IC professor to direct presidential library, Ithaca's all-stars, interview with CAP.

Good morning ☀️

It’s Wednesday, so I’m asking a few questions to someone from Tompkins County that you should know later on in this newsletter.

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Without further ado, here's a historic moment for one IC professor.

IC professor named director of a presidential library

Dr. Pearl Ponce, an Ithaca native, was selected to oversee national documents of immense historical value.

Ponce was recently named director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, where she’ll lead the planning, directing, and administration of the library’s programming and activities starting June 2, according to a statement.

Ponce said while she will miss her students and colleagues at Ithaca College, this role will give her the unique opportunity she was seeking to engage with the public, while merging perfectly with her interests.

Learn more about Ponce and her upcoming position here.

Here’s some more of what you need to know today

Several Ithaca students highlighted as All-stars: The 2023-24 winter high school sports season brought tons of great plays and players into the spotlight. Meet Ithaca, Corning and Elmira-area all-stars in this collection of articles by Andrew Legare.

NY wants better animal cruelty laws: Animal advocates in Rochester said pet fostering, building a new shelter, curbing puppy mills, teaching residents how to treat pets and other measures will curb pet homelessness.

Should health plans cover abortion costs?: A long-running legal fight over New York requiring employers to include abortion coverage in their workers' health insurance plans goes before the state's highest court on Tuesday. Stay in the know on the case with Chris Mckenna’s recent article on the subject.

More than paintings with Robin Schwartz, CAP’s Grant and Program director

I had the pleasure of speaking with Robin Schwartz at the Ithaca non-profit Community Arts Partnership on Tuesday to talk about some upcoming events they’re planning (more on that soon,) and thought you all should know a little bit more about her and CAP in general, due to the crucial role they play in Ithaca’s art community.

Question: What’s one of your favorite things about living here in Tompkins County?

Schwartz said that one of her favorite things about Ithaca is the number of different events for artists in the area.

Schwartz: “I went up to Maine and there were a lot of artists there, but there weren’t that many events. Every event had hundreds and hundreds of people at them. Where we live, we’re lucky because we have so many different artists that we have so many events on any given night.”

Question: When did you first arrive here in Ithaca?

“I went to IC in 1975, graduated and stayed here. My sister who’s 16 years older than I am went to Cornell, got married and lived here, so I was always here for the summers. It was more so I went to IC because I knew I wanted to live in Ithaca. I knew that Ithaca, New York was where I wanted to live, even when I was little.”

Question: Who is one Ithaca artist you deeply admire?

I asked Robin to highlight a certain Ithaca artist and she replied, “That’s like asking me to pick my favorite child,” and refused to pick a favorite.

Schwartz: “I can't answer that question. There are so many artists here, and they're so different on so many levels.”

That’s about it for me today, check your inbox tomorrow for more updates.

Feel free to reach out to me at jmack@gannett.com for any comments, questions, or concerns about this newsletter.