From David

The Campus Code and Shared Governance

David J. Skorton — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The University Assembly has approved a revised Code of Judicial Conduct (the “Campus Code”) as prepared by the Codes and Judicial Committee, and I wholeheartedly congratulate both of these bodies and concur with the proposed revision. This day marks the end of a long and sometimes difficult process. It is a good day for shared governance on our campus.

The revised code accommodates in a balanced way the rights of the accused, the needs of victims, and the interests of the university community. The new code upholds important principles of individual and institutional fairness and accountability. And it does so in a way that renders the code more balanced and comprehensible, and makes it more of a “Cornell Code” and less like a criminal code.

An Invitation to Engage

David J. Skorton — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

During Cornell’s spring break I had the opportunity to attend the first meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University, a new project of the William J. Clinton Foundation designed to challenge college students and institutions to take concrete steps, large or small, to address social problems wherever they occur around the world. There were more than 700 students, including two Cornell students, at the meeting, representing colleges and universities around the country, as well as numerous college and university presidents. Each came ready to make a commitment of time, money, goods or skills that would help improve a specific social, economic or other problem.

Making the Campus Code Work

David J. Skorton — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The campus is engaged in the incredibly important task of reviewing its Code of Conduct. How we proceed toward such a successful end could set an example for shared governance on campus in the years to come. While this requires the University’s leadership to promote a broad dialogue and greater transparency as well as to be willing to listen to all parties — a charge I welcome — it also places a special responsibility on campus representatives to resist the expedient in favor of what is important in the long run.

Center Stage

David J. Skorton — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

What makes a great research university? The usual answers to this question are outstanding faculty, excellent and committed staff, talented students, cutting-edge facilities and robust institutional support for scholarly activities. All of these are true, but perhaps the core characteristic of a great research university is the presence of graduate and professional education.

Much of the rhetoric surrounding higher education tends to focus on undergraduate education, including discussions of access to higher education itself, tuition, financial aid, student life and other matters.

Student Housing at Cornell: Changes and Challenges

David J. Skorton — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Students living on the West Campus this year have told me, in great detail, what it is like to be living in a construction zone. The heavy equipment, which starts operating punctually at 8 a.m., ensures no problems waking up for an early class. But sleeping in after a late night of studying is simply not an option. Unfortunately, noise, dust and disruption are facts of current West Campus life.

Partly in response to the stress caused by the construction, we have put the West Campus project on an accelerated schedule so that it should be completed two years earlier than originally planned.

The World's Land Grant University

David J. Skorton — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Cornell is an international university, and over the next several years it is likely to become more so. Is it appropriate for our university to increase our international presence? To encourage more Cornell undergraduates to seek a study abroad experience? To welcome thousands of international students and scholars each year? Should we expend efforts and resources toward internationalization when there are so many pressing needs right here in Ithaca?

I believe that the answer to all those questions is “yes.” Universities need to engage the world to educate American students to function in a global economy, to expose them to the breadth of world cultures and to continue to address common problems in an interconnected world.

Not Whining but Wondering

David J. Skorton — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

With this column I continue a tradition begun last year of writing a monthly column for The Cornell Daily Sun. The Sun’s editorial board — led by Jonathan Lieberman ’08, Olivia Oran ’08 and David Wittenberg ’09 — has generously continued to give me freedom regarding topic choice, and they have even offered to provide suggestions for topics they believe would be of interest to Sun readers. I am honored and proud to be a part of The Sun team.

There is a new activist approach to journalism at The Sun this year and in this first From David column of 2007-08, I’d like to explore what that might mean for the newspaper that proudly proclaims on its masthead and banner “Independent since 1880,” suggesting a history of activist thought.

Looking Forward

David J. Skorton — Wed, 02 May 2007 01:02:05 -0400

I had intended this final column of the academic year to be one mainly of gratitude to my colleagues at The Cornell Daily Sun and to readers of the newspaper for permitting me this space and for the tremendously helpful feedback I received as a result of these “From David” columns. I look forward to another year of useful interchange through this column and in many other fora in 2007-08.

No Place for Violence

David J. Skorton — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:00:00 -0400

It is nearly impossible to open a newspaper without encountering evidence of violence. Whether in our own community, our state, our nation or most places throughout the world, from Iraq to Darfur, violence is the rule, not the exception. University campuses and communities tend to be places of open discourse. We generally prefer to make our arguments with words, rather than with weapons or fists. But, even at Cornell, we have had the misfortune of experiencing acts of violence or attempted violence many times. We must reject violence as a means of interacting with each other and must not accept violent acts by others, under any circumstances, no matter whom or what the target might be.

Facing Mental Health Issues: Looking Out for Each Other

David J. Skorton — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:06:10 -0500

I am concerned about the level of stress and about mental health issues that affect our campus. We have many services available to students and also to faculty and staff members, but I want to be sure that everyone on campus knows what is available and how to access the help they may need. And I want to stress how important it is that we take better care of ourselves and also look out for each other as members of a campus community.

The Internationalization of Cornell

David J. Skorton — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:40:51 -0500

I welcome all students back to Cornell, wish you a Happy New Year and a successful and fun semester. I had the great honor and privilege of starting the new year with a nine-day trip to India and learning about the superb faculty and student exchanges and scientific collaborations that characterize our more than half-century of history in India. I returned to the United States impressed with the accomplishments and courage of our Indian colleagues in facing and conquering significant challenges in areas like agriculture, health and education and more convinced than ever of the importance of internationalization to our campus.

The Spirit of the Season: Looking Outward

David J. Skorton — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 01:00:00 -0500

For many of us, the next several weeks will be a time of looking outward, of giving; a time when we might remember our friends and colleagues with special gifts. It is also a time to redouble our efforts to lighten the burdens of others in our communities and around the world, a mission which many of you pursue every day. One of the things that I’ve discovered about Cornell is that the spirit of giving extends beyond the present season. As a community as well as individually, you have lived the letter and the spirit of our land grant mission for nearly a century and a half, and reached out to help others through philanthropy and volunteerism.

Intellectual Diversity on Campus

David J. Skorton — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:19:48 -0400

Is intellectual and political balance a reasonable goal for a university campus? Should every strongly held political and intellectual view expressed publicly be countered by a carefully selected opinion from the opposite pole? Are today’s students exposed to too narrow a range of acceptable opinions that limits their true intellectual development and mocks our cherished aspiration to be a marketplace of ideas?

Student Diversity and the Campus Climate

David J. Skorton — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:00:00 -0400

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.

Let the Dialogue Begin

David J. Skorton — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:40:50 -0400

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.