PUBLISHER'S LETTER
Tommy Bruce See larger image
From the publisher
A theme running through much of the work done by University Communications this year is charting the course of the student experience -- telling the Cornell story through the eyes of its students. The student experience shines throughout this issue.
For a start, our cover story is about student entrepreneurs -- both current students and young alumni -- whose Cornell experience has taught them how to think and act like true innovators, no matter what their majors and chosen fields. This strong tradition of experiential learning is a direct result of Cornell's commitment to its role as the nation's original "opportunity university."
You will also find articles in this issue about architecture, art and planning students' winter-break trip to India; about student Charlotte Jandér's ongoing research on fig wasps near the Panama Canal; and about essential services provided by the many students who are employed by Cornell University Library.
The student experience at Cornell is often about service -- to the community and to the world. Our article on Global Medical Brigades shows why the group is described by one professor as being "for pre-meds who cannot wait to eventually participate in Doctors Without Borders." These students have already made two trips to Honduras to provide medical services to hundreds of rural residents via mobile medical units and plan to travel there again this May.
Every year there are thousands of individual student "experiences" at Cornell, many the result of students' desire to affect the world around them for the better and to put their knowledge and experience to practical use.
Making a difference has become a hallmark of our university.
Thomas W. Bruce
Vice President, University Communications