Speaker 1: You are listening to Bloomberg Business Week, and we've really
Speaker 1: been looking forward to this conversation for a number of reasons.
Speaker 1: Our guest is Dr Shirley Kyoto. She's the president of
Speaker 1: Ithaca College, and she comes on the recommendation of one
Speaker 1: of a really good friend to this show, Michael Ainsley,
Speaker 1: I also full disclosure, was talking about her with one
Speaker 1: of her students, a rising junior that is Mark Scaglione.
Speaker 1: He lives right here in my neighborhood. Speaks very highly
Speaker 1: and I think he has worked with Dr Koyato on
Speaker 1: a couple of different projects. So Dr Kyoto, President Kyato,
Speaker 1: really nice to have you here with Caroline myself. Oh,
Speaker 1: thank you. It's great to join you. Jason, thank you
Speaker 1: so much. So back to school it's happening. Tell us
Speaker 1: about putting together this plan. Um, you're gonna bring everybody back,
Speaker 1: I believe October five. Tell us how that came about?
Speaker 1: And what you're thinking about is that gets closer and closer? Sure? Well,
Speaker 1: first and foremost I should underscore you're you're both aware
Speaker 1: of this, but this is such an unpreced ended and
Speaker 1: historical time for our sector of education and for our
Speaker 1: nation and world right, and so everything that we've been
Speaker 1: doing has been methodical and metrics based and certainly guided
Speaker 1: by the State of New York and the leadership of
Speaker 1: Governor Cuomo so Yes. Sethica College has taken a different
Speaker 1: approach than some of what you might have heard from
Speaker 1: other colleges starting a bit earlier. We've largely done that
Speaker 1: to make sure that one we're fully ready too, that
Speaker 1: we're aligned with the state, and we have yet to
Speaker 1: receive guidelines from the State of New York. We hope
Speaker 1: to be getting those soon. And then we really believe
Speaker 1: that in order to deliver a residential education, we want
Speaker 1: the large experience of that to be in person, and
Speaker 1: so we thought that this would allow us to do
Speaker 1: that in a way that would give us the room
Speaker 1: to fully prepare for, as you know, a really uncertain
Speaker 1: future for so many of us. It's not been an
Speaker 1: easy stance to take now of it, No, not at all.
Speaker 1: You know, the a lot of academics don't think about
Speaker 1: what we do as a business. But it goes without saying,
Speaker 1: right we we are in the middle of a pandemic
Speaker 1: crisis with high school students and transfers and young people
Speaker 1: all around the country that didn't have graduation, that didn't
Speaker 1: have prom college students who didn't finish out, you know,
Speaker 1: um their accolades and athletics and major, major accomplishments in
Speaker 1: their school years. And here we are finding ourselves trying
Speaker 1: to look at multiple scenarios on the financial side, on
Speaker 1: the academic side, and I think for residential colleges, especially
Speaker 1: with us being in the state of New York where
Speaker 1: really COVID nineteen has been, uh really the epicenter has
Speaker 1: been here in our state. It's been a remarkable time,
Speaker 1: and we're really trying to do right by our students
Speaker 1: and families, but very challenging to say the least. What
Speaker 1: are your worries if longer term you stay, if you
Speaker 1: did not bring back students, what are your concerns? Is
Speaker 1: it viability of the institution itself? Well, what are your
Speaker 1: what are your worries and your concerns. That's a great question, Carol.
Speaker 1: It's some, it's their numerous concerns. One is, you know,
Speaker 1: our hearts are heavy for young people across the country
Speaker 1: who may not be able to experience college the way
Speaker 1: that um I certainly did as a first generation college student,
Speaker 1: which was transformative. But the reality is, you know, we're
Speaker 1: hunkering down here. We're very clear, and it's we're going
Speaker 1: into eyes wide open as an enrollment dependent, comprehensive college
Speaker 1: in New York, state of all places, UH, in a
Speaker 1: saturated higher ed market where we're already boldly thinking about
Speaker 1: reconfiguring our future. We have to in order for what
Speaker 1: we do to really stay strong. But the you know,
Speaker 1: I think that what we worry most about is this
Speaker 1: is going to look so differently permanently for so many people,
Speaker 1: especially our students and our faculty and staff and the
Speaker 1: people who serve them. And I would say the other worry,
Speaker 1: and you probably have heard this from our our great
Speaker 1: mayor Savante Myrick, is you know we're a college. Yes,
Speaker 1: we sit on South Hill and beautiful Isoca, New York,
Speaker 1: but we share this community with Cornell University, with Tompkins
Speaker 1: Cortland Community College, with small business owners and incredible people.
Speaker 1: And if our students don't come back to these three
Speaker 1: major institutions in central New York, it really is devastating
Speaker 1: to this entire community. And so we want to we
Speaker 1: want to play our part well. And Dr I want
Speaker 1: to go back to something he said, because I think
Speaker 1: it's really important, and I think it does, you know,
Speaker 1: get to your own experience. Because one of the things
Speaker 1: that I think maybe many people that overlooked when everyone
Speaker 1: sort of was sent home very suddenly from lots of
Speaker 1: colleges across the country was that, you know, it's one
Speaker 1: thing if you grew up in a very affluent household
Speaker 1: and you just sort of, you know, go back to
Speaker 1: your suburb and you go back to your you know,
Speaker 1: childhood bedroom, and you know, maybe you're annoying your parents
Speaker 1: a little bit or vice versa. But you know, for
Speaker 1: so many people across this country, and I think, and
Speaker 1: and please keep me honest here, you experienced this. You know,
Speaker 1: you said it. It was transformative, and so that opportunity
Speaker 1: is not just about you know, I'm going to go
Speaker 1: off to school, but this is, you know, something that
Speaker 1: will set the course of your life. It's life changing,
Speaker 1: absolutely absolutely, and I'm I'm so glad that you um
Speaker 1: have raised this issue. It's our most vulnerable students, UM
Speaker 1: when you think about the reality of who gets to
Speaker 1: go to college in the first place. And as you know,
Speaker 1: you know, I made my way down to Nashville to
Speaker 1: Vanderbout University as a posse scholar, as a first generation
Speaker 1: college student, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. UM
Speaker 1: on a Greyhound bus with four of the kids twenty
Speaker 1: six hours later, you know, site unseen, no college tour, no,
Speaker 1: you know, no big els and whistles. And our moms
Speaker 1: left us there a few hours later and got back
Speaker 1: on that bus and headed up back to New York.
Speaker 1: And I now serve as a trustee at Vanderbilt and
Speaker 1: sitting in this seat, you know, which is incredible. Really,
Speaker 1: it's surreal at times to have this this position, um
Speaker 1: and atisfca. We're incredibly proud that over of our students
Speaker 1: received financial aid, and those numbers are changing drastically, as
Speaker 1: you know, in the face of COVID nineteen. Family members
Speaker 1: that are facing not only real health crises, but financial
Speaker 1: challenges that will require more financial aid for students, more support.
Speaker 1: And you're absolutely right, there are students who are sitting
Speaker 1: all around the country and world right now that actually
Speaker 1: don't have the advantages of all the kinds of things
Speaker 1: that secure residential college environment offers. Yeah, this is a
Speaker 1: very deep conversation and something we've been talking a lot
Speaker 1: about the educational community. Um, we're going to continue our conversation. Shirley,
Speaker 1: hang on for a second and we'll come back. We
Speaker 1: do a little bit of news. We're talking with Dr
Speaker 1: Shirley Kyato, she's president of Ithaca College, on the phone
Speaker 1: from Ithaca, and Jason, I do think about this. You know,
Speaker 1: what happens who gets left behind? If, first of all,
Speaker 1: you don't go back to school. Um, what if these
Speaker 1: schools start to go away? Like what happens longer term?
Speaker 1: Who gets who gets left behind? Again? All these things
Speaker 1: are interconnected, right, And the absolutely education wealth gap, all
Speaker 1: the things we've been talking about, the things we talked
Speaker 1: about with Jim else, things we talked about with John yesterday,
Speaker 1: it's all of a piece. So we're gonna containue that conversation.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week Carl Master along with
Speaker 1: Jason Kelly, and our guest at this hour is Dr
Speaker 1: Shirley Kyato, president of Ithaca College. She's also a professor
Speaker 1: in Ithaca's Department of Psychology, and she's with us on
Speaker 1: the phone from Ithaca, New York. And we've been talking
Speaker 1: about reopening the school. And you know, Dr Koyato, I
Speaker 1: mean there's so much going on. I feel like obviously
Speaker 1: the last thirteen week because of the virus, but also
Speaker 1: the last three weeks UM in terms of the conversation
Speaker 1: around racism in America and injustices once again being laid
Speaker 1: bare in our society. And I just wonder, you know,
Speaker 1: how how you see it and how you approach it, um,
Speaker 1: and how we need to think about things differently so
Speaker 1: that we bring about change that actually really happens and
Speaker 1: it's not just talk. Yeah, well, Carol, that's a really
Speaker 1: rich and and necessary question at this time, especially for
Speaker 1: those of us thinking about activating education and character development
Speaker 1: and a sense of agency. UM. It goes without saying,
Speaker 1: what's happening in America right now, UM is incredible, but
Speaker 1: sadly not a surprise to to me and many of
Speaker 1: my friends and colleagues. You know, the position we've taken
Speaker 1: at a college we just launched, believe it or not,
Speaker 1: this is the first year of the implementation of our
Speaker 1: really ambitious and affirming strategic plan. It's called distica Forever,
Speaker 1: And at the very center of that is this issue
Speaker 1: of social justice and equity, accountability and respect. And you know,
Speaker 1: I believe very firmly. If you're in the business of
Speaker 1: educating young people from all walks of life and putting
Speaker 1: them together in an environment where they normally would not
Speaker 1: select each other as friends, we carry a great responsibility
Speaker 1: in creating a space that's not just about talking, it's
Speaker 1: about doing. It's about um having more responsibility beyond self.
Speaker 1: And I am very concerned we actually have created virtual
Speaker 1: um options for our students to be in dialogue and
Speaker 1: reflect and act with us. But we know that if
Speaker 1: we are fortunate enough to successfully reopen this issue is
Speaker 1: not something where immune to. It's something that's dead center
Speaker 1: at the center of law. College campuses in America essentially
Speaker 1: act as right many ecosystems over reality. So you have
Speaker 1: to face those things honestly and boldly, and they have
Speaker 1: to be I think very clearly about everybody having a
Speaker 1: stake in the conversation. This is not just about Black
Speaker 1: America or folks of color. This is about all of
Speaker 1: us collectively saying this is not okay anymore, and we
Speaker 1: must change what's happening. Well, and Dr Coryato is something
Speaker 1: that feels like is becoming clear and clear, is that
Speaker 1: we all need to be a little more comfortable, being uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: and also uh, facing things that are traumatic in some
Speaker 1: ways and then being able to deal with with that
Speaker 1: trauma and help other people, uh, deal deal with that trauma.
Speaker 1: I know that that's part of your training. You understand
Speaker 1: that clinically as a psychologist, and so I wonder how
Speaker 1: you apply that as you think about this not just
Speaker 1: as an administrator, but as someone who you know ultimately
Speaker 1: you know has a lot of students to care for. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I appreciate that point, Chase. And you know, first and foremost,
Speaker 1: we have to accept that this is a trauma. This
Speaker 1: is a multigenerational trauma that's been endured in our country
Speaker 1: for centuries. And so if we don't face that first
Speaker 1: and recognize students are coming back to these environments from
Speaker 1: their communities and they're on fire about this. And a
Speaker 1: lot of students are also uncomfortable. They're unsure about what
Speaker 1: position they even have in the conversation. So we're really
Speaker 1: invested in how do you create brave spaces you know
Speaker 1: who that don't always feel safe, but they feel brave,
Speaker 1: they feel firming to have those difficult conversations and recognize that, uh,
Speaker 1: this is actually a truly traumatic experience on a on
Speaker 1: a national scale, and it's very real for many many people.
Speaker 1: What are the steps that you would advise an organization
Speaker 1: that we need to start taking, if we're not already,
Speaker 1: um to make a difference so that maybe, you know,
Speaker 1: white individuals understand what black individuals have been going through,
Speaker 1: because I think there's really, on some level, not a
Speaker 1: real understanding of what it's me what it's meant to
Speaker 1: be a Black American. I I agree with you that
Speaker 1: there's not a real understanding about that. And Carol, it's
Speaker 1: an interesting position, you know, and I still appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 1: But here I am. You know, I identify as an
Speaker 1: Afro Latina. My father is a Black Dominican, and um,
Speaker 1: my mother's Dominican as well. I'm I'm married to an
Speaker 1: African American male, and um, I'm at a school that's
Speaker 1: predominantly white and has been historically white for some time,
Speaker 1: but has dramatically shifted in terms of its composition at
Speaker 1: the senior leadership level, at the board level, and at
Speaker 1: the student level. Yet we're not immune to the reality
Speaker 1: that there's a lot of structural things that are still
Speaker 1: in place. So my Lens, I think, you know, as
Speaker 1: a woman of color, as a psychologist, but also someone
Speaker 1: who hasn't intentionally come to this place, this incredible college,
Speaker 1: because I think we're ready to deal with this front
Speaker 1: and center. And I would say, Carol organizationally, I think
Speaker 1: one of the biggest mistakes that many organizations have made,
Speaker 1: but certainly higher ed, is we have dealt with this
Speaker 1: issue as an add on, as a special thing, as
Speaker 1: a peripheral issue. The heart of work is developing actually
Speaker 1: real systems from the center that are about full participation
Speaker 1: for all and really practicing anti racist right activity. That's
Speaker 1: that's very serious, and that's harder to do, especially if
Speaker 1: you're leading something that has had centuries of um being
Speaker 1: very traditional, being very proud of of preserving that history.
Speaker 1: And our students are saying we gotta shift. That's not okay.
Speaker 1: When I'm with them, I love that idea, and I
Speaker 1: think that's a big one. You know, it can't just
Speaker 1: be an add on. It's much bigger, and the ability
Speaker 1: more than the comfort level to say that's not okay. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that's a really good point. Well, we really
Speaker 1: enjoyed this. Thank you so much. Dr Shirley Kyoto, president
Speaker 1: of Ithaca College up in Ithacauld, New York. A tough job,
Speaker 1: but a really really important one. Best of luck to her.
Speaker 1: We look forward to catching up in the fall, as
Speaker 1: things get back to some sense of normal