Category: Uncategorized
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Preparing for a potential government shutdown – ktm52 test
December 20, 2024 Dear Cornellians, Cornell is closely monitoring discussions in Washington, D.C., about the potential for a federal government shutdown at midnight tonight. A disruption in government functions could affect university education, research, and other operations. Please know that Cornell and federal agencies have contingency plans in place. Across all campuses, we are well…
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Kavita Bala named 17th provost of Cornell University
September 25, 2024 Dear Cornellians, I write with exciting news that Kavita Bala has been selected as Cornell’s 17th provost. She will begin her term of office on January 1, 2025. Kavita’s career at Cornell began in 1999 as a postdoctoral researcher, and she became an assistant professor of computer science in 2002 and chair…
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Actions in the wake of last week’s career fair disruption
September 23, 2024 Dear Cornellians, At the beginning of the semester we outlined the principles underlying our approach to expressive activity. That approach included full support for free expression and guidelines for addressing speech and actions that infringe on others’ rights or involve violence or damage to university property. Our approach recognizes the freedom to…
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Disruption of Career Fair
September 18, 2024 This afternoon, members of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation disrupted a Career Fair in the Statler Hotel. Cornell Police officers were pushed and shoved. Guests of the university felt threatened. And students were denied their ability to experience the Career Fair. This behavior is unacceptable, a violation of university policy, and illegal.…
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Freedom and responsibility
August 26, 2024 Dear Cornellians, Our campuses are home to tens of thousands of people with diverse lived experiences, strong convictions, and differing viewpoints. This diversity is a source of our strength but also brings with it a shared responsibility to listen to and learn from one another. As we begin the fall semester, we…
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Response to graffiti and vandalism
Aug. 26, 2024 We are appalled by the graffiti spraypainted, and glass shattered overnight along the front entrance of Day Hall. Acts of violence, extended occupation of buildings, or property damage (including graffiti) will not be tolerated and will prompt an immediate response from public safety. Cornell Police are conducting a thorough investigation, and those…
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A Cornell Welcome
August 22, 2024 Dear Cornellians, I’m delighted to welcome all of you to the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year at Cornell. Whether you are a student, faculty, or staff; new to our community, or a veteran Cornellian—I’m glad to have you with us as we embark together on a new year of teaching and…
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Faculty and staff Monday update: Cornell-UAW negotiations
Aug. 19, 2024 Dear Faculty and Staff, The University has continued to negotiate in good faith with the UAW over a new labor contract for our service and maintenance workers — negotiations that continued throughout this weekend and into last night. After the University’s Thursday offer, representing a historic increase in wages for this bargaining…
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Update on Cornell-UAW negotiations
Aug. 16, 2024 Dear Ithaca campus community, As you may know, the university and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) have been working on a new collective bargaining agreement since April 2024. The UAW represents about 1,300 of our employees across campus, including in Dining, Building Care, Facilities, CALS, CVM and the Statler Hotel. The university…
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Microsoft Windows outage
July 19, 2024 Dear Cornell Community, Cornell University is currently experiencing a large-scale technology incident, primarily affecting Microsoft Windows machines. This issue is part of a global outage caused by a problematic update from one of the nation’s largest anti-virus software providers, CrowdStrike. Overnight, the vendor stopped deployment of the update, corrected the problematic code,…
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Moving Cornell forward together
July 1, 2024 Dear colleagues, It is an honor to begin my term as Cornell’s interim president, and to have the opportunity to advance, in this new role, the work of the extraordinary university and community I am proud to call home. I have been at Cornell for 24 years: teaching students, running a laboratory,…
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External advisory committee recommendations
May 31, 2024 Last November, I laid out a series of actions that we would take to build on our commitment to combatting antisemitism and all forms of hatred at Cornell. Our comprehensive approach included rapid and forceful response to harassment or incitement to violence; a thorough review of university policies; new academic offerings and…
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Response to student referendum
May 30, 2024 Dear Patrick, Thank you for conveying to me the results of the student referendum of April 22, 2024. The ongoing situation in the Middle East is extremely distressing. The loss of so many innocent lives, starting with the horrific terrorist attacks on October 7 and continuing to today with the war in…
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Encampment Update
May 14, 2024 Dear Cornellians, Last evening, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) voluntarily took down their encampment on the Arts Quad. While I do not condone the encampment, which was in clear violation of university policies, I want to acknowledge and express gratitude that in contrast to what has taken place at some other…
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Interim provost appointment
May 13, 2024 Dear Cornell Community, In preparation for our upcoming presidential transition, I am delighted to share that John Siliciano ’75, professor of law, will serve as interim provost, effective July 1, 2024. John is deeply familiar with Cornell and brings a wealth of experience and expertise as a long-serving faculty member and administrator…
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Some news
May 9, 2024 Dear Cornellians, April 17 marked the seventh anniversary of my joining Cornell as its president. I am writing today to announce that this will be my last year in that role, and that I will retire on June 30. It is only after extensive reflection that I have determined that this is…
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A transformational leader
May 9, 2024 Dear Cornellians, As you read in President Pollack’s recent message, she has informed the Board of Trustees of her desire to retire after the conclusion of this academic year, and the Board has approved her request. President Pollack has been a transformational leader of Cornell, and her positive impact on our university…
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Statement on campus graffiti
May 3, 2024 We were appalled this morning to find graffiti spraypainted overnight in several campus buildings and outdoor locations. These acts of vandalism are not just violations of university policy but are also crimes. They are being thoroughly investigated by Cornell Police, and perpetrators will face conduct referrals and potential criminal charges. Joel M.…
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Update on campus events
April 29, 2024 Dear Cornellians: Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen turmoil at campuses across the country. Universities are grappling with the inherent tension that I have often mentioned between free expression, which includes the right to peaceful protest, and ensuring that protests do not encroach upon the rights of our students,…
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Update on unauthorized encampment on the Arts Quad
April 27, 2024 Free expression is a core value of our university, and the right to peacefully protest on our campus has a deep and respected history. However, such protests must respect the rights of others to teach, learn, and work without undue disturbance. These protests must also comply with our individual and collective responsibilities…
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Statement on unauthorized tents on Arts Quad
April 25, 2024 Free and open expression, including peaceful protest, is core to Cornell’s values. We want always to allow a diversity of voices to speak and to be heard. At the same time, it is important that such expression not infringe on the rights of others in our campus community nor pose a risk…