THIS IS CORNELL UNIVERSITY CORNELL UNIVERSITY Realizing a Bold Dream In the mid 1800s, two New York state senators, Ezra Cornell and Cornell hallmarks, Andrew Dickson White, shared the bold dream of founding a “truly as is attention to great university.” Cornell, a plain-spoken inventor, wanted “an institu- undergraduate General Information General tion where any person can fi nd instruction in any study,” including the education. The mechanical arts and agriculture. White, a scholarly graduate of Oxford university’s 2,200 and Yale, yearned to establish a university where “truth shall be taught faculty members for truth’s sake” in the arts and sciences. Together they created a nonsec- are active teachers tarian university that was the fi rst in the eastern United States to admit as well as research- women and that pioneered the concept of elective courses. Their egali- ers—Nobel laure- tarian vision and in- ates often novative ideas, which conduct in- set Cornell apart at “I would found an institution troductory Coaches and Staff Coaches its opening in 1868, courses— continue to guide the where any person can fi nd and the lines university today. of traditional Cornell includes 13 col- instruction in any study.” disciplines are leges and schools. On the easily crossed. Ithaca campus are the seven EZRA CORNELL Engineering stu- undergraduate units—the dents dabble in College of Agriculture and Life photography; the- Sciences; the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; the College of atre arts students explore the world of computers; physics majors learn Meet The Big Red Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering; the School of Hotel Ad- landscape architecture. ministration; the College of Human Ecology; and the School of Industrial National Science Foundation studies on programs in research and and Labor Relations—as well as four graduate and professional units: development at U.S. universities consistently rank Cornell among the the Graduate School, the Law School, the Johnson Graduate School top 10 or 11 in total research and development expenditures, and in of Management, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. (The Weill federally fi nanced expenditures. Cornell ranks second among U.S. uni- Medical College and the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences are versities in funds allocated by the National Science Foundation in New York City.) An Ivy League university that is also the land grant for programs in academic science and engineering. institution of New York State, Cornell is a unique combination Cornell has fi ve national research centers: the of public and private divisions committed to teaching, research, Center for High Energy Synchrotron Studies, the 2007-08 Opponents and public service. Floyd R. Newman Laboratory of Nuclear Cornell’s 13,700 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate and Studies, the National Astronomy and Iono- professional students come from all 50 states and more sphere Center (which operates the world’s than 100 countries. Interdisciplinary study and research are largest radio-radar telescope, in 2006-07 In Review Records and HistoryRecords This Is Cornell 86 • www.CornellBigRed.com 2007-08 Cornell Big Red Men’s Ice Hockey Arecibo, Puerto Rico), the Cor- Information General At a research institution, scholars don’t just acquire nell Nanofabrication Facility, knowledge — they help create it. Cornell’s faculty members and the National Science and have garnered such prizes as the Nobel and the Pulitzer, not Technology Center for Com- to mention MacArthur “genius” grants and countless other puter Graphics and Scientifi c honors. Visualization. The university These same luminaries teach undergraduate classes and also has four national resource include students on their research teams. centers: the Latin American Cornell serves as a land grant institution, receiving fund- Studies Program, the East Asia ing from New York State for its colleges of Human Ecology, Program, the South Asia Pro- and Staff Coaches Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine and gram, and the Southeast Asia for its School of Industrial and Labor Relations. In return, the Program. university off ers reduced tuition to state residents in those col- Cornell University Library’s leges and helps citizens apply the research generated here to 17 Ithaca-campus units provide improve the state’s economy and the health of its people. an array of reference, informa- A network of more than 200,000 alumni around the world tion, and instructional services. supports the eff orts of current students by sponsoring in- At the southeast edge of the ternships, off ering career counseling and mentorship, and Arts Quad, Olin and Kroch providing much of the fi nancial support that maintains the libraries house the largest university’s world-class libraries, laboratories, and faculty. Meet The Big Red concentration of resources in Four thousand courses offered by nearly 100 depart- the humanities, social sciences, ments, more interdisciplinary programs than you’ll fi nd at and area studies, including any other university in the country, research opportunities extensive Asia collections, for undergraduates in nearly every fi eld, and faculty-guided and rare books, manuscripts, independent study give you the wherewithal to shape a pro- and archival materials. Mann gram that speaks to your interests and passions and grows Library, on the Ag Quad, has with you over your four years here. materials in agriculture, bi- ology, biotechnology, and CORNELL’S UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS 2007-08 Opponents related fi elds. Other libraries College of Agriculture and Life Sciences specialize in African and College of Architecture, Art, and Planning African American studies, College of Arts and Sciences engineering, entomology, College of Engineering the fi ne arts, hotel manage- School of Hotel Administration ment, industrial and labor College of Human Ecology relations, law, manage- School of Industrial and Labor Relations ment, mathematics, music, the physical sciences, and Cornell may be a cutting-edge research university, but veterinary medicine. 2006-07 In Review that doesn’t mean undergraduate education is an after- Famed for its woodlands, thought. A Cornell undergrad could spend the morning in a gorges, and waterfalls, the meeting with a professor for an independent study and the 745-acre main campus is on afternoon in large survey courses like psych 101. a hilltop overlooking Ithaca, Students here work hard. Besides attending classes, a lively city of about 30,000 there’s reading, writing, and research, not to mention situated at the southern preparing for exams. But students still fi nd time to build end of 44-mile-long Cayuga friendships, volunteer off campus, hold part-time jobs and Lake, in the Finger Lakes play sports. region of New York state. and HistoryRecords And while some stu- Campus attractions of dents spend their four special interest include years close to campus, the Johnson Museum many go farther afi eld. of Art, the Cornell Plan- They study natural me- tations, and the Cor- dicinals in South America, nell Lab of Ornithology marine biology off the and Sapsucker Woods coast of Maine, and pub- wildlife sanctuary. The lic policy in Albany, N.Y. In heart of New York state’s This Is Cornell addition to university-run wine-growing region is programs in New York less than an hour away, City, Washington, D.C., as are the Corning Glass and Rome, Italy, Cor- Center and Museum and nellians travel to sites the Watkins Glen auto around the world, polish- circuit. New York City is ing their language skills about a four-hour drive and broadening their from Ithaca. horizons. 2007-08 Cornell Big Red Men’s Ice Hockey www.CornellBigRed.com • 87 ITHACA, N.Y. Nestled in the heart of New York State’s beautiful Finger Lakes region is Tompkins County, with Ithaca at its General Information General center. Long known for the excellence of its educational and research institutions, and more recently for its multitude of scenic wonders, Coaches and Staff Coaches Ithaca is indeed, “Gorges.” • Ithaca and Tompkins County are located in the central Finger Lakes Region of New Ithaca is America’s best emerging city York State, fi ve hours from New York City, three hours from Niagara Falls, two hours - Cities Ranked & Rated - from Rochester and 4.5 hours from Philadelphia. Meet The Big Red • The 14 counties in the Finger Lakes Region cover more than 9,000 square miles, or roughly the size of New Hampshire or Vermont, and slightly larger than the state of New Jersey. • Ithaca off ers more restaurants per capita than New York City. 2007-08 Opponents • The Sagan Planet Walk, built to honor the memory of Ithaca resident and Cornell University astronomer Carl Sagan, is a true-to-scale model The beauty of Ithaca and the Cornell of our solar system. It is one of the campus is unmatched. Ithaca is host only walkable “planet walks” in the to over 150 waterfalls, all of which world. The Sciencenter, Ithaca’s lie within a 10-mile radius of down- hands-on museum and outdoor town. Tompkins County is also home to three of the six gorge parks in New science playground, is the sponsor 2006-07 In Review York state. Among the amazing sites of the Sagan Planet Walk, and is one is Taughannock Falls (above). At 215 of eight museums involved in the partnership of educational attractions feet high, Taughannock has a greater called the DISCOVERY TRAIL. Some others include the Museum of the Earth vertical drop than Niagara Falls. Be- and Cornell’s Laboratory of low, Ithaca Falls is one of the more spectacular sights, located just min- Ornithology. utes from the Cornell campus. • The downtown Ithaca Commons was named one of the New York’s top design projects of the cen- Records and HistoryRecords tury by the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects.