The Friends of the Institute

The Friends of the Institute are a group of talented professionals appointed by the director, who work in the various disciplines represented by the faculty and who serve to promote and advise on the programs, student recruitment, and activities of the Institute throughout the world.

June 29, 2009 - The Institute mourns the sudden passing of Martha Dewey, who was killed in an automobile accident this past Friday evening near Ithaca, New York. Martha is survived by her husband Kent Goetz. There will be a memorial service at Cornell University.

Martha Dewey was Artistic Director and a founding member of the Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE), a unique resource for education in diversity at Cornell University. The CITE theatre troupe utilizes the medium of interactive theatre to facilitate dialogue from multiple points of view on a wide variety of challenging issues, through its programming for faculty, students, and staff at Cornell and other academic institutions, for non-profit and corporate clients, and for conferences, seminars and workshops throughout the United States. Created in 1991 by the Office of Diversity & Faculty Development and the Department of Theatre, Film, & Dance, CITE's mission is "to give voice to a variety of points of view within the human experience, in order to facilitate a shift in culture towards greater honesty, trust, respect, and dignity."

As Artistic Director, Martha was responsible for program design, creation of scenario material, and leadership of training in interactive theatre technique. She was also an actor in the troupe. In 2005, she received the Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Award, honoring her contributions to changing the climate for women at Cornell. In 2001, the CITE troupe received Cornell’s James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding and Harmony, awarded to the organization making the most significant contribution to furthering the ideal of community while respecting the values of diversity.

Prior to joining CITE, Martha served as adjunct faculty in the Religion & the Arts Program of YDS/ISM, developing the “The Lively Word” course with Peter Hawkins, and “The Parish Musician” with Robert Baker. She also taught at the University of Illinois-Urbana, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Ithaca College. She was a graduate of Kalamazoo College and Yale Divinity School (MAR, ’81).

(Updated June 2009)