October 2008
On Oct. 30, President David Skorton issued a statement detailing a comprehensive operational and financial review as well as a pause on hiring and construction projects at the university effective Nov. 3.
In an Oct. 17 State of the University address largely devoted to a report on Cornell's financial stability and the need to plan for the university's future, President David Skorton pledged that Cornell "cannot and will not retreat from our long-standing commitment to need-based student financial aid." Skorton also announced that Engineering Dean Kent Fuchs has been named the next provost, and that the Tata Education and Development Trust, a philanthropic entity of India's Tata Group, has given $50 million to the university.
As performers in lab coats danced to "Weill Thing" in the three-story-high windows above them, Sanford I. Weill '55 and wife Joan unlocked the DNA-shaped gate to Weill Hall. The Oct. 16 dedication of the state-of-the-art building and the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology marked the conclusion of a day of festivities -- and the culmination of years of effort.
In the face of a grim economic outlook, many students and alumni are starting to panic about their job prospects taking a nosedive. While career experts across campus emphasize that a Cornell degree still holds value in the marketplace, many are stepping up their efforts to help job-seekers with new initiatives.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
CAMPUS:
Humanities center ... WikiCandidate ... Los Alamos partnership ...
Entrepreneurial engineers ... Live from Ithaca ... Rankings
PEOPLE:
Latin intellectual ... Contrarian Ted Lowi ... Mathios interview ...
Teaching the 'e' word ... 'Rings' music ... Villarejo's new role ...
Rhodes professor ... KAUST trustee ... Africa initiative co-chair
RESEARCH:
Amazon 'green' gold ... Sustainability projects ... Nanowires ...
Future of computing ... Med college briefs ... arXiv milestone ...
Beware hotel Internet ... 'Clean plate club' ... Charisma counts
OUTREACH:
Plugging the 'brain drain' ... 'Green jobs' report ... Project Hope ...
Investor protection ... Rural schools ... Food Venture Center ...
CU surveys on election, health insurance reform ... Afghan academics
FAR ABOVE ... A CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
McGovern gift ... Reflecting on the life sciences ... Tisch chair ...
Annual Fund ... Ticket to Cornell
ALUMNI NEWS & EVENTS:
Surviving the Wall Street crisis ... California wine tasting ...
Vermont scholarships ... Long Island benefit ... Texas holiday party
CORNELL LINKS:
Quick links to Cornell resources
CAMPUS:
CU-China humanities center will foster interdisciplinary research
Help create WikiCandidate -- the ideal presidential contender
Los Alamos scientists to visit annually in new tie with Bethe House
Kessler Fellows Program assists entrepreneurial engineers
"The Early Show," live from Ithaca, is a hit
Cornell is No. 15 in British ranking of 500 universities
Executive MBA program ranked No. 7 by Wall Street Journal
PEOPLE:
Edmundo Paz-Soldán named a top-50 influential Latin intellectual
Despite his influence on political science, Ted Lowi feels "marginal"
Human Ecology Dean Alan Mathios takes a hands-on approach
Alum helps rewrite Florida science standards to include evolution
Behind the scenes of Theatre, Film and Dance with chair Amy Villarejo
Astronomy, art and music help create a conductor's "dream scenario"
Architect and scholar Peter Eisenman appointed Rhodes Professor
Frank Rhodes joins board of new Saudi university
Skorton to co-chair Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative board
RESEARCH:
The search for "green" gold in the Amazon rain forest
Sustainability center funds its first research projects
Researchers "stamp" nanodevices with rubber molds
Kavli symposium looks at the future of computing
Weill Cornell research on spine surgery, plague, heart disease
arXiv online scientific repository hits milestone
Study shows hotel Internet connections are unsafe
Pushing child to "clean his plate" can backfire, study warns
Voters make snap judgments based on candidates' charisma
OUTREACH:
Grad student starts foundation to plug upstate N.Y. "brain drain"
ILR report for U.N.: "Green" economy may produce millions of jobs
Project Hope gives scholarships to poor children in rural China
Law School offers Investor Protection News Feed
N.Y. Gov. Paterson names Cornell to run new rural schools center
Squash seed oil goes to market -- thanks to CU Food Venture Center
CU surveys students on campus and in four swing states on election
Health insurance reform a top priority for New Yorkers, survey says
Afghan academics visit CU seeking advice on improving their curricula
FAR ABOVE ... A CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
Weill Hall business incubator gets momentum with $7.5M McGovern gift
Reflecting on Weill Hall and the importance of biomedical discovery [video]
Tisch chair keeps top professors in the classroom
Annual Fund gifts help Monica Holloway '09 pursue her career goals
Ticket to Cornell: Scholarship aids first-generation students
ALUMNI NEWS & EVENTS:
New York City luncheon discussion on Wall Street crisis
On Nov. 7 at 11:30 a.m. at the Cornell Club of New York, Cornell Entrepreneur Network NYC presents "Surviving the Crisis: What Went Wrong and What's Next for Wall Street?" featuring Andy Kessler '80, a financial investment writer frequently featured in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. $30 Includes lunch, networking and speaker presentation. Register and learn more online at the CEN Web site.
San Francisco wine tasting fundraiser
The Cornell Alumni Association of Northern California presents the Eighth Annual Wine Tasting Scholarship Dinner, hosted by Greg Medow '95, Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 6 p.m. at San Francisco's Indigo Restaurant. Enjoy an evening of pairings incorporating wines from Cornell winemakers followed by a three-course meal. This event sells out quickly. Questions? Contact Rachelle Loranger Considine '99 at rcl6@cornell.edu. To donate items, contact Kelli Babinecz Fiore '98 at kbabinecz@gmail.com. For more information, visit the CAANC's Web site.
Cornell Club of Vermont holiday scholarship party
Celebrate Cornell and raise funds for the new Cornell Club of Vermont Scholarship Fund on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Inn at Essex, 70 Essex Way, Essex Junction. The event will feature food, music from local jazz musicians and a silent auction with prizes from businesses around the state. For information contact Alexandra Tursi '05 at ant9@cornell.edu.
Cornell Club of Long Island Big Red "Bear Hug" party
On Dec. 7, celebrate the season at the 11th annual holiday party benefiting the children at Nassau County Medical Center. Bring a bear for the children for the holidays. Look for information in the club's monthly newsletter or contact Joan Husserl '75 at (516) 826-3316.
Cornell Club of Austin All-Ivy holiday party
On Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m., join us at Sushi Japon, 6801 N I H 35, Austin, TX 78752, for festive company, delicious food and a toy drive. All unwrapped presents will be donated to the Austin-area Blue Santa effort. For more information visit the club's Web site or contact Cathy Cocco '85, at ccocco@us.ibm.com, (512) 426-0546.
CORNELL LINKS:
Far Above ... The Campaign for Cornell: http://www.campaign.cornell.edu/
Cornell alumni: http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/
Alumni events calendar: http://aadserv5.aad.cornell.edu/world/cal/external/default.cfm
Get involved: http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/volunteer.cfm
Cornell Alumni Magazine: http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/
In the September/October 2008 issue of Cornell Alumni Magazine, former Daily Sun editor Farhad Manjoo '00 laments the demise of factual certainty in his essay "... And Nothing But the Truth."
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/
Chronicle Online: http://www.news.cornell.edu/
Get Cornell news by RSS: http://www.news.cornell.edu/RSS/RSS.shtml
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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