The Ithaca College Board of Trustees welcomed three new members and met with students and faculty during its winter meeting, February 17–18. Tom Grape, Chris LaCroix and David Lebow had each been elected last fall to three-year terms on the board.
Grape is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Benchmark Assisted Living, the largest provider of senior housing in the northeast and recognized as one of the top 100 places to work by the “Boston Globe.” Active in many professional organizations, he is a past chairman of the Assisted Living Federation of America and former board member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He has been honored with the International Corporate Social Responsibility Award from the YPO and recognized as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for real estate/hospitality in New England. A 1980 graduate of the School of Humanities and Sciences, he has served as an adviser to the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute and served on the Business Professionals Alumni Advisory Committee.
Chris LaCroix was partner and managing director with LSV Asset Management, a firm that specializes in value equity management for institutional investors around the world, until he retired at the end of 2008. He continues his involvement with LSV as a member of the company’s executive committee and as an advisor and consultant. Prior to joining LSV in 1996, he spent his entire career working in asset management with companies including Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Mitchell Hutchins, Hyperion Capital Management, Pacific Financial Companies (including PIMCO), John Hancock and The Travelers. A 1979 graduate of the School of Business, he is a member of the school’s Advisory Council and Investment Advisory Board and served on the Athletics and Events Center National Committee.
A 1983 graduate of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, David Lebow is president and chief executive officer of Internet Broadcasting, the leading provider of websites, content and advertising revenue solutions to televisions stations and other local media providers across the country. He was previously executive vice president and general manager of AOL Media Networks, where he was instrumental in creating and executing the strategy that transformed AOL from a dialup Internet service provider into a consumer web portal. He had also held positions as senior vice president of operations for Emmis Communications and executive vice president for AMFM (now Clear Channel Communications). He has served the college as a member of the Park School Advisory Committee and National Leadership Council.
The board also hosted a showcase of student collaborative research work conducted over the past year. Joining the researchers and trustees were the deans and department chairs from each of the participating students’ respective disciplines. Following the showcase, trustees held a reception for the Faculty Council along with recently hired faculty members.
