Ithaca College has announced the members of the search committee for the college’s ninth president. The committee of 15 is made up of six members of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, one dean, three faculty members, two staff members, two students and one alumni representative.
The recommended student member of the committee is Michele Hau, a sophomore culture and communication major in the School of Humanities and Sciences.
The Student Government Association executive board was responsible for nominating three students to the board of trustees.
“Michele is an amazing student with a really great work ethic, and she is going to be able to challenge this group and to bring a really critical and important voice to the table,” SGA President senior Dominick Recckio said. “I look forward to her being a part of the committee.”
The recommended staff representative on the committee is Andrew Kosinuk, crime prevention and community events liaison in the Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management.
The Staff Council was able to nominate three members to the board, and Kosinuk was selected from those.
The three recommended faculty representatives are Claire Gleitman, professor in the Department of English and a participant of faculty teach-ins during the Fall 2015 semester; Donathan Brown, assistant professor and culture and communication major coordinator; and Thomas Swensen, professor and chair of the Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences.
Peter Rothbart, chair of the Faculty Council, could not be immediately reached for comment.
“We had a number of really great applicants,” said Sean Reilley, chair of the Staff Council. “I trust Andrew will do an excellent job representing staff, and the committee as a whole will be successful.”
The committee also includes Diane Gayeski, dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications.
The student and staff trustees are also on the committee. Reilley said the student and staff trustees were not nominated as representatives of their constituencies but as board members.
The three constituency trustees on the committee are Ciara Lucas, a junior journalism major in the Park School; Christy Agnese, school operations and external relations officer in the School of Music; and Kristin Muenzen ’00, alumni representative on the board of trustees. Agnese gained her seat on the board in May 2014. She will still be on the board as she serves on the search committee, as staff trustees retain their position for three years, unlike students, who serve for two years. Lucas has represented the student body on the board of trustees since May 2014. However, her term as the student trustee will expire before the search process begins. It is unclear when Muenzen began her term.
According to the presidential search process website, the committee is composed of representatives from the three constituencies at the college who are expected to have a “clear sense of and dedication to the college’s mission,” a commitment to shared governance and a “respect for the college’s history and a vision for its future.”
According to the website, the role of the committee is to evaluate the college presidential candidates presented by the executive search firm and deliver a list of qualified finalists to the board of trustees, which will ultimately select the next president.
According to OrgSync, the first meeting of the presidential search committee will take place in April or May, and there will be five to seven meetings overall, mostly in Fall 2016, at a yet-to-be–determined off-campus location. The college will pay for all travel arrangements and accommodations for the meetings.
