Perception is reality, and the perception of many is that we have work to do to improve the campus climate for diversity at our university.

It’s great to greet all of you from my first column in The Cornell Daily Sun. In our short time in Ithaca, my wife, Robin Davisson (professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and in the Weill Medical College), and I have already begun to feel right at home. The students, faculty, staff, and the larger community have all made us feel welcome and a part of this scene. Like you, we were drawn here by the egalitarian ideal of Cornell, the distinction of the faculty and the uncommon sense of larger purpose that pervades the University’s every endeavor. It is a pleasure to be starting with the Class of 2010.

Our University is entering its 145th year. Our traditions are well-established; our missions and aspirations well understood. Yet, each year, as students graduate and others enter Cornell — as first-year or transfer students or as graduate/professional students — an important turnover occurs that makes Cornell a slightly different place than the year before or any other year. How much different depends on the attributes and dreams of the entering students and how much they want to become involved in the Cornell beyond the classroom, lab and studio. My early experience with the Class of 2013 and this year’s other new students suggests to me that we have an activist and engaged group on the Hill. Let me share some observations and a call to conversation and action.