On eCornell: ‘Our home is here in Ithaca’

Following a 20-year nonprofit career in central Pennsylvania, I didn’t know exactly what to expect during my first visit to Cornell University in August 2021. I was excited, nervous, eager and a little scared. I had only been in Ithaca one other time in my life, and that was for a day trip while vacationing on nearby Seneca Lake.

But this was a business trip — my orientation to my new position as the director of social impact programs for eCornell, the unit within Cornell that provides online professional and executive development to students around the world. I was hired to help extend eCornell’s education programs to underserved audiences locally, regionally and globally, in that order.

It was early August, before the fall semester kicked off. I expected to find a sleepier college town, so the bustling downtown surprised me a bit. I couldn’t help but notice the diversity of the people I saw, the voices I heard and, of course, the beauty of the city — its waterfalls and bridges, hills and campuses and the idyllic view from the eCornell conference room on South Hill.

My first community visit was with James Brown, the president and CEO of United Way of Tompkins County. When I showed up at the old Victorian house that serves as their office, it felt like home. Greeting a community leader, talking about the ways they work with partners to solve challenges — this was familiar.

My priority was to find ways for eCornell to put Ithaca first. United Way of Tompkins County has always been a valued community partner, and so James and I set to work on planning programs and tools to better serve and grow Ithaca-based organizations that support the Ithaca community.

First, we talked about the people and their needs and priorities and then about the United Way, the Tompkins County Community Foundation and all of the amazing nonprofits and the incredible work they do. Now, six months on, our planning and partnership is taking off.

We recently enrolled our first four participants in our new Transform program, a pilot project for working adults that provides training, matched to individuals’ needs and interests, to help them enter a career pathway that will ultimately earn them a sustainable living wage.

The first participants were recommended by the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC). United Way has engaged GIAC as well as three local employers — Dryden Mutual Insurance, BorgWarner and Wegmans — to serve as potential employers for participants who earn certificates through this program.

ECornell is supporting United Way and Community Foundation of Tompkins County staff and boards by providing access to our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion content as well as other eCornell lessons. United Way and the Community Foundation will soon be announcing an opportunity for local nonprofit leaders to earn certificates through an application process.

We are also providing no-cost support to select employees of the City of Ithaca to earn certificates that provide professional development and help advance their careers. Similar conversations have begun with Tompkins County.

Our eCornell team is all over the world. But our home is right here in Ithaca. We are proud to be here. We are a proud partner in this community.

Troutman is the director of the Cornell’s social impact program for eCornell. East Hill Notes are published the first and third Wednesdays in Tompkins Weekly.