Ithaca College

The Division of Institutional Advancement and Communication has completed a reorganization that will better enable the division to meet the continued goals around engagement and philanthropy, and complete a journey toward a comprehensive and strategic approach to college relations. As a result, effective June 1, it has been renamed the Division of College Relations and Advancement. 

The primary purpose of any restructuring is to align positions and personnel to help ensure the success of the organization and the talented individuals who comprise it. You can see the new titles and revised organizational charts on the College Relations and Advancement Resources website.

Below are some of the key features of our new structure.

OFFICE OF COLLEGE RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Formerly known as the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications, the new name of this part of the division helps convey the full scope of the operation’s activities.

We have made some organizational and operational shifts to assist the Office of College Relations and Communications in being be able to:

• Meet a sharply increased volume of strategically focused work
• Promote greater visibility and strengthen the reputation of the college
• Foster productive relationships across constituents’ full life cycles and help the college generate enrollment and advancement revenue
• Clearly articulate and support leadership strategy

To do all of this, we are creating an integrated structure to support strategically focused communications. Three strong, interconnected teams anchor the new plan. They are:

• Strategic Communications: Defining and implementing communications strategy for campus and board leadership, college-level strategic initiatives, crisis and emergency response, and news and publications

• Marketing Strategy: Creating a unified, life-cycle based approach to enrollment and advancement marketing and communications, informed by strong strategic partnerships with VPs and deans, and driven by research and data analysis

• Creative Strategy and Development: Conceiving and producing the creative campaigns, ideas, assets, and tools that communicate the college’s voice and help our campus partners meet their goals

OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT

The reorganization in the institutional advancement part of the division is a recognition of the evolution of our leadership giving program (Blue & Gold Society) as well as a strategic response to the need to complete our campaign by raising more than $100 million by December 2018. We have raised approximately $48 million to date. This reorganization continues to support the important work of our alumni relations team in engagement and is, in turn, enhanced by our talented advancement services team.

We have established the Blue & Gold Society, and developed a brand that has increased donor membership, driven philanthropy, and instilled a sense of pride in our donors and volunteers. The program now needs to be better connected to annual giving. The Blue & Gold Society will move into the IC Annual Fund to help us drive toward the dollar goals established for 2018.

In recognition of the need for laser-like focus on our prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, we are establishing the unit of Individual Giving through a reallocation of resources. This unit will comprise those dedicated to the integrated management of our leadership and major gift prospects, as well as our burgeoning planned giving program.

Additionally, as Ithaca College has worked to become more focused on emphasizing a culture of philanthropy on and off campus, there is a need for more effective and strategic stewardship and communication with current and prospective donors who will provide transformative investment in the institution. Given this, our director of donor relations will also manage individual communications with key donors and continue to lead the college’s efforts to provide donor-centric stewardship that supports the building and sustaining of long-term relationships.

We want to thank the Office of Human Resources with assisting us in this critical restructuring. We are grateful to all of our campus partners for their work that enables us to inspire engagement and build philanthropy to support the IC student experience.