Ithaca College announces firm that will find the new president

Ithaca College has announced the third-party firm tasked with finding the next president of the college.

Spencer Stuart, an international executive search firm, will assist in the search for the ninth president of the college following the planned retirement of President Tom Rochon on July 1, 2017. According to the April 4 announcement, Michele Haertel and Mary Gorman from Spencer Stuart along with the search committee will hold meetings throughout April to gather input from the campus community.

The first meeting will be April 6, which will serve to develop a strategy for how to best engage with the campus community. They also plan to meet with campus constituencies April 19–20 and with the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Ithaca College Board of Trustees in May. Students unable to attend the meeting will be able to submit feedback electronically, according to the announcement.

College to host renewable energy discussion after climate accords

Attendees of the Paris Climate Accords and climate experts will be discussing how to stop using fossil fuels and bring renewable energy to the forefront of the economy in order to save the climate from 7–9 p.m. April 13 in Textor 102. Sandra Steingraber, a distinguished scholar in residence at Ithaca College, will be the keynote speaker. Steingraber, an attendee of the accords, will provide a summary of the agreement formed in Paris, how to implement the agreement and the general science of climate change.

There will also be five panelists at the conference. These include three representatives from the Cornell University Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture, its Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and its Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Additionally, a representative from the civil disobedience group “We are Seneca Lake” and Thomas Shevory, a professor in the Ithaca College Department of Politics, will also be panelists.

The Ithacan finds new editor in chief

Kayla Dwyer, a junior journalism major, will serve as The Ithacan’s editor in chief for the 2016–17 academic year. Dwyer, The Ithacan’s current opinion editor, was the only candidate for the position interviewed at the Board of Publications meeting April 5. Dwyer has been working for The Ithacan since her freshman year. She has served on the editorial board as an assistant news editor, news editor and opinion editor.

Shoot hoops for Make-A-Wish

The Ithaca College Public Relations Student Society of America will be putting on a 5 vs. 5 basketball tournament to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York.  At last year’s tournament, it raised over $2,000 and had over 250 participants. This year, it hopes to raise $2,500.

This event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 16 in the Fitness Center. Teams can have five to eight players, and the cost to participate is $10. The fee covers food, a T-shirt and access to raffles. Students can register online at http://bit.ly/1VkikRf.

Expert from Colombia to discuss mental health reform in Mexico

Andres Rios Molina, an expert on Mexican and Colombian psychiatry and mental health, will be giving a talk from noon to 1 p.m. April 11 in 316 Gannett Center. Rios
Molina is a historian from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and is originally from Colombia.

This talk will be about how and why Mexican doctors began to search for alternative  psychiatric treatments outside of traditional forms  after the Mexican Revolution. Additionally, he will discuss the impact that cultural and clinical thoughts and attitudes had on shaping mental health reform in Mexico.

LGBT program director releases book content as free download

Luca Maurer, program director for the Center of LGBT Education, Outreach and Services, made a section of his book “The Teaching
Transgender Toolkit” free for download in response to North Carolina’s new law that impacts transgender people, their bathroom use and similar efforts that are gaining momentum in other states. The book discusses the importance of bathroom access for transgender people and provides information on how to answer questions about anti-transgender bathroom bills. It provides numerous talking points and is helpful for students and staff  wishing to discuss this issue in the classroom, in a student organization, with fellow colleagues and peers, and in daily conversations.