Embattled President of Ithaca College Will Step Down

Thomas R. Rochon, the embattled president of Ithaca College, will retire next year, according to a message Mr. Rochon sent on Thursday to the New York campus.

Students protesting racial injustices at the college began demanding Mr. Rochon’s resignation months ago. Until Thursday he had resisted calls to resign, writing in The Chronicle that college leaders had a responsibility to “step up rather than step down.”

Faculty members also voted no confidence in Mr. Rochon.

“I recognize that colleges evolve through eras defined by new opportunities and challenges,” Mr. Rochon wrote in his message. “I believe it is best for IC to be led in the future by a president chosen by the board specifically to make a fresh start on these challenges, including those that became so apparent to us all last semester.”

He added that he intended to use the remainder of his presidency to make “progress on issues of diversity and inclusion, shared governance, and decision making.”