College encourages spirit through giving campaign

Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow is sponsoring the first-ever “I Love IC Week,” a week of events that promote campus philanthropy and school spirit, which began Feb. 24 and will conclude Feb. 28.

Five alumni — one from each school and all fewer than five years graduated from the college — will speak in a 5 Under 5 Alumni Panel from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 27 about their transition from student to post-grad life.

Photos and tweets from the week will be put on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 28 in the North Foyer of the Campus Center.

As part of “I Love IC Week,” STAT is partnering with Food for Thought to host a canned food drive. Students in each class can give $1 to donate a can. The classes are also in competition with one another to donate the most cans.

STAT has also been putting up yard signs in the Academic Quad to encourage philanthropy on campus  Feb. 26–28.

Cornell professor to talk about designer children

“Google Babies,” a term coined by documentary filmmaker Zippi Brand Frank for designer and modified babies, will be the subject of a talk tentatively titled “Googling Baby on Global Assisted Reproduction Services” held at 7 p.m. March 4 in Textor Hall room 101. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Center for Faculty Excellence, Women’s Studies and the Departments of Psychology and Politics have invited Debra Castillo, professor of comparative literature at Cornell University, to deliver the talk.

The talk will cover topics relating to assisted reproduction services, including surrogacy — paying a surrogate female to bear another couple’s baby in her womb — and careful genetic selection of designer babies, where affluent parents carefully choose a donor egg and donor sperm and specify the child’s sex.

Participants will explore how the outsourcing of reproductive functions affects the public mindset toward such controversial issues.

Dana professor to retire after 40 years at college

Raquib Zaman, Dana Professor and chair of the Department of Finance and International Business, is retiring this spring after 40 years of service at Ithaca College. The School of Business has invited the campus community and alumni to a farewell event in his honor to be held from 4–6 p.m. March 5 in Emerson Suites.

Zaman came to Ithaca in 1971 after teaching for several years in Pakistan. He held positions at Cornell and the Tompkins County Department of Planning before beginning his teaching career at the college in 1974. Five years later, he was named chair of the new Department of Accounting and Finance. In 1987, he was named a Charles A. Dana Professor of Finance and International Business and became chair of the Department of Finance, another new department, for which he developed the curriculum.

In terms of other new ventures, Zaman was also on the steering committees responsible for the development of the Gerontology Institute and the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity.

Public Safety wins award for sustainable practices

The Sustainable Tompkins Board of Directors awarded the Ithaca College Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management the Sign of Sustainability 2013 Award in recognition of Public Safety’s 20th annual Law Enforcement Bike School. Sustainable Tompkins’ purpose in annually showcasing these community “signs of sustainability” is to make citizens aware of sustainability-related programs and to encourage the adoption of more sustainable practices.

Sustainable Tompkins is a citizen-based organization that works toward building a healthy community through the integration of social equity, economic life and environmental stewardship.

The Annual Law Enforcement Bike School is a five-day course offered annually to community members and taught by representatives from Public Safety, Cornell University Police, SUNY Cortland Police, Cortland Police Department and Ithaca Police Department. The course is designed as entry-level training for law enforcement, teaching classroom training in combination with application exercises such as the use of specialized mountain bikes for patrol activities. 

Library to host discussion on Cuomo’s Energy Plan

The Tompkins County Library will host a free public forum on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Draft 2014 New York Energy Plan to discuss its strengths and weaknesses in relation to climate change. The library will bring featured speakers to the forum, titled “NY’s Energy Plan: Scaling up Renewable Energy or Business as Usual?” from 6:30–8:30 p.m. March 5 in the Borg Warner Room.

Dr. Tony Ingraffea, Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, will moderate the discussion about the energy plan, which sets goals for clean energy and increased efficiency but indicates the accelerated use of natural gas infrastructure in New York. Attendees will learn about the plan’s key points and how to send comments about the plan to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the public benefit corporation that works to increase energy-efficient jobs and sustainable practices.

The forum will feature Jackson Morris, senior energy and climate analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City and former senior policy analyst with Pace Law School’s Energy and Climate Center, and Dr. Brice Smith, associate professor and chair of physics at SUNY Cortland and former senior scientist at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.

Police caution residents to avoid bodies of water

In light of a report of three people having fallen into the Ithaca Falls Feb. 22, the Ithaca Police Department has issued a warning of the dangerous conditions found in the natural lands of the City of Ithaca.

Ithaca Police were called at 3:45 p.m. Feb. 22 to Ithaca Falls to respond to the report of a person who slipped from the trail into the water. While they were responding, another call reported two more persons who fell into the water. The victims were able to get out of the water and safely leave the trail by the time the police arrived.

The recent warm weather has caused water levels to rise significantly and ice that appears thick to be unstable and dangerous. The melting snow has also contributed to rapid and dangerous currents.

Chief of Police John R. Barber warned residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution by keeping clear of bodies of water, staying on trails and obeying posted signs.