Though many of the “Reimagining Cornell” academic task forces released earlier this month call for major overhauls of some academic programs, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations Task Force report does not recommend any changes to its academic programs, faculty levels or students services.

As the country faces its most serious economic recession in years, the rate of young, well-educated professionals settling in Upstate New York is reaching critically low levels, creating a brain drain in the region, according to some University faculty members.

About 15 members of Cornell’s staff, faculty and students gathered in Duffield Hall yesterday afternoon to eat “Brown Bag” lunches as part of a series to facilitate dialogue about the University's strategic planning initiative, “Reimagining Cornell.”

Faculty members who had been eager to see the University’s strategic planning task force reports got their wish last Friday when Provost Kent Fuchs released the documents to the public. Most faculty members have praised the decision as a giant step towards greater transparency in the “Reimagining Cornell” process. According to the Dean of Faculty’s Office, approximately 27 people have read the reports thus far — at least 13 of whom were University faculty members.

The University announced yesterday –– just two days before members of Cornell’s Board of Trustees gather in Ithaca for their quarterly meeting –– a massive restructuring of the administration that could trim Cornell’s projected $135 million budget deficit by over $2 million annually.

As students headed home for Fall Break last Thursday night, the University boasted some good news: By centralizing the process of buying goods and services, Cornell could save up to $40 million annually. We are pleased that the administration has found the means to cut $40 million from the procurement budget, but the University must take further steps to maintain that these cuts do not affect academic spending.

The University announced last week that it plans to save an estimated $40 million annually by overhauling and centralizing the way it purchases goods and services.

“The University is at a critical juncture and if we are going to devote more of its funds to our core mission, we must agree collectively to spend less on administering the institution,” President David Skorton said in a University statement. “Streamlining and directing our procurement process is a critical step toward reducing expenditures without major impact on our core mission and minimizing the effect of the budget deficit on our employees.”

The University announced yesterday that it has plans to save $90 million through administrative streamlining. President David Skorton and Provost Kent Fuchs also unveiled at a staff “Reimagining Cornell” forum a new set of cost-cutting guidelines that would, among other things, promote University-wide savings at the expense of colleges’ autonomous decision-making.

About 75 staff members attended the presentation in Biotech G10 yesterday, which was the fourth installment in a series of forums aimed at informing the community about strategic planning initiatives. This event was the first that directly addressed the concerns of the University’s administrative staff.

Student involvement in the University-wide effort to “reimagine” Cornell has been grossly inadequate. As the administration ponders far-stretching ideas like restructuring the academic year and cutting departments, it is in everyone’s best interest to at least be informed.

We’ve certainly been quick to point out the administration’s shortcomings regarding transparency in the past; indeed, officials in Day Hall — especially those directly responsible for communication — must take an assertive stance on reaching out to students and the immediate community. Yet, this time around, the blame for a lack of open discourse falls largely upon the students themselves.

President David Skorton and Provost Kent Fuchs addressed a small coterie of students yesterday in Uris Hall, reviewing the general plan of “Reimagining Cornell” while emphasizing the instrumentality of community input in order to move the “reimagining” process forward.

“We need to think forward as a campus,” Skorton said. “We need to be responsible to see that the University has flexibility to fit the aspirations of students.”

The forum was part of a series of five discussions that allow students access to the University’s top administrators in charge of Reimagining Cornell, a broad-reaching introspective project that Skorton and others hope will change and strengthen the face of the University.