Ithaca College

After more than three decades of dedicated service to Ithaca College, Rick Couture has announced that he will be leaving for a position as Director of Facilities and Operations at Northfield Mount Hermon, a private school in western Massachusetts.  The move will bring Rick and his wife, Margarete, closer to family, including their first grandchild. 

Rick first came to the College in 1981, serving for two years as a Residence Director. He briefly left for another position before returning in 1984 as the Assistant Director of Residential Life.  In 1989 he joined the Office of Physical Plant as Assistant Director of Facilities Services.  He was promoted to Director of the Office of Physical Plant in 2002 and to Associate Vice President for Facilities in 2006.

The landscape of the College has changed greatly during Rick’s time here, and he has had a hand in nearly every aspect of that change, from where we walk and drive to where we work and study to where we eat, sleep, and play.  Over the past decade alone, he has overseen close to $150 million worth of new construction and renovation projects, including the Park Center for Business, PRW, the Circle Apartments and the A&E Center.  His able leadership of the team of nearly 200 hardworking professionals responsible for our buildings, grounds, and operations has helped make the South Hill campus a safe, comfortable, clean, functional, and sustainable environment for our students, staff, and faculty.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work alongside Rick for these past 30 years, and his positive attitude and dedication to superior service will certainly be missed by all.

We will keep the campus community informed as we make plans for filling the Associate Vice President position. We will also let you know when we have scheduled a reception at the Facilities complex to celebrate the work of Rick and his team and to bid him a proper farewell prior to his planned departure.

Please join me in thanking Rick for his outstanding contributions to the College, and wishing him and Margarete the very best in this next and exciting phase of their lives.