Submitted on behalf of James W. Nolan Jr. ’77, chair of the Presidential Search Committee
As promised in my first message, I can now provide information on the sessions that have been scheduled for you to be able to give feedback to the Presidential Search Committee. These sessions offer the opportunity for every member of our campus community to have input on the development of the position specification document. They also give our consultants the opportunity to engage with our campus community in order to gain a better understanding of the type of leader we are seeking in our next president.
On April 6, the Presidential Search Committee held its first meeting on campus with our search consultants, Michele Haertel and Mary Gorman from the firm Spencer Stuart. Michele and Mary also met with President’s Council and collectively with the Deans of the five schools. They posed to these groups a set of questions they believe will be helpful for all members of the campus community to consider when providing feedback:
- What are the core values and key strengths of Ithaca College? What makes the college distinctive?
- What are your aspirations for the college? What are the challenges the college will face in pursuing these aspirations?
- Given the culture, aspirations and challenges, what qualities, skills and experiences would you like to see in the next president of Ithaca College?
- What advice do you have for us?
Mary will return to campus on Tuesday, April 19, with Ainslie Milner, an additional consultant who will be assisting with the search. They will facilitate a series of open sessions for students, faculty, staff, and administrators as well as meetings with a variety of specific constituency groups. Mary and Ainslie will document the information and input and provide it to the search committee. Where possible, members of the committee will also sit in on some of these sessions.
While we originally anticipated the need to hold these gatherings over two days, scheduling some sessions concurrently has allowed us to keep this to a single day. The schedule is as follows:
7:30–8:30 a.m., President’s Council with Mary Gorman and Ainsley Milner, Six Mile Creek Meeting Room
8:30–9:15 a.m., Administrative Assembly with Mary Gorman and Ainsley Milner, Clark Lounge
9:45–10:30 a.m., Academic Department Chairs with Mary Gorman, Taughannock Falls Meeting Room
9:45–10:30 a.m., Staff Council with Ainsley Milner, Ithaca Falls Meeting Room
10:50–11:45 a.m., Open Meeting for Faculty with Mary Gorman, Clark Lounge
10:50–11:45 a.m., Open Meeting for Staff with Ainsley Milner, Ithaca Falls Meeting Room
12:05–1:00 p.m., Faculty Council with Mary Gorman, Clark Lounge
12:05–1:00 p.m., Student Government Association with Ainsley Milner, Ithaca Falls Meeting Room
1:10–2:00 p.m., Open Meeting for Students with Ainsley Milner, Taughannock Falls Meeting Room
1:10–2:00 p.m., Open Meeting for Staff with Mary Gorman, Clark Lounge
2:30–3:15 p.m., Open Meeting for Administrators with Ainsley Milner, Clark Lounge
2:30–3:15 p.m., Council on Diversity and Inclusion with Mary Gorman, Ithaca Falls Meeting Room
3:20–4:00 p.m., Open Meeting for Students with Ainsley Milner, Clark Lounge
3:20–4:00 p.m., Open Meeting for Faculty with Mary Gorman, Ithaca Falls Meeting Room
4:00–5:00 p.m., Open Meeting for Faculty, Staff, and Students with Mary Gorman and Ainsley Milner, Clark Lounge
5:15–6:00 p.m., Local Community Leaders with Mary Gorman and Ainsley Milner, Founder’s Room
All locations are in the Campus Center with the exception of the 5:15 p.m. meeting, which is being held in the Peggy Ryan Williams Center.
To aid in providing a proper focus for each session, we ask that you only attend one that is specified for your affiliation in the campus community.
Following the campus meetings, Spencer Stuart will also be establishing on its website an electronic form for gathering additional feedback. Look for a future announcement on how to access this form, which will be available to all members of the Ithaca College community, including alumni. You can also use this opportunity to nominate individuals you would like the search committee to consider for the position of president.
In May, the consultants will engage the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association Board of Directors in soliciting their input. Once all of the feedback has been gathered, it will be used by Spencer Stuart to draft the position specification document, which will be reviewed for approval by the Presidential Search Committee and the Board of Trustees. The final prospectus will be provided to all those interested in being considered for the position of president of Ithaca College.
I encourage each and every member of the campus community to actively participate in this important process. As always, you can find the latest information at the presidential search website.
Sincerely,
Jim Nolan ’77
Chair, Presidential Search Committee
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Theresa Klinger at tklinger@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3836. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.