Dishing it out
Study Break
Acrobats, bands and comedians bring acts to Ithaca this spring, page 15
Sophomore guard brings energy and precision passing to the floor for men’s basketball team, page 25
Thursday
Jan ua ry 2 7 , 2 0 1 1
The Ithacan
Time to
take action
As civil rights activist Dorothy Cotton stood on stage singing a song she once sang with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she raised her hands and more than 150 audience members joined in, filling Emerson Suites with a somber, humbling harmony. During the week of Jan. 24, the Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs brought in Cotton, the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars, three Brave New Voices poets
Assistant News Editor
See Celebration, page 5
President Tom Rochon announced the results of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” survey at the All College Meeting last Thursday, saying this was Ithaca College’s first time participating in the survey — and possibly the last. R o c h o n ROCHON said The said the survey Chronicle’s survey showed that em- should include ployees tended hourly workers. to be most satisfied with facilities, security, working conditions and college pride. On the other hand, employees tended to be less satisfied with the extent to which performance is evaluated and with the clarity of the college’s vision. Of the 275 colleges that participated in the Chronicle’s third annual survey, 97 were recognized as great colleges. Ithaca College was not among them. The Chronicle announced the
results in July, but Rochon declined fairly compared. Though colleges and to discuss the specific results with the universities can pay extra to survey non-exempt staff, those results are college until last week. not factored into Rochon said the decision of who he thought beis named a great cause the majorcollege to work for, ity of institutions he said. did not include Yesterday, when hourly workers The Ithacan prein their surveys, sented this inforthe comparisons mation to Rochon, between instituhe admitted he had tions in the sur— President Tom Rochon misunderstood the vey were skewed. survey data. He “I decided that we should participate in the said he thought other institutions in survey because I knew that there the survey had an advantage because would be a lot of colleges and uni- they did not include non-exempt versities,” Rochon said earlier this staff, but that was not the case. “It turns out they took out our week. “I thought it would be a good chance to get an external benchmark non-exempt staff for that, and Jeff on how we’re doing as an employer. Selingo clarified that for me,” he said. It turns out the way they organized “It was not clear in what I read before, the survey, it’s not useful for external so it was a mistake on my part at the All College Meeting.” benchmark information.” Selingo said the purpose of conHowever, Jeff Selingo ’95, editor of the Chronicle, told The Ithacan that all ducting this survey is to give people colleges, regardless of whether or not looking for jobs in higher educanon-exempt workers, who are paid tion a way to compare institutions. hourly, are included in the survey, are The reason the Chronicle does not
“I was not clear in what I read before, so it was a mistake on my part... “
News Editor
See DIIS page 4
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a non-violent organization committed to social justice, also spoke to students at the kickoff event. Her speech highlighted this close relationship with King and the role educators play in a child’s life. “I hope that there are teachers that know that the way we work with and touch the lives of students is so important,” she said. Cotton sporadically broke out in song
Rochon to forgo workplace survey despite confusion By Kelsey O’Connor
By Alexandra Evans
See survey, page 4
Michelle Boulé/The Ithacan
and a series of events in celebration of King and his dream for future generations. John Rawlins, assistant director of multicultural affairs, said the purpose of the week, which became a part of Ithaca College tradition years ago, was to inspire students to make a difference in the community. “It is an opportunity for the campus to look at Dr. King’s life, talk about his legacy and his work,” Rawlins said. “It is still relevant today.” Cotton, an Ithaca resident who worked with King as education director of the
IC dismantles DIIS; programs redistributed
include hourly workers in their survey is because their readership is primarily faculty and administrators, Selingo said. “The Chronicle offers this as a service to job seekers who are typically looking for jobs in a national way, so most non-exempt positions tend to be positions that are hired locally where other positions that we survey tend to have regional or national searches,” Selingo said. Rochon said he believes the survey should include all employees on campus, whether they are faculty, administrators or staff. “I completely fail to understand how you conduct a survey of your workers and exclude your hourly workers,” Rochon said. “It is ethically wrong and misleading.” When doing research for the survey program a few years ago, Selingo said he discovered colleges are unique places to work, and it is difficult to put hourly workers and faculty on the same scale because they have different professional needs.
Dorothy Cotton, Ithaca resident and civil rights pioneer, filled Ford Hall with song and her story Monday at the MLK Week kickoff celebration.
staff writer
I t h a c a , N . Y.
Volum e 7 8 , I s s u e 1 5
The start of the Spring 2011 semester brought an end to the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies at Ithaca College. DIIS was officially eliminated as a division of the college beginning the first WOODWARD said day of classes. students will have more opportunities All of its affiliated academic after the switch. programs and their components were transferred to other schools. The culture and communication major, the aging studies major, the Muslim cultures minor, the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity with African Diaspora studies minor, the Latino/a studies minor, Project Look Sharp and the Gerontology Institute are now part of the School of Humanities and Sciences. The legal studies major moved to the School of Business, while the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival folded into the Office of the Provost. Gregory Woodward, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, said the decision to dissolve DIIS was part of the IC20/20 initiative, which calls for college-wide integrated learning. “[IC20/20] is so filled with concepts and initiatives and proposals around collaborative and interdisciplinary learning,” he said. “It seemed to a lot of people that having a separate division for that kind of work would somehow be weakening or contrary to what we’re now expecting the college to become.” Woodward said DIIS programs, especially culture and communication, have grown so popular among students that the demand for such majors was starting to outgrow the limited resources of the small division. By moving to larger schools, DIIS students will be able to take advantage of more opportunities. Tanya Saunders, dean of DIIS, said while she is sad to see the division removed, she also sees the silver lining. “The division has taken a hit, but that hit is in recognition of its successes,” she said. “It’s still disappointing to see something you’ve helped to create to then be parsed out to others, but I’m hoping that those others will invest greater resources than I have available to me to help those programs continue to grow.”
MLK Week speakers urge students to get involved with their community
By Gillian Smith
Feedback
External surveys allow the college to receive valuable feedback, page 12
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