IC on ‘Healthiest Colleges’ list
Greatist.com named Ithaca College to its top 25 list of the healthiest colleges. The list cited the college’s fitness center, inexpensive personal training, the Natural Lands and proximity to natural spaces in upstate New York.
To choose colleges and universities for its list, Greatist.com evaluated student access to healthy foods, quality fitness facilities, and medical and mental health services. Greatist.com re-evaluated last year’s winners and took new nominations from readers on social media. Then, each nominated institution had to fill out a questionnaire about dining services, fitness facilities and student health care.
Other colleges on the list include Lewis & Clark College, Rice University, University of Missouri and Whitman College.
Fringe Festival hit coming to IC
“The Essence: A Yiddish Theatre Dim Sum,” an introduction to Yiddish theater, will show at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 in Dillingham Center.
“The Essence” was a hit at the New York International Fringe Festival, according to an announcement from the college. The show includes scenes and songs in English and Yiddish. The show is designed for people with no prior knowledge of Yiddish or Judaism.
The show will star Yelena Shmulenson from “Orange Is the New Black,” Allen Lewis Rickman from “Boardwalk Empire” and Steve Sterner from New York City’s Film Forum. The performance will be co-hosted by Annette Levine, associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Latin American studies coordinator, and Jennifer Herzog, lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts.
Founded in 1996, FringeNYC takes place over the course of two weeks each year and is one of the largest theater arts events in North America.
LGBT film series kicks off at IC
In celebration of recent gay rights victories, Ithaca College will be hosting a film series called “Out of the Closet and Onto the Screen.”
The series began with “Gay Pioneers” at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 in Textor 101. All future films in the series will be shown at the same time and place.
“Gay Pioneers” is the story of a small group of people who organized civil rights demonstrations at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in 1965, laying the foundation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement.
The series will play “Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement” Oct. 6, “Out in the Night” Nov. 3 and “How to Survive a Plague” in observance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
Student recognized for best poster at international meeting
Senior Erika Bucior won the Best Poster Presentation Award for her presentation on the physiological responses of plants to nutrient and drought stress. Bucior presented her poster in the physiological section of the 2015 Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting, held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Founded in 1893, the mission of the BSA is to promote botany, the study of the function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere, according to the society’s website.
For her presentation, Bucior, an environmental studies major, compared the responses of plants exposed to different amounts of water and nutrients.
The poster was co-authored by Peter Melcher, chair of the Department of Biology.
Grant to help underrepresented students pursuing STEM fields
The New York State Department of Education has given Ithaca College a $600,000, five-year grant to help increase the number of students who are traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The grant money will support the development and implementation of a program that will provide instructional support, tutoring, services to encourage involvement in research and internships, access to professional development opportunities, academic counseling, career planning and financial assistance. The overarching goals of the program are to recruit, retain and graduate eligible students who are pursuing professional careers in these fields.
Orlando-Marquez Kittrell, the state grants programs administrator in the State Grants Office, will be leading the program.
“This grant affords Ithaca College a critical opportunity to impact a … national priority of increasing the number of historically underrepresented students and teachers who are proficient in STEM,” Kittrell said in an announcement from the college.
Associate vice president takes position at Wells College
Associate vice president of the Office of Business and Finance, Robert Cree, will be resigning from his position at Ithaca College Sept. 18. Cree will become the chief financial officer at Wells College in Aurora, New York.
According to an announcement from the college, Cree began working at the college in 2001 as assistant director of Financial Services. He was later promoted to associate vice president of business and finance. Cree helped implement Parnassus, an online financial self-service for college employees, and led the college’s strategic sourcing initiative.
“I am looking forward to joining the great staff and faculty at Wells College and the challenges ahead as their new chief financial
officer,” Cree said in the announcement. “At the same time, this decision is bittersweet for me as I leave the IC ‘family’ for this opportunity for
professional growth. I have enjoyed my time at Ithaca College, working with a wonderful group of faculty and staff colleagues.”
Gerald Hector, vice president for finance and administration, said Cree helped him transition into working at the college.
“Becoming a chief financial officer is a major career move, and based on his preparation and all that I know about him, he will do very well, and I wish him all the best in this new chapter in his career,” Hector said.
IC launches Snapchat account
Adding to its social media repertoire, Ithaca College has launched a Snapchat account. According to an announcement from the college, the account will be entirely student run.
The students running the account are a part of a group called the #ICsocial Street Team, and they will plan Snap stories featuring glimpses of campus and student affairs.
According to the announcement, Snapchat is used by 77 percent of college students on a regular basis, making it the third most popular social media platform among adolescents in the U.S.
