Receiving standing ovations both before and after he delivered his farewell State of the University address June 10, Cornell Interim President Hunter Rawlings told the packed Bartels Hall alumni group during Reunion Weekend that Cornell, a "new Cornell," has just accepted "the most selective class" in its history.

This new Cornell, said Rawlings, who steps down June 30, is "so popular right now and so highly visible"-- reaping 28,000 applications for a class of 3,000 students and grabbing national attention as a major contender to enroll Alex Doonesbury in the famed comic strip -- for a multitude of reasons.

They include, he said, the new residential living and learning environments on North Campus for first-year students (where, Rawlings announced, a wing will be named Kay Hall, thanks to new $10 million naming commitment from Bill Kay '51) and West Campus for upper classmen. Other "fantastic new facilities at Cornell" include Duffield Hall, which has changed the entire atmosphere and face of engineering at Cornell; the rising Life Sciences Technology Building; the forthcoming Gates Hall for computing and information sciences; the College of Architecture, Art and Planning's (AAP) Milstein Hall that will provide "a fabulous new gateway from North Campus," and an AAP home in New York City.

Other reasons for Cornell's recent visibility include "several hugely successful news stories, news stories that won't die and for once you are happy that these news stories won't die," Rawlings said. They include the Mars rovers, which were designed to explore the Red Planet for 90 days but are still going strong two years later, and the ongoing hunt for the ivory-billed woodpecker.

"And I love this story because it's all about scientific discovery, taking on the challenge, doing one's best," he said, noting that the Lab of Ornithology welcomes challenges to the lab's claim that they have spotted the bird, previously thought to be extinct, because it doesn't fear failure. And that is a great message, Rawlings said: "Don't fear failure, make your scientific discoveries and findings as best you can and then bring on the challengers, and let the scientific debate proceed in the way it should. No fear of failure at Cornell."

From the Red Planet to the Arkansas bayou, Rawlings said, "Cornell is a pretty cool place, and if you're 18 years old, you'd like to be there."

Some of the less visible reasons why Cornell is so popular, Rawlings pointed out, include the "superb" work of Provost Biddy Martin and her ability to create collaborative, cooperative groups among the deans of the various colleges.

"Cornell is no longer a collection of independent colleges, each going its own way. It is a cohesive group of colleges that blend together for important universitywide initiatives," Rawlings said. This new paradigm, which "has created a seamless decision-making process," has resulted, he said, in recruiting such world-class scholars as Scott Emr to head up the new Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, and Sturt Manning to blend the classics with climatology, a "phenomenal combination" that creates a sort of "bioclassics" approach. It also has led to impressive initiatives in the humanities "to improve the human condition and our understanding of the planet" and in the social sciences, where connections among various departments scattered across campus are being made "to bring that talent together and create opportunities for synergy."

All of these are evidence of a new Cornell, Rawlings said, that builds on founder Ezra Cornell's vision where any person can study any field, "a unique ambition that is being realized every day at Cornell."

He was introduced by Peter Meinig, chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees, who thanked Rawlings for doing "more than his share, far more, for our beloved Cornell. ... Hunter, for your friendship, for your leadership and for your loyalty, we will never forget you."