Joe Wilensky

President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes greets Susan Murphy ’73, Ph.D. ’94, Cornell vice president for student and academic services, following the Charter Day ceremony in Barton Hall April 27.

Mahitha Rachumalla, Sanjula Wickramasinghe and Ananya Hindupur entered Cornell nearly four years ago as members of the Class of 2015. The historic import of their class, which would graduate the year that the university celebrated its 150th birthday, was made clear in their acceptance letters, which emphasized that they would be part of Cornell’s sesquicentennial cohort.

The three senior women were proud be in Barton Hall April 27 as the university marked Charter Day – 150 years to the day that the university was created.

“It’s really exciting, and it was also kind of nostalgic, just watching the video,” Rachumalla said of the sesquicentennial video, “Glorious to View,” which premiered at the Barton Hall ceremonies.

“It makes me want to go here for another four years,” said Hindupur of the video and ceremony.

“It was exciting to hear about them talk about all the alumni,” Wickramasinghe said. To think about being “grouped in with the amazing alumni that are out there, it’s exciting to start out at this time in Cornell’s history.”

“I teared up during the video, I can’t deny it,” said Nouri Beesemer ’18, who took photos with the facsimile of Cornell’s charter on the Barton stage after the ceremony. “Today is a national holiday from back home [King’s Day in the Netherlands], and I was very sad when I woke up this morning – I wanted to be home, but when I got here, I was so happy that I left home to be here.”

“I’m absolutely overwhelmed with pride,” said Joey Khoury ’18. “It’s a feeling that completely fills you up after watching – especially the videos and these grand people speaking.”

The Charter Day ceremony in Barton Hall capped a four-day celebration, “Charter Day Weekend: A Festival of Ideas and Imagination” that included more than three dozen events celebrating the university’s birthday and the global contributions of alumni, faculty and staff.

“This is a wonderful celebration, it really is,” said President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes. “It’s wonderful to reflect on the way we’ve come. And I thought that this whole celebration captured that.”

Professor Glenn Altschuler, Ph.D. ’76, who chaired the Sesquicentennial Steering Committee, said, “We hope those who attended the presentations this weekend came away with a better understanding and appreciation of this magnificent university.”