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Table of Contents VOL. IV NO. 1, FALL 2011

Cornell Bear
ESSENTIALS

The Essentials

Bioengineered spinal disc implants, Tisch to lead capital campaign, Warren Hall renovation, Class of 2015 statistics, weevil exhibit at Mann and Cornell Annual Fund surpasses a long-standing goal. Read more

Masha Raskolnikov
COVER STORY

In the humanities, classrooms are the labs

The notebook on the table in front of Masha Raskolnikov holds only a few lines of text -- three points she must cover today. But what most interests her is what happens between these points, the experimental realm in the classroom where anything can happen. Read more

Symbolic graphic
COVER STORY SIDEBAR

Digital humanities thrive at Cornell

"Digital humanities" may be a hot new trend, but Cornell has been ahead of the crowd for a long time. As far back as 1998, students in the College of Arts and Sciences were turning in proto-websites on CD-ROMs as senior theses. Read more

Old photo of Carl Becker
VIEWPOINT

Carl Becker's histories and the American present

Carl Becker wrote to a future colleague in 1917, inquiring about Ithaca's climate. Cornell transformed his views and, through his writings, the thinking of many leading Americans -- but not because of the local weather. Read more

Jim Morgan and Becky Quinn Morgan
YOUR IMPACT

Jim and Becky Morgan's $10 million gift

A recent gift of $10 million from entrepreneurs and philanthropists Jim Morgan '60, MBA '63, and Becky Quinn Morgan '60 has only one stipulation: that it be used to support Cornell where it will have the most impact. Read more

Pofessors David Easley and Kevin Hallock
YOUR IMPACT

Cornell economists unite within new universitywide department

The formation of Cornell's first universitywide economics department will leverage the university's considerable strengths in the field, according to the faculty members who will lead the merged department.Read more

Boy observing birds
OUTREACH

Citizen science group builds a field of study and buoys projects across the nation

Cornell's Citizen Science Central supports a growing network of projects around the country, inviting the public to post targeted observations. Read more

Seniors Andy Arnold and Will McFall with students at St. Patrick's School in Kenya.
ATHLETICS

Big Red runners help students excel in East Africa

Assistant track and field coach Kevin Thompson, MRP '83, helps disadvantaged youth prepare for the SATs through the Ithaca-based Let's Get Ready program and helps African youth succeed through Cross World Africa (CWA). Read more

Cascadilla Gorge cleanup crew
WORTH SUPPORTING

$15 million gift supports Cornell Tradition fellows

This June, The Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the world's largest charitable foundations, announced that it would give Cornell $15 million for the financial aid costs of Cornell Tradition scholars, 75 percent of whom qualify for aid. Read more

Beth Milles rehearses an outdoor production
ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Creative space: Faculty arts projects engage through connection of research and performance

Xak Bjerken is among a number of faculty who connect their creative endeavors in the arts with collaborative research, classroom work and student participation. Read more

Battle scene from Bayeux tapestry
BOOKS

Alum's collaboration with professor results in book on medieval vengeance

Susanna Throop '00 has co-edited a book, "Vengeance in the Middle Ages: Emotion, Religion and Feud" (Ashgate Publishing), with Cornell professor of history Paul Hyams. Read more

Book covers
BOOKS

More books of interest

North country blood libel, Mettler and the "submerged state," Darwin as economic naturalist, ups and downs of magnetic levitation, and Bosteels tracks Alain Badiou. Read more

Prosost Kent Fuchs in MNew York
NEW YORK CITY

The 'technology ecosystem' of the future in NYC

Provost Kent Fuchs; Lance Collins, dean of the College of Engineering; and Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of Computing and Information Science, recently answered questions about why Cornell is the right choice for the CornellNYC Tech Campus project. Read more

Benjamin Franklin Hall (later Tjaden Hall) in the 1800s
CORNELL HISTORY

What's in a name? The stories behind the buildings and byways of Cornell

To the thousands of students and alumni who traverse campus every semester, many of the names on buildings are just that -- names. But every location tells a story. Read more

Head shots of five new faculty
NEW FACULTY

The latest talent on campus

Aaron Bodoh-Creed, Gustavo Flores-Macias, Roger Moseley, Karen Pinkus and Joerg Stoye. Read more

END NOTE

Why Cornell is right for a Big Apple tech campus

The CornellNYC Tech Campus project is a unique opportunity to accelerate Cornell's development of tech startups by creating a place for faculty, researchers, students, entrepreneurs and established firms to work more closely together on creating commercial value. Read more



From The Publisher

Tommy Bruce

Our cover story highlights a well-known fact among academics, yet one that is little understood outside academia: that teaching and research in the humanities are a tightly woven whole. Read more