Ithaca alumni association honors the Corsons

From left, President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes and Fred Antil, president of the Cornell Alumni Association of Ithaca, present President Emeritus Dale Corson and his wife, Nellie, with a gift and lifetime membership in the club, as tribute to their longtime service to Cornell and the community. Robert Barker/University Photography

By Casey Morse '00

More than 100 alumni and friends packed into the A.D. White House Dec. 7 for the Cornell Alumni Association of the Ithaca Area's (CAAIA) Fourth Annual Winter Celebration, which recognized a student fellowship winner and honored a past president of the university and his wife.

The event also helped raise funds for the association's Arlene Sadd '32 Memorial Cornell Tradition Fellowship.

Initially called the Cornell Club of Ithaca Cornell Tradition Fellowship, the endowed fund was later named for Arlene Sadd, an emeritus Cornell Council member. CAAIA's Cornell Tradition Fellowship annually supports a Cornell student from the Ithaca area.

This year's Cornell Tradition fellow, senior NaShawndra Jackson of Ithaca, was introduced to the members by association president Fred Antil '55 and gave a brief address. A member of both the Quill and Dagger and the Mortarboard honor societies, Jackson also is president of the Cornell chapter of the NAACP. She said she is considering a career in consulting.

Jackson also thanked the CAAIA alumni for their support. "I'm impressed with the CAAIA alumni and all that they have accomplished," she said. "I hope that wherever I end up, whether it be New York City or Ithaca, that I will be able to give back to Cornell what it has given to me."

Antil next introduced President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes, who congratulated Jackson on her achievements, spoke briefly about the fellowship program and then introduced President Emeritus Dale Corson. "I am thankful that Dale left Cornell in such wonderful condition," said Rhodes, who succeeded Corson as Cornell's ninth president. "He left the university strong, resilient, confident and with a sense of direction."

Corson and his wife, Nellie, were then presented with honorary lifetime memberships in the CAAIA and were given an ovation by members and friends.

The CAAIA began as the Cornell Club of Ithaca in the early 1900s. Although it became inactive in the late '50s, it was revitalized in the late '70s by a group of dedicated Cornellians who worked to revitalize interest in volunteer participation. The association has 150 members and centers its activities around enhancing membership, providing interesting social and educational programming and adding to its Cornell Tradition Fellowship endowment fund.