The Essentials

The Empire State Food and Agricultural Leadership Institute, aka the LEAD New York Program, is accepting applications for a two-year leadership development program until March 1. LEAD New York consists of 50 days of seminars, workshops and field travel experiences in and out of New York state, and is designed for leaders in the food and agricultural industries. Information.

Cornell’s Center for a Sustainable Future (CCSF) invites proposals for its Academic Venture Fund program, created to stimulate original, cross-disciplinary research at Cornell in sustainability science. The fund’s aim is to connect Cornell scholars with external partners in research that shows promise for securing external funding and that has a tangible impact that advances sustainability.

CCSF welcomes proposals that would not normally be funded by traditional granting organizations because they are interdisciplinary, still at an early stage of development, high risk or some combination of these. Letters of intent are due Feb. 18. More information.

Do you have land that could be used for farming or for an agroforestry enterprise? If you have been thinking about farming and want to learn more, Cornell Cooperative Extension offers a Beginning Farmer Workshop Feb. 7 and 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the extension’s Schuyler County office in Montour Falls, N.Y. The two-day program focuses on choosing an enterprise that suits your interests and your property’s capabilities, assessing what is needed to get started, estimating costs and learning about markets. Participants will be invited to discuss their business interests with an extension educator and receive one-on-one guidance on developing their farming plans. Cost for both workshops: $25 per person or $40 per couple; includes lunch. Preregister by Feb. 2 by calling 607-535-7161.

Registration for spring classes through Cornell’s Part-time/Extramural Study Program ends today at 4 p.m. in B20 Day Hall. The program is designed for anyone seeking personal or professional advancement, including high school students, executives and professionals, area residents and retirees, Cornell staff and faculty members, Cornell alumni, and undergraduate and graduate students. Participants can register for credit, audit classes without a grade or – for a substantial reduction in tuition – enroll on a noncredit basis through the Visitors’ Program. For more information about the program, how to select courses, late registration dates, fees and more visit here, call 607-255-4987 or e-mail cusce@cornell.edu.

Nine intern positions for Cornell students are available at Cornell Plantations next summer: four in the botanical gardens, one in the wildflower garden, two in the natural areas (one focused on management and the other on research) and two in the education department (one focused on adults and the other on children). The internships pay $9 an hour and run May 28 to Aug. 14. Deadline to apply: Feb. 13, 2009. Apply online or contact Phil Syphrit: 607-227-5795 or pms26@cornell.edu.

The Hotel School’s Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship is launching a campuswide competition to find solutions to the bottled water controversy. Its objective is to address the environmental impact of a $100 billion industry. The competition is open to all Cornell undergraduate and graduate students. Teams of up to five members can include faculty or staff, but the team leader must be an enrolled Cornell student. Draft submissions of solution plans are due Dec. 1; final presentations will be held in April 2009 during the Entrepreneurship@Cornell celebration. For information and registration, e-mail h2ocompetition@cornell.edu.

Group folk guitar lessons with legendary Bound for Glory host Phil Shapiro begin Sept. 8 in the International Lounge of Willard Straight Hall. There will be eight one-hour lessons on Monday evenings for beginners at 7 p.m. and intermediates at 8 p.m. Cost: $60, payable at the first lesson. Bring a guitar. Call Shapiro at 607-844-4535 or e-mail for information.

Cornell’s English for International Students and Scholars (EISS) summer program, which runs June 23-Aug. 1 on campus, is designed for native speakers of languages other than English. It provides full-time intensive English instruction as well as academic, social and cultural orientation to the United States and its institutions. The program is open to anyone 18 or older who has a basic knowledge of English and has graduated from secondary school or its equivalent. Classes meet 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Class size is limited. The program costs $3,075, not including housing or dining. Registration and information.

At many colleges and universities, compulsory physical education is a thing of the past, and because phys ed is so widely de-emphasized, statistics about which schools demand a swimming test are no longer kept. At Cornell, students must take to the pool if they wish to collect a diploma. (Of the Ivies, only Cornell, Columbia and Dartmouth require students to prove they can swim.) And it’s going to stay that way, according to Al Gantert, Cornell’s director of physical education. “I swear, as more and more colleges and universities drop the requirement, rather than prompting Cornell to drop it also, they seem to be more stubborn in saying, ‘We’re holding onto this,’” Gantert told the Chicago Tribune.

The consequences of being unable to navigate water result in 5,000 drowning and near-drowning incidents each year, according to the American Red Cross. Minorities hailing from urban areas, particularly African Americans, account for a disproportionate 40 percent of about 3,000 annual drownings – a situation that became particularly dire in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Claims that aquatic ed is too expensive is specious, according to Gantert, who calls physical education “probably the cheapest component of education that exists at any university.”