October 19, 2015
Last week, I attended the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC)/New York Times Partnership’s Presidents Council meeting at The New York Times offices in New York City. This is the twelfth time I have participated in this conference. It is the only meeting of college and university presidents hosted by the Times. Dr. Marcia Hawkins, president of Union College, chairs the Council and will be succeeded in 2016 by Dr. Gregory Woodward, president of Carthage College.
Led by Dr. Richard Ekman, CIC President, and Laura Wilcox, CIC Vice President for Communications, presidents from 30 CIC member colleges and universities met with National Education Director for The New York Times Kathleen O’Connell, Education Life Editor Jane Karr and National Correspondent Motoko Rich. They provided candid assessments of current trends and also issues they plan to cover in the months ahead.
In addition, Council members were provided with information about new The New York Times projects and resources available to campuses nationwide. Karr and O’Connell encouraged presidents to engage the additional resources available through the CIC/New York Times Partnership. The partnership provides CIC member institutions with several benefits, including discounted print and digital newspapers and advertising rates, site licenses, and opportunities to meet with Times staff and to bring reporters and editors to campus for speaking engagements. For a number of years, the Times provided workshops for student newspaper editors. The intent is to use The New York Times as a resource to foster students’ intellectual growth and curiosity, civic participation, and personal success.
My prior campuses have benefited extensively from this partnership and it is my hope that there will be opportunities for collaboration and additional resources for Virginia Wesleyan College through this affiliation. Please share your ideas for taking advantage of this partnership.
