Ithaca College

With the May 31 departure from the College of Anthony Hopson, I wanted to update the campus community about how his community and government relations and civic engagement responsibilities are being distributed.

Government relations will now reside in the Office of the President, with Bailey Reagan, Assistant to the President, taking lead. Community relations activities will be handled primarily by Rory Rothman, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life, and Dave Maley, Associate Director of Media Relations.

Rory will lead the IC/Community Work Group. This group brings together staff and students from the college with representatives from the city, town, neighborhood associations, and law enforcement agencies in order to improve communications among constituencies and address issues specific to South Hill. Dave will write the monthly “IC Connections” column in the Ithaca Journal and, as he does with the media, serve as an initial point of contact for community members, who he can then redirect to the appropriate person on campus.

Civic engagement is a critical component of our IC 20/20 strategic initiative, and I will be working with the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Educational Affairs to ensure continuity in the development of community service and course-based service learning opportunities. I will update the campus community when plans for how those responsibilities will be managed are complete.