Ithaca College

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Ithaca College
Motto	Commitment to Excellence
Established	1892
Type	Private with 5 schools and 2 divisions
Endowment	US $238 million
President	Thomas Rochon
Faculty	673
Staff	989
Students	6,448
Undergraduates	6,031
Postgraduates	417
Location	Ithaca, NY, USA
Campus	Small city, 757 acres (3.06 km2)
Colors	Blue and Gold
Nickname	"Bombers"
Athletics	NCAA Division III
Affiliations	Empire 8, Associated New American Colleges
Website	www.ithaca.edu

Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs.^[1] The college is also known internationally for its communications program. The college is at the center of a sophisticated cultural community, with a backdrop of Cayuga Lake, Cornell University, and hundreds of waterfalls and gorges. The college is perhaps best known for its large list of alumni who play or have played substantial roles in the world of broadcasting. The college has been ranked among the top ten master's universities in the North by U.S. News & World Report every year since 1996.^[2] For the 2009 rankings, the college was ranked 7 in this category.^[3]

History

Beginnings

Ithaca College was founded as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music in 1892 when a local violin teacher, William Grant Egbert, rented four rooms and arranged for the instruction of eight students. For nearly seven decades the institution flourished in the city of Ithaca, adding to its music curriculum the study of elocution, dance, physical education, speech correction, radio, business, and the liberal arts. In 1931 the conservatory was chartered as a private college. The college was originally housed in the Boardman House, that later became the Ithaca College Museum of Art, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[4]

Modern Era

"Textor Ball," a modern art sculpture on the roof of the Textor lecture halls.

By 1960, some 2,000 students were in attendance. A modern campus was built on South Hill in the sixties, and students were shuttled between the old and new during the construction. The hillside campus continued to grow in the ensuing 30 years to accommodate more than 6,000 students.

As the campus expanded, the college also began to expand its curriculum. By the 1990s, some 2,000 courses in more than 100 programs of study were available in the college's five schools.

The school attracts a multicultural student body with representatives from almost every state and from 78 foreign countries.^[5]

Academics

The college offers a curriculum with more than 100 degree programs in its five schools.

Student Life

Media and publications

An issue of The Ithacan

• The Ithacan is Ithaca College's official newspaper. The paper is written, edited and published by students. The Ithacan is available in print every Thursday morning and online.^[6] The Ithacan and its staff have won many major collegiate journalism awards, most notably, the Associated Collegiate Press' National Pacemaker Award, which it has won five times, most recently in 2008.^[7][8] The Pacemaker has been widely considered the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism.

• IC View is Ithaca College's publication for alumni, parents of students, and friends of the college.^[9] The paper is written, edited and published by students. The publication was formerly known as Ithaca College Quarterly and it published four times per year. Many of the articles are also available on the publications website: ICView

• Ithaca College Journal of Race, Culture, Gender and Ethnicity, founded in 2004, is an academic journal that explores complexities of such topics and welcomes student contributions. The journal is available in print and online.^[10]

• Ithaca College Television (ICTV) is the student operated television channel that has broadcast since 1958.

• WICB is an FCC-licensed station that operates at 7500 Watts at 91.7 on the FM band. The majority of its programming falls under the modern rock category. While broadcasting modern rock, the station is run similarly to a commercial modern rock station, with the inclusion of playlists planned by the programming and music departments that include leeway for listener requests and DJ choices. The station was recently honored with the MTVU Woodie Award for Best College Radio Station. Other programming ranges from mainstream hip-hop and R&B, to underground, downtempo, and other lesser-known genres of what is generally considered urban music. In addition to a lunchtime Jazz show, WICB broadcasts a number of other specialty shows throughout the week. These shows, which usually run 2–3 hours in length, come from genres such as blues, broadway, jam band music, and "homeless" music, that is not normally heard on the public airwaves.

• VIC Radio once known as 106-VIC, is an Internet radio station broadcasting via Live 365 at www.vicradio.org.^[11] The majority of VIC's programming falls under the indie pop, alternapop, and power pop genres. The playlists are planned by the Programming Department, with leeway for on-air talent favorites and listener requests. The rest of its programming consists of specialty shows, programmed by student DJs, which are more representative of a typical college station. The station also hosts an annual 50 Hour Marathon, where two DJs stay awake for fifty hours straight to raise money for a local charity. The marathon, which is simulcast on 92 WICB and ICTV 16, typically involves events such as concerts, scavenger hunts, and remote broadcasts around Ithaca.

• Imprint Magazine: College Life’s Internet Magazine, published from Ithaca College, is published by college students, for college students, about college students. Imprint strives to inform its readers of national issues and give them the opportunity to voice their opinion and become involved in the discussion.

• Buzzsaw Magazine, formally Buzzsaw Haircut, was founded in 1997 and is the college's monthly alternative news magazine. It is available in print and online every month.^[12] The magazine is produced by the Ithaca College community and printed by Our Press of Binghamton, NY. It is funded by the Ithaca College Student Government Association, the Park School of Communication, local advertising, community support, and a grant from Campus Progress. It has won a number of national awards, including the Campus Alternative Journalism Project's award for "Best Sense of Humor" in 2003 and the Independent Press Association's Campus Independent Journalism Awards for "Best Campus Publication with a Budget Under $10,000" and "Best Political Commentary" in 2005.

Music Groups

Within the Ithaca College School of Music:

• Symphony Orchestra
• Chamber Orchestra
• Choir
• Madrigal Singers
• Vocal Jazz Ensemble
• Chorus
• Women's Chorale
• Concert Band
• Symphonic Band
• Wind Ensemble
• Cello Choir
• Trombone Troupe
• Brass Choir
• Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
• Guitar Ensemble
• Percussion Ensemble
• Early Music Ensemble
• Sinfonietta
• Jazz Workshop
• Opera Workshop

Outside the Ithaca College School of Music

• Ithacappella - All-Male a cappella
• Premium Blend - Female a cappella
• Amani Gospel Singers
• VoiceStream - Co-ed a cappella

Greek Life

Historically, various independent and national fraternities and sororities had active chapters at Ithaca College. However, due to a series of highly publicized hazing incidents in the 1980s, including one that was responsible for the death of a student, the College administration removed all but four Greek letter organizations from campus, and adopted a non-expansion policy, prohibiting any new Greek houses from affiliating with the College.^[13] As of 2008, three recognized Greek organizations remain on campus, all of which are music oriented:

• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Delta Chapter)
• Sigma Alpha Iota (Epsilon Chapter)
• Mu Phi Epsilon (Lambda Chapter)
• A fourth, performing arts oriented house, Kappa Gamma Psi, went inactive in 2008.

However, there are various Greek Letter Organizations at Ithaca College that are unaffiliated with the school, and are underground.

• Gamma Delta Pi
• Phi Kappa Sigma
• Phi Mu Zeta

Athletics

The Ithaca athletics nickname "Bombers" is unique in NCAA athletics, and the mystery surrounding its origin is almost as rare. Ithaca College's sports teams were originally named the Cayugans, but the name was changed to the Bombers sometime in the 1930s. Several possibilities for the change have been posited. It may have made reference to the New York Yankees, who are known as the Bronx Bombers, or (less likely) boxer Joe Louis, known as the Brown Bomber. The most common explanation is that the school's baseball uniforms - white with navy blue pinstripes and an interlocking "IC" on the left chest - bear a striking resemblance to the distinctive home uniforms of the New York Yankees. It may also have referred to the Ithaca basketball team of that era and its propensity for half-court "bombs." Grumman Aircraft also manufactured airplanes including bombers in Ithaca for many years. The first “Bombers” reference on record was in the December 17, 1938 issue of the Rochester Times-Union in a men’s basketball article.^[14]

The name has at times sparked controversy for its perceived martial connotations. It is an occasional source of umbrage from Ithaca's prominent pacifist community, but the athletics department has consistently stated it has no interest in changing the name.^[14] The athletics logo has in the past, but currently does not, incorporated World War II era fighter planes.

Ithaca is a member of the NCAA's Division III, the Empire Eight Conference, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Ithaca has one of Division III's strongest athletic programs.^{[citation needed]} The Bombers have won a total of 15 national titles in seven team sports and five individual sports.

Coached by Jim "Butts" Butterfield^[15] for 27 years, the football team has won three NCAA Division III National Football Championships in 1979, 1988 and 1991 (a total surpassed only by Augustana and Mount Union). Bomber football teams made a record seven appearances in the Division III national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, which has since been surpassed by Mount Union in 2003. The Bombers play the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for the Cortaca Jug, which was added in 1959 to an already competitive rivalry. The matchup is one of the most prominent in Division III college football.^[16]

Most recently, the women's crew won back-to-back NCAA Division III championships in 2004 and 2005.

Women's soccer has won two national championships in Division III and is consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Ithaca is also home to more than 60 club sports, many of which compete regularly against other colleges in leagues and tournaments.

Sustainability

Ithaca's School of Business was the first college or university business school in the world to achieve LEED Platinum Certification.^[17] The College composts its dining hall waste,^[18] runs a "Take It or Leave It" Green move-out program, and offers a sustainable living option.^[19] It also operates an office supply collection and reuse program,^[20] as well as a sustainability education program during new student orientation.^[21] Ithaca received a B- grade on the Sustainable Endowments Institute's 2009 College Sustainability Report Card ^[22] and an A- for 2010.

Campus

Ithaca College's current campus was built in the 1960s on South Hill. In 1968 the College's final academic department moved to the South Hill campus from downtown, making the move complete.

Satellite Campuses

Besides its Ithaca campus, Ithaca College also operates the following satellite campuses:

• Ithaca College London Center in London, UK offers both Semester and Summer study-abroad with an option of an internship.
• Ithaca College Washington Semester Program in Washington, D.C.. In addition to the Semester Program, there is a summer option for the Washington Program. The Washington Program is internship based, which is usually supplemented with classes for a semester.
• Ithaca College Los Angeles Program, an extension of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at the James B. Pendleton Center in Los Angeles, CA. The LA Program is internship based, supplemented with classes during the semester and an option for a class in the summer.
• Ithaca College Walkabout Down Under Program, a defunct program which gave students the opportunity to experience several different regions of Australia in one semester. During the semester students studied at Murdoch University, University of Tasmania and La Trobe University. This program ended in spring 2008 due to financial reasons. The college maintains direct enrollment exchange programs with all three Australian universities.
• Ithaca College Antigua Program, a short-term study abroad program, with the development of a semester program expected.

Ithaca College also operates direct enrollment exchange programs with the following universities:^[23]

• Griffith University on Gold Coast, Queensland & Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia
• Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, Australia
• University of Tasmania on Tasmania, Australia
• Chengdu Sport University in Chengdu, China
• Beijing Sport University in Beijing, China
• University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
• Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic
• Akita International University in Akita, Akita, Japan
• University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
• Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea
• Nanyang Technological University in Singapore
• University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain
• Jönköping University in Jönköping, Sweden

Presidents

Current president

Ithaca's current president is Thomas Rochon. Thomas Rochon was named the eighth president of Ithaca College on April 11, 2008.^[24] Rochon took over as president of the college following Peggy Williams, who had announced on July 12, 2007 that she would retire from the presidency post effective May 31, 2009 following a one-year sabbatical.^[25]

Former presidents

Alumni

Ithaca College has 49,570 alumni in the United States. There are alumni clubs for Boston, Chicago, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Metro New York, National Capital, N. & S. Carolina, Philadelphia, Rochester (NY), San Diego, and Southern Florida.^[36] Alumni events are hosted in cooperation with the specific clubs and also through a program called 'IC on the Road'.^[37]

Following is a brief list of noteworthy Ithaca College alumni and faculty. For a more extensive list, see main entry List of Ithaca College alumni.

• Jessica Savitch (B.S. 1968), first female network news anchor
• Robert Iger (B.S. 1973), president & CEO, The Walt Disney Company
• Rod Serling (former faculty), Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, creator of The Twilight Zone
• Mark Mahoney (B.S. 1985), Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, The Post-Star^[38][39]
• Barbara Gaines (B.A. 1979), Emmy Award-winning executive producer, Late Show with David Letterman
• Chris Regan (1989), Emmy Award-winning writer for The Daily Show from 1999-2006.
• David Muir (B.S. 1995), ABC news anchor for World News Saturday and co-anchor of Primetime
• Karl Ravech (B.S. 1987), ESPN sportscaster
• Ricki Lake, actress and Tv chat-show host (only completed her freshman year before departing).
• David Boreanaz (B.S. 1991), actor, Bones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
• Robert Marella aka Gorilla Monsoon (B.S. 1959), World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame wrestler, former ringside commentator
• Bob Kur (B.S. 1970), Washington Post Radio, former NBC News National Reporter
• Richard Jadick (B.S. 1987), combat surgeon who was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Iraq
• Steven Van Slyke (B.S. 1978), chemist, 20 patents related to Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
• Kate Aldrich (B.M. 1996), internationally-renowned mezzo-soprano
• David Guy Levy (B.S. 2003), film producer, August and Patriotville.
• Scott LaFaro, influential jazz bassist with the Bill Evans Trio (1959-61).
• Dimitri Milovich, inventor of the first Winterstick snowboard in 1970.
• Kerry Butler (B.F.A. 1992), Tony Award-nominated Broadway actress
• Michelle Federer (B.F.A. 1995), theatre and film actress; originated the character, Nessarose, in Broadway's Wicked 2003-2006
• Matt Cavenaugh (B.F.A. 2001), film, tv, and Broadway actor
• Aaron Tveit, film and Broadway actor
• Kristen Britain (B.S. 1987), author, Green Rider, First Rider's Call, and The High King's Tomb
• Jon Bloostein, CEO Heartland Brewery, NYC
• Henry C Baer III, Founder of BancFirst Operational Standards Division

External links

• Official website

References

• Ithaca College is at coordinates 42°25′18″N 76°29′41″W / 42.4218°N 76.4947°W / 42.4218; -76.4947 (Ithaca College)Coordinates: 42°25′18″N 76°29′41″W / 42.4218°N 76.4947°W / 42.4218; -76.4947 (Ithaca College)