Cornell Executive MBA students hosted at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works
Dean Soumitra Dutta, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick, and Tom Schyver welcomed visiting Executive MBA metro NY students at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works on Wednesday, Jan. 13th.
The Executive MBA Metro New York Program of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management brought thirty of their visiting students to Rev: Ithaca Startup Works to visit the space.
Following the introduction from Tom Schyver, Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, spoke on behalf of the city of Ithaca.
“This is a very important space for us and this program is very important to us,” said Myrick speaking of the Rev incubator and Johnson’s Executive MBA program, “The ideas fostered here are vital to shaping the future of Ithaca and the future of New York.”
In the sincerity of his welcome to the Executive MBA students, most of whom live near New York City, Myrick paralleled Odysseus’ twenty-five year journey home to Ithaca, Greece with alumni of Cornell, Ithaca College, and Tompkins County Community College and their relationship to Ithaca, New York.
“No matter how short your time is here, you are always welcome home,” said Myrick, “If you are a Cornellian, you are Ithaca.”
Following Myrick, Soumitra Dutta, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of Johnson, spoke on the future for Johnson, Cornell Tech, and the Cornell College of Business, a new college still in the proposal phase.
“In 2017, the physical footprint of Johnson will double,” said Dutta, saying that the new building, under construction in Collegetown, will add 55,000 square feet while 25,000 of Cornell Tech, Cornell’s technology-focused campus in NYC, will be dedicated Johnson space.
“This wonderful site in many ways parallels what we are doing in Cornell Tech,” said Dutta, showcasing the similarities between Rev’s regional engagement and Cornell Tech’s partnerships between government, higher education, and other supporting entities including businesses and alumni.
Dutta said Cornell Tech will be a “game changer” and that the tech campus student population, now less than 200, will grow to between 2,000 and 3,000 over the next 15 years.
“The combination of entrepreneurship, technology, and medical research is very powerful,” said Dutta, speaking of the relationship between Johnson, Cornell Tech, and Weill Cornell Medicine. He also presented the College of Business as a powerful relationship between Johnson, Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
“The proposal for the College of Business is about bringing together the strength of three schools of business. Students will have access to the unique strengths of the sister schools,” said Dutta.
Tom Schyver, who had greeted everyone at the start, finished out the event, inviting guests to mingle, explore the space, and enjoy downtown Ithaca.
“And be sure to spend those meal tickets and support the local economy,” said Schyver with a smile.
Schyver, Rev Director, leads Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Johnson.
Also in attendance were Elizabeth Mannix, Associate Dean for Executive MBA Programs; Verne Thalheimer, Senior Director of Operations Executive MBA Programs; and the new Chief Marketing Officer of Executive MBA Programs, David Bebko.
Rev is a collaboration between Cornell, Ithaca College, and Tompkins County Community College. It is for connections such as these, we exist – relationships between entrepreneurs, government, education, and the community.