Faculty, staff, students gather to brainstorm key issues for the coming years

President Hunter Rawlings, left, and John Smillie, professor of mathematics, listen to comments in a discussion group on faculty and student interaction during the Academic Leadership Series meeting in Statler Hotel Dec. 9. Charles Harrington/University Photography

By Jacquie Powers

Some 300 faculty, staff and students spent a half day last week brainstorming two of the priorities President Hunter Rawlings has set for the university in the coming years: student and faculty interaction and distance learning.

Rawlings, in his annual state of the university message to trustees and alumni leaders in October, said his goal is to help Cornell become "the best research university for undergraduate education in this country."

The two priorities discussed at the Dec. 9 workshop are, among others, key to achieving that goal, Rawlings said. The workshop, part of the ongoing Academic Leadership Series (ALS), was cosponsored by the Faculty Senate and the president and provost.

Rawlings noted at the opening session, in the Alice Statler Auditorium in Statler Hall, "The Academic Leadership Series is one of the more valuable things we do in large groups at Cornell.... We in the administration take the Academic Leadership Series quite seriously. We read the results, listen to the discussion sessions and often take measures, in subsequent months, that reflect opinions and recommendations from ALS.... These discussions often do result in actual change."

Participants broke into small groups for an hour and a half, with each group discussing one of the two topics. At the conclusion, several group facilitators presented their discussion highlights and recommendations, to give participants a random sample of the ideas generated. More detailed notes from each discussion group will be presented to the Faculty Senate and the administration for further discussion and possible action, Provost Don M. Randel noted.

The observations and recommendations for distance learning included:

• It's critical to determine the appropriate target audience and the range of credits and degrees to offer. A post-degree audience might be best, with emphasis on a professional master's degree rather than an undergraduate degree.
  
• Technology must be the servant, not the master, of a distance-learning program.
  
• Content is critical and must come from the faculty.
  
• There are two models to choose from in enlisting faculty: the corporate model, in which the university says, "This is part of your job, do it." Or the entrepreneurial model, in which faculty share in the profits.
  
• The goal should be educational, not financial return, therefore the program should not have to be self-supporting.
  
• Target efforts where Cornell has a comparative advantage, such as land grant or international.
  
• Realistically address barriers, including lack of personal interaction between faculty and students and lack of enriching on-campus experiences.
  
• Make it part of the educational experience after graduation.

The observations and recommendations for student and faculty interaction included:

• Several groups supported the idea of providing faculty with thumbnail photos of students in their classes along with their class lists.
  
• Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) should create listservs for classes that request them, so there can be ongoing dialogue between students and faculty.
  
• Survey the satisfaction of students after the freshman year as well as in the senior year.
  
• New residence halls should have suites for visitors.
  
• Initiate study groups combining students and faculty.
  
• A measure of a good adviser is the ability to write letters of recommendation making points that are unique to individual students.
  
• Hold a department convocation at the start of each year explaining the rationale for the curriculum.
  
• Ensure that the architecture of new residence halls opens up the possibilities for community.
  
• Provide another student coffee house, open 24 hours, where students can feel at home, put student art on the walls and invite faculty for conversation.
  
• Increase the opportunities for students and faculty to engage in problem-solving.
  
• Clearly define the role of faculty adviser to ensure it goes beyond course selection.
  
• Try to improve the environment on campus for underrepresented minorities.

In closing the workshop, Randel said, "These meetings have something of the character of revival meetings, and in that they are good.... Our challenge is to convey something of the intellectual excitement that brought us here and keeps us here, conveying that excitement to the undergraduates who come here. Only the faculty can do that. For that reason both the president and I are extremely grateful to you for coming here."