Ithaca College

Dear Campus Community:

We write today with tremendous sadness in sharing the news that Sue-Je Gage, an associate professor of anthropology who had served for the past year as Faculty Advocate in the Office of the Provost, died unexpectedly this morning. We learned of this news earlier today and needed to respect the needs of Sue-Je’s family before notifying our campus community.

Our hearts break with this loss, and our thoughts are with her family, friends, colleagues, and students. On this Mother’s Day, our spirits are especially heavy as we reflect on what this loss means for Sue-Je’s daughter, mother, and sister.

Sue-Je was an invaluable part of this academic community, whose approach to her work was deeply rooted in a commitment to our shared humanity.

As Faculty Advocate, she embodied all that we had intended with the creation of the position: She was an approachable and neutral listener, an insightful counselor and diligent fact-finder for faculty members, and offered thoughtful guidance to chairs, deans, and the provost in addressing individual and collective faculty concerns.  

Prior to this role, Sue-Je had spent a year as one of the college’s inaugural President’s Fellows, conducting research on how to build and illuminate pathways to better acknowledge, address, and potentially resolve conflicts and challenges at the college. She was a participant in the Ithaca Firsts Mentor Program, supporting our first-generation students by sharing her own experiences as one, and she had served on the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Committee as well as on a number of other department, school, and college-wide committees. In 2019, she was chosen to participate in the HERS Institute, a selective leadership development program to support women in higher education. Off campus, Sue-Je was a volunteer mediator with the local Community Dispute Resolution Center.

In addition to teaching in the Department of Anthropology, Sue-Je was an affiliated faculty member in the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity and in the Women’s and Gender Studies program. Her research focused on identity and race, and more specifically on belonging and citizenship and the dimensions of state power in defining its citizenry.

Sue-Je spoke candidly about her experiences growing up as a second-generation Korean American and a “mixed-race” American, sharing how this had shaped her anthropology career and demonstrating for her peers and for our students how to authentically and powerfully navigate intersectional identities as a scholar and as a human being. She was a role model for many of our students and for members of our community.

We recognize that we face this deep loss during a very difficult and isolating time for our society. Support services to all members of the Ithaca College community are available at any time through the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling 607-274-3136. Faculty and staff can access the counseling services of the Employee Assistance Program by calling 1-800-327-2255.

Information on funeral or memorial services will be shared with the campus community when it becomes available. In the meantime, we ask that you continue to take care of yourselves and one another, and to keep Sue-Je and her loved ones close to your heart as we grieve her loss.

With deepest sympathy,

Shirley M. Collado
President

La Jerne Terry Cornish
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs