To read the full text of any release, click on the filename.

Texts and photos are also available via FTP at cunews.cornell.edu. If you have any questions, send ordinary e-mail to cunews@cornell.edu.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- H. Alex Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology and newly named Kimmel Foundation Scholar in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, is assembling a research team to study the function of phospholipase D (PLD), a natural enzyme that is believed to be a crucial biochemical link in the cell-signaling cascade that permits the spread of many kinds of cancer cells. The goal of Brown's research, which is supported in part by a two-year grant totaling $200,000 from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, is to understand the activation of PLD in cells and, ultimately, to design drugs that can inhibit PLD production in cancer cells and halt their spread altogether. brown.kimmel.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- During the Blizzard of '96, news reports of roof failures throughout the Northeast corridor -- from Boston to Washington -- prompted Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University and Kent State University researchers to prepare an "Evaluation of East Coast Snow Loads Following the January 1996 Storms," published in the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (May 1997). They found that had it not been for structures built "better-than-code," more roofs could have collapsed under the snow's heavy weight. NRCC.Blizzard-97.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- For many urban Americans -- especially nonwhites and New Yorkers -- home sweet home is structurally inadequate and overcrowded, according to a new Cornell University study. Although American housing quality has improved dramatically over the past 50 years, nonwhites were three times more likely to live in structurally inadequate housing than whites in seven representative metropolitan areas studied. When factors such as income, education, location, race and age of building were controlled for statistically, being black or white became the only significant racial predictors for structual housing.quality.ssl.html

E-mail: SSL4@cornell.edu Parents put in a full day's work raising two children -- triple parent.time2.SSL.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In September at the United Nations, President Clinton and leaders of four other superpowers signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), prohibiting the testing of nuclear devices around the globe. As of January, 140 nations had signed on. Now, enforcing the treaty falls on an international group charged with monitoring compliance. But how? Partially with the help of Cornell University geologists, that's how. To assist in the effective monitoring of whether a nuclear bomb has been detonated anywhere in the world, geologists are compiling an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS), a database of global seismological, geologic, geophysical, remote sensing and geographic information so that the CTBT can be verified. Geology.lb.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- April was not 24 hours old before three all-time snowfall records were shattered in the Northeast, according to climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. April's temperatures were cooler than normal and the month was also drier than normal. nrccapril.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's Formula SAE student team won a national competition May 15-18, beating student teams from 75 other colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in the design, construction and performance of a Formula SAE race car. In nationwide trials held in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., last week, Cornell upset heavily favored University of Texas at Arlington with its Cornell-red car named "ABA-97" (the initials of the team's faculty adviser, A. Brad Anton). Texas had won the competition the past two years. SAE.ltb.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Some animal owners are preparing for the death of a beloved pet. Some are grief-stricken by a sudden, unexpected loss, while others are still trying to cope months later. For all who need sympathy and understanding on the other end of the phone line -- or on the Internet -- students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University have started the Pet Loss Support Hotline and a World Wide Web site: (607) 253-3932 and . petloss.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- More than half of American high school students don't go on to college and often flounder in "dead-end" jobs. They -- as well as college-bound students -- would benefit dramatically from planned workplace experiences, according to a Cornell University expert. Structured work-based learning programs can significantly improve students' career paths, social and technical competence in the workplace and self-esteem. After four years of testing approaches in the Cornell Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project, The Cornell Youth and Work Program has published the guide Learning Well at Work: Choices for Quality (printed and distributed free by the National School-to-Work Opportunities Office, 1997) to help others develop high-quality, work-based learning programs for high school students. apprenticeship.ssl.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The threat of a rare but serious condition in cats -- vaccine-associated feline sarcoma -- is prompting veterinary experts to advise cat owners and their veterinarians to think twice about whether all vaccinations are necessary for all cats. "More so now than ever, the individual cat's environment and risk of exposure should determine whether particular vaccines are administered," said James R. Richards, D.V.M. Richards is director of the Feline Health Center at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as chair for education and communication at the national Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force. catshots.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Young women with low body iron -- but who are not quite anemic -- must use more effort to do the same amount of physical work or exercise than women who are not iron- deficient, according to several new Cornell University studies. In some of the first studies to look at iron-depleted women who are not anemic -- about 16 percent of U.S. women and 40 to 80 percent of women in developing countries -- Cornell nutritionists have determined that work capacity and physical performance are significantly impaired compared with women with normal iron levels. iron.ssl.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's student Food Product Development Team is a finalist in the prestigious Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) national competition and are hoping for a three-peat. The Cornell team, which has been one of six finalists for three consecutive years, won the competiton last year and the year before. This year, team members must make sure a "shelf-stable" crepe filled with apple slices lasts on the grocer's shelf for three months and tastes good. SwissCrepes.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Edwin E. Salpeter, the James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor in the Physical Sciences at Cornell University, has won the 1997 Crafoord Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday (May 28). Salpeter, Cornell professor of astronomy and of physics, shares the prize with Sir Fred Hoyle, who coined the term "Big Bang" for the beginning of the universe, for "their pioneering contributions involving the study of nuclear reactions in stars and stars' development," the Royal Academy said. salpeter.lb.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- A one-week course on designing and managing indoor water-reuse systems for fin fish culture is scheduled for June 24-28 by the Cornell Aquaculture Program and the Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center. Course registration is $600. The course is conducted at the Cornell Animal Science and Teaching Center in Harford, N.Y., and at Cornell's Ithaca campus. Led by Michael B. Timmons, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and director of the Cornell Aquaculture Program, the course will combine lectures and hands-on experience to thoroughly cover the design, operation and management of water-reuse systems for fin fish. fishclass.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings today (May 1, 1997) issued a statement in response to recent events on campus involving articles published in the Cornell Review and the resultant protests. Rawlings.statement.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Two Cornell University faculty members have been selected as Woodrow Wilson Fellows. Lourdes Bener’a, professor of city and regional planning and of women's studies and director of the Latin American Studies Program, and Peter J. Katzenstein, the Walter S. Carpenter Jr. Professor of International Studies and Comparative Politics, are among 34 individuals chosen from more than 600 candidates to serve as Fellows at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., for the 1997-98 academic year. wilsonfellows.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- At 24, Thien Minh Ly was the oldest child of a family of first-generation immigrants from Vietnam. A successful student, he held degrees from Georgetown University and UCLA, where he headed the Vietnamese Student Association. His promising future was cut short when he was fatally stabbed -- the victim of a hate crime -- by two men in Los Angeles in January 1996. Thien's story and that of the legacy he left behind, as well as the suffering endured by his family, are the subject of a documentary by Cornell senior film major Trac Minh Vu. The documentary, Letters to Thien, will be screened May 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Willard Straight Hall, along with other films from students in the Advanced Film and Video Projects class. studentfilms.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- M&T Bank is offering a full scholarship to Cornell University's Summer College, one of the nation's first summer programs for high school students. High school juniors and seniors from Broome, Cortland and Tompkins counties are eligible for the M&T scholarship, which is worth $4,950. The six-week program introduces high school juniors and seniors to the challenges of college study and helps to ease the transition into college. The program also offers career exploration programs, college study skills and math workshops, and a look at the college admissions process through the eyes of admissions officers. Summer_College_scholarship.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University Library is embarking on a three-year collaborative project with the National and University Library of Iceland to create the Icelandic National Digital Library, a first-of-its-kind international electronic repository selected from Cornell's Fiske Icelandic Collection, the National and University Library of Iceland, and Iceland's çrni Magnœsson Institute. When completed in 2000, the digital library will contain the world's most extensive digital collection on Icelandic history, language and literature. The project is made possible by a $600,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and grants from Iceland's Ministry of Culture and Education and the Icelandic Research Council. Project costs will total $1.3 million over the three years. The Mellon grant will not only contribute toward the cost of creating the database, but also will support an evaluation of the economics and changing use patterns of these materials, comparing electronic access with traditional pathways of research. Since scholars interested in Icelandic materials are scattered throughout the world, access to major collections in electronic format should prove cost-effective. ICELANDNEW.JKG.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Five Cornell University faculty members have been selected to receive Sloan Foundation Research Fellowships, the Sloan Foundation has announced. They are: Srivivasan Keshav, associate professor, Jon Kleinberg, assistant professor, and Brian C. Smith, assistant professor, all in the Department of Computer Science; and Philip C. Argyres and Eanna Flanagan, both assistant professors of physics and nuclear studies in the Department of Physics. sloanfellows.ltb.html

MADISON, Wis. -- Sure, they were the reigning national champs, but at this year's contest the Big Red soil judging team had something more to show: their appreciation. "We dedicated our effort to Jeff Wagenet, who is currently fighting cancer," said John Galbraith, coach of the team and a research support specialist in Cornell's Soil, Crop and Atmospheric Sciences Department. Wagenet, former chair of the department, was touched by the gesture and was happy that the team returned placing third in the National Championship of Soil Judging, which was held this year at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Cornell scored 2,769 points on April 25, finishing behind first-place University of Wisconsin-Platteville (2,875 points) and second-place Iowa State University (2,806 points). The University of Kentucky took fourth place and Purdue, fifth. The national championship featured 16 collegiate teams that had qualified from regional contests. SoilJudging-97.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University will celebrate its 129th Commencement on Sunday, May 25. The program will be held in Schoellkopf Stadium from 11 a.m. to noon, with the procession beginning on the Arts Quad at 9:30 a.m. Following Cornell tradition, the commencement speaker will be the university's president, Hunter Rawlings. Television personality Bertice Berry will be guest speaker at Senior Convocation on Saturday, May 24, in a program for graduating seniors and their guests beginning at noon in Barton Hall. commencementconvocation.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Three Cornell University students were honored recently for their community-service efforts. The Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards were presented on Friday, April 25, to sophomore Jamila Cutliff, junior Hilary Himes and senior Debbie Warren. The award was established by alumni Gerald Robinson '54 and Margot Robinson '55, and Robert Appel '53 and Helen Appel '55. It was created to recognize and honor students who have had significant involvement in community service by providing support for their projects which address a community's social needs or problems. Three students are selected, and each receives $1,500 to further a community-service project that he or she has initiated and proposed. Robinson.Appel.Awards.sfm.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Raymond Dwek, Oxford University professor of glycobiology and director of the Glycobiology Institute there, will present a lecture, "Glycobiology -- Toward Understanding the Function of Carbohydrates," at the Boyce Thompson Institute Auditorium on the Cornell University campus Wednesday, May 14 at 3 p.m. Dwek is a Professorial Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a founding scientist of Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd. BTI-Dwek.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Professor Alice Colby-Hall of Cornell University's Department of Romance Studies, who has taught French language and literature here for 35 years, has been named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture. One of France's highest honors, the award is given both to French citizens and to foreigners. Colby-Hall is being honored for the remarkable contribution she has made, through her career, to the spread of French culture and to the protection of France's historical and literary heritage. (Last year the honor was given to another French scholar at Cornell, Steven L. Kaplan, the Goldwin Smith Professor of History.) colby-hall.jkg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- With flood-damage repairs in Cascadilla Gorge about to begin and dogs running loose in the Newman Arboretum, officials at Cornell Plantations have two requests for the public: Please stay out of lower Cascadilla Gorge (between College Avenue and University Avenue) until repairs are complete and comply with dog leash laws. Flooding in January 1996 left the Cascadilla Gorge trail virtually impassable, forcing Cornell Plantations to close the popular commuting route to the public. Particularly hazardous -- both to trespassers and to repair crews working in the gorge this spring with funds from state and federal emergency management agencies -- is a stone staircase below the Stewart Avenue bridge. The decades-old staircase was reduced to a width of 20 inches, with a shear rock wall on one side and a drop to a waterfall on the other side. dog.trail.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell Law School will confer degrees on 232 students during convocation ceremonies Sunday, May 18, at 2 p.m. in Bailey Hall on the Cornell University campus. Juris doctorates will be awarded to 191 students; 41 will receive master of law degrees and six will receive both degrees. Law_Convocation1997.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Some animal owners are preparing for the death of a beloved pet. Some are grief-stricken by a sudden, unexpected loss, while others are still trying to cope months later. For all who need sympathy and understanding on the other end of the phone line -- or on the Internet -- students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University have started the Pet Loss Support Hotline and a World Wide Web site: (607) 253-3932 and . petloss.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In the wake of recent news reports about a controversial article published in a biweekly independent student newspaper at Cornell University, a campus official said today (May 9, 1997) that information given to the news media by student editors did not accurately reflect the university's response and was incorrect in other details. Cornell has no plan to institute either a campus speech code or a mandatory racism sensitivity course for freshmen, as reported in a May 7 Associated Press article, said Henrik N. Dullea, vice president for university relations. Review.article3.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell Law School tops the list of law schools in New York when it comes to the percentage of students who pass the New York state bar exam. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), which is publicly releasing state bar exam pass rates for the first time, Cornell Law School graduates topped the state in 1995 with a 96 percent pass rate for those taking the bar exam for the first time. That's well above the statewide passing rate of 78 percent. Historically, about half of Cornell Law School's juris doctorate graduates, approximately 180 students, take the New York state bar exam. barexam.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- For those students graduating this year, consider this: More than 83 percent of employment recruiters on college campuses believe that basic computer literacy plays an "important" or "very important" role in the hiring process of recent college graduates, according to a survey from Cornell University. The researchers examined 23 types of computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheet analysis, Web page creation, programming and database management. They found that 96 percent of today's potential employers expect college graduates to have at least basic word processing skills; at the same time most employers considered knowing how to create Web pages irrelevant. ComputerGrad.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Edward T. Lu, a NASA astronaut and graduate of Cornell University's School of Electrical Engineering (B.S. 1984), is scheduled to lift off into space on May 15 from the Kennedy Space Center. Lu, 34, is one of six "mission specialists" on the eight-member crew assigned to space shuttle Atlantis, which is scheduled for a pre-dawn launch on Thursday, May 15. It will be the sixth shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Lushuttle.ltb.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- D.L. Birchfield, a visiting lecturer in the American Indian Program at Cornell University, has won the 1997 Louis Littlecoon Oliver Memorial Prose Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas, an association of American Indian novelists, poets, and playwrights. Birchfield won in the North American Native Authors First Book Awards competition for "The Oklahoma Basic Intelligence Test, and Other New and Collected Elementary, Epistolary, Autobiographical, and Oratorical Choctologies," a book-length manuscript collection of essays, short stories and creative nonfiction that includes literary criticism, Choctaw history, environmental issues, treaty rights, Oklahoma history and other topics. birchfield.jkg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- From across the United States and Australia, high school teachers who most inspired 35 of Cornell University's top graduating seniors will be honored by the university on May 21. The teachers are being brought to campus as Cornell's guests to be honored with $4,000 scholarships in their names for future Cornell students from their schools or regions. The teachers to be honored were selected by students who represent the top 5 percent of Cornell's 1997 graduating class. Known as Merrill Presidential Scholars, the students are chosen by deans of each of Cornell's seven undergraduate colleges for outstanding academic achievement, strong leadership ability and potential for contributing to society. The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program is made possible by funding from Philip Merrill, Cornell Class of 1955. In addition to selecting a teacher, each student also honors a Cornell faculty member who has had a strong influence on his or her academic career. merrillscholars1997.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Twelve Cornell University seniors who have been honored for their community service efforts will use their monetary awards to benefit others. Each year between 10 and 12 Cornell Tradition Fellows are honored for their community service work with a $2,500 Senior Recognition Award, which they then donate to either non-profit agencies or use to establish one-year fellowships at Cornell. The award winners, who are first nominated by faculty or staff members or are self-nominated, are chosen by a Cornell Tradition selection committee. Senior.Recognition.sfm.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- On the heels of the drought of 1995 and the blizzard and deluge of 1996, the year 1997 is starting out normal for both precipitation and temperature, according to climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. "You'd expect one out of three years to be close to normal, and maybe this is the year," said Keith Eggleston, climatologist with the center. "This year hasn't been as wet as 1996, so far, and it has been kind of dry at the southern end of the region. The temperatures weren't terribly exciting. Bad weather would certainly make it more interesting, as 1997 is starting out rather dull." NRCC.January97.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Neil W. Ashcroft, the Horace White Professor in Physics at Cornell University, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, among the nation's highest scientific honors. He was one of 60 new members recognized for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. It brings to 43 the number of Cornell former or current faculty who are members of the National Academy of Sciences. AshcroftNAS.lb.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc., located at Cornell University, has announced that Stephen H. Howell will be the institute's new vice president for research, Joyce L. Frank will be the new vice president for operations, John M. Dentes will be the new vice president for finance, and Anne Zientek has been promoted to human resources manager. BTIannouncements.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- "You could be a bricklayer," adults suggested kindly to the husky youth, Kevin Wallace, although they didn't think he even had the brains for that. And teachers were less charitable, in the days before dyslexia-type reading and learning disorders were understood, Wallace remembers: "I asked the nun how I could make the letters hold still on the page, and she said the devil was working in me." Repeatedly punished without knowing why, he carried feelings of shame and confusion until age 28. Then Wallace confessed to his 7-year-old daughter the reason he told such marvelous bedtime stories but never read them: He couldn't read, a secret he withheld from employers, friends and even from Thea, his wife. Today, the other 76 graduates of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine D.V.M. Class of '97 are in awe of a phenomenal power Wallace developed, while managing his learning disability. It is said he somehow absorbed so much information about veterinary medicine that he can read an ailing animal like a . Better, actually, than a book, of which he figures he has read two. kevinwallace.hrs.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Board of Trustees will meet in Ithaca on Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24. The full board will convene on Saturday, May 24, at 10 a.m. in the Trustee Meeting Room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on campus. During the open session, which will adjourn at approximately 11 a.m., the board will hear a report from President Hunter Rawlings; Vice President for Student and Academic Affairs Susan Murphy will present a preliminary report from the Residential Communities Implementation Plan Steering Committee; Associate Provost Winnie Taylor will present the annual report on the status of women, American Indians, Asian Americans, African Americans and Hispanic Americans; and the 1997-98 financial plan and statutory college budget will be presented. trustees.adv.5.23.97.jkp.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings will preside over the university's 129th Commencement on Sunday, May 25, at 11 a.m. on Schoellkopf Field. Rawlings will confer degrees on almost 6,000 eligible graduates, capping two days of celebratory activities that include a Senior Convocation with an address by television personality Bertice Berry on Saturday, May 24, at noon in Barton Hall. commencement97.lgk.html

NEW YORK -- Gail Sheehy, author of The Silent Passage and New Passages, will participate in a breakfast seminar on menopause in the workplace Thursday, May 22, from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Harvard Club, 27 West 44th Street. The seminar, sponsored by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and its Institute for Women and Work and the Human Resources Program, also will feature presentations by Dr. Patricia Allen, an obstetrician and gynecologist affiliated with the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and director of the New York Menopause Center, and Dr. Ellen McGrath, executive director of the Psychology Centers in New York City and Laguna Beach, Calif., and author of When Feeling Good is Bad. menopause.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Try this: Practice viewing the world as a child, seeing things as they might be, exploring your creative potential. For example, find the letters of the alphabet in everyday objects, such as a cloud that forms a C. Now for the final exam: Using design and creative problem-solving, describe how to turn those images into a tool for social change. At Cornell University, the answers to that undergraduate exam question were so strong that Sheila Danko, associate professor of design and environmental analysis in the College of Human Ecology, challenged her students to forge ahead and make their creative visions a reality. With no previous experience, no sales or marketing force and no startup money, the students have produced a full-color, 2-by-3-foot commercially printed ABC poster -- with the majority of the images photographed on the Cornell campus -- that goes on sale graduation weekend May 24 and 25. The posters also will be donated to Cooper-Hewett National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution and the Arts Connection, both in New York City, and to the OMNI Program/Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell, which teaches children and art teachers about youth art education. They will be sold by these institutions to benefit their youth education arts programs, which nurture the creative potential in our nation's youth. abcproject.ssl.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Proposals from three local agencies and programs have been chosen to receive the Robert S. Smith Award for community progress and innovation. This is the fourth year of the award. The winners of award funding for 1997 are the Partnership, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and Cornell University's Department of Natural Resources. SmithAwards.bpf1.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The music of George Gershwin and the words of George Bernard Shaw are just some of the pleasures awaiting the more than 5,500 alumni and guests expected to visit Cornell University on Reunion Weekend, June 5--8. Two highlights of Reunion will be the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture by former Texas Gov. Ann W. Richards on Friday, June 6, at 3 p.m. in Bailey Hall and the State of the University Address by Cornell President Hunter Rawlings on Saturday, June 7, at 10:30 a.m. in Bailey Hall. Admission to both Richards' and Rawlings' lectures is limited primarily to alumni and guests with tickets. However, members of the public will be admitted into Bailey Hall 10 minutes before each lecture to claim remaining seats. reunionprewrite.jkg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Farmers and other interested agriculturists will be at the Agricultural Environmental Management Conference and Workshop, coordinated by Cornell University, May 28-29, at the Holiday Inn, 75 North St., Auburn, N.Y. The media is invited to attend. aem.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- More than half of American high school students don't go on to college and often flounder in "dead-end" jobs. They -- as well as college-bound students -- would benefit dramatically from planned workplace experiences, according to a Cornell University expert. Structured work-based learning programs can significantly improve students' career paths, social and technical competence in the workplace and self-esteem. After four years of testing approaches in the Cornell Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project, The Cornell Youth and Work Program has published the guide Learning Well at Work: Choices for Quality (printed and distributed free by the National School-to-Work Opportunities Office, 1997) to help others develop high-quality, work-based learning programs for high school students. apprenticeship.ssl.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Carl Mittleman reported to work as a banquet waiter at a Bainbridge, Ohio, country club one summer night -- and found himself managing the dining room the next night. "The manager slammed down his keys and walked out," said Mittleman of Lyndhurst, Ohio. "That's when the club owner turned to me and asked me to be dining room manager. It was an incredible opportunity to have, especially because I was only 18 at the time," said Mittleman, now 21. "I knew nothing about managing a country club or managing a dining room, except for the nine months of education I had here at the Hotel School. I was underqualified, but the owner gave me a chance to learn. I didn't do well that summer; we had a lot of conflict, but I learned something every day." Learning from each opportunity has been the hallmark of Mittleman's undergraduate career and work experience at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and a major reason why he was named the winner of the 1997 Drown Prize. The $15,000 cash prize, one of Cornell's richest undergraduate awards, is presented annually to the student who has demonstrated independence and perseverance and holds the promise of making a significant contribution to the hospitality industry. The Drown Prize was established and endowed by hotel owner Joseph W. Drown. drown97.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Up to 4,000 people of all ages are expected in Ithaca this summer to indulge in the smorgasbord of classes, conferences and other programs that makes Cornell University one of the nation's hottest destinations for summer study. The theme of Cornell Summer Sessions '97, "Language: Communication and Understanding," was chosen to coincide with a major six-week linguistics institute being hosted at Cornell for the first time. The summer's free lecture series, too, will have communication-oriented themes; see page 3 for a listing of free summer lectures and concerts. summer.jkg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Barclay G. Jones, Cornell University professor of city and regional planning and regional science who was a noted expert on protecting historic structures from earthquake damage and on the social and economic devastation of national disasters, died May 26 at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 72. The cause of death was myocardial infarction, according to his son, Barclay Jones III, of Locust Valley, N.Y. barclayjonesobit.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- If you're wondering how you're going to get the kids from point A to point B, over to C, back to B, over to D and finally back to point A again, Tcat -- Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit -- has a solution. Rod Ghearing, general manager of Tcat, recently unveiled plans for a Summer Fun Pass, aimed at busy families with children. The pass, for youths ages 6 to 18, is valid on any Tcat bus in Tompkins County from June 24 to Aug. 31, and it costs only $25. Parents of school-age children in Tompkins County will receive in the mail, within the next two weeks, a packet of information about the Summer Fun Pass. TCATsummer.fun.pass.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Labor unions representing technicians in film, the performing arts and the broadcasting and recording industries face an uphill battle to survive the technological, regulatory and economic changes transforming the entertainment industry. The gloomy forecast for these "below-the-line" (technician) unions is contained in a recent book titled Under the Stars, a collection of essays on labor relations in the arts and entertainment, edited by faculty at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and published by Cornell University Press. underthestars.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The last word -- or where to begin to find it -- on any issue that relates to employment, the workplace or human resources can now be found on the World Wide Web at http://workindex.com This site, which is certain to be bookmarked by anyone in the field of human resources, is the product of a collaboration between Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and Human Resource Executive magazine. ilrwebsite.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- For those students graduating this year, consider this: More than 83 percent of employment recruiters on college campuses believe that basic computer literacy plays an "important" or "very important" role in the hiring process of recent college graduates, according to a survey from Cornell University. The researchers examined 23 types of computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheet analysis, Web page creation, programming and database management. They found that 96 percent of today's potential employers expect college graduates to have at least basic word processing skills; at the same time most employers considered knowing how to create Web pages irrelevant. ComputerGrad.bpf.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Signing bonuses paid to graduating MBA students at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management are 33 percent higher, on average, than last year. The average bonus paid to Cornell MBA graduates for taking a job with a corporation or consulting group is $12,500 compared with $9,400 last year, according to a survey of graduating students. The signing bonus and other perks, such as attractive relocation packages, are part of the formula prospective employers use to entice top-notch MBA students to accept their offers. career.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is now used widely among U.S. corporations to resolve complex business disputes, according to a survey of the nation's top corporations. ADR refers to any form of mediation or arbitration and their use in resolving disputes. The study also found that, according to corporations, ADR is "a more satisfactory process" than litigation when it comes to resolving disputes. But the study showed some reluctance with the technique on the part of corporate America: Many respondents expressed concern over the qualifications of outside mediators or arbitrators who help settle disputes. ADRstudy.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- More than half of American high school students don't go on to college and often flounder in "dead-end" jobs. They -- as well as college-bound students -- would benefit dramatically from planned workplace experiences, according to a Cornell University expert. Structured work-based learning programs can significantly improve students' career paths, social and technical competence in the workplace and self-esteem. After four years of testing approaches in the Cornell Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project, The Cornell Youth and Work Program has published the guide Learning Well at Work: Choices for Quality (printed and distributed free by the National School-to-Work Opportunities Office, 1997) to help others develop high-quality, work-based learning programs for high school students. apprenticeship.ssl.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Carl Mittleman reported to work as a banquet waiter at a Bainbridge, Ohio, country club one summer night -- and found himself managing the dining room the next night. "The manager slammed down his keys and walked out," said Mittleman of Lyndhurst, Ohio. "That's when the club owner turned to me and asked me to be dining room manager. It was an incredible opportunity to have, especially because I was only 18 at the time," said Mittleman, now 21. Learning from each opportunity has been the hallmark of Mittleman's undergraduate career and work experience at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and a major reason why he was named the winner of the 1997 Drown Prize. The $15,000 cash prize, one of Cornell's richest undergraduate awards, is presented annually to the student who has demonstrated independence and perseverance and holds the promise of making a significant contribution to the hospitality industry. drown97.dg.html

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University and Foundation House in New York City, in association with Teachers College of Columbia University, have created a new foundation to conduct experiments in distance learning and related purposes. The aim is to ascertain how best to use the latest interactive communications technologies to provide students at all levels with quality education at affordable costs. distance-learning.dg.html

/a>