The Cornell University Board of Trustees met in Ithaca on Friday. The regularly-scheduled meeting was held in the Beck Center of Statler Hall. President Jeffrey S. Lehman ’77 began the meeting by calling for a memorial resolution for Professor Emeritus Hans Bethe, who passed away last week.
Lehman referred to Bethe as a “human magnet” who attracted other great minds to work with him.
“His impact on this University is impossible to capture in words,” he said.
Lehman also introduced Stephen Golding to the Board. Golding will become the first-ever Samuel W. Bodman Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration starting April 1.
Golding will take over chief financial officer duties from Harold “Hal” Craft ’61 who will retire after this year.
In concluding his opening statement to the Board, Lehman praised Cornell athletics, referring to the recent successes of men’s hockey, women’s track and wrestling.
Erica Kagan ’05, president of the S.A., followed President Lehman with an update on the S.A.
She noted the S.A.’s continued interest in legal downloading alternatives and informed the Trustees that over 10,000 users have signed up for Cornell’s Napster service.
Kagan also informed the Board of the S.A.’s intention to sponsor a “Freedom with Responsibility” speaker series. According to Kagan, Ken Paulson, editor of USA Today, has agreed to come to the Hill, and Hillary Clinton has expressed interest.
Brian Holmes grad, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly spoke after Kagan.
Holmes, who is also a columnist for The Sun, said that graduate students have made increasing strides in engaging University officials. He noted that since graduate students voted on the issue of unionization three years ago, they have shown genuine interest in “talking with as opposed to talking at University officials.”
At the conclusion of Holmes’ speech the Board gave approval to construction projects for Mann Library, the Waste Management Facility at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Martha Van Rensselaer North Wing demolition.
There was no debate and concluding the vote the Board closed its meeting to the public.
The Board will meet again in Ithaca on May 27-28 in conjunction with commencement.
Archived article by Michael Margolis
Sun Senior Writer