The BIPOC Unity Center at Ithaca College is looking for student representatives to serve on a committee that will help find the next director for the center. The call for student representatives was announced Jan. 31 in an IC Engage post made by Cliff-Simon Vital, assistant director of the BIPOC Unity Center.
The search committee announcement states that members of the committee will have the opportunity to contribute insights, ideas and perspectives into the selection process. The announcement also states that involvement in the process will be a significant time investment and members will have to contribute multiple hours a week to the process.
As members of the committee, students will review application materials from candidates, interact with candidates during on-campus visits, interviews and meetings with committee members to talk through the applicants.
This search comes after Angélica Carrington, former director of the BIPOC Unity Center, departed the college on Nov. 10 with no statement from the college on the reasoning for the departure. In a statement made to The Ithacan via Facebook Messenger, Carrington said she was planning to spend more time with her family and finish her doctoral degree and thanked the colleagues and students she worked with during her time at the college.
On Nov. 30, 2023, the college held a processing session for BIPOC students to ask questions and share opinions about Carrington’s departure. During the session, students highlighted their frustrations with the college’s communication process during the departure, expressing that there should have been more thought on how the college would communicate Carrington’s departure.
The college officially gave a statement on Carrington’s departure Dec. 1, 2023 and announced that Marsha Dawson, dean of students for Student Affairs and Campus Life, would be stepping in to serve as the interim director of the BIPOC Unity Center. The college also announced a national search for a permanent director in January 2024.
Students can apply to the committee through an interest form that asks about students’ perspectives, skills and experience and availability during Spring 2024. The form will close Feb. 7.
