10 questions for President-elect Elizabeth Garrett

Cornell’s president-elect, Elizabeth Garrett, spoke to the Chronicle Oct. 7 and answered questions on topics from engaged learning and the challenges facing higher education to what’s on her Kindle.

On Oct. 6, Cornell announced a $150 million, 10-year “Engaged Cornell” initiative led by a $50 million gift from the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust. What are your thoughts on how this initiative will transform Cornell and its land-grant mission?

This is truly a transformative gift. Public engagement is already a characteristic of Cornell’s education, but this initiative will make such engagement, coupled with rigorous academic programming, a signature of the Cornell experience.

Elizabeth Garrett speaks on campus Sept. 30.

I was impressed by the careful thought that went into planning this unique program.

Higher education at its best – and this is what Cornell reflects – is dedicated to working to find the best solutions to pressing problems facing communities, the country and the world, and bringing those solutions out to people by using reasoning and evidence to affect the policies that we implement.

I think an initiative like this could only have happened at a place like Cornell, one of the finest research universities in the world that also has a long history of public engagement through the land-grant mission. Cornell faculty and students produce research that can be translated into communities to make a difference for people and families.

During your academic career, have you had experience in engaged and experiential learning, either as making it part of curricula or as part of the student experience?

As an undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma, the summer I spent as a Ewing scholar working in Sen. David Boren’s office profoundly changed my life. It started me on a career that [now] includes experience in public service in all three branches of government, at both national and state levels. It also taught me how the Congress actually makes decisions and works toward compromise. That experience informed my scholarship, and it is my hope that my own research shapes how legislatures structure themselves to improve decision-making and how information is presented to voters to empower them.

In my own teaching I haven’t had that experience. This is a really new way of thinking about how we teach. We often focus on the students and how experiential learning will affect them, but as a faculty member, it would persuade me to think about my teaching in a new way, to consider how I would move out of the classroom and directly into the world with my students. So David and Cheryl Einhorn’s gift is transformative, not just for students’ lives and for our communities, but also for faculty, who are rising to the challenge to think about our teaching in different ways.

What do you think are the most urgent challenges facing higher education today? For example, many people have called into question the value of a college degree, given the rising cost of tuition over the last few decades.

The question of access and affordability is a question that faces all of us in higher education. There is no question that the value of a degree from an institution like Cornell is worth an investment by students and families. A degree from Cornell will change a person’s life for the better. It will enhance economic possibilities, it will change opportunities, and it will enable a person to achieve his or her full potential.

The important issue for an institution like Cornell is to ensure that families do not have to take out debt that will constrain their futures or unduly burden their present. How do we construct financial aid packages that enable students of all economic backgrounds, from lower-income groups to middle-income groups, to afford the amazing experience of Cornell? We should never accept the popular notion that a degree at a great university like Cornell is not worth some kind of an investment; there is no better investment in the future. But it must be reasonable, and families need appropriate help.

Another issue facing higher education is the reduction in federal support for research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. This country has been the leader in innovation, in solving difficult problems such as bringing health interventions into the world and improving well-being, in large part because of the decades of federal support for research in all the disciplines at our great universities. I think people who lead institutions like Cornell must make the case strongly for why this is one of the very best investments in our country’s future.

I’ve used the word “investment” for both of these issues because education changes the lives of the students who have the opportunity to come to Cornell and study, and research in all the disciplines changes the future of our society. The question is: What’s the right level of investment, and how do we ensure that our students, and our country, stay at the very forefront of learning and knowledge in the world?

How can universities maintain their commitment to basic and applied research in the current funding environment?

That’s so important. One of the things we’ve seen in federal funding has been an increased emphasis on translational work, especially work that has immediate payoff. And that shouldn’t surprise us. The political system is focused on the short term, and so taxpayers want to know, if we spend money here, in a year what do we have as a result of expenditure? But, of course, we know that some of the most important breakthroughs in health, in sustainability, in any number of important areas are predicated on substantial and rigorous basic science that may take quite some time to have tangible consequence.

Not only is federal funding decreasing, but it is moving away from basic research, and it is moving away from the most creative, risky research, where the payoff can be the greatest. Increasingly, the money is going to projects or programs that look like they will yield guaranteed results, or to very established scholars – [therefore] not funding junior scholars who have some of the most innovative ideas.

I don’t see that changing in the future. That’s where philanthropy plays an enormously important role in research. Increasingly, universities are supporting great basic science through the generosity of supporters and alumni who understand that fundamental research is necessary to have the kinds of breakthroughs that will substantially enhance well-being.

Federal funding is also turning away from the humanities and the social sciences, which I think is an unfortunate reaction to budget difficulties in Washington and throughout the country. Social science research allows us to better understand the implications of policy and allows us to think about delivering solutions in a cost-effective, efficient way. The humanities provide the ability to understand the implications of progress, of science, of research – the implications for our own lives and what it means to us in our communities.

Students, and others, have questioned the practicality of a humanities degree in today’s job market.

That is tremendously shortsighted. Those who question the value of the humanities do not understand what an education in the humanities brings to a student. There is no better way to impart critical thinking skills. Through a philosophy class, for example, a student might learn how to rigorously analyze a problem, how to determine which kind of argument is weak and what is the stronger way to construct that argument.

I’ve talked to many people in, say, the financial industries, who will point to a class in the humanities – a philosophy class, a comparative literature class – as the foundational class for the way they approach problems.

The one thing that is certain is that we do not know what the next decades are going to bring. The best way to prepare for the future is not to memorize a great deal of facts or prepare in a very focused way for one job, but to develop a toolkit of abilities and skills so that a student is resilient, so that she has deep reasoning skills, so that she’s a critical thinker, so that she can reason to answers and question those answers again. A successful person must have that spark of creativity that will distinguish her. Those skills are imparted effectively in the humanities.

But we make a mistake in looking at the humanities only in instrumental terms. They do serve very pragmatic, instrumental goals of improving one’s life choices, of enhancing a career, of ensuring success, but they are also necessary for us to understand ourselves as full human beings. That awareness is developed through great literature or the classics; a deep understanding of our historical background; and an appreciation for how our traditions interact with other traditions. Those experiences allow us to be more fulfilled as human beings and to take greater delight in our futures.

Having the humanities in close proximity to the sciences and the social sciences is what distinguishes a great university from a research institute or a think tank. It’s what allows us to have the kind of creativity that propels us forward toward truth and allows us to put a critical lens toward what progress means for society. There are often profound moral and ethical questions that are raised by scientific progress, and it is the humanities that allow us to think rigorously about those implications.

USC, like Cornell, is a large, decentralized university. You oversaw development of USC’s strategic vision and its implementation. How would you describe your leadership style, and what did you learn from that strategic planning process?

I think of my leadership style as open to input; I hope that I communicate effectively and in a straightforward way. I think it’s important, with respect to all of our constituencies, to let them know what our options are, what the possible directions are and to listen and interact with them, hear their hopes and aspirations.

The strategic vision process was very collaborative. It involved hundreds of faculty. Our vision is very brief – it’s eight pages – because what we intended to do was give the university a broad vision for the future. But then we wanted to leave it to the schools, the institutes, the initiatives to figure out what steps they would take to instantiate that vision. The way we did the strategic vision [at USC] is an example of the way that I like to make decisions generally, which is informed by broad interactions and, hopefully, reflecting the consensus of the best way forward. Ultimately a decision must be reached, even in the face of disagreement, but all views should be heard.

I’ve often said to faculty and to leaders at USC that we have to take risks as an institution. Not crazy risks, but informed risks. We’re in a very fast-moving world. Lots of universities are working to achieve the same goals that we are. For Cornell to reach the goal of being the pre-eminent university of this century, we’re going to have to take some risks. And some of those risks won’t work out, but that’s not the end of the world. If everything you attempt succeeds brilliantly, then you’re probably not attempting ambitious enough goals. Cornell has to continue to be ambitious, entrepreneurial, welcoming of informed risks to achieve its goals.

Universities have the advantage over other institutions in this fast-paced world because we adhere to enduring academic values: a dedication to freedom of inquiry and freedom of speech, a dedication to academic freedom, a dedication to diversity, a dedication to the notion that education is the best way forward for all, that it is profoundly egalitarian. Holding fast to those values, which have informed us for centuries, allows us to have an anchor in this very uncertain world and grounds us so that we do have the capacity to take informed risks, to have the capacity to be resilient in the face of uncertainty.

Cornell’s Toward New Destinations initiative supports recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty and staff. Can you describe initiatives you have implemented that specifically address these areas?

Diversity in all of its aspects is an important characteristic of a great university. We want diversity of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives – that character propels the entire institution forward and allows us to have conversations and to discover new things that we couldn’t do in a homogenous environment.

My primary interactions with respect to diversity as provost have been in the student and the faculty realm; I have not been as involved in staff, though I think it’s important to have diversity throughout the various groups of the university.

[At USC], we’re very proud of the diversity in our student body, both in terms of race and ethnicity, where we have no majority group, but also in terms of economic background. I think one of the most important characteristics of an undergraduate and graduate class is how many first-generation college-goers are in that class, because that shows the opportunity that education in America makes possible.

We have been focusing quite a bit of our efforts on junior faculty and on postdocs in the faculty realm. And success here is partly a matter of purposefully developing a pool of diverse candidates.

What have you found are the most important factors that contribute to whether, and to what extent, alumni are engaged with their university? How can a university strengthen alumni connections with the aim of giving back – whether through financial support, volunteer time and expertise, or other opportunities?

I like that you’ve emphasized all the ways in which the alumni base can give back. Certainly philanthropic support is important, but it’s also very important now for undergraduate students to have internships before they graduate, and it is the alumni base that can ensure those possibilities. It is the network of alums that support our faculty and our students through their enthusiasm and through their connections. Perhaps the most important aspect of a strong alumni base is having deep school spirit. And that’s something for which Cornell has long been known.

Another way to build alumni support is through university leaders communicating the remarkable things that are happening on the Ithaca campus, in New York City and on the campuses around the world; how faculty research and creative work, students’ engagement, and the activities of the staff is improving the world. That makes alums excited about their connection with an institution of such influence.

You have previously spoken about being named Cornell’s first female president and about being USC’s first female provost. What have you learned about being that “first” and about gender and leadership in higher education?

Being the first woman president, just as I was the first woman provost, does put me in the position of being a role model – not just for young women, but also for men. I think it’s very important that women and men see strong women leaders in positions of responsibility, so we understand that certain characteristics like gender, like race, do not determine how well people do as leaders.

Women have risen to leadership positions in more of the great universities in recent years. But we still lack the number of women in senior faculty positions that will make this a more natural and frequent occurrence. You have to prepare for these roles, you have to have experience in certain kinds of academic leadership to be ready to take on those positions. I found it a great joy in my current job, and one that I would hope to continue as president, to serve as a resource for anyone who’s interested in thinking about academic leadership possibilities.

The Chronicle traditionally asks new faculty members what was the last book they read. What’s on your nightstand (or on your Kindle/Nook/e-reader)?

I like to read mysteries set in the places I’m living or traveling. So the mystery I’m reading right now on my Kindle is Faye Kellerman’s “Murder 101.” She writes about a police detective who is an observant Jew, married to an orthodox Jewish woman, set in Los Angeles. I opened up the current book on the plane home from Ithaca after the announcement of my appointment and discovered that he’s moved to a small college town in the Northeast. I had no idea of that change in plot – I thought, “Oh my gosh, it’s paralleling my own life!”

On my bedside table right now is [Cornell Vice Provost] Fred Logevall’s book “Embers of War” that won the Pulitzer Prize; and I also have here [Cornell professor] Mary Beth Norton’s “Founding Mothers and Fathers,” which is a book I have always wanted to read. I’d like to have in my office a bookshelf of faculty work. I’m going to think about ways to highlight the exceptional work of our faculty; the first way I’ll do that is to read it myself.