Thank you for participating in the Cornell All Call. President Brand and Dean Dieker appreciated the opportunity to connect with so many Cornellians throughout the world.

Download the 2019 Cornell All-Call Transcript

Available audio clips (click on the title to hear President Brand and Dean Dieker's responses):

Introduction

President Brand opens the Cornell All Call on Apr. 24, 2019 with thoughts for Cornell alumni.

Enrollment Trends

Carl Zulke '58 "How is the trend the last three to five years as far as enrollment going at Cornell?"

Well-being Network

Doug Michaels '64 "I read with great interest though, the White Paper that was written by you, Jonathan, and John Harp regarding the behavioral issues on campus and how specifically Cornell was addressing them with developing the Cornell Well-being Network. I was interested in how that's playing out now that you have two new staff members, that you're… and doing different programs and specifically, also, how the drug and alcohol issues that are a rise on campus are being dealt with. I noticed you've mentioned several mental health issues in the white paper, but not the drug and alcohol, and familiar with all college campuses and knowing how that exists everywhere. Specifically, what are you all, how are you all moving towards a correction that are remediating, are being proactive about the whole situation?"

Tuition Affordability

Dorothy Carmichael `18 "I was just thinking, because I know that I have younger siblings who are thinking about attending Cornell, and I'm certain other people do too. I'm wondering what steps are being taken to make sure that tuition remains affordable for new students."

Endowment Information

Scott Ririe '79 "I had the privilege of spending some time with Jonathan down in Florida, and he talked about a couple of things that really sparked my interest and, really, I didn't understand about what was happening with small colleges and colleges in general. That was, one of them was the endowment, which is very important, and I would like him to address that with Cornell and how we field against other schools in the nation, and then expand the student draw, because it sounds like, to me, and I keep reading more information about how these colleges that draw from a small radius of kids are in dire need of financial support, or they're going to shut down. Dr. Brand, if you could address that?"

Community College Partnership

Donna Nicholson '57 "My question is, that we had understood that the college had established a relationship with a community college or another institution that was providing some students from Cornell. Is that accurate, or what is happening?"

Diversity and Confidence

John Gilliland '89 "was curious about the amount of healthy debate and civil discourse across the political spectrum on campuses and was just curious about steps that Cornell is taking to ensure all viewpoints are represented, and maybe you could address that." Cornell All Call Apr. 24, 2019

Employment Outcomes

Elizabeth Harms '66 "Is the success of the Cornell program being modeled in other academic institutions? How unique is Cornell's program? Does the One Course At A Time curriculum enhance the success or effectiveness of this Berry Career Institute program versus, say, something more traditional?"

Residence Halls

Steve Commers '92 "My question is, is going into the future, how are we doing with our dormitories? Are they going to need to build another dormitory or refurbish the current dormitories that we now have on campus?"

Liberal Arts in the 21st century

David Bristol '66 "I'm a '66 graduate of Cornell and is, was obviously and still is considered a liberal arts school. Given the tremendous pressure that liberal arts colleges nationwide are under, given the rise of tuitions and the need for a payoff in terms of career, how is it that Cornell is now defining under that pressure, now defining what it means to be a liberal arts school and a liberal arts education?"

Specialty Programs

Lars Clutterham '70 "In light of these long-term trends, what's the future of specialty programs such as music and other arts majors?"

UMC Relationship Update

Mark Weston '74 "My question is just simple. When I attended Cornell in the early '70s, there was a relationship between the Methodist Church and Cornell, and I'm just wondering, what's the status of that relationship nowadays?"

Student/Faculty Research

Brett Janis '14 "I got a lot of the Block program for skills training but I was wondering how the Block program currently facilitates student-driven research, how it might… how you might be considering ways to improve that if you want to. Lastly, what kinds of resources there are to get the young researches in contact or aware of different fellowship opportunities like the National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellowship?"

Recruiting Diversity

Elizabeth Wagner '94 "I'd like to applaud you for your steps to address mental health on campus but you've spoken a bit about the minority population and I got a Cornell Report a while ago, and it had several members of minorities on the cover. I was speaking with a current student and said, "I was really excited that there were more minorities at Cornell," and she expressed to me that that wasn't really the case. I just wondered, has it risen? I went in '94 but is it current with today's population growth?"

Master of Fine Arts - Creative Writing

Jon Lumanog '96 "My real question though, I just wanted to say those first time caller and long-time listener, but tell us about the Master Fine Arts program. I kind of heard rumblings about that on the campus. That seems like an exciting initiative for the college to head in, and so I'd love to hear your answer."

The Block Plan

David Harsh '61 "Looking toward the future, is the program of One Course At A Time advantageous to the future of Cornell?"

Alumni Impact

Roger Harrison (Cathy Harrison '63) "Cathy and I are wondering, is to what extent is Cornell College focusing on encouraging alumni to pay it forward like we have done in an endowed scholarship name for Kathryn Bohstedt Harrison. We have decided to do this now so we could see the impact on Cornell's College now. Am I to add that Cornell must… I didn't go to Cornell. Cathy did but Cornell must have many doctors, lawyers and other professionals. You are capable of doing this and it would be nice to see the endowment grow based on what the capabilities are of current Cornell alumni."

Outro Comments

President Jonathan Brand shared some parting thoughts at the Cornell All Call on Apr. 24, 2019.