Second West Campus residence named for revered CU historian

By Franklin Crawford

The second of five West Campus Residential Initiative (WCRI) houses has been named in honor of Carl Becker, distinguished Cornell historian.

Tossing dirt at the West Campus groundbreaking for the Carl Becker House, May 17, are, from left: Vice Provost Isaac Kramnick; Michelle-Renée Smith, graduate resident fellow, Alice Cook House; Edna Dugan, assistant vice president for student and academic services; Cornell trustee Carolyn Neuman; President Jeffrey Lehman; and Vice President Susan Murphy. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

President Jeffrey S. Lehman announced the naming of the Carl Becker House during a ceremonial groundbreaking held on West Campus, May 17.

Becker, a prominent cultural and intellectual historian, taught in Cornell's Department of History from 1917 through 1941 and served as the university historian from 1941 until his death in 1945. While active as a faculty member, he held two named chairs: the John Stambaugh Professor of History (1922-40) and the John Wendell Anderson Professor (1940-41).

The president linked the WCRI's "faculty-led, student-run" program philosophy to Becker's famous definition of the Cornell character as combining "freedom and responsibility."

"The freedom to do what one chooses, responsibility for what it is that one chooses to do," said Lehman, quoting Becker.

The president re-emphasized the fundamental importance of the WCRI, saying it strengthens undergraduate education in two mutually reinforcing ways: by creating smaller communities and by integrating intellectual activity into the daily lives of student residents.

The entire five-house residential system, including a community center, is scheduled for completion in 2010. The first house will open in August and is named for the late Alice H. Cook, a noted professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the university's first ombudsman.

Cook House was a favored draw at the annual student housing lottery and "we now have a full house of 372 students," said Jean Reese, assistant house dean for Cook House.

The Carl Becker House will be home for 360 students and is slated to open in August 2005, a full year ahead of the original WCRI programming schedule, said Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services, who provided opening comments for the ceremony.

Speakers at the groundbreaking for Becker House also included: Isaac Kramnick, vice provost for undergraduate education and co-chair for the West Campus Council; Carolyn Neuman '64, a Cornell trustee; Peter LePage, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Michelle Renée Smith, Cook House graduate resident fellow.

In describing the life and career of Becker, Kramnick said his own scholarship was deeply influenced by Becker's seminal writings, especially The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers and The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas, standard texts today.

Neuman emphasized the Cornell trustees' commitment to residential housing for undergraduate students that provides "opportunities for leadership, service and friendship." She added that WCRI is a highly valued extension to the university's overarching residential initiatives.

Cornell has committed $200 million to the West Campus project: $177 million for facilities and $23 million for programming.

LePage congratulated faculty from the history department, many of whom were present for the event, for their "extraordinary contribution to the undergraduate experience at Cornell."

Smith, who will be one of six Cook House graduate fellows, described her undergraduate life as one of "chasing after experiences to figure out what it was that I wanted to do ... when what I needed was some good advice."

As a mentor and role model to Cook House students, Smith said she hopes to help guide undergraduates more efficiently through the "myriad possibilities" at Cornell.

The groundbreaking ceremony concluded with a ceremonial dig, each speaker wielding a red-handled, gold-painted spade shovel. Embossed on the scoop of each shovel are the dates of Cornell's residential initiative groundbreakings: March 2000 for North Campus, April 2003 for Cook House and May 2004 for Becker House.