Intercom: Message from Board Chair Tom Grape on Trustees Meeting

As I reflect on our recently concluded fall meeting of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, I am confident that this institution is moving in the right direction on all fronts. There is much work ahead for all of us, but I have no doubt that our entire campus community is focused and determined.

Our time on campus included a new board member orientation, four plenary meetings, and scheduled committee meetings. The first plenary included a report from President Rochon and the Vice Presidents on key strategic issues. Our second plenary was divided into two parts. The first was a discussion with the board about increasing awareness of important issues on campus. The second part of plenary two was a workshop on inclusive excellence. Plenary three was spent in executive session discussing progress on the presidential search and preparing for the transition. Our final plenary was our business meeting with an executive session at the end. One other important topic discussed at the committee and plenary level was the upcoming 125th anniversary celebration.

Between sessions we focused on campus engagement. At each board meeting, we try to expose ourselves to different areas of campus, and this time there was an opportunity to meet student scholarship recipients and also learn about the Fundamentals of Musical Theatre Song Performance course with Paula Murray Cole, associate professor of theatre arts. The first evening we celebrated and honored our newly tenured and promoted faculty. The following day for lunch we divided and joined faculty and students in each of the schools. Our second evening was spent with the Student, Faculty and Staff Councils discussing shared governance and other important topics over dinner.

Nearly one year ago, the board increased its efforts to build its own cultural competency, and ensure appropriate oversight of the development of inclusive excellence initiatives on our campus. Each successive meeting has included a plenary with a specific area of focus. At this meeting, trustees took part in an intensive workshop with consultant Craig B. Clayton, who has been working for several months with all of the college’s volunteer groups to help improve cross-cultural competency and learn about how we can be more inclusive in all our interactions and processes.

As a result of this workshop and subsequent discussion among our members about enhancing leadership on this issue, the Board of Trustees officially adopted a resolution on achieving Inclusive Excellence at Ithaca College, which reads as follows:

“The Board of Trustees commits to leading Ithaca College to a future of Inclusive Excellence that is linked to our core educational mission in learning, teaching, student development, and community engagement. The board will create a special committee on Inclusive Excellence that ensures the integration of equity and inclusiveness in every area of board oversight. The board also commissions the president and his leadership team to engage the campus community in the creation of an institution-wide strategy, and incorporation of Inclusive Excellence in our vision and mission statements.”

The board adopted the guiding principles on this topic from the Association of American Colleges & Universities. The concept includes four primary elements:

We are grateful for the efforts of all of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have strived to make our community more inclusive and welcoming. Lots of work has already been done, and yet there is so much more we can and should do. We acknowledge that it will take some time for campus leaders to adapt this Inclusive Excellence framework for our Ithaca College community, but we are committed to this important work and will continue to fully support it.

The board devoted a plenary in executive session to discussing key issues and opportunities around the search. While there are no announcements beyond the recent message from search chair Jim Nolan ’77, we are confident that the dedicated work of the search committee will ensure that we are successful in recruiting the best individual to serve as our ninth president of Ithaca College.

It is always a pleasure to hear about student/faculty learning endeavors, and in our Educational Affairs Committee meeting, Vice Provost for Academic Programs Danette Johnson shared with us some exemplary projects that have resulted from our Integrative Core Curriculum.

We also heard many stories of student/faculty collaborations at our two events designed specifically to provide members of the board and members of the campus community with the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with one another: the reception and dinner with newly tenured and promoted faculty, and the meeting with leadership of the Faculty Council, Staff Council, and Student Governance Council.

It was a delight to spend time getting to know each other on a more personal level. We talked about some college business issues, of course, but we also talked about where we were from, what drew us to IC, and other shared interests.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the ongoing collective bargaining issues that were highlighted by some of our faculty while trustees were meeting on campus. As trustees, we care deeply about this college, and about the faculty and staff who share their wealth of experience and expertise with our students.

It is not uncommon during contract negotiations for the parties to disagree and to assert their positions with vigor and passion. We are optimistic the parties will achieve collective bargaining agreements that are fair, responsible, and financially sustainable.

I would like to express the board’s gratitude for the ongoing work of the Shared Governance Task Force. One year ago, the board passed a resolution asking for the creation of a task force to examine the existing shared governance process and structure, and to recommend changes. It was clear both to the board and to many on campus that the college’s existing governance organization and practices were confusing and inconsistent.

Last week, the task force released the draft of its proposal. I encourage you to read the draft, and to provide comments to the task force either through the Qualtrics link provided in the email message sent to the campus, or at one of the multiple feedback sessions that have been scheduled.

I know that the task force looks forward to hearing from all segments of the campus community—staff, students, faculty, and administrators—as all have a stake in this significant proposed change to the current governance structure.

I also want to thank members of the IC community who participated in the Campus Climate Survey. The affection that our alumni volunteers have for our alma mater was brought home to me when I learned that the Alumni Association Board of Directors donated $5,000 to offer an extra incentive for students who responded to the survey. That incentive generated a surge of responses, and helped us surpass the desired student participation rate.

While you can read the Intercom story to learn more about the tuition, room, and board charges the board approved for the 2017–18 academic year, I want to take this opportunity to applaud the continued efforts of the administration to bring down the rate of cost increases. When coupled with the largest ever amount budgeted for institutional financial aid, this will help make the Ithaca educational experience financially attainable for more students and their families.

I also want to congratulate Gerard Turbide and the entire enrollment management team for helping to bring in such a talented and diverse class of first-year students. Trustees were excited to learn more about our admission strategies, and we believe that the team has a solid plan for student recruitment in a challenging national higher education environment.

Message from Board Chair Tom Grape on Trustees Meeting

10/30/16