Beneath a glass table in newly-appointed Provost Kavita Bala’s office, a small marble makes a geometric, measured journey through sand, forming mandala patterns that she treasures.
In 2007, Bala designed graphic visualizations of mandalas — much like the one on the table — with local monks and a College of Human Ecology student. At the time, Bala was an assistant professor of computer science at Cornell. While sitting down with The Sun, she reflected that the experience of working closely with a student from a different field shaped the way she thinks of her role at Cornell.
“Developing the talent of the next generation — the intellectual development, growth and the education of the next generation — to me, that is really appealing,” Bala said. “I have one life, this is what I want to do with it. I want to be here thinking about the research and the education that drives the future of all [students].”
On Jan. 1, Bala assumed her role as Cornell’s 17th provost. She is preceded by Interim President Michael Kotlikoff, Cornell’s longest-serving provost. Previously, Bala served as the first dean of the Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.
Bala described how computer science reflects her personality. When first breaking into the field, the breakdown of complex problems excited her, and she was immediately “sucked in.” Bala said she uses this same logical thinking process when solving problems in her own life.
Before becoming a dean in 2020, Bala taught at Cornell as an assistant professor of computer science in 2002. Since then, Bala said that being a professor has become “the most meaningful part of how [she thinks] of [herself].”
Along with computer science, Bala loves Indian classical dance, honey matcha lattes and playing Dungeons & Dragons with her children — who she said inform her perspective as a leader at Cornell.
“I have a better appreciation of how the student experiences [things],” Bala said. “As a parent, [I’m] wondering what are [my] kids’ futures going to look like, and [I] see that in all of the students.”
Growing up, Bala valued education “consciously,” as her parents did not attend college. She pursued her undergraduate education at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and stood alone as the only woman in her computer science class. Bala explained that this experience “toughened” her and shaped how she approaches moral decisions now.
“[I] approach things from a sense of, ‘Am I doing the right thing? Do I have the right values?’ That’s [my] moral compass that [I] use to guide [my] actions,” Bala said. “I truly believe in listening to anybody who has an opinion to share with me that’s informed, [and] I would like to listen to and hear that point of view and incorporate it into my thinking.”
People will not always agree with each other, Bala explained. As provost, she hopes to embody the practice of listening, talking and respecting each other.
At Cornell, Bala immerses herself in working with different voices and disciplines. In addition to her stint modeling mandalas with a human ecology student, she recently worked with fashion anthropologists to study global cultural erasure.
To be “tethered in the right space” while working, it is important to Bala to talk to the “practitioners” of the discipline — the people actively engaged in the work. Bala said that at Cornell, she appreciates the enriching conversations and opportunity to constantly learn.
“I go and talk to alums, and when they come back, they realize that this was a much richer place than they remember,” Bala said. “This campus is so intellectually rich. You always find something cool or new with a different lens that somebody brings to life.”
For Bala, the joy of her job is working with people who are “driven by their missions” and want everyone to succeed. According to Bala, this is “a great time to be a provost,” and she looks forward to tackling the challenges of the world’s current “lack of public trust” and concern around democracy and misinformation.
“I think Cornell has some of the best, most amazing minds of our time who can address these challenges together… [and] I’m excited about bringing together this ‘any person, any study,’ very broad university,” Bala said.