InUni, part of Global University Systems (GUS), one of the leading global education partners, is providing marketing and strategic insight into international markets for Elmira College, founded in 1855 and the home of The Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School.
A private, coeducational Phi Beta Kappa college located in Elmira, New York, Elmira College was the first United States college for women with a course of study equal in rigor to the best men’s colleges of the time. Becoming co-educational in 1969, today Elmira has an undergraduate enrolment of around 800 full-time, mostly residential students, and offers advanced certificates, masters degree programmes and non-credit courses for professional development.
A recent addition to Elmira College’s programme is the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School. Hilfiger, founder of the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and a legend in the global fashion industry, has deep roots in the Elmira area. Fifty years ago, he opened his first shop, called People’s Place, in downtown Elmira, New York, hiring Elmira College students to work in the store.
The Hilfiger family approached Elmira College with the idea of offering a programme focused on fashion merchandising and marketing, recognising the importance of a strong business foundation for students aspiring to enter the fashion industry. The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest customer-facing industries, with revenues estimated at US $1.5 trillion per year.
“We are excited to be working with Elmira College around its marketing and insight opportunities,” says David Fisher, Chairman of InUni Marketing. “In addition to the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School the University has a rich educational heritage, part of which is its Center for Mark Twain Studies, which is one of four historically significant Twain heritage sites in the United States.”
Elsewhere, alumni of Elmira College include American poet Diane Lockward, Sheila Williams, the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine and Fay Kanin, screenwriter, playwright and producer and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983.
“Our partnership with InUni provides valuable marketing and insight for our international recruitment efforts,” says Eric Sykes, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Elmira. “InUni has an excellent track record in this area and we are looking forward to it being a fruitful collaboration.”
Grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, Elmira College provides a collaborative and supportive environment that enables students to become active learners, effective leaders, responsible community members and globally engaged citizens. The College offers more than 25 majors and academic programmes, an honours programme, 17 academic honour societies, and 16 Division III varsity teams. Located in the Southern Finger Lakes Region of New York, Elmira’s undergraduate and graduate student population hails from more than 20 states and nine countries.
