Book poses a 100 most notable Cornellians roster

By Franklin Crawford

It is fitting that the idea for a book titled The 100 Most Notable Cornellians had its genesis in a newsletter posted on the bulletin board of the Ithaca area YMCA.

The newsletter paid homage to John R. Mott, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who played a pivotal role in YMCA history. Cornell Vice Provost Isaac Kramnick read the flier unaware that Mott was a Cornell graduate (Class of 1888), a fact his racquetball partner, Larry Moore, the Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies and History, casually pointed out to him.

That got Kramnick, who also is the R.J. Schwartz Professor of Government, thinking: There must be dozens of "notables" whose Cornell connection is unknown to alumni. Kramnick and Moore decided to track these notables down and put them in a book. They invited friend and colleague Glenn Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, to join them for the adventure. He happily agreed. The result, after more than two years of intensive research, is a unique portrait of Cornell itself, the "world class institution with an egalitarian soul," as the book's preface states.

The three authors readily concede their 100 selections are subjective, and no doubt there will be questions. Curious alumni and other friends of Cornell are invited to attend a reception for the authors, hosted by Cornell University Press, this Saturday, June 7, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the A.D. White House.

"We don't want to go into reasons why we didn't include certain notables," said Moore. "Part of the reason for that is to encourage discussion. There are a quarter century's worth of Cornell graduates who we did not even consider [the book covers first 100 years of Cornell, ending in 1975], and 10 years from now, obviously, new notables will emerge."

As the book's flyleaf states: "Graduates of Cornell University have achieved remarkable success in all areas, from literature and photography to economics and agriculture, from finance and chemistry to athletics and the stage. They have held positions of leadership in boardrooms and classrooms, blazed new paths in medicine and journalism, acted on lofty ideals and strong ambition. Cornellians are regulars in Stockholm, on the bestseller lists, and in high office."

Confronted with this challenging abundance, the authors canvassed various Cornell departments, scoured encyclopedias, archives and alumni records and engaged in vigorous debates amongst themselves that occasionally had to be settled by majority vote. In the end, they assembled profiles of 100 notable men and women who completed an undergraduate degree program at Cornell. In at least one case, the term "notable" is interchangeable with "notorious."

What makes The 100 Most Notable Cornellians unusual as a tribute was the authors' choice to focus on men and women who completed an undergraduate degree. No famous drop-outs or transfers, nor grad-school or professional-school luminaries. It is not a "who's who" of Cornellians. The co-authors' selection process is carefully detailed in the preface.

"Any great school could amass a list of its 100 most notable graduates in order of prominence and significance of the names themselves," said Kramnick. "One of our criteria for selection was the individual's contribution to American society and the world, not necessarily to Cornell. I'll bet every Cornell alum will say quite often 'I didn't know he-she went to Cornell.'"

Some notables are household names, such as writer E.B. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court justice. Time has obscured others whose works endure, such as Margaret Morgan Lawrence, one of America's most distinguished pediatric psychiatrists, and Edward L. Bernays, American advertising and public relations pioneer. Photo portraits accompany the finely crafted essays, and the text is teeming with facts and details that will be news to many readers.

"What's remarkable about this list is the breadth of areas of interest and accomplishments," said Altschuler. "That also reflects the breadth of a Cornell education."

For those who are unfamiliar with the accomplishments of the authors themselves, here's a quick sketch. Altschuler is a former columnist for The New York Times and the author or co-author of several books, including Rude Republic: Americans and Their Politics in the 19th Century and the forthcoming All Shook Up: How Rock 'n Roll Changed America. Kramnick is author or editor of many books, including studies of the American founding fathers, Tom Paine, Edmund Burke and the 20th-century Englishman Harold Laski. Moore likewise has authored numerous books, including the forthcoming Touchdown Jesus and the Mixing of Sacred and Secular in Democratic America. In addition, Kramnick and Moore are coauthors of The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness.

The new book is available at local bookstores or by contacting Cornell University Press at 277-2211.