Category:Ithaca College

Summary

Ithaca College, founded in 1892 as a music conservatory, has since grown into a comprehensive institution that now enrolls around 4,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. The college is composed of five schools: the Roy H. Park School of Communications, the School of Humanities and Sciences, the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, and the School of Business.

Institutional Entrepreneurship & Innovation Overview

Promoting Students Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Ithaca College has a variety of non I&E course imparting importance of I&E in the context of larger subject area. Some examples of the classes are:

Leadership Collaboration

Focuses on the nature of leadership and power dynamics in modern organizations. Develops students' abilities to create and use sources of power and to create a climate for leadership and change. Survey of methods to sustain and develop both personal and organizational power, including the network-building and conflict-handling skills needed to manage the increasingly pluralistic interests found in organizations. Develops students' abilities to motivate human resources, facilitate team building, and guide organizational change.^[1]

Human Resource Management

Provides an overview of human resource policies and procedures within the context of managerial decision making in organizations. Primary topics include human resource planning and analysis, equal employment opportunity, staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, health and safety, and labor-management relations. Challenges beliefs regarding organizational policies based on personal experiences and exposure. Examines a variety of perspectives to support a more complete picture of factors that must be considered in developing organizational human resource management policies.^[1]

Managing for Sustainability

Examines the challenge of maintaining sustainable business strategies while meeting the needs of various stakeholders. Investigates various models of business sustainability and how to integrate sustainability concerns into managerial functions.^[1]

Sustainable Energy

Survey of energy. Topics include solar, wind, geothermal, electricity, fossil fuels, heat transfer, and the economic and environmental opportunities created by energy efficiency and sustainable energy systems.^[2]

Moreover, there are yearly events, that invite students to apply I&E skills and knowledge:

Sustainability Week

Sustainability Week at Ithaca College offers students the chance to deepen their understanding of sustainability through a series of workshops and activities. The highlight of the week is a fair where local, sustainably responsible businesses showcase their products. Students can also get involved by joining the organizing team, gaining hands-on experience in event planning and management.^[3]

Apart form longer events, there are opportunities for students to engage in shorter how-to workshops (day-long or short-term, speaker series):

John Sanna Workshop

Each year, Ithaca College alumnus John Sanna, a successful presenter and public speaker, returns to campus to collaborate with professors from the School of Business to host a public speaking workshop. This event provides students with valuable skills and insights from an industry expert, helping them to enhance their presentation and communication abilities.

Alumni Speakers series

Ithaca College regularly hosts an Alumni Speaker Series, where alumni from various fields return to share their experiences and insights with current students. These events, which take place almost weekly, are organized by classes, clubs, or notable affiliated organizations. Students have the opportunity to engage with alumni, expand their networks, and gain valuable career advice. The series features a mix of in-person and virtual sessions, with alumni joining from around the world, either on campus or via Zoom.

Keynote Speakers

The Keynote Speakers series at Ithaca College brings in experts from diverse fields to discuss a wide range of topics. These talks give students in each school the opportunity to dive deeper into specific themes relevant to their studies and interests.^[4]

To achieve outreach Ithaca College uses the following marketing and communication strategies:

Ithaca newsletter

The Ithaca College newsletter offers a comprehensive roundup of news and updates from across campus. It includes community news, highlights from student media, and a 'Latest News' section covering achievements of IC's faculty and students.^[5]

IC View

ICView, the Magazine of , is an award-winning publication for alumni, the families of current students, employees, retirees, donors, friends, peers, and neighbors of the college.^[6]

Department Specific Newsletter

In addition to the main college newsletter, departments at Ithaca College also send out their own newsletters tailored to faculty, staff, and students within each department, providing updates and news relevant to their specific field.

Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Sponsored research

Sponsored Research is a unit within the Office of the Provost that provides resources and support to promote a "grant seeking culture" amongst faculty and staff at Ithaca College.^[7]

Instructional Development Award

The Instructional Development Award (IDA) supports student-facing projects, instruction, and resources, encouraging faculty to address academic needs by refining teaching skills, developing innovative materials, and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in pedagogy.^[8]

Center for Faculty Excellence

The CFE promotes equitable organizational change, develops inclusive teaching pedagogy, presents resources that support faculty roles as educators and scholars, offers mentorship and support, and provides award and grant opportunities for Ithaca College faculty.^[9]

Actively Supporting the University Technology Transfer Function

Digital Media Lab

The Digital Media Lab is open to all students, staff and faculty for hands-on learning with various digital media, including Podcasting, Virtual Reality, and Photo, Video and Audio Recording Equipment.^[10]

VR in the classroom

Starting in 2020 Ithaca College has embraced virtual reality (VR) technology to enhance learning experiences for students and faculty. Led by the Center for Creative Technology, the initiative supports a range of disciplines, from neuroscience to art history, using Lenovo's VR Classroom 2 solution. VR allows students to interact with complex subjects in 3D, such as dissecting brain structures or exploring global art.^[11]

Cerrache Center

The Ceracche Center is a multipurpose facility housing athletic offices and training areas, as well as an entire suite of art studios ranging from painting to computer arts and from printmaking to sculpture. Students can use a wide variety of equipment form paper printing machines to band saws. ^[12]

IC Makerspace

Makerspace facilities provide hands on learning, help with critical thinking skills and even boost self-confidence. By taking an innovative approach to engaging students, developing cross-disciplinary skills and connecting a community of innovative thinkers, the IC Makerspace helps prepare students for success. The space is equipped with 3D printers, a laser cutter, sewing machines, Cricuts and various hand crafting tools, which can be leveraged for projects related to a variety of disciplines including art, computer science, graphic design, animation, game design, robotics, and more. ^[13]

Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration

Meet the Firms

Each semester, Ithaca College organizes the 'Meet the Firms' trip, where approximately 20 students travel to a major nearby city to explore career opportunities within a specific industry, such as marketing, finance, or entrepreneurship. During the trip, students visit leading firms, meet with alumni working there, and gain valuable insights into the professional world.^{[14] [15] [16]}

Demo Day

Student entrepreneurs from all majors and class years present their business concepts to a judge committee and compete for a portion of startup funding. Mimicking the launch of a startup and the process it takes to get there, Business Idea Demo Day participants will learn what ideas qualify for successful businesses, practice pitching their ideas, and discover how to connect with established entrepreneurs.^[17] Demo Day's final round happens in REV, which is a business incubator downtown, that partners with Ithaca and allows student access to various events across the topics of entrepreneurship and prototyping. ^[18]

Dillingham collaboration

Students from Dillingham Center have the privilege to use the spaces of downtown Ithaca and put on shows in the local theaters.^[19]

Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts

Office for Government, Community, and Constituent Relations

The office champions the mission of Ithaca College by collaborating with campus partners and external stakeholders to cultivate productive, mutually-beneficial relationships. By empowering connections and inspiring growth, it advances the College’s interests and enhance the vibrancy and prosperity of the communities they serve.^[20]

Special Olympics NY Summer Games

Over 1,200 athletes and coaches from across New York State will gather at South Hill for the Special Olympics Summer Games on June 14 and 15. This marks the third and final year of the three-year partnership between Ithaca College and the Games.^[21]

New York State "Gear Up" program

GEAR UP, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education to improve college readiness for low-income students, brought nearly 100 rising ninth-graders from across New York to Ithaca College this summer. During their three-day visit, students met with faculty and toured academic facilities, gaining a firsthand look at the opportunities IC offers. Ithaca College was selected to host the program after submitting a successful bid.^[22]