Ithaca College President Tom Rochon announced on Thursday he will be retiring after the 2016-2017 school year, according to a statement on Ithaca College’s website.
“I am proud of the progress and accomplishments achieved by the college over what will be a nine-year tenure as president,” Rochon said. “I look forward to working with the college community over the next 18 months in a constructive and collaborative way, making progress on issues of diversity and inclusion, shared governance, and decision making.”
Rochon’s announcement to retire comes after protests and calls for resignation during the fall semester because of his failure to respond to racial incidents on the campus. In November, over 1,000 students participated in a walkout similar to those at the University of Missouri (which led to the resignation of their President, Tim Wolfe) after a series of racial incidents on the campus, which included racial profiling by campus police officers and a themed “Preps and Crooks” fraternity party.
That same month, roughly 72% of the 3,756 students who participated in a vote organized by Ithaca’s Student Government Association voted they had “no confidence” in Rochon. The school’s faculty voted similarly weeks later.
POC at IC, the group who organized the protests on campus, celebrated the announcement of Rochon’s resignment on their Facebook page.
Rochon’s retirement will take effect beginning July 1, 2017. The Ithaca College Board of Trustees will begin searching for a new president in the summer of 2016.
