COVER STORY INTRODUCTION
In October 2008, Cornell faced a new economic reality. The Great Recession was upon us, and we at Cornell were facing a significant budget shortfall. If we did nothing, we realized the Ithaca campus would be facing an untenable annual deficit of $215 million.
Provost Kent Fuchs chats with student members of the Cornell Computer Reuse Association on Ho Plaza during Earth Day events April 22. See larger image
From those difficult days has emerged planning that provides an overarching aspiration for a pre-eminent university. Our vision is for a Cornell that will be more administratively efficient and academically excellent. Overall, we call this program "Reimagining Cornell."
The first part we considered was an administrative reorganization. We brought in a leading management consultant to help us develop a plan to achieve annual savings of at least $90 million. Many of these savings will come from changes in procurement and the way that information technology, facilities and support activities function. We also examined the academic nexus of Cornell by creating task forces to recommend ways to make Cornell more focused as an institution. We'll act on many of those recommendations this year. Others will be implemented through next year. Still others will require multiple years of work and decision-making.
The reorganization and the task forces are not only about saving dollars. They are also about ideas for the organization of the university in 2015, the year of our sesquicentennial, and beyond. Many of these ideas have contributed to the third part of our long-term vision: a strategic plan that spells out the future of this great university. The plan is now complete and is being unveiled as you read this article.
In the following pages you will read about the strategic plan in detail.
The six student vignettes that accompany the main article illustrate the critical importance of the strategic plan to Cornell's future.
Through students' eyes you will see the lifeblood of the university -- our excellence in teaching, scholarship and engagement with society as well as our way forward for funding our ambitions. Also illustrated is the theme of diversity, both in the faculty and student bodies -- a high priority throughout the plan. As the plan emphatically observes, "the university is an influential pipeline for diversity into occupations and professions where minorities or women are underrepresented." Closely linked to this is a look at another important area addressed by the strategic plan: financial aid. Making Cornell affordable for needy students enhances our competitiveness and the overall excellence of our student body.
Finally, the vignettes illustrate our commitment to outreach, or what the plan describes as "public engagement." The strategic plan stresses that all of us on campus share in our historic land-grant mission. Cornell is committed to having a strong, positive impact on global society.
Would we have committed to this plan even without the economic downturn? Absolutely. The financial crisis did not change our aspirations, which are as high as ever. But it did awaken us to the need to focus and prioritize. Prioritization of aspirations, goals and ongoing assessment will be particularly vital in the years ahead.