The Ithacan Thursday, M a r ch 1, 20 12
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Volume 79, I s s u e 2 0
College reveals specifications of new budget By brian rank staff writer
Patent mending By Kelsey O'Connor news editor
Every day, new products hit the market, from the life-saving to the mundane. But for a nation that prides itself on innovation, the U.S. patent system was not aligned with the rest of the world until the process was recently reformed to help inventors better protect their intellectual property. After 60 years, the U.S. government has altered the way inventors claim rights over their ideas with the America Invents Act. The move has stirred debate across the innovative world — from big corporations to
colleges and entrepreneurs. President Barack Obama signed the America Invents Act, H.R. 1249, on Sept. 16, and changes are being implemented until 2013. Key changes to the patent act include a fast-track option to speed up the approval process to 12 months, onethird of the previous wait time. The alteration is aimed at reducing the current backlog of nearly 700,000 patents and harmonizing the patent system on an international level. The revision that has many people talking is the shift from a first to invent system to first to file, meaning anyone who files for a patent first gets it.
said these majors were chosen to ease the transition from the college to the new center. “This spring, we wanted to get the program up and running,” Roberts said. “[These majors] have the same types of internships, and we have a lot of contacts, so it was easy to place them.” The center does not have a set curriculum. Instead, the courses offered depend on the majors and requirements of the students who sign up each semester. The program does not presently have a physical, centralized location, so the classes offered must be held at different locations. This semester, Saunders said the college has rented space in the Cornell Industrial Labor Relations Center for lectures and internship seminars, but some classes meet in different galleries
Newly released details of Ithaca College's 2012-13 budget, which totals $225 million, reveal how much money is being allotted for the IC 20/20 plan, the college’s strategic vision for the next 10 years. The college has set aside $4.5 million to the IC 20/20 plan for the 2012-13 academic year. Of that total, $1.3 million has been budgeted for five new faculty positions and for staff positions dedicated to different IC 20/20 initiatives, including the Center for Faculty Excellence and capital campaign fundraising. President Tom Rochon said IC SGRECCI said en20/20 and other rollment numbers after 2012-13 year budgeted initia- will decrease. tives are crucial to the college’s educational mission. “We have attempted to moderate the rate of increase as much as we can,” he said. “On the other side of that coin, we are making sure that we have the resources to do the things that maintain Ithaca College as a high-quality education.” Student enrollment and employee retirement are other key factors in the new budget. With enrollment expected to fall over the next few years and as employees near retirement age, the college is preparing to face more costs and experience less revenue, Carl Sgrecci, vice president for finance and administration, said. Sgrecci said the college collects 96 percent of its revenue from tuition and student spending on campus. About 56 percent of the college’s costs go toward employee compensation, he said. He said maintaining a stable rate of enrollment at about 5,900 undergraduates for the long-term is important for covering expenses. There are 6,276 undergraduates as of Fall 2011. Though tuition will increase by 4.88 percent, $88.9 million was allocated for financial aid compared to last year's $84 million. “We are trying to be sensitive," he said. "We’re in a difficult economy. We are realizing families have difficulties, so we are trying to do everything we can to make Ithaca College affordable." Sgrecci said he expects the college may have difficulty maintaining a desired enrollment. Already, the college expects to see a total decrease of 275 students after the overenrolled class of 2013 graduates next May. Sgrecci said there will be fewer students applying to college over the next few years because of the lower number of college-aged
See NYC, page 4
See budget, page 4
Photo illustration by rachel orlow
Inventors are debating what recent patent law reform really means for innovation
Because filing for a patent costs between $1,000 and $15,000 students with little or no income may be affected by the First to file clause. Some also worry that it will deter collaboration on work in fear of a colleague filing a patent first and claiming intellectual ownership. Last semester, senior Tim Reynolds entered the Business Idea Competition with his business partner Brian Rettger ’11 and came in second place. Reynolds and Rettger developed a rehabilitation device that would allow a person
See patent, page 4
IC NYC Center seeks expansion following trial months by Jack curran staff writer
More than a month into the Ithaca College in New York City pilot semester, students are reveling in the city's cultural and academic offerings at the college’s new center, as the program's administrators hash out the details of its expansion. Twenty-three students from the college's School of Business and the Roy H. Park School of Communications are currently enrolled in the program. Faculty and administration are seeking to expand the program, which does not yet offer centralized housing or class locations, to students from all five professional schools, according to Tanya Saunders, assistant provost of international studies and special projects. The introduction of the NYC Center comes as one of the first major initiatives of IC 20/20, the college’s strategic vision plan for
Sophomore Gina Muir, center, poses with other David Letterman interns in NYC on Groundhog's Day. Muir interned with the show's talent department. courtesy of gina muir
the next decade. Among the 23 students enrolled in the program, majors represented include accounting, marketing, integrated marketing
spring preview Check out our spring sports insert previewing nine squads on South Hill.
communications, documentary studies, cinema and photography, and television-radio. Bryan Roberts, assistant dean for student services in the Park School,
full circle
Junior hurdler gives back to community through outreach, page 23
f ind m or e onl ine. www.t heit hacan.org
hello, hello Towers Dining Hall greeter shares memories of past careers, page 13