University of the Web: faculty lectures and commentaries now free, available online

This collage of faculty members shows some of the presentation samplings now available online at Cornell's CyberTower, http://cybertower.cornell.edu. The site is free and open to the public and offers video presentations of lectures, discussions and commentaries by Cornell faculty members.

By Susan S. Lang

Watch famed Cornell astronomer Steve Squyres describe the Mars rover mission and the space program; get tips on appreciating, storing and buying wine from a Cornell oenophile; listen to a Cornell sleep expert discuss slumber strategies and the value of power naps.

Such presentations by Cornell experts once were restricted to students. Now, anyone with access to the Web can enjoy almost 100 video-streamed presentations on current topics by some of university's top professors, for free.

All the curious have to do is go to Cornell's CyberTower at http://cybertower.cornell.edu and register.

The presentations, commentaries, book reviews and debates range from ergonomics, the military draft and plant cloning to Rembrandt's etchings, a brief history of English garden design and new approaches to conflict resolution in the American workplace.

The site, sponsored by Cornell's Adult University (CAU), is divided into three areas: Rooms, where faculty members present their expertise; Forums, where they discuss or debate current topics; and Views and Reviews, where they discuss current books, films, visual and performing arts or breaking news.

"Although our intended audience is primarily the Cornell and Ithaca communities and prospective students and their families, CyberTower is open to anyone," says Ralph Janis, director of CAU, who believes that CyberTower is the only Web site of its kind. It's a reflection, he says, of the kinds of subjects taught at Cornell.

In Rooms, for example, almost three dozen video-streamed presentations are available, ranging from protecting adolescents from bullying, diet's link to disease and how fine art and horticulture intersect to understanding Islam, the world of spiders, and the psychology of reality TV shows. In the "Romance of Spiders," for example, Cornell entomologist Linda Rayor describes the mating rituals and predatory behavior of spiders, with a video of spiders playing behind her.

A discussion area provides interaction with the faculty presenter, as well as other visitors to the site. Also provided is a list of recommended readings on each subject.

Forums are videotaped discussions between faculty members on current topics and issues with Glenn Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Among the almost two dozen forums in the archives are "Bringing Up Baby: Evolution, Culture, Primates, and Humans" (Meredith Small, anthropology); "Players, and Politics in the American Response to Terrorism" (Jeremy Rabkin, government), "Will the Social Security System Survive" (Richard Burkhauser, policy analysis and management) and "Brain Waves" (Ron Hoy, neurobiology and behavior).

In Views and Reviews, commentaries include "GWB as CEO" (Thomas Gilovich, psychology), "Reflecting on America's Moral Inheritance" (Michele Moody-Adams, philosophy), "Leaving Children Behind" (Bruce Levitt, Theater, Film and Dance) and "The American Civil War: The Military and the Political Dimension" (Joel Silbey, history).

Visitors to the site are invited to join organized threads discussing the current month's topic and to post comments and questions to the faculty member involved in both the Forum and Views and Reviews sections.