Statements Prod

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Welcome message from President Pollack

    Aug. 22, 2022 Dear Cornellians, Welcome to the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year, and to all of our new students, faculty, and staff on all of our campuses, welcome to Cornell! Despite the turbulent times we’ve all been living through, Cornellians are continuing, in so many ways, to demonstrate tremendous creativity and tenacity in…

  • Welcome message from President Pollack

    Aug. 22, 2022 Dear Cornellians, Welcome to the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year, and to all of our new students, faculty, and staff on all of our campuses, welcome to Cornell! Despite the turbulent times we’ve all been living through, Cornellians are continuing, in so many ways, to demonstrate tremendous creativity and tenacity in…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on the death of Yiannis Stathopoulos ’24

    July 8, 2022 I write today to share the sad news that Yiannis Stathopoulos ’24, a third-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student in the College of Veterinary Medicine, died earlier this week while at home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Yiannis was deeply interested in wildlife and exotic animal medicine. He received an associate degree in veterinary…

  • Today’s Supreme Court decision

    June 24, 2022 Dear Cornell community, As an academic medical institution, Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to providing the most compassionate, highest quality of care to all our patients. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization is deeply disappointing, as I believe it potentially undercuts the ability of doctors to provide…

  • Statement from President Pollack regarding the shooting in Buffalo

    May 15, 2022 Like many of you I was horrified by yesterday’s shooting by a white supremacist in Buffalo. It is tragic that shootings and acts of violence in our nation and around the world occur so often that issuing a statement in response to each would feel empty. But this shooting was practically in…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on death of Daniela Lee ’22

    April 20, 2022 It is with great sadness that I share that Daniela Lee ’22, a senior from Pinetop, Arizona, died last evening. A communication major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Daniela had a deep love of reading and wanted to introduce more readers to classic literature. Daniela worked with the Native…

  • Increase in COVID-19 cases on campus

    March 23, 2022 Dear Ithaca campus community, COVID-19 cases on the Ithaca campus are increasing beyond our predictions, indicating a substantial prevalence of the virus on campus. This rising transmission is likely due to a number of factors, including relaxing mask requirements, the emergence of the BA.2 variant, and increased social activities. While the health…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on death of Lisa Ngunda ’24

    March 14, 2022 I am saddened to share the news that Lisa Ngunda ’24, a sophomore in the College of Human Ecology, passed away over the weekend. Lisa was born in Tanzania, and as a young child moved with her family to Massachusetts. She had a deep interest in health and medicine and volunteered at…

  • Statement from President Martha E. Pollack regarding the war in Ukraine

    March 2, 2022 Over the last week, the world has watched Russia’s deplorable and unprovoked invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine, an attack that is both devastating for the people of Ukraine and has deeply impacted countless others, including members of our own community. My heart goes out to each of them. We have…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on the death of John “Jack” Robinson ’22

    Feb. 8, 2022 It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that John “Jack” Robinson ’22 died at home on February 2 after a long battle with cancer. Jack was majoring in economics and government in the College of Arts and Sciences. He grew up in Milton, MA, where he developed a…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on death of Benjamin Daus ’25

    Feb. 2, 2022 It is with deep sadness that I share that Benjamin Daus ’25, a first-year student from Flemington, New Jersey, died from a hiking accident while on vacation during the winter break. Benjamin was a student in the College of Arts and Sciences who had an interest in biology and was an avid…

  • Start of the semester plans

    Feb. 1, 2022 On-campus isolation protocols have been updated. Find out more on the Cornell Health website. January 6, 2022 Dear Cornell students and families, As we prepare for the start of the spring semester, we have been focusing on two important goals: protecting the health of our campus and the surrounding community and ensuring…

  • Start of the semester plans

    January 6, 2022 Dear Cornell faculty and staff, As we prepare for the start of the spring semester, we have been focusing on two important goals: protecting the health of our campus and the surrounding community and ensuring that our students have the best possible residential educational experience. And, as has been the case since…

  • COVID-19 Update: Moving to alert level red, changes to exams

    Dec. 14, 2021 Dear Ithaca campus community, Since our Saturday message, our surveillance testing has continued to identify the rapid spread of COVID-19 among our student population. While faculty and staff case numbers currently remain low, just last evening our COVID-19 testing lab team identified evidence of the highly contagious Omicron variant in a significant…

  • Vice President Lombardi offers condolences on the death of Tara Atluri ’24

    December 6, 2021 It is with profound sadness that I share the news that Tara Atluri ’24, a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was found unresponsive in her off-campus apartment earlier today and was later pronounced dead at Cayuga Medical Center. Tara had a deep love for plants and nature. While…

  • 2021 Cornell Survey of Sexual Assault and Related Misconduct

    Nov. 29, 2021 Dear Cornell Community, Cornell conducts a survey every two years, in accordance with New York state law, to measure students’ knowledge of the university’s policies, procedures and resources, as well as their experiences related to sexual assault, sexual and gender-based harassment, stalking, and dating and domestic violence while attending Cornell. Today we…

  • Reflecting on our stressful last few days

    Nov. 9, 2021 Dear Cornellians, For all of us here on campus, it’s been a difficult, frightening few days. Sunday’s bomb scare, followed, just two days later, by today’s shelter-in-place while a gunman was being pursued near North Campus, would have been stressful enough in ordinary times. As it is, they add still further to…

  • Reflecting on our stressful last few days

    Nov. 9, 2021 Dear Cornellians, For all of us here on campus, it’s been a difficult, frightening few days. Sunday’s bomb scare, followed, just two days later, by today’s shelter-in-place while a gunman was being pursued near North Campus, would have been stressful enough in ordinary times. As it is, they add still further to…

  • Nov. 9 prelims postponed; update on North Campus shelter in place

    November 9, 2021 Dear Cornell Community, Local law enforcement is continuing the search for a gunman traveling on foot in the Village of Cayuga Heights, just north of the Ithaca campus. All individuals within a one-mile radius of the last known location of the gunman should continue to shelter in place. This includes the following…

  • Supporting students’ well-being

    Nov. 8, 2021 Dear Colleagues, We drafted this note late last week to send out this morning. In light of yesterday’s campus scare, we feel the suggestions in this message are particularly salient. We encourage any flexibility you can offer in the near term for those students that may still be reeling from the central…

  • Campus threats deemed not credible

    Nov. 7, 2021 Dear Cornell Community, Just before 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Tompkins County 911 received an anonymous call from an individual claiming to be in one of our academic buildings with automatic weapons, and that explosives had been placed in several other academic buildings. Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) immediately began investigating and issuing…

  • Updates from across Cornell

    November 1, 2021 Dear Cornellians, Over the past year and a half, despite the energy and attention necessarily directed toward the pandemic, Cornell has continued to move forward in our mission of teaching, research, and engagement. As we settle into the Ithaca autumn, I am writing to share some updates from across our remarkable community.…

  • A historic gift from Peter and Stephanie Nolan

    Sept. 17, 2021 Dear Cornell Community, I’m delighted to announce that the School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business has received a historic $50 million gift from alumni Peter J. Nolan ’80, MBA ’82, and Stephanie Nolan ’84. In recognition of the Nolans’ legacy of commitment and support, the school…

  • Modifications to Homecoming weekend activities

    Sept. 10, 2021 Dear Cornellians, Homecoming is a time-honored tradition for all universities and provides a moment in time for our campus, alumni and local communities to come together and celebrate. Many of us had been looking forward to in-person Homecoming activities this year, but given the continued course of the pandemic, the university has…

  • Guiding principles will help us navigate ‘new normal’

    September 2, 2021 Dear Cornellians, Last week, I sent you a message sharing two lessons we’ve learned at Cornell from our experiences in this pandemic so far, which would continue to guide us in the year ahead. One was to respect knowledge: making our decisions based on science, ready to change course when the evidence…

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