration begins on Monday, November 2. The Spring 2027 schedule will be viewable in Homer on Monday, October 19; Spring course registration begins on Tuesday, November 3. We encourage academic advisors to meet with advisees in advance of course registration. For those teaching in winter, please note that for 3- and 4-credit courses, the winter term begins on Wednesday, December 16.

Textbook Adoptions 

Please complete all Winter and Spring textbook adoptions in Akademos by Monday, November 2 . Completing textbook adoptions by this date is critical to ensure that students with limited financial resources can take advantage of textbook-dedicated financial support, in addition to ensuring compliance with federal requirements that we are transparent with students about prospective educational costs. It can be challenging to think about next semester while we’re in the midst of the present one, but please carve out some time for this since it directly helps students with limited resources! As a reminder, if you have courses for which students are not required to purchase any materials, that is also information that needs to be entered in Akademos.

All-Faculty Meeting 

The next All-Faculty Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 13, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Emerson, Suite B. The meeting will include academic updates, followed by time for questions and discussion. Please contact provost@ithaca.edu if you need additional accommodations or a livestream link. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.

Important Dates

Timetables for formal reviews, sabbatical applications, and emeritus/a recommendations are available here and linked from the Resources for Faculty webpage. Some other dates of note:

Upcoming Events

Thanks for everything you do!

Melanie Stein, Provost 
Ingrid Johnston, Associate Provost 
Chris McNamara, Associate Provost 
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost