Ithaca College President resigns after student racism protests

Tom Rochon said he was “proud” of his nine-year tenure despite strong student protests for him to resign

Students at Ithaca College called for President Rochon to resign (Kelsey O'Connor/Twitter)

Ithaca College President Tom Rochon announced his resignation today after “much reflection” following student protests against his failure to stem racism on campus.

Mr Rochon served nine years as College President and said he would step down in July this year.

“I am proud of the progress and accomplishments achieved by the college over what will be a nine-year tenure as president,” Rochon wrote in a statement. “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.”

The announcement follows a 1,000-student walkout in November, protesting against a series of racist incidents on campus. This includes alleged racial profiling by campus police and a fraternity party with a “Preps and Crooks” theme.

The same month, a poll found that almost three quarters of its student population had “no confidence” in Mr Rochon. The 316-strong school faculty voted with the same results a few weeks later. School alumni also joined in the protest, according to Buzzfeed.

The protests were inspired by similar demonstrations at the University of Missouri, which led former university President Tim Wolfe to resign amid claims he did not successfully handle racial rows at the school.

Facebook group POC at IC, a campaign group for Ithaca College, celebrated Mr Rochon’s announcement by posting: “There is power in the collective. We did it!”