Linking real-world commitments with scholarly resolve

Brigham Kiplinger, right, walks along Cayuga Lake with his "little brother," Keaunte Westfield, 10. Kiplinger is a history major with a concentration in Africana studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is from Washington, D.C. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Franklin Crawford

Brigham Kiplinger is a third-generation Cornellian. Grandson of Austin Kiplinger '39, emeritus chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees, Brigham attended prep school and enjoyed all the trappings of affluence. His career might have been predictable -- banker, lawyer, CEO -- were it not for the profound influence that his dad, Knight Kiplinger '69, had on his son.

"My father got me interested in African-American history," said Kiplinger. "He was at Cornell during the Willard Straight Hall takeover, and issues of racism and civil rights were central to his coming-of-age experience."

And the younger Kiplinger made them central to his life as well.

"The overwhelming rise in race incarceration is the civil rights issue of my time. I am motivated by an urgent conviction that a fuller understanding of African-America history and the politics of urban social movements is necessary to address the appalling inequalities in our social justice system," said Kiplinger. "This is the kind of work I'm convinced needs to be done."

This summer, Kiplinger will work in a struggling public school in the heart of Washington, D.C., with the Teach for America program. While at Cornell, he was in the Urban Scholars Program, working at Covenant House in New York City. And he made weekly visits to inmates at the Tompkins County Jail as a volunteer with Offender Aid and Restoration, a local non-profit program.

But his favorite extracurricular activity has been in the Big Brother-Big Sister of Tompkins County program, hanging out with his 10-year-old buddy, Keaunte Westfield.

"We play a lot of sports, work on his reading and explore the area together," Kiplinger said. "Teaching, learning from, and just spending time with Keaunte a couple times every week has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my four years in Ithaca."

"[Brigham] combines the best qualities of a serious student who is really committed to using his mind to think through problems and issues," said Nick Salvatore, professor of American Studies and Kiplinger's academic adviser. "And he's not afraid to raise tough questions."

As for his upcoming stint with Teach for America, Kiplinger said: "I don't kid myself that it's going to be anything but tough -- these schools are failing for a reason. But even if I can only get to a few kids, that will make a difference. I'm idealistic, but I'm not naïve."