Faculty members travel to spread the word on Cornell

Yervant Terzian, left, professor and chair of the astronomy department, speaks with Verne Rockcastle, professor emeritus of education, at a Cornell Alumni Federation Speaker Series breakfast in March. Charles Harrington/University Photography

By David Brand

From Cape Cod to the Blue Ridge Mountains and from Alaska to San Diego, Cornell's faculty has been fanning out across the country since January to carry the sound of Cayuga's waters to the remotest of alumni.

Their talks have catchy titles, like "It's Not Easy Being Green," "Birds Gotta Sing," and "The Mysteries and Vagaries of Chance." They talk about astronomy, modern literature, botany, sand hill cranes and cyberspace. And always they manage to slip in an anecdote or two about campus life.

Since at least the 1950s, the Cornell Alumni Federation Speaker Series has been sending academics across the United States to help alumni stay in touch with the campus, both socially and intellectually, and to inspire high schoolers and their parents to make Cornell their college of choice. "Faculty are tremendous in giving their time and in taking the intellectual life of the campus to alumni," said Katherine Nelsen, an officer in the Office of Alumni Affairs, which provides support services to alumni groups and acts as their liaison to the university.

There are 79 Cornell clubs and alumni associations across the country, from Florida to Alaska, and every year 50 or so faculty members journey to perhaps two-thirds of the groups, some visiting as many as six cities. This year 25 faculty speakers are visiting 54 clubs and associations, with the alumni affairs office paying travel expenses and local alumni taking care of accommodations and meals. Some academics stay in members' homes, others are put up in hotels. Some events are held in hotels or theaters, others are small gatherings in homes. But always, faculty travelers say, the welcome is enthusiastic, and the questions are legion.

"The farther away you are from Cornell, the more likely it is that alumni will want to know what is happening on campus," said Philip Lewis, the H. Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences, who has visited alumni groups in London and Paris, as well as Honolulu and Chicago, over the past three years. "The closer you get to Cornell, the more alumni are interested in big issues, like undergraduate research."

English professor Daniel Schwarz, who during May is talking on the relationship between modern literature and modern art at the Cornell Club in Manhattan and in Fairfield County, Conn., makes another point about alumni visits: They can be nostalgic, even rather sentimental, affairs. "For many of these alumni, one of the highlights of their lives was going to Cornell, and this gives them a chance to reconnect," he said. "Perhaps in part our alumni are looking for continuity in their lives between past and present. Maybe they remember their Cornell years as something of an oasis, an ideal time when youth, energy and intellectual excitement came together."

Because of that, advises Yervant Terzian, the J. Weeks Professor in Physical Science and Astronomy and chair of the astronomy department, it is important to greet every Cornellian personally and to "talk freely, like a friend." Terzian, says alumni official Nelsen, is the faculty speaker series record holder, having visited 41 clubs and associations since 1978.

At a recent campus breakfast gathering for faculty members in the program, Terzian gave some general tips for ensuring a successful visit. "In your talk you don't have to go into quantum mechanics because it will go above most heads," he said. "It's important to have a light talk of about 30 minutes, with lots of anecdotes connected to the campus."

That has certainly been a successful recipe for David Robertshaw, professor of physiology at Cornell's veterinary school, who for several years has been traveling around the country speaking to Cornellians at their city zoos. Last month, for example, he traveled to Kansas City and Minneapolis to discuss how animals acclimate to the zoo environment. His talk: "The Lions in Winter: How the Big Cats Keep Warm."

For some faculty, though, the highlight of a trip is to meet, and hopefully inspire, potential future Cornellians. Lewis says he looks forward to meeting the high school juniors and seniors who often are invited to attend his talks. "The conversations you have are often as important as the talks," he said.

At the central New York association in Syracuse, a Cornell faculty speaker can be certain to meet young students. Every year the association invites up to 20 outstanding high school juniors to the gathering for a presentation of William Strunk and (Cornell alumnus) E.B. White's book, Elements of Style. This year the students also got to hear a talk by Cornell professor of biological sciences Peter Bruns.