Ithaca College President La Jerne Cornish announced the results of nationwide administrative searches for the vice president for philanthropy and engagement and vice president for marketing and communications on May 11.
Starting July 1, Laine Norton will assume the role of vice president for philanthropy and engagement and Mark Eyerly will assume the role of vice president for marketing and communications. There were no open sessions to hear from candidates prior to them being hired.
Since Wendy Kobler, former vice president for philanthropy and engagement, left the college in July 2022, Quincy Davidson has served as the interim vice president for philanthropy and engagement. Laurie Koehler holds the role of vice president for marketing and enrollment strategy and is set to leave the college at the end of the 2022–23 fiscal year. Koehler’s position has been redesigned as the vice president for marketing and communications.
“I am delighted to welcome these two creative and accomplished professionals to the President’s Cabinet,” Cornish said to IC News. “They each bring to the college the talents and experiences needed to lead their respective teams in a direction that reflects and reinforces the strategic plan and the college’s vision for the future.
Norton has worked as the assistant dean for advancement and external affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs for the past four years. At Syracuse, Norton led a team that created growth in the Forever Orange fundraising campaign of over $50 million. Before moving to Syracuse, Norton served as the senior director of development in the College of Business at the University of Nebraska Foundation where she led fundraising initiatives and worked to grow resources.
At Ithaca College, Norton will oversee alumni engagement initiatives, educate and engage community stakeholders in fundraising efforts and create opportunities for alumni participation.
“I believe in the transformational properties of higher education and the essential role philanthropy plays in achieving and maintaining progress,” Norton said to IC News. “I am enthusiastic and strive to prioritize maximum impact while emphasizing donor priorities. I am excited to become a part of the Ithaca College team.”
Eyerly was previously the vice president for marketing communications at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania from 2016–22. During his time in the position, the college had record admission applications and donations. Before Lafayette College, Eyerly worked in marketing and communications positions at LeBow College of Business at Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Temple University and Cornell University.
At Ithaca College, Eyerly will work to advance the college’s brand through marketing and communication efforts to grow a distinct awareness of the college.
“I firmly believe that IC has the potential to become a national leader in demonstrating the relevance and value of higher education,” Eyerly said to IC News. “What better platform than a college where integration of the liberal arts, professional education and graduate study is part of the DNA? Where the faculty consists of teachers who also are scholars and creators; where an interdisciplinary curriculum complements learning for its own sake with preparation for professional careers and lives of service. And where there are tangible, effective commitments to confronting the sector’s economic challenges and creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive campus.”
There were open sessions with three final candidates for vice president of enrollment and student success from March 27–29. The announcement stated there will be updates on that search soon.
