Cornell’s Presidential Search Committee released the University’s opportunity statement yesterday, outlining the “challenges and opportunities” that await Cornell’s next president.
The statement is based on input from students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The 24-page document, entitled “The Cornell Opportunity,” outlines Cornell’s “strengths and prospects, providing details of its faculty, research accomplishments, staff, students and initiatives. It also details the personal qualifications and experience that the successful candidate must possess,” according to a Cornell News Service press release.
The statement names six “key areas” in which the new president must be proficient, including strong leadership skills, extensive academic administration background, successful fundraising experience, managerial skills related to the operation of a large educational institution, political skills and entrepreneurial experience.
It also outlines “priorities and challenges” including the capital campaign, alumni giving, competition for research funding, faculty development and recruitment, research support, teaching, admissions, the undergraduate living and learning environment, diversity and sustainability.
“The next president of Cornell University will inherit a healthy, vibrant institution with a unique history and identity,” begins a message at the beginning of the document from Diana Daniels ’71, chair of the Search Committee and vice-chair of the Board of Trustees.
The message concludes, “Our next president has the opportunity to lead us to our goal of making Cornell the finest research university and provider of undergraduate education in the world.”
The full opportunity statement can be found at www.cornell.edu/presidentsearch .
Archived article by Sun Staff