Nancy Pringle
JAMES J. WHALEN MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD
This award recognizes non-alumni for their distinguished contributions to Ithaca College through their professional, civic, or philanthropic activities. All recipients have had a significant connection to IC, such as membership on the board of trustees, longtime service as a staff or faculty member, or volunteer work on behalf of the college. This award is named for and honors Ithaca College's sixth president.
Nancy retired in June 2019 after a distinguished 25-year career at Ithaca College. In addition to her role as General Counsel and Secretary of the Board, Nancy served as executive vice president and senior advisor to President Collado. She was recognized by the board with honorary trustee status for her extraordinary contributions and as a respected colleague who provided “intellect, creativity, civility and stability”. Upon request of President Collado and with the support of the Board of Trustees, Nancy came out of retirement in September 2020 to meet a huge gap created by the departure of the new Vice President and General Counsel. Her return to the campus in 2020 was met with enthusiasm and support from all areas of the campus.
As a senior administrator, Nancy was known as someone who took the time to walk the campus and genuinely listen to the concerns of individual members of the Ithaca College community. She valued all members of the campus community and was seen as a mentor by many on the campus. Upon her second retirement, in October 2022, Nancy left a legacy of having served five presidents, five board chairs, and upwards of a hundred board members as well as untold faculty, administrators, students and staff. At the 2019 Commencement, Nancy was awarded the inaugural Presidential Medal honoring a member of the Ithaca College “family” whose contributions better the IC community and the world. During the presentation of the Presidential Medal, President Collado noted that Nancy “demonstrated so profoundly what it means to use your expertise for the public good and to lead with integrity and courage."
Nancy’s work and commitment to servant leadership extended far beyond the many areas she touched at Ithaca College. Her active volunteer work with the local community included, but was not limited to, service and leadership on the Ithaca City School Board of Education, United Way of Tompkins County, The Ithaca Public Education Initiative, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Trustee of St. Catherine of Siena Church, and past Ithaca Youth Bureau boys and girls basketball coach. At the state level, Nancy was the state-wide coordinator for the American Council on Education Network for Women and also was a trustee of the College of Saint Rose. In addition, Nancy was recognized for her leadership in creating one of the first comprehensive enterprise risk management programs in the country for small to medium sized private educational institutions. She presented on this topic for United Educators, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Nancy’s mantra with her office colleagues always stressed the importance of family, working hard, and playing hard. Now that she is retired she is spending time with Noreen, her wife of thirty-five years, and their nine year old grandson, Jayceon, who lives them. She also regularly visits with her grown children, Jamal, Kayla, and Noah and their significant others. She is actively rekindling her love of competitive tennis, golfing, kayaking, biking, and camping/spending time in the Adirondacks. When in downtime mode, she has a current quest to read the autobiographies/biographies of twenty-five women (both famous and not so famous) who have made an impact on their communities, our country, and the world.
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