Cornell ChroniCle ChroniCle online: www.news.cornell.edu APril 6, 00
PrinT on DeMAnD SelF-PollinATion 0 ‘WAlK in BeAUTY’ Library partners with Targeting genes to create American Indian art exhibit at Amazon.com to offer hybrid seeds. Johnson mixes traditional historical materials. motifs with the contemporary. Newly discovered plant enzymes could lead to more effi cient – and less costly – ethanol production from cellulose
By kRiSHna RamanuJan
In a breakthrough that could make the ethanol involves breaking down a plant’s production of cellulosic ethanol less expen- cell wall material and fermenting the sugars sive, Cornell researchers have discovered a that are released. Current technologies use class of plant enzymes that potentially could microbial enzymes called “cellulases” to allow plant materials used to make ethanol digest the cellulose in grasses and such rap- to be broken down more effi ciently than is idly growing trees as poplars. The microbial possible using current technologies. enzymes have a structure that makes them There is a growing recognition that corn very effi cient at binding to and digesting JASON KOSKI/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY From left, Dean Kent Fuchs, President Skorton and Provost Biddy Martin speak with a student ethanol is unlikely to provide a long-term plant cell wall material called lignocellulose dressed in Virginia Tech colors before the April 19 vigil. solution, or one that is environmentally (a combination of lignin and cellulose). sustainable, and so scientists are turning But now, a new class of plant enzymes to cellulose as an alternative. with a similar structure has been discov- Production of ethanol from cellulose in ered, potentially offering researchers new Somber Cornellians fi ll Sage mass quantities that are priced competitively properties for producing ethanol even more with corn-based ethanol has not yet been effi ciently. possible. And without the cellulosic ethanol, “The bottleneck for conversion of lignocel- Chapel to memorialize students the national goal for ethanol production to lulose into ethanol is effi cient cellulose degra- reduce oil imports will be impossible to dation,” said Jocelyn Rose, Cornell assistant reach, experts say. professor of plant biology. “The discovery of and faculty slain at Virginia Tech A critical step in producing cellulosic Continued on page 2
By kRiSHna RamanuJan
Cornellians in Sage Chapel fell silent at Virginia Tech April 19 as the university organist struck University who Inside: the fi rst notes of a prelude in a ceremony had lost their lives • Reducing risk of memorializing the 32 students and faculty three days earlier violence on cam- in a campus shoot- puses, page 4 ing by a student, • The Together We who subsequently Mourn Project, killed himself. page 8 Lighted candles and a vase of white lilies adorned the altar, and near a podium a poster titled “In Memory” displayed photos of students walking across the Virginia Tech cam- pus. As midday light streamed through the stained-glass windows, the mourners prayed or refl ected upon the April 16 shoot- ings. Kent Fuchs, dean of the College of Engi- neering, whose son Eric is a junior at Virginia Tech, closed his speech by reading a few words from his colleague, Virginia Tech Engineering Dean Richard Benson. “And we will never forget the friends that we lost,” Fuchs quoted Benson. “As long as there is
JASON KOSKI/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY a Virginia Tech they will be remembered. Engineering graduate student Shan Mohiuddin They are more than friends. They are family.” attends the Sage Chapel vigil. He completed his Fuchs also noted that he was at a meeting undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech in 2003. Continued on page 8
Vet College’s Jim Richards dies The director of the Feline Health Center died April 24 from DANIEL RIPOLL AND CHRIS PELKIE/CORNELL THEORY CENTER injuries following an April 22 accident. See page 2. This schematic diagram shows the newly discovered class of plant enzymes with a cellulose- binding module (shown in blue) sticking to a plant cell wall. The binding module of the enzyme helps the catalytic region of the enzyme (shown in more detail in gray in the magnifi ed part of the picture) break down the crystalline cellulose. April 26, 2007 Cornell Chronicle Call for awards for Veterinarian James R. Richards, Cornell’s famed Commencement edition ‘kitty’ doctor and authority on vaccination The Cornell Chronicle will publish on protocols, dies after motor vehicle accident May 24 (the Thursday before Commence- ment weekend) the names of students and By Roger Segelken faculty members who have won Cornell college or department awards for the James R. Richards, DVM, director of the 2006-07 academic year. Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine’s Notices and lists of awards will only Feline Health Center and a nationally rec- be accepted online. Please use our online ognized expert in cat care, died April 24 at form at
selection of rare and out-of-print historical materials pages or more tent, with some at Cornell University Library is only a click away for are currently 2,000 titles avail- Areaders using a new print-on-demand service. excluded, she able. Cornell’s two The library partnered with BookSurge, a subsidiary of Ama- said. bestselling print- zon.com, in June 2006 to make available some of its unique From January to on-demand titles are non-copyrighted holdings – collections ranging from historical March, there were “Thoughts Upon the mathematics and agriculture texts to anti-slavery pamphlets. 670 sales on Amazon African Slave Trade” Anyone browsing Amazon.com can now access 3,500 of 454 different print- by John Newton, the Cornell titles available for sale, and other documents are on-demand Cornell composer of “Amaz- being added. Google BookSearch also will lead users to Cor- titles, and Patrick ex- ing Grace” and a former nell titles on Amazon. (BookSurge also distributes print-on- pects to see another 450 slave ship captain, and a demand historical materials from the University of Michi- sales in April alone. tract by British abolitionist gan Library and the library publisher Thomson-Gale; and “Our top priorities are and member of Parliament Microsoft’s LiveSearch Books service carries public domain supporting users and lever- William Wilberforce. Patrick materials from Cornell and other universities.) aging the library’s investment. said the high interest in these Available Cornell collections on Amazon include New York With the availability of new items stems from a recent state historical literature (a popular resource for genealogists), services and tools, the library film relating the story behind South East Asia Visions (historical Western travel narratives), wanted to find innovative and “Amazing Grace.” core historical literature in agriculture, historical math mono- far-reaching ways to contribute to Print-on-demand is an attrac- graphs and materials related to home economics and kinemat- scholarly communication,” said Oya tive alternative for scholars on a ics (a collection of mechanical models housed at Cornell). Rieger, director of digital library and budget. Another top seller, the 1898 textbook, “A Treatise “We know from a number of studies that making older information technologies. on Universal Algebra with Applications” by Alfred North materials accessible online breeds new use of the con- While scholars and other users have Whitehead, is available from Cornell for $35.99 versus $600 tent,” said Anne Kenney, interim University Librarian. been able to access library content online for years, “we for the original from a used book dealer. (See related stories, page 9.) are supporting that still-existing need for print cop- The service is an extension of the library’s Large-Scale Customers who order a title receive a page-by-page repro- ies,” she said. “When a book is retrieved online from Digitization Initiative, which processes up to 10,000 duction of the original contents, bound in a paperback cover. the library’s Web site, we will indicate that it is available books a month. The library is also collaborating with “Within six months, we will have sent more than 6,000 print-on-demand via Amazon in case a user wants to faculty to collate research collections and make them titles to Amazon from these collections,” said Fiona Pat- have a print copy in addition to viewing it online.” available online. “It is part of a broad effort with faculty rick, digital library services coordinator. One of the library’s exclusive collections, the Samuel J. May to create more customized portals in support of research, Heavily visual and large-format books and titles of 740 Anti-Slavery archive, represents the lion’s share of the con- learning and teaching for online users,” Rieger said. In China’s expanding economy, who you know becomes increasingly important in filling jobs, say scholars
By Jack Hoge
The rise of capitalism in China – one of social structure. Presenters agreed that in added that it is unclear how the role of guanxi kinship, ethnic and professional networks. the world’s fastest growing economies – af- the growing labor sector, the use of social will change. Some believe that as workers His surveys suggest that in the uncertainty fects politics, markets, entrepreneurship, networks in job searches is becoming more gain more credentials and China moves of market transition, trust is an important property rights and social structure, schol- common. closer to a market-driven economy, guanxi component in hiring managers, as is con- ars from around the world agreed at the In his presentation, “The Rise of Guanxi will become less significant. trol when hiring lower-skilled workers. He Conference on Chinese Capitalism, held in Chinese Transformational Economy,” Zun Tanga, a Cornell sociology graduate concluded that although favor exchange April 20-21, in the A.D. White House. Yanjie Bian of the University of Minnesota student who presented his research, “Net- may have weakened in China’s transitional The conference, organized by Cornell’s said his research shows that using social works, Trust and Exchange,” said that as economy, there is still significant motiva- Center for the Study of Economy and Soci- networks to search for jobs has risen in re- the market economy grows, employers will tion for employers to recruit through their ety, was among the first held in this coun- cent years as the rate of job turnover also be under greater pressure to perform and social or business networks. try to discuss the rise of China’s free increased. The use of guanxi, roughly com- will have less incentive to trade favors in Papers presented at the conference are enterprise and market economy. It was at- parable to the Western idea of social net- hiring and more incentive to hire based on available at
Nobelist and ex-NIH head Katrina Firlik ’91 muses on life as a Varmus to lecture April 30 mother, writer and neurosurgeon By Krishna Ramanujan By Sandra Holley Harold Varmus, former director of the National In- stitutes of Health and co-recipient of a Nobel Prize for Only 5 percent of practicing neurosurgeons in the plied mechanics, organized Firlik’s visit after he read her studies of the genetic basis of cancer, will be the featured United States are female. But “I always thought of myself book and discovered she was a Cornell alumna. “At first, I speaker in this year’s Atkinson Forum in American Stud- as one of the guys,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Katrina Firlik thought about inviting her to give a departmental semi- ies, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium. ’91, a clinical assistant professor at Yale University School nar,” said Strogatz, “but it was clear that she’d appeal to a The lecture, “The Future of Science in America,” will of Medicine and an author. She spoke during an April 19 lot of different groups on campus, from premeds and bio be followed by a discussion with Cornell President David luncheon with members of the undergraduate organiza- majors to women in science to students curious about the Skorton and a question-and-answer period. tion Women in Science at Cornell. brain or about the ins and outs of science writing.” Varmus, who since 2000 has been president and chief But it is not Firlik’s gender that invites incredulous looks Firlik, who has a 9-month-old daughter, defined her new executive officer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer and comments in the male-dominated field, she noted. It is role as a mother as, by far, her favorite. On the issue of life- Center in Manhattan, served for 23 years as a faculty her youthful appearance and small frame. career balance, Firlik paid tribute to her supportive spouse, member at the University of California-San Francisco Firlik, who is 38, was the first woman admitted to the Andrew Firlik ’90, M.D.’93, a former neurosurgeon and (UCSF), where he and a colleague discovered the cellular largest neurosurgery residency program in the country at now venture capitalist who also serves on the Life Sciences origins of a cancer gene. The discovery led to the isolation the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Recently she Advisory Board of Cornell. She also has tailored her career of many genes that normally control growth and develop- authored the book “Another Day in the Frontal Lobe,” to her lifestyle changes, so that although she is on call ment and frequently mutate to cancer. For this work, Var- which provides an inside look into the selective field of nearly every other week, she operates out of a private- mus and his colleague, Michael Bishop of UCSF, received neurosurgery. practice partnership in Connecticut, offering some flexi- the 1989 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. Firlik’s two-day visit to Cornell, April 18-19, was spon- bility to an otherwise demanding schedule. The annual Atkinson lecture is sponsored by David R. sored by the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development Firlik said she has always enjoyed writing and advises and Patricia D. Atkinson. The lecture and discussion will and consisted of several conversations with Cornell stu- everyone she meets to keep a journal when embarking on be videotaped and broadcast May 7 at 7 p.m. on WEOS-FM dents, a public lecture about the top 10 things people prob- such endeavors as medical school. (NPR) as a special presentation of “Higher Ed in the Round,” ably don’t know about their average neurosurgeon and a Skorton’s radio show. It also will be available on CornellCast book-signing session. Graduate student Sandra Holley is a writer intern at the Cornell
By gRegoRy t. eellS
Gregory T. Eells is associate director of Gannett Health Services department meetings across campus. The goal is to engage and director of Counseling and Psychological Services. He hopes Cornell Perspectives faculty in discussions about mental health concerns and the that this column will help allay some of the fears on campus that important role faculty members play in recognizing students have resulted from last week’s shooting deaths at Virginia Tech. in distress and helping them access supportive services. thority to hospitalize a client, with or without consent. That Similar conversations are held with staff members, residence The terrible tragedy at Virginia same professional still has an obligation, as established by advisers and others in a position to notice, care and act. Tech has brought considerable atten- state and federal law, to maintain the confi dentiality of that Addressing the worry that students may “fall through tion to colleges, universities and their student; so telling parents, administrators or others in the the cracks,” a small, highly confi dential group of staff counseling services. Questions have campus community is not standard practice. The law does members from key departments across campus meets been raised about what could have allow and encourage placing safety over confi dentiality regularly to consolidate information about students who been done to prevent this shooting when there is clear risk of harm. may be distressed or at risk and to develop a plan to get and what can be done in the future New York state law also supports the professional’s them appropriate help. Cornell also has a Mental Health to prevent similar incidents. The real- duty to protect others from a client who is clearly Policy Team dedicated to identifying best practices and ity is that complete prevention is not threatening and at imminent risk of harming others. The policies to guide communications and interventions at Eells possible. However, much can be done assessment of imminent risk is based on professional high- risk times and with students perceived to be at risk. to reduce the risk of violent incidents. judgment, including an exploration of risk factors such At a clinical level, reducing barriers for students to One of the fi rst steps is for all members of the higher as a history of violence, the client’s willingness to comply access counseling is a priority for Gannett’s Counseling education community to have a good understanding of with treatment and concern from others on campus. and Psychological Services (CAPS), whose phone assess- what counseling services can and cannot do. Counsel- Such concern is something that Cornell has taken very ment system allows a student to talk with a counselor ing is a process that is founded on the autonomy of the seriously in the last decade. A variety of interconnected within 24 hours of the fi rst call. (Emergencies are seen person seeking those services. Students occasionally are initiatives have been generated at various levels, echoed in on the same day.) Our popular “Let’s Talk” program, mandated for assessments by a judicial administrator’s particular by President David Skorton, who has called for at nine walk-in locations around campus, offers acces- offi ce when there is a violation of the campus code of con- all of us to work to become an “even more caring communi- sible consultations to students who may be hesitant to duct. These assessments can work to leverage students ty.” In 2004, Provost Biddy Martin and Vice President Susan access traditional counseling services. We also have two into the care they need; but therapy remains a voluntary Murphy launched the Council on Mental Health and Wel- dedicated psychologists whose primary role is to provide process, and students do have the right to refuse care. fare, comprising students, staff, faculty and deans, charged, community consultation and intervention for troubled When members of the campus community are concerned among other things, with increasing support for members students who are reluctant to seek help. about a student’s risk of doing violence to self or others and of the Cornell community facing mental health challenges. These coordinated initiatives, together with increasing the student already is receiving care, counseling profes- Academic departments and offi ces responsible for student awareness about mental health issues, do lower the risk sionals always conduct a risk assessment. If the professional support work closely to weave a safety net for students. For of tragedies occurring on our campus. Beyond that, they feels there is imminent risk that clients might hurt them- example, members of the Dean of Students Offi ce, Gannett are vital to our growing, shared commitment to “becom- selves or someone else, that professional has the legal au- Health Services and academic advising units are attending ing an even more caring community.” Model minority? A ‘myth of the American dream,’ says panelist at Asian American discussion
By geoRge loWeRy
The model minority myth derives from other groups. If they can do it, went the ar- ing together.” He touched on nativism and nior lecturer in the College of Human Ecol- the perception that Asian cultural values of gument, why can’t you? immigrant backlash. “The model minority is ogy. She presented statistics that hard work, family cohesion, self-suffi ciency “In the last 20 or so years, in particular the myth of the American dream,” he said. demonstrated the health of some Asian- and a drive for success propelled recent im- through Asian studies, these ideas have “What are we going to do to stop the perpet- American groups falls far short of the migrants into and beyond the American come under fi re,” Chang said. “We have as- uation of allowing ourselves to be divided?” imagined ideal. middle class within a generation or two. But sociated historically an ethnically diverse On the issue of mental health, Asian Depending on the specifi c ethnic groups three panelists, speaking in McGraw Hall group of people under the model minority Americans suffer exactly the same rates of – for instance comparing the Hmong and April 20, held that such easy categorization group: East Asians, Chinese and Japanese schizophrenia and depression as the gen- the Japanese – educational attainment and is a gross distortion of reality. Americans, Southeast Asian groups. The eral population. The difference comes in overall health vary widely. Parra said that Participating in the discussion, “Decon- model minority papers over ethnic and access to health services and cultural stig- because 70 percent of Asian Americans are structing the Model Minority,” Derek class diversity within those groups.” mas against admitting to mental health recent immigrants and the population is Chang, assistant professor of history at The shock that the Virginia Tech shooter problems. Dozens of languages, culture aging, health care must be culturally ap- Cornell, said the model minority was fi rst was Asian and an English major “raises lev- shock and post-traumatic stress disorder propriate, and the larger population needs popularized 30 years ago in mainstream els of assumptions,” said Alan Gomez, an among refugees contribute to the problem. to be sensitized to these issues. U.S. media. The perception of one group’s Ithaca College historian of labor and social “The model minority leads us to distort The event was sponsored by the newly achievements was then used to pit Asian movements. “In the 1960s and ’70s, people the health status of the diverse population formed Asian Political Action Committee, Americans against African Americans and tried to see each other’s humanity by work- of Asian Americans,” said Pilar Parra, se- a Cornell student group. Family turmoil and violence results in stress-induced physical problems in young By SuSan S. lang
dolescents velopmental psychologist Gary Evans, is docrine hormonal systems, cardiovascular the cardiovascular systems of adolescents who are published in the March issue of Develop- responses and metabolism that indicate the who had been exposed to chronic risk fac- Achronically mental Psychology. Evans said that the severity of wear and tear that cumulative tors responded less actively to the stressor exposed to family tur- fi ndings suggest that the physiological toll strain puts on organs and tissues. and were slower to physiologically recover. moil, violence, noise, of coping with multiple risk factors is sig- “Allostatic load may very well turn out The results are based on surveys, blood poor housing or other nifi cantly greater than with that of coping to be the primary mechanism of how risk, pressure measurements and urine samples chronic risk factors with a single event, even if that event was stress and other sources of environmental from 207 seventh- and eighth-grade chil- show more stress-in- rather severe. “Moreover the burden ap- demands get under the skin and into the dren in rural upstate New York who had duced physiological Evans pears to register in physiological systems body,” said Evans. participated in a fi rst wave of the study strain on their organs that help us regulate our responses to In some studies, he noted, high allostatic while they were in elementary school. and tissues than other young people. stress,” said Evans, the Elizabeth Lee Vin- loads are correlated with a greater incidence “We oversampled low-income children However, when they have responsive, cent Professor of Human Ecology and pro- of physical, mental and cognitive disorders. given our interest in risk and poverty,” said Ev- supportive mothers, they do not experi- fessor of human development and of design The new data, Evans said, may therefore ex- ans. He said they chose a rural, white commu- ence these negative physiological changes, and environmental analysis in Cornell’s plain, at least in part, “why income and ra- nity “given that the majority of children in reports a new study from Cornell. College of Human Ecology. cial inequalities are so pervasive and America who are poor are white and that rural But the research group also found that To study stress-induced physiological persistent in our society. Low-income kids poverty constitutes greater and more persistent the cardiovascular systems of youths who changes in young teens, the researchers – in- and especially low-income kids who are material deprivation than urban poverty.” are exposed to chronic and multiple risk cluding three students who were undergrad- nonwhite bear a disproportionate burden of The co-authors include graduate student factors are compromised, regardless of uates at the time and a graduate student – used cumulative risk exposure.” Pilyoung Kim and former undergraduate their mothers’ responsiveness. an index called allostatic load. This is a mea- The researchers also found that when students Albert Ting ’98, Harris Tesher ’03 The study, led by environmental and de- sure of stress-induced changes in neuroen- stressed by a mental arithmetic problem, and Dana Shanis ’03. Cornell Chronicle April 26, 2007 From peanuts to nanotubes, undergrads present spectrum of their research at spring showcase By Anne Ju
heories behind people’s eating hab- Physics major Angie Wolfgang ’09 was its and ideas on revamping hospital an oral presenter, explaining her work with Tinventory management were just micron-sized silicon particles – called pea- two of the nearly 100 Cornell undergradu- nuts due to their shape – to a small crowd ate research topics featured at an April 18 of listeners. Several oral presentations took research showcase in Duffield Hall. place simultaneously in the cubicles lining The 22nd annual Spring Undergraduate Duffield’s entrance hallway. Research Forum, hosted by the Cornell Meanwhile, senior Richard Tamburrino, Undergraduate Research Board (CURB), who studies molecular and cell biology in included work of undergraduate students the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, from a wide range of majors. Meant to fielded questions on his poster with the promote undergraduate-level research, irresistible phrase, “Why humans love fatty the event included a keynote speaker, oral acids.” With aspirations for graduate work in presentations and posters that lined the neuroscience, Tamburrino had conducted ex- Duffield atrium. periments on whether humans can discrimi- For some rookie researchers, the forum nate between fatty acids via smell tests. was a first crack at explaining their lab The event’s keynote speaker was Joseph work to curious passers-by. For others, Yavitt, Cornell professor of natural re- such as electrical and computer engineer- sources. Beyond encouraging the students ing (ECE) student Eric K. Yu ’08, it was to continue their research – whether a venue to demonstrate experience and simple or complex, successful or inconclu- enthusiasm for a particular subject. sive – Yavitt described his own work on As friends or strangers approached Yu’s the greenhouse gas methane. poster on carbon nanotubes, the lanky Preceding Yavitt’s talk, CURB’s Marilyn junior patiently explained the difference Emmons Williams Award was presented to ANNE JU/CORNELL CHRONICLE between graphene and graphite as differ- Scott Warren, a doctoral student in the De- Richard Tamburrino ’07 ran experiments on humans’ ability to discriminate between fatty acids via ent forms of the element carbon, and why partment of Chemistry and Chemical Biol- smell tests. He shared the results of his research at the Undergraduate Research Forum April 18. carbon nanotubes hold promise for a new ogy and the Department of Materials Science generation of transistors. Yu works under and Engineering. The award is given annu- CURB co-president Yuri Sylvester ’08 “What we value is the networking the supervision of ECE professor San- ally to a dean, administrator, faculty member said that since the event’s inception, more and interaction,” Sylvester said. “All the dip Tiwari and research associate Derek or student who has “contributed significantly and more majors have been represented, undergraduates get to see other people’s Stewart. to promoting undergraduate research.” increasing the event’s visibility on campus. research.”
Evolution or creationism? Bioethics Society Ding Kong ’08 wins challenges high school students to decide Udall scholarship Ding Kong, a senior majoring in By Sandra Holley natural resources in Cornell’s Col- lege of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has won a 2007 Morris K. Udall When Elizabeth Yoselevsky ’08 asked students in an evolution and systematics Scholarship in recognition of his class at Ithaca’s Cascadilla School whether evolution or creationism should be work and career plans regarding the environment. taught in high schools, some students said evolution, some said both. Kong is among 80 undergradu- ate students nationwide to receive Kong this year’s academic awards of up to $5,000 from the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excel- lence in National Environmental Policy Foundation. The foundation’s programs honor the late U.S. congressman from Arizona and are designed to assist students with excellent academic records and a demonstrated interest in careers in the fields of environmental policy, health care and tribal public policy. Since 1998, Cornell students have been awarded 25 Udall scholarships. Kong, who is from Granada Hills, Calif., has a special interest in the environment and sustainability, and hopes, he said, to “be an educator in public high schools to teach and empower youth about the environment, their com- munity and how it all relates to politics and society.” Kong has been a student leader of the Environmen- tal Justice Working Group since 2005 and a founding member and president of the Sustainability Hub. He also serves in leadership roles with the Living Sculpture Proj- SANDRA HOLLEY/PROVIDED ect and the Society for Natural Resources Conservation’s From left, Han-Sang Lee and Jung Sikwon, both students at Ithaca’s Cascadilla School, and Ugo Ihekweazu ’08 of the Bioethics Outreach Committee, all at Cornell. He has been a trip Society of Cornell, debate whether the evolution versus creationism controversy should be part of the study of evolution in high leader with Wilderness Reflections and was active with school biology classes. the Redbud Woods Working Group and Kyoto Now! In addition, he was a key organizer for this year’s campus Cascadilla student Eric Choe fell into the “both” cate- bioethical issues with members of the Ithaca community. Earth Day celebration, tutors teens at the Ithaca Youth Bu- gory, but added that students should have the option to After discussing the case for nearly 45 minutes, the stu- reau and has been a concert performer with the Cornell attend lectures on either subject. dents supported teaching evolution in high school. Al- Piano Society. The debate over whether evolution versus creationism should though they did not entirely dismiss the creationists’ After teaching for several years, he says, “I want to be taught in high school biology classes has gone on for decades. perspective, most agreed that creationism should not be work with education politics to change education stan- Several members of the undergraduate Bioethics Society of Cor- taught in the context of a biology class. dards to have more of an environmental focus, and devel- nell (BSC) visited a class at Cascadilla School – a small, private More along the lines of bioethics, BSC members and Cas- op courses and curriculum for hands-on environmental college preparatory school – April 18, to explore the controversy, cadilla students ended the program with a lively discussion and community education classes for high schools.” at the request of their teacher Marketa Lillard. about organ “selling,” discussing a case study of an econom- He was recommended for the prestigious award by The outreach effort was part of BSC’s new High School ically depressed woman who sells one of her kidneys for James Lassoie, professor of natural resources; Scott Perez, Readership Program that seeks to promote the discussion $20,000 to pay for her much-needed appendectomy. Stu- a graduate student in natural resources; and Anke Wes- of ethics in the science classroom. dents previewed the case, which is appearing in this year’s sels, executive director of the Cornell Center for Religion, “I do not want to teach creationism in a science class,” spring’s edition of the Ivy Journal of Ethics, as a part of “You Ethics and Social Policy. stated Lillard, “because there is no scientific basis for it. Decide,” a new addition to the journal that highlights a con- Students applying for the Udall scholarship must It’s a belief.” troversial case study. Last month, BSC members presented be endorsed by Cornell to participate in the national “We wanted [the students] to think about both sides of the same case to 30 students at Lansing High School. competition. Those interested should contact fellowship the issue,” said Ugo Ihekweazu ’08, a member of the BSC coordinator Beth Fiori at
oet, novelist and short-story writer Robert Morgan has been chosen for Pan Academy Award in Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Morgan, the Kappa Alpha Profes- Yellow sor of English at Cornell, will receive May is the yellow month. At this the $7,500 prize at the academy’s annual latitude the woods are a fog of different ceremony, May 16 in New York City. yellow-greens as fi rst leaves “A storyteller with an eye for detail, impec- open pages and new twigs on the willows cable ear for language, devotion to craft and grow bright as chicken fat. passion for truth, Robert Morgan has written In every yard the daffodils and dandelions, poetry and fi ction of great distinction for and clouds of wild mustard light many years,” the award committee wrote. the open fi elds, even as wind Morgan’s writings include “The Truest bruises cowlicks in the rye. Along Pleasure,” “The Hinterlands,” “Topsoil highways and parks forsythia Road” and the best-selling novel “Gap sprays its heat, and fi re rinses seedbeds Creek,” a 2000 selection of Oprah Win- of old stalks at dark. The day begins frey’s Book Club. His fi rst major nonfi c- in a golden antiquity, fl ushing tion work, “Boone: A Biography,” about the ridges so they echo inside the room the frontiersman Daniel Boone, will be where fl esh stretches into fl ower, where published in October. Morgan’s poem even the interior of night is saffroned “October Crossing” will be in an upcom- the most erotic color of touch and know. ing issue of Atlantic Monthly, and a short story, “The Distant Blue Hills,” will appear – Robert Morgan, 1987 this fall in The Southern Review. Morgan came to Cornell in 1971 as a visiting lecturer in the Creative Writing Program and joined the faculty the follow- ing year to teach poetry. He later taught fi ction and American literature. “Back in the ’50s and ’60s ... when I was a young writer, poetry was all the rage,” he said. Morgan wrote a handful of short stories and decided to become a writer while JASON KOSKI/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY attending North Carolina State University Robert Morgan, Cornell’s Kappa Alpha Professor of English, near Sage Chapel on campus. as an engineering and mathematics major. Infl uenced by Walt Whitman, Wallace further with the Boone biography. “When dence at Appalachian State University in previously won Guggenheim and Nation- Stevens and folklore from his childhood I began, I was more skeptical about him,” Boone, N.C. al Endowment for the Arts fellowships, in rural North Carolina – “all the stories Morgan said. “I began to peel away the “I tend to work when I travel,” Morgan said the academy honor is “particularly I’d heard about the Civil War, and pan- myth and fi nd the real person behind him. said. “I fi nd hotels and motels very good thrilling to me because you’re chosen by thers and snakes and bears” – Morgan He stacks up to scrutiny. I came to see him places to write. It helps when you travel to your fellow writers at the national level, so began his career as a poet and eventually as a great romantic dreamer in the tradi- be immersed in your fi ctive world. I typi- it’s recognition by your peers. It’s a very returned to fi ction. tion of Thoreau and Walt Whitman and cally work in the mornings, I get up at 5 distinguished list.” “The biggest breakthrough happened Emerson; but he lived the dream.” a.m. and write for a few hours. It certainly Another Cornellian, fi ction writer Junot in the 1980s when I started writing in the Morgan will take a sabbatical leave next helps me when I go out and do readings Diaz, M.F.A. ’95, also is recognized by the voice of a woman character,” he said. “I’d year to promote the biography and work and talks later in the day.” academy this year with a Rome Fellowship gotten out of my own voice, and I began on his next novel, set in the Depression. Morgan is one of eight writers, includ- in Literature, a one-year residency (for 2007- to see that that’s what the best fi ction is all He also has speaking engagements in ing Barbara Ehrenreich and William T. 08) at the American Academy in Rome. about – getting out of yourself.” Kentucky and western New York, and in Vollman, receiving Academy Awards in For more information, see
... and Steven Stucky, composer and Student theater troupe music professor, is elected to academy Ordinary People
By geoRge loWeRy wins Perkins Prize
The 2007 James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial Steven Stucky, the Given Foundation Professor of Music at Cornell and a Understanding and Harmony has been awarded to pre-eminent American composer, has been elected a member of the American Ordinary People, a Cornell student theater group, for its work in challenging bias, including racism, sex- Academy of Arts and Letters. Membership in the academy is considered the ism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. highest formal recognition of artistic merit in the United States. The Perkins Prize is awarded annually to rec- ognize the signifi cant contribution by a Cornell “It really is a thrill, completely unexpected,” Stucky student, faculty or staff member, or program to says. “The same thing happened with the Pulitzer a couple furthering the ideals of community and racial of years ago. I not only wasn’t expecting to win, I wasn’t diversity. A monetary award accompanies the prize even thinking about it. When one of these things arises out to help recipients fund continuing projects and of the blue, it’s exciting.” programming. Stucky won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his Second Members of Ordinary People, which was founded Concerto for Orchestra in 2005. He has been a Cornell fac- in Campus Life Residential Programs in 1997, write ulty member since 1980 and has served as resident com- and perform their own skits based on personal poser of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1988. Major experiences with the goal of promoting open dia- American orchestras have commissioned Stucky’s music, logue about oppression and celebrating differences which has been performed across the United States and among individuals and communities at Cornell, Europe, and he is host of the New York Philharmonic’s frequently using humor, satire, sarcasm and music. “Hear and Now” concerts. At his induction May 16, Stucky In August 2006, Ordinary People provided the will join the permanent academy membership of artists, content for Tapestry of Possibilities: Diversity at architects, writers and composers. Inducted with him will Cornell, the required diversity program for incom- HOEBERMAN STUDIO/PROVIDED be writers Annie Proulx, Harper Lee, Deborah Eisenberg, ing students. Mary Gordon, Allan Gurganus and Jim Harrison; artist “It really is a thrill, completely unexpected,” Professor Steven Stucky says about being elected a member of the AAAL. Ordinary People will perform “It Wasn’t Me,” Robert Irwin; and architect Billie Tsien. its 10th-anniversary show, April 20-21 at 8 p.m. in “The real honor is to be standing on the same platform Risley’s Great Hall; performances are free and open with those people,” Stucky says. “It was a very nice sur- Cornell-affi liated members of the American Academy of to the public. prise to think that somebody has decided that you could Arts and Letters include novelist and professor Alison Lu- The Perkins Prize was established in 1994 through be in the top 250 people in arts and letters in the country. rie; composer and professor emeritus of music Karel Husa; a President’s Endowment Fund from Thomas W. It makes you think that you haven’t completely been wast- and composers Steve Reich and Christopher Rouse, both Jones ’69. ing your time.” Cornell alumni. Cornell Chronicle April 26, 2007 Transatlantic alliance is disintegrating into resentment and mistrust, warns ex-German foreign minister Joschka Fischer
By Chandni Navalkha
“Will the West still exist in a few years?” asked Joschka Fischer, foreign minister and vice chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005, speaking on campus earlier this week. To regain legitimacy, Western governments, he warned, must reconcile their differences and engage as a multilat- eral and cohesive force in world affairs. Speaking in Cornell’s Call Auditorium April 18 as the 2007 Bartels World Affairs Fellowship lecturer, Fischer as- serted that the United States has followed an increasingly unilateral path in its foreign policy since Sept. 11, 2001, in the process alienating close allies in Europe. The transatlan- tic alliance that was forged during World War II and strengthened dursching the ‘Government Cold War is quickly disinte- legitimacy is the grating into resentment and most important mistrust, he said in his talk, currency.’ “Redefining the U.S.-Europe Relationship After 9/11.” –Joschka Fischer Fischer, now a professor of international economic policy at Princeton University, was a popular politician in Germany, known for his Green Party politics and blunt- ness. With similar bluntness in his lecture, he made it clear that if “the West as we know it is to exist in a few years,” then the United States and Europe must re-evaluate and rebuild their former cooperative relationship. “America lost the moral high ground” with the war in Iraq, he said, by first bringing morality into foreign policy and then violating its own code. In a world where terror- ism and violence are on the rise, “government legitimacy is ROBERT BARKER/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY the most important currency,” he said. America’s disinte- Joschka Fischer speaks in Call Auditorium April 18 as the 2007 Bartels World Affairs Fellowship lecturer. grating relations with major countries and the infighting within the European Union, he added, are quickly eroding will allow China to emerge as a global power. would enable Western countries to legitimately assist in whatever legitimacy the Western powers have left. However, if the United States and the European Union and participate in world affairs. “The United States is currently an indispensable power,” “overcome the legacy of the past few years,” and use “mul- The annual Bartels World Affairs Fellowship Lecture is said Fischer, “but if it retains its unilateralism then trans- tilateralism as an opportunity rather than a burden,” he sponsored by Cornell’s Mario Einaudi Center for Interna- atlanticism will become a distant memory.” He warned said, they can address the most pressing problems in the tional Studies. that if the United States retreats into its pre-World War II world together, from Iran’s nuclear programs to the hu- isolationism, the subsequent vacuum in world leadership manitarian crises in Africa and Asia. Such cooperation Chandni Navalkha ’10 is a writer intern with the Cornell Chronicle. Cornell researchers zero in on genes that Two alumni affect a plant’s ability to self-pollinate elected to Cornell Board of Trustees By Bill Steele Two alumni – Some plants need a partner to repro- ally accept its own pollen. In nature, pseudo William V. Eaton ’61 duce. Pollen from one plant pollinates the self-compatibility is a best-of-two-worlds of Severna Park, Md., stigma of another, and a seed is formed. mating strategy, Nasrallah said, because it and Stephen J. But other plants can self-pollinate, a handy maintains the benefits of out-crossing while Ettinger ’62, DVM ’64 survival mechanism for a lonely plant. providing reproductive assurance when of Los Angeles – have The ability to self-pollinate turns up in mates or pollinators are scarce. been elected to the cultivated tomatoes and canola, among other In the latest research, Pei Liu, a postdoc- Cornell Board of important crops, and sometimes it can be a toral researcher in Nasrallah’s laboratory, Eaton Trustees. They will nuisance for plant breeders and seed produc- and colleagues mapped the genomes of sev- serve a four-year ers who want to develop highly desirable eral varieties of transgenic A. thaliana in fine term, beginning July 1. hybrid varieties and produce hybrid seed on detail and isolated a gene known as PUB8 Eaton, a principal and former president a commercial scale. To get hybrid seed, they that seems to regulate the expression of and chief operating officer of Cini-Little plant two different varieties in the same field SRK – that is, whether or not it is turned on International, a global hospitality- to allow them to cross-pollinate. But if one to manufacture its protein. The PUB8 gene consulting firm, has been active for many or both varieties can self-pollinate, workers shows some variation from one variety of A. years with Cornell Alumni Affairs and must remove the pollen sacs (anthers) from thaliana to another, i.e., the DNA sequence Development, the the flowers by hand to prevent “selfing.” This NASRALLAH LAB/PROVIDED contains a few different bases here and Cornell Alumni is so labor-intensive that it is usually only Ultraviolet fluorescence microscopy image of there. The degree to which self-incompat- Admissions Ambas- done in countries where labor is cheap. a stigma of an arabidopsis plant that has been ibility is turned on in the plant seems to cor- sador Network in the Now Cornell researchers are zeroing in on genetically modified to resist self pollination. relate with these variations. PUB8-mediated Baltimore-Washing- genes that turn a plant’s ability to self-pol- The left side was self-pollinated and the right pseudo self-compatibility might have been ton area, the Cornell linate on and off. Their work is described in side pollinated from another variety; pollen a transitional phase in the evolutionary Council’s Sustainable the May 1 issue of the journal Current Biol- tubes form only on the cross-pollinated side. switch from self-incompatibility to selfing in Development and ogy and in the journal’s online edition. A. thaliana, Nasrallah speculates. Environmental “The long-term goal is to understand cells. When these two proteins come from the PUB8 is very close to SCR and SRK on Committee and the Ettinger how self-pollination is inhibited in self- same plant, the stigma rejects the pollen, and the genome. It is unusual to find a regula- Cornell Hotel Society. incompatible plants, which are unable to fertilization does not occur. tory gene so close to the gene it regulates, In 2001 he was awarded the Frank H.T. self-pollinate because their stigmas can A. thaliana is highly self-fertile, but the the researchers noted. PUB8 is expressed Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service recognize and reject their own pollen. Nasrallah group in- in other parts of the Award. Then you could transfer this ability to any serted SCR and SRK ‘The long-term goal is to plant and probably Ettinger is chief medical officer of Echo plant and use it to make hybrids,” said genes from another has other functions, Healthcare, a provider of veterinary June Nasrallah, the Barbara McClintock species, A. lyrata, understand how self-pollination they said, add- primary care services to companion Professor of Plant Biology at Cornell. which is self-incom- is inhibited in self-incompatible ing that still other animals through a network of veterinary Nasrallah’s research group is working with patible, and created plants, which are unable to self- genes are probably hospitals; previously, he was director of Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant related to cabbage A. thaliana varieties pollinate because their stigmas involved in self-in- the California Animal Hospital Veteri- and mustard that is widely used in plant that ranged from can recognize and reject their compatibility. nary Specialty Group in Los Angeles. genetic research and whose genome has been self-incompatible own pollen.’ Co-authors of the An active alumnus, he serves on the sequenced. Previously, the group showed that to “pseudo self- – Professor June Nasrallah paper, along with Cornell University Council and the two genes known as SCR and SRK are the key incompatible,” Pei and Nasrallah, College of Veterinary Medicine Advisory to self-incompatibility. SCR codes for a protein where a plant resists are graduate student Council and works to enable less- on the surface of pollen grains, and SRK codes self-pollination for a while, but if it is not Susan Sherman-Broyles and Mikhail Nas- advantaged and minority students to for a receptor in the cell membranes of stigma pollinated from another plant it will eventu- rallah, Cornell professor of plant biology. attend Cornell. 8 April 26, 2007 Cornell Chronicle
Sage memorial continued from page 1
with Benson when the shootings occurred. “We are one,” said Cornell President David Skorton. “We are one community, one people, one planet. We are here today to affi rm that oneness ... We are here to bear witness to the passing of the 33 members of our family at Virginia Tech University who have met an untimely and terrible fate.” And, he said, “We are here for all of those who are gone, for all 33. We are here for the 32 who have passed from the immediate to another place, not by their own choice. We are also here for the one who has also passed.” Because the shooter was Korean-born, he noted that those present were there to “join with our friends in the Korean and Korean-American communities for we are all one family, most especially today we share the same sor- row and the same need for comfort and reassurance.” Returning to the phrase, “We are one,” throughout his elegy, Skorton ended by saying, “We will stay together, we will go forward together, we will never forget our loss. We are one.” Following Skorton’s remarks, Rev. Heewon Chun, chaplain of the Korean Church at Cornell, delivered a moving rendi- tion of “Panis Angelicus,” César Franck’s well-known hymn. Cornell Provost Biddy Martin remarked that she watched the tragedy unfurl on local television while visiting her mother in southern Virginia and was struck by the dignity and humility of Virginia Tech students interviewed by the press. She said that they asked “that we not reduce their experience JASON KOSKI/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY of their university by this horror,” which is now referred to as A student in Willard Straight adds his thoughts to a banner that will be sent to the Virginia Tech community. the largest single shooting in U.S. history. Martin added that the students wished to keep intact their experience of Virginia Tech, in spite of their loss of friends and the loss of their “sense of safety and thrilling openness of a university campus.” Cornell to Virginia Tech: ‘We are all connected’ Martin quoted Nikki Giovanni, the noted Virginia Tech poet and professor, who had spoken about the tragic By lauRen golD events at a Virginia campus memorial, “‘We will prevail ... but not by moving on, but by going straight through Some Cornellians came to Willard Straight Hall’s Inter- The cards and banners will be sent to Blacksburg, Va., in this loss and sense of grief together.’” national Lounge after the midday remembrance at Sage the coming days, Green added. In the meantime, she en- A minute of silence followed Martin’s remarks. Chapel. Others stopped in between classes, during a study couraged students who need additional support to take break or before a work shift. advantage of the student-run Empathy, Assistance and Re- They were mostly silent. Groups of friends moved to ferral Service (EARS) and other resources. “We’re remind- round tables stocked with art supplies and began creating ing people to take care of themselves during this busy condolence cards. Individuals lingered at the front of the April – and to take care of each other.” room, reading the words of others on a giant banner – then As Green spoke, people kept fi ling through. Cards piled picking up a pen and adding their own. up. And the banner fi lled with condolences: The Together We Mourn project, an opportunity for Cor- nell students, faculty and staff to send words of support to “We are so sorry.” the Virginia Tech community, was coordinated by the Asso- “Be strong. Take care. My heart is with you.” ciation of College Unions International and included stations “Lo sentimos tanto. Estamos con ustedes.” at the Carol Tatkon Center and Robert Purcell Community “In some way, we are all connected. We are with you.” Center. Cornellians were also encouraged to wear Virginia “I may not know you, and probably will never Tech colors (orange and maroon), Friday, April 20. know you, but I still mourn for you. To all the fami- “We wanted to create something where students have lies and friends of those who have lost, I will mourn with you. something positive to do,” said Alice Green, assistant dean We’re all in this together.” JASON KOSKI/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY of students. “You’re all heroes.” Dean Kent Fuchs speaks at the April 19 vigil.
president of the Ladies’ Volunteer Aid Association. In mid-July, as a member of the Volun- teer Aid Committee, Ezra took medical supplies to Washington, D.C. Refused a pass through the lines to the main camp of the Union Army, the group went to Alexandria and joined a troop train to Fairfax Station. Setting out on foot for the front, they found themselves at the fi rst battle of Bull Run, an adventure Ezra recounted in a letter to the Ithaca Journal. He remained in Washington, visiting hospitals and traveling to the camp where the Tompkins County volunteers were stationed. While in Europe at the International Exposition in 1862, Cornell sponsored the passage of four volunteers who were T H E EZRA F I L E S anxious to join the Union Army. Many Cornell and of his relatives served in the army. His younger brother Daniel was wounded while with Grant’s army at Vicksburg, the Civil War and his nephew Irving died of wounds received in battle. 1861-62 As a state legislator, Cornell received letters from constituents requesting his
DIVISION OF RARE AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY/PROVIDED assistance in obtaining promotions for A Civil War cover (envelope printed during or subsequent to the war depicting patriotic scenes local offi cers. Throughout the war, he and themes). continued to visit the wounded and to aid soldiers and their families. Seven southern states had seceded from this pronouncement of the American Civil the Union by Feb. 1, 1861, and formed War, Lincoln introduced all 19th-century – Adapted by Susan S. Lang from the Web THE EZRA FILES the Confederate States of America. On Americans to the event that would inexo- site “Invention and Enterprise: Ezra Cor- April 12, Confederate shore batteries in rably alter their lives. nell, a Nineteenth-Century Life.” A library Charleston Harbor opened fi re on Fort In Ithaca as elsewhere, there were exhibition, “I Would Found an Institution”: Sumter. After 34 hours of bombardment, meetings, rallies and enlistment drives. The Ezra Cornell Bicentennial, is open in the the fort surrendered. On April 15, Presi- The Cornell family was caught up in the Hirshland Exhibition Gallery, Carl A. Kroch dent Lincoln declared that “insurrection” war effort. Ezra Cornell headed a citi- dependents of volunteers and personally Library. For more information, see
Edited by Bill Cornell University library Steele FOCUS [email protected]
Rare abolitionist newspaper now available to CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY scholars DIVISION OF RARE AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS/ Top left: The masthead of The Friend of Man, an The Friend of Man, a newspaper pub- anti-slavery newspaper published in Utica, N.Y. in lished for the New York State Anti-Slavery the early 1800s. Part of Cornell Library’s anti-slav- Society between 1836 and 1842, is now ery collection, the newspaper has been digitized available online to scholars worldwide, and is now available online to scholars worldwide. thanks to Cornell University Library. Above: The prospectus of The Friend of Man of- Published by J.F. Bishop in Utica, N.Y., the fers a Bible-based rationale for ending slavery. newspaper documents the early anti-slav- Cornell University Library holds one of the most ery movement in upstate New York. extensive collections of this newspaper from the The library, which can claim one of the early 1800s on microfi lm. nation’s most complete sets of this publica- tion among its microfi lm holdings, has re- of the anti-slavery movement, especially cently digitized the collection and created in Utica, Rochester, Buffalo, Albany and a Web site to showcase it. The project was New York City. initiated by Margaret Washington, Cornell The online availability of The Friend of LINDSAY FRANCE/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY professor of history, who worked with the Man complements the library’s anti-slavery A book to be scanned rests on a copy stand in Olin Library while Rhea Garen, a photo specialist library’s Department of Digital Consulting in the library’s digital media group, checks color balance and remotely adjusts a high-resolution collection. The library owns one of the and Production Services (DCAPS) to make camera above, not visible in this photo. What appears to be rope is a chain of tiny lead weights richest collections of anti-slavery and Civil encased in cotton, used both in scanning and in reading rooms to hold rare and delicate books this unique collection widely available, War material in the world, due in large part open. To avoid damaging the spine, this book cannot be opened more than 90 degrees. using funding from the library’s former to Andrew Dickson White, Cornell’s fi rst faculty grants initiative program. president, who developed an early inter- The Friend of Man is of special sig- est in both fostering and documenting the nifi cance because scholars know little abolitionist movement and the Civil War. Library works with faculty and about the resources of 19th century social To view Cornell’s Friend of Man collec- movements in rural areas, such as upstate tion, visit its Web site at
Tuesday, May 1 Cornell University’s Office of “Kardia,” 7:15 p.m. the Assemblies provides admin- >April 26-May 3 “The Makioka Sisters,” 9:15 p.m. istrative support to the elected Wednesday, May 2 assemblies and trustees at Cor- “The Flower of My Secret” (1995), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, with Marisa Paredes and Juan nell, as well as any committees Echanove, 7:15 p.m. or activities sponsored by these “The Animation Show 2007,” 9:30 p.m. groups. For more information about this office or about any Thursday, May 3 “Little Children,” 7 p.m. of the assemblies listed, go to “Shortbus” (2006), directed by John Cameron Mitch-
A.D. White House, as part of the “Going Global, garet Frey, fi ber science and apparel design, April Going Vernacular” conference. Writers include 26, noon, 317 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall. Sarah Mkhonza, Cornell Africana Studies fellow, Concert promotes “Smart Interactive Textile Sytem,” Tae Jin Kang, from Swaziland; Yvette Christiansë, Fordham Seoul National University, May 3, noon, 317 Martha University professor of literature, from South student community Van Rensselaer Hall. Africa; Zodwa Motsa, professor and chair of English studies, University of South Africa; and service Food Science Chinyere Grace Okafor, professor of literature “Polyhydroxyalkanoate, A Biodegradable Polymer and women’s studies, Wichita State University. from Bacteria: Aspects in Protein Engineering english Department and Applications in Nanobiotechnology,” Nut- Roundtable reading: “Algeria and Other Confl a- tawee Niamsiri, food science, May 1, 4 p.m., 204 tions in Kathy Acker’s Empire of the Senseless,” Stocking Hall. Angela Naimou, with moderator Jade Ferguson, history of Art and Archaeology April 27, at 2:30 p.m., 258 Goldwin Smith Hall. “It is Diffi cult,” Alfredo Jaar, artist, architect and fi lmmaker, April 30, 5 p.m., Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Cosponsored by College of Art, religion Architecture and Planning, Department of Art and The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. For a complete listing of worship services on cam- pus and in the Ithaca area, go to
South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. >Highlight institute for German Cultural Studies Astronomy and Space Sciences PROVIDED The new “world Englishes” are redefi ning Title TBA, Willi Goetschel, University of Toronto, “A Faster, Cheaper, Better Way of Classifying Singer-songwriter Sam Shaber ’94 is helping everything from power, politics and economics Meteorites and Asteroids,” Guy Consolmagno, April 27, 3 p.m., 181 Goldwin Smith Hall. Fordham University, April 26, 4:30 p.m., 105 to reward student community service in to literature. “Going Global, Going Vernacular: institute for Public Affairs Space Sciences. memory of her friend Maribel Garcia ’95, who Appropriation and Disowning of English in “Privatization and Regulatory Reform in Air- died in an automobile accident in Arizona Post-Colonial Contexts” gathers scholars from Title TBA, Alice Harding, Goddard Space Flight ports Management,” Germá Bel, University of Center, May 3, 4:30 p.m., 105 Space Sciences. during Shaber’s fi rst national tour in 1997. Barcelona, May 3, 4:30 p.m., Bache Auditorium, India, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland and the Shaber, Leopold Bloom, Candace Berne and Malott Hall. United States. They include award-winning Baker institute for Animal health Cornell M.F.A. program writers will perform author Srinivas Aravamudan of Duke University “A Role for Endosomal Cysteine Proteases in institute for the Social Sciences Ebola and Marburg Virus Entry,” Kartik Chandran, at a benefi t for the Maribel Garcia Commu- and Sarah Mkhonza (pictured), Cornell visiting “British Telecom Data and Social Network Analysis,” Yeshiva University, Bronx, N.Y.; May 1, noon, Thaw nity Spirit Fund, April 26 at 7 p.m. in Anabel Nathan Eagle, Massachusetts Institute of Technol- scholar and Ithaca City of Asylum writer-in- Lecture Theater, Hungerford Hill Road. Lunch pro- Taylor Auditorium. The suggested donation is ogy, May 1, 3:30 p.m., 146 Myron Taylor Hall. residence. The conference is free and open to vided with RSVP by April 30 at 11 a.m.; call (607) $15; $5 for students. Coffee and pastries will the public, April 27, 2:15-6:30 p.m. at A.D. White 256-5600 or email
E 107th
1 April 26, 2007 Cornell Chronicle
Calendar continued from page 11 Seed grants fund
Philosophy collaborative Title TBA, Samuel Scheffl er, University of Califor- nia-Berkeley, April 27, 4:30 p.m., Room TBA. CU in the research with Plant Breeding and Genetics “Ancient Polyploidy and Modern Crop Plants,” Andrew Paterson, University of Georgia, May 1, medical school 12:20 p.m., 135 Emerson Hall. Brenda Tobias Brenda bnp1@cornell. edu Brenda Tobias Brenda [email protected] By lauRen golD Psychology CITY “Modulation of Testosterone Levels During Devel- opment and Adulthood: Implications for Future Upcoming NYC Events Detecting cancer earlier, fi nding new Aggression Levels,” Cathy Marler, University materials for repairing bones and teeth, of Wisconsin-Madison, April 27, 3:30 p.m., 202 and controlling cortical epilepsy are just Uris Hall. Creative Writing Program industrial and labor relations Six Cornell M.F.A. poetry students will read “New York’s Big Picture: Assessing New York’s a few of the objectives receiving funding Science and Technology Studies from their work April 27 from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Position in Film, Television and Commercial this year from Cornell’s intercampus col- “Forging Hybrid Bodies: Traditional Medicine in a as part of “Poem in Your Pocket Day,” a day- Production,” April 27, time TBA, 16 E. 34th St. laboration seed grant program. long celebration of poetry in Bryant Park. The For information, contact Opal Bablington at Tanzanian Hospital,” Stacey Langwick, anthropol- Eight research teams from Cornell’s ogy, April 30, 4:30 p.m., 374 Rockefeller Hall. fi fth annual event celebrates National Poetry (212) 340-2866 or
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� “On the Job” in CIVR � Taking up the cause of caring � About the High Deductible Health Plan � Job opportunities orkatL CoIFrnEell WWW.OHR.CORNELL.EDU W OCTOBER 19, 2006 On the Job What’s it like to run the information center? As the assistant director of CIVR, I supervise approximately 70 student staff members who host campus tours, answer the 254-INFO line and provide walk-in service to visitors in the Day Hall lobby. We also provide special tours of the cam- pus and partner with the Offi ce of Transportation and Mail Services in assisting visitors around the university. My job boils down to a lot of mentoring, scheduling and coordinating—something akin to a fi nely tuned ballet. I also often handle mini-emergencies while an- swering phone calls, e-mails and maintaining a strict open-door policy with the student staff. The way I look at it, my job focuses on the happiness of the student staff and the quality of the training they receive. The students focus on the visitors. When our students are not happy, they don’t per- form to the best of their ability, and our visitors pick up on this quickly. The culture at CIVR is a blend of fun, positive en- ergy and hard work in a demanding team-oriented LINDSAY FRANCE/UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY environment. Balancing friendships with good customer service is tricky, so we continually strive a campus tour backwards and then switch to an- trade for anything. I am thankful to be able to to empower each other on how to be better and swering questions on the phone, only to leave that work in an environment of young minds that are more effi cient in working with the public. Proac- post and run to a traffi c booth to hand out parking shaping the world. I fi nd it easy to get up and tive measures, professionalism and fl exibility are permits and give directions. come to work in the morning—even if my staff is key to my position as supervisor. The most rewarding part of my job is being a men- doing their best to wear me out daily! The students depend on one another and encour- tor and sounding-board for the students. I fi nd it Taiya Luce age each other to take action in some stressful challenging to balance my other responsibilities Assistant Director situations. They are already very talented when with my interactions with the students every few Of ce of Campus Information and we hire them, but it takes a special person to give minutes—but it’s the piece of the job I wouldn’t Visitor Relations (CIVR)
Taking up the cause of caring Is the High Deductible Health BY JENNIFER AUSTIN Plan right for you? Many of us are to truly foster community well-being still reeling from the and to assist students in fi nding support BY PAUL BURSIC news of the April 16 depends upon the involvement of each In my last article, dated Feb. 8, I coverage. Fami- shootings at Virginia employee. described a very interesting new tax-effi - “Our primary lies have to un- Tech. Such horrifi c Our students look to us as their cient savings program, the Health Savings goal has been to dergo an even events shatter what mentors, teachers, employers, coaches, Account (HSA), which Congress approved introduce the larger deduct- we wish to believe advocates and neighbors. Our personal a few years ago. I tried to convey my Health Savings ible, because about human nature, relationships with them give us an op- excitement over this account, which is Account with all the lawmakers let alone the relative portunity to make a difference. You may the most tax-effi cient program a taxpayer of its advantages wanted to have safety and security of already know how to offer a supportive can use to save money for retirement and while minimizing all participants the college environ- Austin word, an empathetic ear or a box of tis- have the funds needed to cover medical face the high ment. Such news can sues. You may already be able to identify expenses. the harsher parts deductible in also cause us to constrict inside, distanc- when something “doesn’t seem right” I mentioned at the time that the down- of the Congres- order to access ing ourselves from those we don’t know with a student and be willing to make a side of this program was deliberately sionally man- the HSA. Of or have no reason to trust. However, referral on his or her behalf. If you aren’t constructed by Congress when it ap- dated HDHP.” course, the reaching past our fear and doubt to help sure of what signs to look for or what proved HSAs: The use of HSAs would be -Paul Bursic high-deduct- another is vital to preserving our strength to do when you see them, training and restricted to people who signed up for a ible feature as a community. resources are available to help. high-deductible health plan (HDHP) that postpones health plan payments until the As employees, we were already well Gannett’s mental health promotion meets certain criteria. This is a downside deductible is satisfi ed. acquainted with the prevalence of stress, coordinator works with several multi- because participants in a HDHP must pay Fortunately, preventive care has been depression and suicide on college cam- disciplinary teams (comprising counsel- more to use their health-care plan than removed from the deductible operation in puses. (A popular Web site called Halfo- ors, advisers, student services staff and participants in the more prevalent types the HDHP. The participant can still visit a fUs.com was created explicitly to respond faculty) to educate Cornell employees of plans. primary-care physician for preventive and to the fact that nearly half of all college about becoming the “eyes and ears” of the High-deductible health plans operate health maintenance treatment, including students report having been so depressed campus support network. Presentations very similarly to Cornell’s HealthNow the use of a narrow group of prescription at some point in their college years that at department meetings emphasize the and Aetna Preferred Provider Organiza- drugs deemed preventive by governmen- it was diffi cult to function.) We know critical role of faculty members in noticing tion (PPO) plans for endowed employees. tal regulation. Patients must pay the cost Cornell students face signifi cant struggles early warning signs of distress and link- There are a few signifi cant differences, of all other treatment until they reach and stressors. Such campus groups as the ing students with appropriate services. however, between the Congressional the deductible limit in the plan. Then the university’s Council on Mental Health More in-depth training is available for version of the HDHP and Cornell’s PPO plan may resume a cost-sharing mecha- and Welfare help guide Cornell’s response student support staff who work directly plans. nism such as 90/10 percent co-insurance to the data regarding mental health. with students to give them fi rst-hand As the name suggests, the Congressio- for in-network care, whereby the patient While its efforts can help identify areas experience and expertise in talking with nal plan calls for a very high deductible, would pay 10 percent of the covered cost for change or improvement, the ability Continued on next page $1,200 or more each year, for individual Continued on next page 14 April 26, 2007 Cornell Chronicle
Cause of caring continued from previous page Tips for how to help strengthen our Health plan continued from previous page community students and identifying resources or solutions. incurred, and the plan Gannett counselors in Counseling and Psychological • Bookmark Gannett’s “Assisting Student in Distress” would pay the rest. Services (CAPS) provide services for students in need pages located at
registration is strongly encouraged. Check the The Dance of Anger: It Shouldn’t Be About Windows Desktop Security – May 1-2; 8:30 Arnot Forest website for last-minute updates. Winning or Losing (Part 1) - May 1; 2:00 - 3:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. each day; 120 Maple Ave., room What’s New 150; seats available; register asap; $580 To register for programs, call (607)535-7161. p.m.; 163 Day Hall; Instructor; Jim Morris, www.ohr.cornell.edu MSW, LCSW, clinician and workplace consul- Word- Working with Styles and Templates Cornell University’s Arnot Forest is located on tant, EAP; no charge Schuyler County Route 13. For directions and a – May 1; 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.; B04 CCC Bldg; Spotlight On . . . map visit
Job Opportunities at Cornell For full listings, visit: www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs
staple guns, postage machines, packag- Exempt; 04-23-2007; Univ Financial General Application Information ing equipment/supplies, x-acto knives, Systems etc. This position is in frequent contact Business Analyst — Kuali Research Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University is a bold, innovative and inclusive teaching and research university of aca- with coworkers in other CUP Services demic distinction, where staff, faculty, and students alike are challenged to be active citizens of the world. Administration (06810); Prog/Ana- departments and management (to dis- lyst Spec; Level G; Exempt; 04-17-2007; Cornell University is an equal opportunity/affi rmative action educator and employer. Positions below have been post- cuss assignment status, courier logistics, CIT Business Info Systems; 2-Year Term ed within the past week. These listings are only announcements of open positions; they are not complete descriptions etc.) CU employees in other departments Appointment of jobs and their responsibilities. Detailed descriptions are normally provided by the department, if you are contacted (Campus Store, Day Hall, etc.); represen- for an interview. For those who do not have easy access to a computer, computers are accessible at various locations tatives at the USPS, other transportation across campus, local employment agencies, area libraries and the Recruitment and Employment Center. Library/Museum companies, and suppliers. The Library/Museum job family includes If you have questions about employment or temporary opportunities at Cornell, please contact Cornell’s Recruitment Qualifi cations: High School diploma roles that may provide reference ser- and Employment Center at (607) 254-8370; TTY (607) 255-4943; 337 Pine Tree Rd., East Hill Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14850; with very good reading comprehension e-mail
Offi ce of Human Resources Drug-Free Workplace Campus Security Programs Report Cornell University WorkLife at Cornell The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure Online: www.ohr.cornell.edu 130 Day Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853 requires Cornell, as a federal contrac- of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Editor: Nancy Doolittle,
Inspired by a Navajo prayer, an art exhibit of American Indian hunting, ritual and tradition
new exhibition of works by American Indian to American history. In many cases, this new generation artists juxtaposes traditional motifs and con- of artists has familial ties to older practitioners, and the A temporary concerns, and highlights the familial exhibition underscores this artistic inheritance by pair- connections between generations of artists. ing works by mother and daughter, father and son, uncle “Walk in Beauty: Discovering American Indian Art,” and nephew. on display at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum hosted a through July 8, features more than 40 paintings, works lecture April 24, “Remix: New Modernities in a Post In- on paper and sculptures dating from 1929 to 2001, all dian World,” by Delaware Indian artist and beadworker drawn from the collection of Malcolm Whyte ’55 and Joe Baker, curator of fi ne art at the Heard Museum of Karen Whyte. Artists from across North America are Native Cultures and Art in Phoenix. represented, with most coming from Hopi, Navajo, Co- “The arts and cultural practices of societies are a chiti, Taos and other Southwestern tribal heritages. powerful force, holding within their expression an Taking its title from a traditional Navajo prayer, the inherent potential for change,” Baker says. “The arts can exhibition illustrates the truly liberate the impulses within spread of “traditional existing structures and bring new ALL WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION OF KAREN AND MALCOLM WHYTE, CLASS style” American Indian patterns into the world that sup- OF 1955/JULIE MAGURA/JOHNSON painting in the 1920s and port connection, engagement and MUSEUM/PROVIDED 1930s by artists trained sustainability.” in Dorothy Dunn’s studio Johnson Museum curator An- at the American Indian drew Weislogel will give a free School in Santa Fe, N.M. tour of the exhibition today, These works depict hunt- April 26, at noon as part of ing scenes and other as- the museum’s “Art for pects of Indian ritual and Lunch” series. tradition, and draw on For more infor- stylistic motifs reproduced mation, call 607 for centuries on textiles 255-6464 or visit and pottery.