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April 7, 2006
Dear Friends,
It is with a great sense of excitement and anticipation that I write to you, the friends and alumni/ae of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. Accompanied with this letter you will find a copy of a press release announcing an agreement reached between the Divinity School and Ithaca College for lease of space in Strong Hall to Ithaca’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, specifically the physical therapy program. The program will occupy much of the ground floor, several offices on the third floor, and share classroom space with CRCDS.
This lease will provide significant income to the school, fulfill a major portion of the strategic plan for property development, ensure that the school will remain on the Hill, and enable CRCDS to take great strides toward financial stability.
At first glance, it may seem like an odd match to have a physical therapy program on campus. Yet Dean of Faculty Melanie May is already envisioning ways in which the disciplines of health and spirituality can be interwoven to create new and intriguing courses of study. The entire faculty, and indeed the whole Community on the Hill, is energized by the possibilities represented by this new collaboration.
If you visit CRCDS over the next few months, you will notice lots of activity. The entire ground floor is being renovated for Ithaca College’s program. The auditorium will be turned into a lecture hall, the media center is being moved into the Reading Room of the library, and the Howard Thurman Room is moving to the second floor.
In addition, all of the materials maintained at CRCDS by the American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS) are being moved to the vacated stacks of the library. The ABHS offices will now be on the second floor of Strong Hall. The school is also hopeful of negotiating a new lease with ABHS.
Ithaca College will begin its tenancy in phases starting May 1, with full occupancy by August. CRCDS welcomes this new chapter in its history with hope and optimism, confident that we have turned a corner in our recent journey toward full financial stability and the successful revitalization of this remarkable institution.
Sincerely,
Eugene C. Bay
President
Please click here to view ribbon-cutting photos and the video media coverage of the new facility.
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