c1-c4CAMnd11final 10/18/11 11:37 AM Page c1 November | December 2011 $6.00 Corne Alumni Magazine HOUSING SECTOR The MONEY TALKS challenge is to take FEDERAL the reader inside the RESERVE room. Peter Coy ’79 and Andrew Ross Sorkin ’99 on financial reporting in the post-bailout age find people. but then you the numbers, start with may You THE DOW JONES AVERAGE THE DOW bank CREDIT Bailouts MARKETS Inside: THE DEBT CEILING I used to joke Roaring that I was an Success: Ithaca newspaper Tiger’s Wife editor who was author Téa Obreht, taking classes at MFA ’08 Cornell. c1-c4CAMnd11final 10/12/11 2:42 PM Page c2 001-001CAMnd11toc 10/12/11 2:14 PM Page 1 November / December 2011 Volume 114 Number 3 In This Issue Alumni Magazine 54 Corne 2 From David Skorton Looking ahead to the 150th 4 The Big Picture Milstein unveiled 6 Correspondence Of firemen and fracking 10 Letter from Ithaca 16 Coming home 12 From the Hill A pledge: No more pledging 16 Sports Soccer stunner 19 Authors Composition book 50 22 Finger Lakes Marketplace 44 Money Talks 42 Wines of the Finger Lakes BETH SAULNIER Fox Run 2008 Blanc de Blancs 60 Classifieds & Peter Coy ’79 and Andrew Ross Sorkin ’99 are two of the nation’s top financial reporters—Coy for Bloomberg Businessweek, Sorkin for the New York Times. At CAM’s Cornellians in Business invitation, the two sat down over lunch in the Times building to discuss the state of 61 Alma Matters financial journalism in the post-bailout age, from declining circulation to the influence of social media to the fallout from the News of the World scandal. “I find that I don’t 64 Class Notes really understand something until I’ve written about it,” says Coy, “because the exer- 102 Alumni Deaths cise of writing forces you to boil and boil until you have it straight in your mind.” 104 Cornelliana 50 Cat Woman Bygone bars (and restaurants) ADRIENNE ZABLE ’11 Currents With just one novel under her belt, Téa Obreht, MFA ’08, has become a literary dar- ling. The New Yorker named her one of the top twenty fiction writers under forty, and her book, The Tiger’s Wife, won Britain’s prestigious Orange Prize for female fiction High Spirits writers. Still living in Ithaca after a stint teaching in Cornell’s MFA program, Obreht 26 contemplates such topics as the perils of early success and the inspirational value of Distillery by the lake “Frasier” reruns. Galaxy Quest Shooting stars 54 Galloping Gourmets Get the Gist BETH SAULNIER Vaccines and PR Last summer—in addition to courses on topics like weather forecasting, Dickens, and Organized Labor Seventies pop culture—Cornell’s Adult University offered two sessions of the Harried Hoarding specialist Leslie Josel ’85 Gourmet. Designed by longtime University chef Dave D’Aprix, the course teaches time- CSI: Reality strapped home cooks to unshackle themselves from recipes and embrace the joys of Crime-scene forensics, no high heels culinary improvisation. A look at one crazy Gourmet day, as D’Aprix helps seventeen students prepare a smorgasbord of dishes—from seafood stew to stir fry, cookies to False Advertising kale chips. The science of “opinion spam” Plus | Website Abstract and Concrete cornellalumnimagazine.com Cover photograph: John Abbott Sculpture garden reno Cornell Alumni Magazine (ISSN 1548-8810; USPS 006-902) is published six times a year, in January, March, May, July, September, and November, by the Cornell Alumni Association, 401 East State Street, Suite 301, Ithaca, NY 14850. Subscriptions cost $30 a year. Periodical postage paid at Ithaca, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cornell Alumni Magazine, c/o Public Affairs Records, 130 East Seneca St., Suite 400, Ithaca, NY 14850-4353. November | December 2011 1 02-03CAMnd11skorton 10/12/11 2:15 PM Page 2 From David Skorton Toward Cornell’s Sesquicentennial s we prepare to transition from the Board of One significant way in which we seek to increase our public Trustees leadership of Pete Meinig ’61, BME engagement is by partnering with the city of New York to build ’62, to that of Bob Harrison ’76, we look for- a visionary applied sciences and technology campus in Manhat- ward to Cornell’s sesquicentennial in 2015. As tan. The competition is stiff, but with Cornell’s leadership in inter- AI shared with those of you who visited campus for Reunion Week- disciplinary information-age education and research, our culture end, we will maintain a sharp focus on four areas that have been of entrepreneurship, and our strong presence in and commitment important to Cornell’s historic leadership and remain critical to to New York City, we are confident that we are the right choice— our future. and that by undertaking this venture we will accelerate Cornell’s First, we have long been the prototypical opportunity univer- economic impact on our state, our nation, and our world. sity, making good on Ezra Cornell’s promise of “any person, any And fourth, we will renew our faculty within each of the basic study.” Even in the darkest academic groupings. We have made substantial days of the Great Reces- progress, hiring sixty-three new faculty members sion, we maintained our for the Ithaca campus so far in the 2011–12 aca- policy of need-blind ad- demic year. We will keep the momentum going as missions and need-based we approach the sesquicentennial, because faculty undergraduate financial renewal is absolutely crucial to Cornell’s future. We aid. Going forward, we are enhancing the faculty ranks in all areas, with a will keep Cornell within special focus on the humanities and a growing con- reach—not only for under- centration on sustainability. graduates, but also for As I’ve mentioned before, thanks to masterful graduate and professional management by Provost Kent Fuchs in Ithaca and students, and for interna- Provost for Medical Affairs Tony Gotto at Weill tional students, who, espe- Cornell Medical College, we are on track to a bal- cially as undergraduates, anced, sustainable budget with the resources to have only limited access to recruit many new faculty, stabilize our staff work- financial aid. force, and continue our commitment to need- Second, we will set the based student financial aid. We need to balance standard for globalization growth in faculty numbers and new initiatives of higher education, shar- with discipline in cost containment, to slow the ing our knowledge and rise that sooner or later must be reflected in the tapping the insights of the price of a Cornell education. Yet we must also best minds the world over. ensure that Cornell’s excellence, influence, and We have a strong record contributions are shared widely—in our local internationally, from Weill community, within New York State, nationally, Cornell Medical College and globally. in Qatar to such projects Along with good management and the sage as our leadership of inter- guidance of our trustees and overseers, it is the con- national efforts to confer tributions of our alumni, parents, and friends that durable rust resistance in ROBERT BARKER / UP have helped us weather the financial storm. Build- wheat. But the world is changing rapidly, and Cornell must ing on our success so far—with $3.4 billion already raised—and change with it. “Problems without passports,” such as climate with excitement about our sesquicentennial starting to build, we change, infectious diseases, nuclear proliferation, trade regula- are extending the university-wide campaign until December 31, tion, and many others, require international collaboration, and 2015, and increasing our goal to $4.75 billion. all of us need the skills to live and work effectively across cul- Our alumni have been extraordinarily generous over the tures and national borders. decades. With your continued help, Cornell will reach new Third, we will step up to the challenge of public engagement, heights as a world-class, comprehensive, sustainable university bringing the talents of our faculty, students, and staff, and of our with global impact, reach, and significance as we celebrate our research and outreach, to the greater society as never before. Our sesquicentennial. And the time to begin the next phase of our strategic plan includes among its goals making public engagement collective future is now. a distinctive feature of a Cornell education and strongly connect- — President David Skorton ing it to our on-campus research and educational strengths. [email protected] 2 Cornell Alumni Magazine | cornellalumnimagazine.com 02-03CAMnd11skorton 10/12/11 2:15 PM Page 3 04-05CAMnd11bigpic 10/12/11 2:16 PM Page 4 The Big Picture Box Step The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning’s long- awaited Milstein Hall opened in August. Designed by Milstein Rem Koolhaas, the 47,000-square-foot building features Construction (clockwise from top) a dramatic glass rectangle attached Time Lapse to Sibley Hall, a sweeping ground-floor entrance, and vast open studio space on the second floor. A grand opening celebration, including symposia and other events, is set for March 9 and 10. PHOTOS BY LISA BANLAKI FRANK 4 Cornell Alumni Magazine | cornellalumnimagazine.com 04-05CAMnd11bigpic 10/12/11 2:16 PM Page 5 06-09CAMnd11corresp 10/12/11 2:17 PM Page 6 Correspondence Bravos and Brickbats Firefighters, fracking, and fiscal matters grab the attention of our readers CAM, September/October 2011: it seems to me that the readers of CAM What a great issue! One of the all- would be better served if equal consider- timers. Two great pieces by Brad ation were given to both sides of an Herzog ’90—the amazing, moving important environmental question.