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February 2012




Returning to the college town

A gem of a little poem that I stumbled upon by E.B. White '21:

Returning to the college town
And sitting in the room,
I saw the neatly folded hills,
I heard the blessing of the bells;
And looking south and west
Watching the light that crowned the hills,
I waited to be blessed."

Apparently it is the first stanza of a larger piece entitled "Incident on a Campus." If anybody has the full text they can post, it would be greatly appreciated.


Matthew Nagowski | February 29, 2012 (#)

Over 40 Students Benefited From Ivy Match Program

Late last summer, Cornell announced a financial aid program whereby it would match any competing offer from the other Ivies, Duke, Stanford, and MIT. As MetaEzra commented at the time, it was essentially a ploy to land more hotly contested recruited athletes.

Eighteen months later, we now know that roughly 1 in every 100 students in the Class of 2015 took advantage of the financial aid match program. As reported in a meeting of the University faculty, 12 non-athletes, and slightly more than 30 recruited athletes are benefiting from this quasi-merit based financial aid scheme. And anecdotal reports from various varsity coaches indicate that the money has been integral to cementing strong recruiting classes.

Of course, that doesn't mean that only 40 some-odd Cornell students chose Cornell over other Ivies. There are certainly some students that did not receive financial aid that were accepted at those schools as well. And then there are those students who, for whatever reason, may not have taken advantage of the program.

Although perhaps their candidacy to Cornell should be reconsidered based on that fact.


Matthew Nagowski | February 28, 2012 (#)

Cornell's Solution for Trailing Spouses

It’s a classic problem for businesses in small communities: how does the business compete with firms in larger markets to recruit top talent? If I were a professor, why would I move to Ithaca when I could secure a job at a university in or near a major city?

One of Cornell’s chief priorities leading up to the sesquicentennial is faculty recruitment. A university is only as strong as its teachers, but while Cornell has a reputation for research, its location is a major deterrent in attracting preeminent professors. Further compounding the problem is the fact that professors’ spouses often need Ithaca employment and there are few, if any, major corporations in Ithaca outside of education. In fact, Dean of the University Faculty William Fry has gone on the record as saying prospective faculty members will only accept positions if their partners can find an appropriate job nearby. Non-academic spouses may view an Ithaca move as a step back or a pause in their own career goals.

Cornell recognizes this challenge to their recruitment efforts and have, according to a recent article in the Daily Sun, begun to prioritize spousal employment. Under the Dual Career Program, the University works within its own departments and with Ithaca businesses to find rewarding careers for the so-called trailing spouses. Ithaca businesses benefit from the influx of talent, but the truth is that there are not enough jobs for all the potential spouses seeking employment as part of the faculty renewal initiative. As we get closer to 2015, it will be interesting to see the role the issue of trailing spouses has played in meeting recruitment targets.

Speaking of faculty recruitment, check out a creative recruitment ad from Cornell:

CornellRecruitmentAdSample.jpg


Kyle Scott | February 23, 2012 (#)


Other Recent Posts


-- WSJ: Cornell Wins NYC Tech Campus Bid (EBilmes)

-- Barrier Update: City Approves Nets (DJost)

-- Big Red Cymbal Guy (Nagowski)

-- New York Times Survey on Campus Recruiting is Flawed (KScott)

-- Barrier Update: Legal precedent suggests City of Ithaca will not be held liable for gorge suicide (DJost)

-- Despite MSG Loss, Big Potential for Big Red Hockey (EBilmes)

-- City Council Will Vote on Suicide Nets (DJost)

-- An Encounter on the Upper East Side (Nagowski)

-- Showing Off Your School Spirit (Nagowski)

-- Chipotle Ithaca? (KScott)

-- Cornell at the ING NYC Marathon (KScott)

-- Crossing Over a Fine Line: Commercial Activity on Campus (KScott)

-- Milstein's Downfall (Nagowski)

-- Can any Cornell-associated organization really be independent of the University? (Nagowski)

-- Slope Media Revisited (EBilmes)

-- Slope Media Group Approved for Byline Funding (KScott)

-- Occupy AEM? (KScott)

-- New campus pub to be good for both Greeks and non-Greeks (Nagowski)

-- Gagging the Election (Nagowski)

-- The Changing Structure of Rush Week (Nagowski)

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-- Welcome to the Class of 2015 (Nagowski)