Rochon to hold meeting for plans for affordability

A special meeting about affordability initiatives will be held from 12:10–1 p.m. March 5 in Textor 102 and will be open to all students, faculty and staff. The meeting will also be webcast live.

President Tom Rochon said Ithaca College has developed initiatives in recent years in response to demographic shifts among high school graduating classes and the struggles with higher education cost. He said the initiatives have helped the college improve in respect to affordability, decreasing the rate of tuition increase from 5 to 6 percent per year to less than 3 percent per year in the last two budgets.

However, Rochon said these steps will not be enough to sustain educational excellence at the college and still put the college in a more competitive position with respect to price. In light of this, the meeting will build upon this idea and discuss moving forward in terms of commitment to cost control on behalf of students and their families. Rochon will present a plan of cost reduction steps that must be undertaken in order to meet these twin challenges.

Due to limited seating, students, faculty and staff wanting to attend the meeting must fill out an online form at ithaca.edu/president/marchmeeting/ to reserve a seat.

Those who are not able to reserve a seat and choose to view the meeting via webcast will be able to submit questions in real-time. Rochon said he encourages campus community members to organize webcast viewing parties to help facilitate discussion of the priorities and initiatives presented in the meeting.

Symposium submissions due online by March 2 

The online submission process for faculty sponsors to submit student presentations for the 18th Annual James J. Whalen Symposium will close March 2.

The symposium honors student research, scholarship and innovation with oral presentations, poster presentations and creative works by students from all academic programs, graduate and undergraduate. It will take place in the Campus Center on April 9.

Students interested in participating can contact their faculty collaborator to discuss submitting a proposal. Online proposal submissions will be accepted for presentations, performances, displays and other creative works, which can be a live performance or a work of visual and media art.

Submission information can be found on the Whalen Symposium website at ithaca.edu/sponsored-research/whalen/form/.

Traevena Byrd to leave college for new position

Traevena Byrd, associate counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs, has accepted a position as the general counsel at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Her last day at Ithaca College will be March 30. A going-away reception will be held for Byrd from 4–6 p.m. March 17 in the Klingenstein Lounge in the Campus Center.

During her 14-year tenure at the college, Byrd has held positions as affirmative action and equal opportunity compliance officer, assistant legal counsel, equal opportunity compliance officer and the associate legal counsel. She has advised on diversity recruitment and retention efforts for faculty and staff, discussing the college’s commitment to Title IX and managing discrimination investigations and institutional litigation. Byrd has held positions on several institutional committees and has served  as a mentor to students, faculty
and staff.

Jewish Studies Faculty Showcase to kick off

The Spring 2015 Jewish Studies Faculty Showcase will open with Klezmer: Jewish Roots Music, which will be hosted by Peter Rothbart, professor of music theory, history and composition in the James J. Whalen Center for Music, from 12:10–1 p.m. Feb. 26 in Clark Lounge in the Campus Center.

Rothbart, a composer, performer, writer, artist and teacher, is active as a composer in the acoustic and electroacoustic realms of music, with three Carnegie Hall premieres and an
Armstrong Award for radio drama. He has written and orchestrated for the Utah Shakespearean Festival during their Tony-Award winning year. He has also completed five film scores and his classical works have been published by the Lorenz Corporation, Seesaw Music Publishers and the International Trumpet Guild.

Four students receive J.J. Staff Scholar Award

The J.J. Staff Scholar Award Committee announced the four Ithaca College staff members who received the J.J. Staff Scholar Award for the spring semester.

These recipients include freshman Gary Goss, a business administration major who works in facilities; junior Christine Gregory, a student in the M.S. Communications program who works as assistant director of music admissions in the James J. Whalen Center for Music; junior Erin Mahon, an anthropology major who works at Information Technology Services; and sophomore Karenn Reeter, a student in the Applied Psychology/Pre-MBA program who works in the library.

Those seeking more information can contact Barbie Bargher, assistant director of student financial services; Denise Duve, assistant director of the Campus Store; Bernard Hogben, access services manager; or Mary Knapp, enterprise applications developer.