President tells CU trustees enrollment trends are strong

From left, Cornell trustees Judith C. Areen, Thomas W. Jones (partially hidden), Edward M. Cupoli (New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's delegate to the board), Elizabeth D. Moore, Benson Lee (emeritus trustee) and Barbara B. Friedman listen to a report to the board from Provost Don M. Randel Oct. 9 in the Trustee Meeting Room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Jacquie Powers

Cornell's enrollment trends are excellent, and the university showed a strong financial performance last year, members of the university's board of trustees learned at its annual fall meeting Oct. 9.

"In terms of enrollment, we've had a very strong start to this academic year," President Hunter Rawlings told trustees at their first meeting of the academic year.

"It was a solid financial year for Cornell," said Yoke San Reynolds, vice president for financial affairs and university controller. Reynolds said total assets increased by 9.1 percent, despite a decline in the rate of increase on investments due to a weaker stock market.

Those reports and others contributed to the already buoyant mood expressed by trustees and other members of the campus community in the wake of Rawlings' annual State of the University message Friday morning. Rawlings told trustees in that report that a friend who wishes to remain private has donated $100 million toward a $200 million plan to help improve the living and learning environment for undergraduate students on West Campus.

Last October Rawlings unveiled a plan to transform undergraduate education and make Cornell "the best research university for undergraduate education in this country." The transformation of West Campus is a cornerstone of that plan.

Reynolds reported that Cornell ended the fiscal year on June 30, 1999, with total assets of $5.45 billion, total liabilities of $982 million and net assets of $4.47 billion. Total assets increased by $450 million, or 9.1 percent. Net assets increased by $430 million, or 10.6 percent.

Reporting on enrollment trends, Rawlings said completed undergraduate applications to the College of Arts and Sciences increased 25 percent and were up significantly in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the College of Engineering. Early decision applications increased by 12 percent, and the overall yield on applications was up 2.5 percent to over 49 percent, "a very significant increase." In addition, the mean SAT scores of this fall's freshman class was eight points higher than last year's.

Even more significant, he said, was the good news on graduate-level enrollments. Entering graduate enrollment increased 6 percent from a year ago and 21 percent from two years ago, Rawlings said.

"This is the largest entering graduate class ever, reversing a decade of steady declines. Moreover, this outstanding result counters the national trend," Rawlings said. And the quality of graduate students continues to climb, he added.

In addition, he reported, the total number of under-represented minority graduate students has increased to a record high of 6.3 percent, and the total number of female graduate students has risen to a record 41 percent.

Rawlings credited a program to improve graduate fellowships, instituted by Walter Cohen, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, with fueling the turnaround in graduate enrollment.

"The results so far are extremely good," Rawlings said. He added that, "Recruiting graduate students today is like recruiting faculty members. It's very intense."

Building and Properties Committee

Facade and fenestration changes are proposed for the entire library wing, while the Garden Avenue complex changes include a glass enclosure of the colonnade on the west side of the conference center, which will allow for improved used of space in all seasons. Air-handling systems throughout the buildings would be updated, too, according to Gregg Travis, facilities director for the state units at Cornell. Plans for the $16.5 million project are still being developed, and no construction starting date has been set.

Steve Wright, director of facilities in the Planning, Design and Construction department at Cornell, led committee members on a tour of the Lincoln Hall construction project on the east side of the Arts Quad. The $18.9 renovation and expansion will create a modern home for the music department, including new practice studios, performance spaces, classrooms and lecture halls, and faculty and administrative offices while maintaining the historical integrity of Lincoln Hall, which was built in 1888. The Lincoln Hall project is scheduled for completion in summer 2000.