Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will visit Cornell on March 2 to give the keynote speech at the annual meeting of the President’s Council of Cornell Women, which advises the University president on women’s issues.
“We are delighted to have Senator Gillibrand speak at our upcoming annual PCCW meeting on campus,” said Julie Crotty ’87, JD ’96, MBA ’96, president of the PCCW. “The theme of the meeting is Women in Politics, which we thought would be timely, given the national elections taking place this year. Senator Gillibrand fits into the theme perfectly and we are looking forward to hear her perspective.”
Rob de la Fuente, director of the Office of Volunteer Programs at Cornell, called Gillibrand a “great example” for women — and men — hoping to get into politics.
“Personally and professionally I am very honored that she is coming,” Fuente said. “It is amazing for our annual meeting to have such a high-caliber person speaking.”
Gillibrand will run for re-election in the fall, hoping to keep the seat she won in a 2010 special election. Gillibrand succeeded then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton who left office after she was appointed Secretary of State in 2009. Clinton, who visited Cornell for the 10th anniversary PCCW conference in April 2000 when she was first lady, also delivered a keynote speech on issues faced by women in politics.
“This is what PCCW is about — women reaching out and engaging in their civic communities,” de la Fuente said.
The conference will be Gillibrand’s second public appearance at Cornell; the senator sat on a panel at the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss regional economic development efforts in spring 2009.
Other past speakers at PCCW meetings include New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and business executive Sheryl WuDunn ’81.
The PCCW was founded in 1990 by then-University President Frank T. Rhodes. The organization states as its mission “[the advancement of] the involvement and leadership of women students, faculty, staff and alumnae within Cornell University.”
Original Author: Dan Temel