academia

Tenure: How Cornell Prepares the Next Generation of Academics

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“I think Cornell understands that permanent tenured faculty are healthier for the institution, and provide a better classroom experience that ultimately results in better student learning outcomes,” said Professor Adam Smith, archaeology.

Columns

SPARACIO | On Professors and Petitions: We The Students?  

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When a student petition successfully led to the firing of a New York University chemistry professor, there were mixed responses amongst students, educators and administrators. An incident like this, where students held enough power to demand such a change, would not have happened 50 years ago. While there are many similarities between being a student today and being a student in the past — the same struggles of fitting in, first relationships, difficult academics and so on exist — there are also significant differences. The time that we live in dictates what it means to be a college student. 

Columns

POGGI | I Wish I Knew my Professors Better

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Cornell’s student-instructor culture is vastly different, however, especially in the large departments and STEM classes. With the large (and growing) student population, there just aren’t enough faculty to facilitate meaningful relationships in classes unless the subject is niche and the class is small. Moreover, while Ithaca isn’t New York City, the city is large enough that there isn’t the small-town phenomenon of bumping into professors out and about.