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The largest fund-raising campaign in Cornell history celebrated its public launch with multimillion-dollar commitments from Richard Small ’50 and John Smith ’71 on the eve of a gala homecoming party. “Extraordinary Opportunities: The Campaign for Cornell College” had secured $74 million of the $92 million goal by homecoming. The campaign began in July 2004 and is scheduled to conclude in December 2009.
Funding priorities seek to advance the distinctive features of the college’s academic program by:
• Building the endowment by $50 million for key programs, scholarships, and professorships to attract an even more talented and diverse faculty and student body.
• Raising $31 million to expand and renovate The Commons and West Science Center, and to renovate King Chapel and Pfeiffer Hall.
• Raising $11 million for the Annual Fund to support current operations and allow the college to plan confidently, to minimize increases in tuition and fees, and to support Cornell’s top priorities.
Life trustee Small and honorary alumna Norma Small—Cornell’s most generous benefactors—pledged $15.1 million for the endowment and capital projects, including renovations to Pfeiffer, The Commons, and Rood House, the former residence hall that will be repurposed and renamed the Paul K. Scott Alumni Center. Paul K. Scott ’29 was alumni director (1954–’76) and coached Cornell’s 1947 NCAA championship wrestling team. He died in 2003.
Small says the campaign will further strengthen Cornell’s aspirations to be one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. “I believe in a liberal arts education, and I believe this campaign is absolutely the best way to serve Cornell students,” he said.
Trustee Smith and his wife, Dyan, pledged $5 million for the endowment and capital projects.
“Each gift to this campaign is an investment in Cornell’s innovative approach to education, in its students and, through those students, in a more enlightened world,” Smith said.
Trustee and Campaign Chair John Smith ’71 announces the $92 million goal, the $74 million raised to date, and the $15.1 million gift from Richard and Norma Small. |
John Smith (center) applauds lead campaign donors who were present for the celebration. From left: Galen Kruger (representing the 50th reunion gift of the Class of ’57), Jim McWethy ’65 and Susan McWethy, Tom Cox ’52 and Maureen McDermott Cox ’52, Richard Small ’50 and Norma Small (behind Smith), Beth Johnson Brubaker ’61, President Les Garner, Dyan Smith, Katrina Garner, Bambi Hull Riesen ’82, Dick Brubaker ’55, Dean Riesen ’79, Jerry Ringer ’59 and Carole Ringer. |
Right: Alumni of the Pandemonium Steel Drum Band and Calypso Singers played for Homecoming Dinner and the campaign launch, inspiring a conga line that included Emily Daws Wright ’01, Katrina and President Les Garner, Alumni Director Ruth Miller, and Alumni Board President-Elect Allan Ruter ’76.
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Walt Stromer
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Stromer estate gift benefits endowments
Cornell received a gift of $475,638 from the estate of Walt Stromer, professor emeritus of speech, who is credited with encouraging the career path of his one-time student, Hall of Fame baseball announcer Harry Kalas.
"Dr. Stromer was a tremendously positive influence to me as a young man at Cornell College," said Kalas, an announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies. "In his class, I recall him encouraging me to pursue a career in broadcasting when he commented, 'with your voice, you could get a job in radio.'"
Stromer taught at Cornell from 1953 until his retirement in 1985, and then remained a fixture on campus as an avid participant in Cornell's Chautauqua program for older adults and at other lectures. He died in 2005.
"He did love Cornell, and he thought Cornell had given him an excellent opportunity because not just anybody would hire a man who was blind," said Ed Hill, professor emeritus of mathematics.
Stromer had been blinded in World War II. Vivian Stromer was the eyes of her husband, who had said she was "loving, devoted, and had the patience of an angel." She died in May 2006.
The estate gift will be applied to Cornell's endowment.
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President Les Garner, chair of NAICU
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Cornell a charter member of consumer database
Cornell is one of the original participants in a Web-based project to help prospective students and their families research and compare colleges to find the best fit for them.
The University & College Accountability Network (U-CAN) is accessible free of charge at www.ucan-network.org. Hundreds of private colleges and universities have joined the site, which provides information on admissions, academics, demographics, graduation rates, most common fields of study, accreditation, class size, tuition and fee trends, financial aid, campus safety, and more.
Cornell President Les Garner chairs the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), which coordinates U-CAN. He participated in a press conference to launch U-CAN.
"U-CAN is the result of our conversations with families, members of Congress, and the Department of Education, who all expressed a growing need to find better college consumber information," Garner said. "NAICU is at the forefront of a trend in higher education to meet this need, and ultimately to provide greater institutional transparency."
Local residents get in free
Cornell's new Purple Pass allows free admission to home athletic contests, Music Mondays concerts, and campus lectures for residents of Mount Vernon and Lisbon and families with children in either school district.
"We hope the Purple Pass will provide a very cost-effective was--particularly for families--to enjoy a variety of public events at Cornell," said John Harp, vice president for student affairs.
The Purple Pass was made available Sept. 1, and by mid-October nearly 200 community members had registered. |
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Happy 1st anniversary, Marilyn and John
Marilyn Pfeiffer Farnham Taylor '50 and John Taylor '49 are celebrating their first wedding anniversary this fall, but this isn't a story of classmates reunited ater nearly 60 years apart.
Marilyn and John and their first spouses, Wally Farnham '49 and Eleanor Folkerts Taylor '50 were college chums who kept their friendship alive via letters, holiday cards, and mutual acquaintances long after leaving the Hilltop. In 1998, Wally died. In 2005, Eleanor passed away.
"I knew Marilyn had been through all this and would understand the grief process I was going through," remembers John, a retired college administrator and Methodist minister. He called her in Champaign, Ill. from his home in Cincinnati. Not long after, John, who has a pilot's license, flew to Champaign for lunch.
"She was so understanding and helpful. She's very competent, very able. I admired so much the way she handled the business of being a single mom," he says.
Marilyn and Wally had been divorced 21 years before his death. Her two children were in high school when the couple split.
After a pleasant Saturday lunch, John prepared to fly home. The plane refused to start. With no mechanics available on a weekend, John was grounded. He found a motel, called Marilyn with a dinner invitation, and met her at the motel's restaurant where they talked well into the night.
Their correspondence continued, she visited him in Cincinnati, and "60 years of friendship since our days together at Cornell grew and blossomed into love," she says.
Their wedding Nov. 25, 2006, in Champaign was not only a family affair but a Cornell reunion. Their five children were in the wedding party. Marilyn's twin sister, Aileen Pfieffer Nichols '50, gave her away; her brother-in-law, the Rev. Frank Nichols '49, participated in the ceremony; and her three nephews, including John Nichols '79, were ushers.
The couple celebrate their 1st anniversary while settling into a home in Mahomet, Ill. |
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