Gayeski used the hour-long forum to update the audience of faculty and some students on the expansion of the graduate program in communications innovation and changes within academic programs that, she said, will continue to distinguish the Roy H. Park School of Communications from its competitors.

“A lot of other places can compete with us, and they do compete with us very well,” Gayeski said. “But what is really hard to duplicate is what we’ve built over about 50 years, which is great engagement, primarily with alumni and with other people in the profession.”

The college will be extending its professional reach with the executive-style master’s degree in communications innovation, which is still, according to Gayeski, in the planning stages. Between 12 and 15 professionals from around the world will enroll in the two-year master’s program.

“The idea is that they will be mid-career, successful in their own area of communications,” she said. “But they are going to be the next movers and shakers and innovators.”

To complete the degree, students will complete all their required courses online, she said, and they will travel to different locations around the world for three-to-four day classes on special topics.

Gayeski said the school hopes to hire a program director this summer, who will start to recruit the first incoming class for Fall 2013. The program must still be approved, she said, because it is both the first executive-style master’s to be offered at Ithaca College, in addition to the first online degree.

Matt Mogekwu, associate professor of journalism, said the program will help garner the school more exposure on an international level.

“If everything goes well, I think Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications will be a model for even the bigger universities to see how communications programs can be managed in an institution of higher learning,” Mogekwu said.

Gayeski emphasized that the expansion into the graduate level will not undercut the school’s undergraduate programs. The school also presently offers a master’s degree in communications.

A bachelor’s degree in emerging media, which will bridge the Park School and the School of Humanities and Sciences, is scheduled to launch next fall. Integrative majors, or majors that incorporate courses from multiple professional schools, is one of the major themes of IC 20/20, the college’s vision plan for the next decade.

The cinematography, photography and media arts department will merge with the television-radio department into one planning unit, effective in Fall 2012. Gayeski said this reflects the integration of media platforms and will not change the degree programs in any way. Instead, the merger allows faculty to teach across these degree programs, she said, and eliminates the identification of departments by specific media storage platforms.

“What’s been happening in the areas of TV-R and CPMA is that there has been more overlap in terms of faculty expertise,” she said. “And it also makes less and less sense to define a department by the medium that they happen to use to record images or sound.”

Georgina Morley, a sophomore integrated marketing and communications major, said she believes, with Gayeski at the helm, the school is headed in the right direction.

“I was really interested in the new and emerging media major and the collaboration of departments and how she was talking about the difference between a department and a major,” Morley said. “I thought it was a progressive way of thinking about things.”

Businesses that rely on colder climates and snow are suffering in the season’s mild temperatures.

According to data from the Cornell University Northeast Regional Climate Center, the average temperature in Ithaca this month was 31.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 8.5 degrees warmer than normal. Ithaca has seen snow accumulations of just 18.2 inches this season, a drastically lower number than the 48.8 inches that normally falls, according to the organization.

Kevin Morrin, vice president of sales and marketing at Greek Peak Mountain Resort, said that while the 84-degree indoor water park is doing “quite well” in the warmer weather, fewer visitors are flocking to the resort’s ski mountain. Between 50,000 and 70,000 people have hit the slopes this ski season, he said. The mountain typically sees about 170,000 guests in a season.

“No matter how many marketing dollars you have out there saying you’re open, if there’s no snow in the backyard, people won’t come,” Morrin said.

The ski resort has cut back hours and staff as a result of the drop of visitors, Morrin said. Greek Peak has also relied on “creative, out-of-the-box” promotional ideas to draw customers to the mountain. Last December, the resort held a playful ceremonial bonfire where someone dressed up as Ullr, a mythical god of snow, and appealed for wintery precipitation. As the spring season approaches, Morrin said people are less likely to spend an afternoon or weeklong getaway at the slopes.

“Even if it does snow a little bit in March, the demand is not going to be there,” he said.

Local retailers have also taken hits due to the mild winter. Eric Mastroberti, floor manager of Eastern Mountain Sports, called this winter “difficult” and “disheartening.” The outdoor equipment store has seen a drop in sales due to the warmer temperatures.

“When you sell clothing and equipment to be used in cold weather and there isn’t any cold weather, sales begin to slow,” Mastroberti said.

While the store would typically be preparing to stock shelves with spring clothing and equipment at this time of year, an excess of winter gear has led to sooner-than-usual sales on items to make room on clothing racks and shelves, Mastroberti said.

“We have some more opportunities for folks if they are actually looking for that stuff now, just because it is all on sale,” he said.

The local hotel industry has seen little difference in guest stays this winter compared to previous years. At the Clarion University Hotel and Conference Center, 18 out of 106 rooms were filled Friday, Andrea Fort, a front desk clerk at the hotel, said. The Ramada Ithaca Executive Conference Center has seen “no noticeable increase due to weather at all,” Stan Witko, general manager of the inn, said.

Bruce Stoff, spokesperson for the Ithaca-Tompkins County
Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it is remarkable to have no snow on the ground in February. The unusually high temperatures have had a significant impact on road salt and snow removal companies, he said.
Those struggling hope temperatures will drop down to normal digits in order to recoup the money and visitors lost this season.

“I’ve seen the snow plows drive by on days when there’s just a flurry,” Stoff said. “I think those guys are terribly bored right now.”

Styles look polished, but maintain the British edginess that designers like Westwood pioneered. At Jonathan Saunders, prim styles were reimagined in leather -an interesting juxtaposition.

Meanwhile, at Alexander McQueen, styles were darkly (of course) romantic, but with a more wistful softness under the direction of Sarah Burton.

I think that my favorite finale of the week was Burberry, which fully embodied the fresh, young spirit of British fashion for the season. It was a whimsical ending thanks to the London “showers” on the final walk for the models.

NYFW is over, which means that it’s time for a recap! This fall, styles are staying classic and elegant while still continuing to pay homage to the 70s – but tastefully so! More Charlie girl, less that 70s show. Silhouettes are streamlined, skirts are longer. I’m predicting knee length pencil skirts a la Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde making a comeback. Colors are rich and deep – a progression away from the neutrals of last fall. Look for deep jewel tones and invest in some good navy and black pieces – staples for the season! Also, red made appearances on runways throughout the city – a perfect accent to the preppy plaids and tartans seen. Finally, polished detailing like rich leathers and gold hardware completed the elegance of NYFW.

The 4.71 percent tuition increase, up from this year’s price of $35,278, is the smallest rate increase since 2002-03, according to the release.

“I believe that the budget we have developed represents our best efforts to control expenditures and to apply the smallest possible cost increase while continuing to improve the already-high quality of an Ithaca College education,” President Tom Rochon wrote in a letter to parents, the release said.

Check back later for updates.

In August, the Dryden Zoning Ordinance was amended to ban all activities related to the exploration, production or storage of natural gas extraction, according to the court document, Anschutz v. Dryden.

Judge Phillip Rumsey determined that New York state oil and gas law does not restrict municipalities from changing their own zoning laws to halt natural gas pursuits, according to a statement from Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, D-N.Y., who opposes fracking.

In the statement, Lifton said she was pleased with the ruling, which sides with the Town of Dryden’s home rule, or ability to control natural gas drilling within its jurisdiction.

“I am thrilled with the just-released decision from Justice Rumsey in Anschutz v. Dryden,” she said in the statement. “I have long argued, in both my amicus brief filed in this case and with my home rule bills, that our long-held tradition of home rule in New York still applies to drilling. This is a victory for municipalities and land-owners across New York.”

The lawsuit was filed by Denver-based Anschutz Corporation last fall after Dryden changed its zoning laws to ban the controversial process of extracting natural gas from the ground. Anschutz owns 22,000 acres of land leases in Dryden.

Check back later for more updates.

Gandhi worked for 30 years as a journalist for The Times of India. He and his wife developed projects to benefit the socially and economically oppressed. His programs have reached more than half a million people in more than 300 villages.

Contributing Writer Henry Apostoleris interviewed Gandhi about his activist work and his visit to Ithaca.

Henry Apostoleris: Can you tell me about your activist work with poverty?

Arun Gandhi: My work is to get out and spread the message of nonviolence as far and wide as possible. I also started the Gandhi Worldwide Education Institution, which has two objectives — one is to spread the Gandhi message all over the world, and the other is to rescue exploited children who live in poverty and are being exploited because of their circumstances. We want to rescue them and give them the means to get out of that cycle of poverty and become normal human beings.

HA: What message are you here to spread?

AG: I believe in nonviolence as a philosophy of life and I want people to understand that philosophy of life and apply it in their own lives so that we can all become better human beings — more compassionate, loving, understanding and respectful.

HA: How do you think issues like poverty can be solved?

AG: I am just trying to make people aware of what they can do. If they all take on the responsibility with this whole thing we can resolve this very quickly. But it needs that kind of commitment and that is what is lacking.

HA: What experiences have shaped your life?

AG: All of the lessons that I learned from my grandfather as a young boy and the upbringing that I had from my parents — who also believed in the philosophy of nonviolence — all of that has contributed to making me who I am today.

HA: How do you feel about some of the popular social movements like Occupy Wall Street?

AG: It is a very constructive and a very positive thing. I am very glad that they stuck with their philosophy. But there are a couple of things that I find lacking, which I think sets back improvement a little bit. One of them being that we don’t know what they are against, and we don’t know what they are for. They have not made that very clear, and I think they need to make that clear. The other thing is that they are attempting to launch a major movement without any leadership, and I think in the nonviolent struggle, it’s important to have somebody who is comfortable to answer questions and lead a movement.

HA: What should people take from your talk?

AG: Well, I have come here to plant seeds. I hope that those seeds will be planted in their minds and that they will nurture those seeds, and think about it, and learn more about it.