Submitted on behalf of Kathleen Rountree, provost and vice president for academic affairs
To the Ithaca College community,
After three years of planning and preparations, the Middle States reaccreditation visit is now complete, and I write to say a heartfelt thank-you to the entire community for your participation. The team members constantly spoke of how welcomed they felt, and that their interactions with students, faculty, and staff were open, honest, and genuine.
In the oral summary, presented this morning by team chair Joseph E. Gilmour, there was much praise and good news, and some very valuable food for thought as we move forward in our continuing quest for greater excellence and achievement. President Gilmour began the visit to IC by announcing his -- and the team's -- desire to be helpful; they have certainly done so, and I thank them for it.
A preliminary version of the team's written report will be sent to President Williams for correction of any errors, and will then be submitted by President Gilmour to the Middle States Commission, who will act on it at their June meeting. We expect to receive notification of their action several weeks following that meeting.
The completion of the visit is the final step that has involved more than 150 individuals in preparation of the document, and many more in the total experience. Even as I congratulate and thank everyone, I give special commendation and thanks to a few who contributed "above and beyond":
professor Marian MacCurdy and associate dean Bill Pelto, who co-chaired the self-study document
associate provost David Garcํa, our Middle States liaison, who led the planning, preparation, and execution of the entire reaccreditation process
the faculty and administrative leaders of the College, who were all so positive and helpful throughout the preparation
the provost's office personnel, for their diligent and consuming work on the ten thousand details of the document and the visit
the School of Business and dean's office staff for hosting the team in fine new "digs," and
the staff from ITS and the Office of Conference and Events Services, who tended to the needs of the team, both on campus and off
As a community, Ithaca College entered into the Middle States process with the goal of learning from it, both through self-reflection and from the team's report and feedback. I look forward to working together with you to move forward on the issues and initiatives that may come from the process.
In my short time at Ithaca, I have often heard people say that the College's greatest strength is its sense of community. I certainly saw that community at work during the team visit. At every step, the strength and vitality of the people of Ithaca College were evident. I thank each of you for being a part of this community, and I am both grateful and proud to be a new part of it.
Kathleen Rountree
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20080305160932436