President

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Ithaca College

Ithaca, New York

Educate, engage, and empower through theory, practice, and performance

—Ithaca College’s Mission Statement

Ithaca College (IC), a private, comprehensive, residential campus community offering a learning experience that combines the best of liberal arts and professional education, seeks a strategic and inspiring leader as its 10th president.

Founded as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music in 1892, IC has grown to a modern campus overlooking the largest of the Finger Lakes and has transformed itself into a private, coeducational, residential comprehensive college, ranked by US News and World Report as one of the top 10 regional universities in the North, serving 4,818 undergraduates and 421 graduate students in fall 2021. Since its founding, IC has recognized the profound impact of combining academic theory with hands-on practice and a distinctive integration of performance. Today, the college offers 90 undergraduate majors from five nationally recognized, industry-leading schools and combines education for leadership in professional fields with the intellectual foundation of the liberal arts. Educational innovation continues to be at its core with new programs such as the physician assistant studies degree program, launched in 2021 in response to a growing need in the area and nationally. 

The next president will lead IC at a critical juncture and moment of transition, challenge, and opportunity. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, IC underwent a bold and collaborative planning process that produced the college-wide strategic plan, Ithaca Forever. The strategic plan had already been launched when the pandemic changed the landscape of higher education worldwide and elevated the need for institutional nimbleness. With Ithaca Forever under way, IC gained tremendous momentum by using the plan to redesign the college’s structure to meet the demands of the 21st-century student while enhancing its strategic financial and future competitive position. IC is well-positioned to build on its momentum to meet the challenges of the pandemic and post-pandemic era. 

IC seeks a new president who will build on the college’s significant work and considerable success towards a new strategic direction and chart a vision for the future that aligns with its mission and its distinctive strengths. This presidency is an exceptional opportunity for an inspiring, forward-thinking, financially astute, equity-minded, and engaged leader who connects deeply with IC’s mission and the values of its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. IC seeks a president who can galvanize an academic community, effect cultural change by integrating the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the institution, apply business acumen to leverage its assets and ensure its long-term financial sustainability, and engage in significant fundraising activities. Honoring the institution’s past while charting a course for its future is central to the next president’s charge.

Ithaca College has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this important search. All inquiries, nominations/referrals, and applications (CVs and letters of interest) should be sent electronically and in confidence to:

Kate Barry, Partner

Karen McPhedran, Senior Associate

Stephanie Simon, Associate

Isaacson, Miller

https://www.imsearch.com/search-detail/S8-233

Ithaca College is committed to building a diverse academic community and encourages members of underrepresented groups to apply. Experience that contributes to the diversity of the college is appreciated.