Op-Ed
A New Era Begins
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There is no doubt that our new president has made his presence felt in his first few weeks on campus. It seems like everyday either his picture, an article about his latest involvement with the Cornell community or his opinions via his monthly column appear in The Sun. And today’s is no different due to this afternoon’s inauguration of David Skorton as Cornell’s twelfth president.
The cynic might wonder if this is all just some elaborate publicity stunt lacking sincerity in the hopes of gaining our acceptance. Perhaps a week’s stay on North Campus and passing the swim test are a small price to pay for our initial approval. However, President Skorton’s enthusiasm to meet and get a better understanding of the student body and general community has been apparent since I first met him last fall. During the interview process, he often spoke of ways in which he engaged students at the University of Iowa. Yet, the question I had been waiting to have answered is how he would engage us at Cornell. He is certainly off to a good start between his efforts with underclassmen on North and the six methods he outlined in his Daily Sun column last week. In addition, this past Saturday, President Skorton and his wife Professor Davisson (admittedly exhausted after spending a week living on North) hosted an open house for graduate and professional students in the Big Red Barn. Professor Davisson, who has a joint appointment at the Vet School and the Medical College in New York, spoke of her interest in working with graduate students both inside and outside of her laboratory. Of particular interest to students may be the course “Survival Skills for a Research Career” she designed and taught at Iowa. Professor Davisson is eager to run a similar course here at Cornell, which focuses on key aspects of graduate research (like grant-writing, communication and compliance) that are not taught in traditional classes. President Skorton invited graduate and professional students to share their ideas for fostering interactions with him and the administration. While he is already planning on frequent meetings with the elected leadership, he welcomes other ideas, such as open house forums or discipline specific meetings open for all students.
Not only has President Skorton demonstrated a willingness to listen to student concerns and suggestions, but he has also already put some issues raised by students into action. As The Sun reported last week, the administration announced that Cornell will participate in a selective divestment of the University’s endowment in Sudan. President Skorton’s decision on this matter was in part due to the work of student activists.
Despite the positive influence, President Skorton has already had on Cornell’s campus, I do have one concern. Can he maintain this level of engagement with the Cornell community after his “freshman” year? President Skorton has hit the ground running by immediately immersing himself in activities at the undergraduate, graduate, faculty and administrative levels. But Cornell is about to emerge from the quiet phase of our current capital campaign, meaning that President Skorton will be thoroughly engaged in meetings with potential donors while juggling the day-to-day operations on campus. Furthermore, while I am looking forward to attending the “regular” meetings he is planning on holding with student leaders and the evening sessions open to all students, will they continue to stay regular? With a busy travel and meeting schedule, I worry that these activities will be the first to get bumped. And, how frequently is “regular”? Lastly, while I applaud his efforts to understand campus life by living with freshmen for a week on North, I think it would be great if he did the same sort of thing next year too. Except, instead of heading back to North again, he and Professor Davisson could rotate to different housing communities all over campus. As “upperclassmen” next year, they could move to West Campus to see how well the living/learning environments are working, Cascadilla to get a feel for Collegetown life or a fraternity or sorority to see what the Greek system offers. Then, the year after that, a stay in Hasbrouck or Maplewood could offer insight into graduate and professional student life. And, while President Skorton and Professor Davisson volunteered to live in the dorms last week, could this idea be extended to other administrators who work with student affairs? There could be a whole week where Day Hall administrators really live the student experience and are involved with students in more significant ways.
Today marks another new beginning for Cornell. For the twelfth time in our long history, we will formally induct a new president to guide our university. Three years ago, when President Lehman was inaugurated, he outlined a Call to Engagement that asked members of the Cornell community to respond to eight questions. He then used the responses to these questions to explore and guide the future directions of the University. While President Skorton has opted not to have a formal solicitation of ideas, he has demonstrated his willingness to engage us in meaningful dialogue on how to improve our campus and community. So, come out to the Arts Quad this afternoon to be a part of the dialogue and to officially welcome President Skorton and Professor Davisson to the Cornell family.
Doug Mitarotonda is a student-elected trustee. He can be contacted at dcm14@cornell.edu. Trustee Viewpoint appears alternate Tuesdays.