It is easy to criticize the cost of tuition and wonder where all the money goes towards. Having only a vague understanding of why it costs so much to operate a university of Cornell’s size, I have to trust that the budget is put to good use. Hearing from the Board of Trustees made me rethink my skepticism of how everything is being run. The different considerations like maintaining the university’s reputation, how financial aid fits into the budget, the perspectives of faculty, having to attract the top professors and having the facilities to give them all the tools they need to conduct there research. There is so much responsibility that comes with being on the board that I have never thought about.

Two interesting topics that affects undergraduates that were discussed was mental health and the North campus expansion. Hearing how the approach to mental health has changed from adding more counselors  to considering what is the underlying cause and how to treat that was interesting. It is such a prevalent problem and knowing that it is being talked about instead of believing that people are probably talking about it is comforting. The other topic of expanding North campus was enlightening because it had been several years in the works. There seemed to be a lot of discussion about housing and growing the number of admitted students and what were the possible effects of increasing the class size. Making any decision seems to require a multitude of other decisions. The ramifications of changing one thing is actually tenfold.

Hearing from people who cared so much about the university’s longevity and success was unexpected in a good way.

Perhaps one of the few times in my college career when I will come to know the Board of Trustees happened in our very own seminar room among Rose Scholars.  Several faculty, a resident from Ithaca, and a graduate student comprised of four of the sixty-four Board of Trustees at Cornell.  The forum convened with an overview of their responsibilities and to which the audience asked questions to tease out how exactly this was accomplished.

For example, we asked about the North Campus residence hall project and the goals they had in mind for completing it.  The project had been in the works for several years given the relative age of some to the halls on North and the need to renovate.  Given the campus climate surveys the Board realized that the residential communities were greatly effecting the quality of life for students and that closer knit communities were desired.  One Rose Scholar asked about class size and whether the long-time construction would decrease class size.  I was surprised by the level of detail that the Board was able to relate accounting for numbers decreasing slightly for freshman enrollment and the time windows when certain residence halls would be closed for renovation.

This freshman enrollment discussion turned into a general discussion on the recent college admissions scandals at several peer schools and the work that the Board saw to audit our existing admission policies.  Thankfully, the Board was swift in their audit of the freshman class to prevent undue preference.  Additionally, the Board stressed the admissions environment at Cornell which lacked the ‘gate-keepers’ admissions which allowed carte blanche admissions decisions based on faked athletic ability.

Again, this conversation developed into what the Board saw as a long-term mission to increase diversity and investment to that end in admissions.  I was surprised at how invested the school was to continually improve socio-economic and demographic diversity because of the increased difficulty to maintain that momentum as improvement seem to be solidified and the potential for admissions initiatives to shift. Additionally, I was surprised at the reported relative absence of ‘poltics’ that detract from organizational mission.  Instead, the folks at the round table stated that the Board recruited deeply committed individuals to the University and this common goal mitigated instances of progress stagnating.

Last Wednesday, I was able to learn more about important decisions that are being made on campus from the board of trustees (including faculty members and a graduate student). The topics included expanding on-campus housing accessibility, student to professor ratio, possibly increasing future student sizes and student mental health. It was interesting to hear that the board is debating whether or not Balch hall (one of the older buildings on campus) should be rebuilt to increase number dorms. By having this panel discussion with the board members was another way of learning about campus and all the discussions that are made. Overall, it was a great way of meeting members from part of the Cornell community that students normally have minimal interaction.

This past Wednesday I was able to hear the board of trustees on how they make important decisions pertaining to the campus and community. It was an interesting conversation because it highlighted the importance of the board and the ways in which they handle specific matters. I thought it was informative to see how they decided on things such as the new dorms on North Campus. It wasn’t just saying we need to fix Balch and need new dorms, but rather an outlook on its effects on employees, new students, current students, faculty, room size etc. Furthermore, I was intrigued to hear on how they handle relationships with the overall Ithaca community since it is a pivotal part of the school’s existance. What seemed most important however, was the continued highlight on the importance to vote. This is not only applicable to the board but nationally and I believe is a very important message to be sent. Overall, this discussion/panel was super informative and helpful in seeing what the board does and how it handles different things that come their way.

I’ll admit it: I was slightly skeptical about hearing from members of the Board of Trustees and as to why they were coming to talk with us on a random Wednesday night. Up until I attended the Board of Trustees Forum last Wednesday, my perception of the board consisted of a bunch of rich people whose dedication to the school was directly correlated with the numbers of dollars that landed in their bank account. As such, I thought that members of the board came to talk to us about what we can’t accomplish and why, rather than what we can and should achieve. Furthermore, I thought that students like us would have too many bureaucratic hoops to jump through to have their concerns be discussed among the board.

After briefly spending the evening with members of the board of trustees, I can now safely say that my preconceptions about the Board of Trustees were incorrect. The Board of Trustees really do have the interests of students at the center of their hearts, and they consistently remind themselves of that. They reflect on their work on the board to ensure that their work really is in the best interests of students. In the past few years, the board has worked to increase student housing and access to mental healthcare. When the admissions scandals hit many institutions across the country, they worked to uphold the dignity and reputation of every Cornell student. It’s comforting to know that there are more than fifty members of the Board of Trustees that are advocating for students and advocating to make a Cornell education more feasible and achievable at such a high, powerful level of influence at the institution.

From North Campus renovation to college admissions scandals, the meeting with Cornell’s representatives of the Board of Trustees covered a series of issues targeting our university and the overall Ithaca community. One particular issue that raised my attention was the response to the college admission scandal that occurred a few months ago and stirred the attention of the American public. It was very interesting to see the faculty’s perspective on such a serious matter. They informed us about the immediate action that was taken by the Board and President Martha Pollack to review Cornell’s side of the spectrum in the admission process and to check for any possible involvement in such scandal. After reviewing every freshman’s application as well as the existing faculty, it was confirmed (as we already know) that our institution was not in any way involved in such matters.

After this discussion, the school’s motto of “Any Person, Any Study” was brought into the conversation. The Board representatives mentioned how Cornell has managed to stick to their word and has created one of the most diverse campuses amongst their other Ivy League counterparts. These statistics are indeed incredibly positive news, however, there was one point of conversation that did particularly sit right with me. When mentioning the cost management of the university’s construction progress and increasing class sizes, the Board mentioned how, if the school wanted to keep admitting a diverse new class of students every year, it would be financially costly for them to maintain their stats. They said that if they wanted to admit under-represented races and ethnicities, it would mean that the university would have to increase their expenses on financial aid packages to cover such students. The thought of seeing diversity as a financial burden for the institution was not a particularly happy thing to picture and goes against any previously mentioned pride over the diverse student body.

I hope that one day, I can see Cornell grow into an institution where diversity is more than just a requirement and just something that makes this campus so culturally rich and special. It was really interesting to hear from the Board of Trustees and I look forward to seeing the new changes they bring to the Cornell community in the near future.

I was thankful for the opportunity to hear from and communicate with members from the board of trustees because it provided an in-depth look into the administrative processes of Cornell. Cornell is a big school, and I often find myself marveling in the fact that so many different processes are able to occur simultaneously without the end result being a complicated mess of an experience for us students. Of course, one can always improve, so it was encouraging to hear about the areas in which the board are looking to improve the Cornell experience.

A good portion of our meeting consisted of discussion on the new housing that’s being constructed on North Campus. Seeing as I walked by this aforementioned construction every day on my way to class, I naturally came into the meeting with a mild interest in the subject. Not knowing much about the nature of the new housing, though, I figured that it was nothing more than a way for Cornell to secure the tuition payments of a few more thousand students. However, I was relieved to hear that while admission is projected to increase because of this new housing, most of the housing is intended to be used to alleviate the housing problems faced by current students. If I recall correctly, Cornell intends to admit 600 more students because of this housing, and, while this is no number to scoff at, as long as a reasonable effort is made to accommodate these students then I think that Cornell can adjust perfectly fine.

Cornell has already changed quite a bit since the start of my freshman year, in large part due to the decisions of the board of trustees. I’m looking forward to seeing how this campus and community will continue to evolve and change during my time here.

This past Wednesday, I attended the board of trustees forum with fellow Rose Scholars and really got a lot out of it. I hate to say it, but I am not exactly involved when it comes to student government and getting involved in the issues that affect Cornell directly. A lot of the time, I’m so wrapped up in my own world that I don’t ask questions about the construction sites, or the budgets, or the number of students in my chem classes. This forum made me realize that so many people are behind this decision. Cornell has one of the largest board of faculty trustees in the country (I think the exact number is 64) and all of them are so invested in all of these decisions. For example, the North campus construction project doesn’t exactly cross my mind all that often (except when I have to deal with driving through North and avoiding the mess) but the level of thought and planning that went into that astounded me. Trustees mentioned how the reasoning behind that was that Balch Hall (where I lived freshman year) needs renovations, something I can definitely vouch for firsthand (the elevator broke as I was moving out last year and my parents and I almost got stuck on it). While Balch is being renovated, there needs to be space for all those freshmen to live, hence the new building on North.
However, when both are built and finished, Cornell can then accept a larger freshman class. However, that means we need to expand in other areas, including more faculty, more academic buildings, more upperclassmen housing, etc. Overall, it was just really interesting to think about all the things that go into running a school, things I would never really think about otherwise.

This being my first Rose Scholars event, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this activity. This feeling was compounded by the nature of the meeting: a forum with members of the Cornell Board of Trustees. I will readily admit to not having fully known what the Board of Trustees was or did, so I went into this event tabula rasa, a blank slate.

I have come away from this forum with a much better understanding of what the Board of Trustees is and does. More than that, however, I have come to trust it as an institution. This is mostly related to our discussion about the recent college admissions scandal. Almost immediately after the details of the scandal were brought to light, Cornell not only checked its finances for any potential evidence of such a scandal, but it began to update its practices to add checks and balances to the admissions process.

More than that, however, the Board of Trustees and Cornell as an institution saw this as an opportunity to examine the way in which they admit new students. Perhaps having realized the severe disadvantage that low-income students are put at during the college admissions process, the Trustees said that they were hoping to realign the admissions process to be more considerate of those of a lower socioeconomic standing.

This would go a long way in promoting the good name of Cornell as a just, trustworthy, and respectable institution. Millions of students across the country are denied admission to top universities simply because they do not have the resources to compete against those with more resources. Cornell reforming its admissions process to prevent corruption by the wealthy and promote acceptance of the less fortunate would allow them to rebrand as a more trustworthy institution. This Rose Café was very informative, and I can’t wait for the next event.

Going into the Café Talk Board of Trustees, I admit I didn’t really know much or think about how the Board of Trustees affected my life or the lives of my peers. After attending, I definitely came away understanding more about what the Board of Trustees does for Cornell and for the students. The specific conversation that most interested me was that of the Balch renovation. I lived in Balch my freshman year and I really loved it. It seems like the Board of Trustees is really considering all aspects of the effect of renovation. Coincidentally, I met a freshman living in Balch earlier today and found out that because of the future large scale renovation, maintenance is not really taking minor requests at the moment. If something is not urgent, it probably won’t get fixed. I wonder if the university is aware that this is a bit of an issue for the current residents of Balch (disclaimer: it could just be one instance that I happened to come across). 

Renovations aside, I think it’s interesting that the renovation of Balch and the North Campus expansion might increase incoming class sizes in the future. Finding an apartment in collegetown is cutthroat. An increase in class size by several hundreds would definitely put a strain on that already very stressful experience for students, an experience that sometimes causes a lot of tears and even ends friendships. Overall, the Board of Trustees Café Talk definitely opened my eyes to a lot of the future issues that Ithaca may experience with changes happening on campus.