March 2009

After winning its second-straight Ivy League championship, the men's basketball team was overpowered by Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 78-59. But basketball isn't the only sport that Cornell has excelled in during the winter season. Three-time All-American wrestler Troy Nickerson won the NCAA championship at 125 pounds March 21. The wrestling team, after winning the EIWA Championship for the fifth-straight season, finished fifth at the NCAA tournament. Men's ice hockey, track and field, squash, gymnastics, fencing and polo teams also saw post-season play.

As Cornell embarks upon strategic planning to take it to 2012 and beyond, Alumni Affairs and Development, the division responsible for the university's $4 billion, five-year capital campaign, is undergoing a major restructuring to transform the way it does business. The national economic downturn and the university's budget realities make moving ahead with the strategic imperatives even more important, said Charlie Phlegar, vice president for AAD. "We've positioned our resources in a way that is best going to enable us to execute our mission."

David Skorton spends a considerable amount of time meeting with alumni. But if a recent webcast "town hall meeting" was any indication, in the coming months he will be "meeting" with a lot more alumni a lot more often. From Sage Hall March 26, Skorton hosted an online videoconference with nine of Cornell's most active alumni in the first of what is expected to be many such conversations, with a view to maximizing the president's contacts with alumni while reducing costs and allowing him to spend more time on campus.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

CAMPUS:
Bonds sell out ... Asian student center ... Omit needless words ...
Dragon Day ... New center for women and justice ... Match Day ...
From 'biotrash' to bioenergy ... Faculty jobs ... eShip

PEOPLE:
Truman Scholar ... NSF award winners ... Building green ...
Alumna activist saluted ... Josephine Allen retires ... ILR awards ...
Remembering Karl Berkelman; Ed Salpeter; Patricia Ziegler

RESEARCH:
Applying pesticides ... Targeting diseases ... Thwarting viruses ...
Tracking fish ... Women in science ... New moon ... Fast food research

OUTREACH:
Economic impact ... Day of learning ... Thinking outside the box ...
Mentoring new farmers ... Prison program ... 'State of the Birds' ...
Computer, malaria projects in Ghana ... Building K-12 computer skills

FAR ABOVE ... A CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
Annual Fund challenge ... Keeping CU affordable ... Eco projects ...
Finding inspiration ... President Skorton on strengthening higher ed

ALUMNI NEWS & EVENTS:
Racing in California ... Prospective students in India ...
ILR online ... Economic realities in Boston ... Racing in Michigan

CORNELL LINKS:
Quick links to Cornell resources

CAMPUS:

Cornell's $500 million bond issue sells out in 30 minutes

Asian/Asian American center gets a director and temporary space

Strunk and White's classic "The Elements of Style" turns 50

Dragon Day ends in flames, but the dragon remains

Law School center seeks to end violence against women and girls

Weill Cornell students learn of their medical futures during Match Day

Initiative transforms "biotrash" into bioenergy to help fuel campus

Jobs will be lost but also won, faculty told at forum

Over 200 alumni to attend Entrepreneurship@Cornell's Celebration '09

PEOPLE:

Undergraduate Ellie Emery '10 named a Truman Scholar

Three on faculty earn National Science Foundation early career awards

Human Ecology's Ying Hua examines how the U.S. and Japan build green

Alumna activist who helps Afghan women saluted at reception

Josephine Allen, CU's first tenured black woman, reflects on her career

ILR alumni receive honors for career success, support of Cornell

Physicist Karl Berkelman dies at 75

Friends, colleagues celebrate life of astrophysicist Ed Salpeter

Former human development lecturer Patricia Ziegler dies at 85

RESEARCH:

Pesticide application method keeps chemicals on target

New technique creates engineered antibodies to fight specific diseases

Highly lethal viruses are susceptible to low-cost anti-malaria drug

New technologies are helping scientists track fish species

Women opting out of science, math careers because of family demands

Cornell researchers help discover Saturn's 61st moon

McDonald's partners with Hotel School's Hospitality Research Center

OUTREACH:

Cornell generated more than $3 billion in New York in 2007

University hosts day of learning for 1,200 regional teachers

Helping New York City science teachers think outside the Mystery Box

Program helps mentor new farmers with "Voices of Experience" videos

Prison Education Program expands its offerings

CU scientists collaborate on first U.S. "State of the Birds" report

Student groups teach computer literacy, malaria prevention in Ghana

Computer games (and pizza) help build K-12 computer skills

FAR ABOVE ... A CAMPAIGN UPDATE:

Martin Tang '70 launches Annual Fund challenge for young alumni [video]

How to keep Cornell affordable in challenging times

Eco-minded alumna's foundation supports sustainability projects

Alumni inspired by connection to scholarship recipients [video]

Skorton: The time is now to strengthen U.S. colleges, universities

ALUMNI NEWS & EVENTS:

Racing at Santa Anita Park, April 11
The Cornell Club of Los Angeles invites alumni to an afternoon of thoroughbred racing beginning at noon April 11 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Dine just yards from the finish line at private outdoor terrace tables under the grandstand roof. Event price includes parking, Turf Club admission, racing program, one of five entrees, soft drink and gratuity. Cost: $42 per CCLA member ($84 for a CCLA member with one guest); $60 for non-members and each additional person. RSVP by Friday, April 3. For event information, contact Art Hershey at (818) 222-9676.

Prospective student information sessions in India, April 6 and 8
Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment, and Jason Locke, director of the Undergraduate Admissions Office, will host alumni meetings and programs for prospective students in Mumbai and New Delhi in early April. The Mumbai event will be held April 6 at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, and the New Delhi event will be April 8 at the Taj Mahal Hotel. The agenda in both cities includes an alumni meeting at 4:30 p.m. and a 6:30 p.m. reception and program for prospective students and families. For information contact Sajida Unny at s_k_unny@ateindia.com.

Free webcast on executive pay, April 20
ILR Online will offer a free webcast, "Recent Developments in Executive Pay: Policy and Practice," from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 20. Speakers include ILR School professor Kevin Hallock and lecturer Charlie Tharp. The webcast will focus on trends in the mix and level of executive pay, with particular attention to the likely impact the current economic environment and legislative initiatives will have on executive compensation. Technical details for participating in the webcast and a link to the registration page are available online.

'Opportunity From Crisis' in Boston, April 27
Cornell Entrepreneurship Network Boston, in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, presents "Opportunity From Crisis: The Change We Didn't Count On," 6 to 9 p.m. April 27 at a location to be announced. The event will feature College of Arts and Sciences alumni who have prospered through adversity and will discuss the new economic realities being faced for 2009 and beyond. For information visit the Web site.

Formula SAE in Michigan, May 16
Cheer on Cornell engineering students as the race car they have designed and built competes against others from universities across the country, May 16 at Michigan International Speedway, 12626 U.S. Highway 12, Brooklyn, Mich. For information, contact Trevor Steer '89 at tsteer@sbcglobal.net.

CORNELL LINKS:

Far Above ... The Campaign for Cornell: http://www.campaign.cornell.edu/
Cornell alumni: http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/
Alumni events calendar: http://online.aad.cornell.edu/Content/event/calendar/index.cfm
Get involved: http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/volunteer.cfm

Cornell Alumni Magazine: http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/
The March/April 2009 issue marks the 110th anniversary of the publication, founded by alumni in 1899. The cover story, "Getting It Straight," looks back at the Willard Straight Hall takeover of April 1969, one of the most dramatic -- and divisive -- moments in Cornell history.

Cornell home page: http://www.cornell.edu/
Search Cornell: http://www.cornell.edu/search/
Campus Events Calendar: http://www.cornell.edu/events/
CornellCast videos: http://www.cornell.edu/video/

Cornell in the News: http://www.pressoffice.cornell.edu/inthenews/

Chronicle Online: http://www.news.cornell.edu/
Get Cornell news by RSS: http://www.pressoffice.cornell.edu/rssfeeds.cfm
Ezra magazine: http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/

Big Red sports: http://cornellbigred.com/
CyberTower: http://cybertower.cornell.edu/
Cornell Adult University: https://www.sce.cornell.edu/cau/
The Cornell Store: http://www.store.cornell.edu

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