The University announced the creation of the Office for Undergraduate Research. 

Although some supporters of Milstein Hall argued that the building was necessary for maintaining full accreditation for AAP’s master’s degree program, the college’s danger of actually losing its accreditation appears to have been rather small.  

The Student Assembly spent a majority of its meeting yesterday being briefed on and discussing two existing University-wide initiatives — the Climate Action Plan and Cornell’s preparations for reaccreditation. Towards the end of the meeting, two representatives introduced a new resolution about the renewed efforts to extend some S.A. voting rights to the student body at-large, but there was not sufficient time for the Assembly to discuss or take any action on the matter.

Cornell is beginning the work required to keep its accreditation. Every 10 years, the University must complete a self-study that proves Cornell is meeting the requirements for accreditation. The next study is due in the Fall of 2010. The stakes are high — accreditation is required for students to receive federal financial aid and for graduates of some programs, like the architecture school, to receive a license.

The self-study is a huge, two-year long process. It must prove to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which awards accreditation to Cornell, that the University meets the commission’s 14 accreditation requirements.

In the arena of American political discourse, almost every area of life, ranging from religious convictions to familial relations, is subject to attack and satire. This past week, those attacks have hit Cornell particularly hard, as Ann Coulter ’84, right-wing political pundit, mocked the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on her website.

In a blog post last Wednesday, Coulter, who attended the College of Arts and Sciences, questioned the educational background of Keith Olbermann ’79, one of her left-wing counterparts, who attended the agriculture college.