News

How music galvanized the fight for civil rights

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches tapped into a Black musical tradition that animated the Civil Rights Movement, says Ambre Dromgoole, assistant professor of Africana religions and music.

To disclose or not to disclose good deeds, that is the do-gooder dilemma

A new study explores how people feel about sharing their good deeds.

University celebrates top faculty for outstanding teaching, mentoring

Eleven teaching faculty from across the university have been awarded Cornell’s highest honors for graduate and undergraduate teaching, Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff announced Oct. 22.

Early version of Black Pride brought US a step closer to Juneteenth

In 1829, abolitionist David Walker’s “Appeal to the Colored People of the World” went viral, enabling enslaved people to imagine freedom and why they deserved it.

Talking with a friend can ease the sting of being left out

Small, simple forms of social connection can lessen the negative feelings and thoughts that come with being excluded, according to Cornell psychology researchers.

Admitted Class of 2028 personifies Cornell’s founding principles

The 5,139 admitted students will bring with them a variety of lived experiences that will enrich the vitality and innovation of Cornell’s intellectual community.

‘A completely different game’: Faculty, students harness AI in the classroom

“This is a tool that students are using already, and it’s probably not going away,” said doctoral candidate Amelia C. Arsenault, M.A. ’23, a teaching assistant in the government department.

Breaking silence: Speak up to honor MLK Jr., historian says

A Cornell historian says one of the most important aspects of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy was his insistence on speaking up against social and economic injustice.

Prioritize space to dream, OADI alumna tells diverse students

At a May 5 ceremony, Misha Inniss-Thompson ’16, assistant research professor of psychology in the College of Human Ecology urged students to prioritize their passions and interests.

Campus rallies to support Syria, Turkey earthquake survivors

With about 70 students on campus from Syria and Turkey affected by the devastation in their countries, students, faculty and administrators have mobilized to create relief efforts.

Ancient farming strategy holds promise for climate resilience

A paper by Cornell researchers suggests maslins have the unique capacity to adapt in real time to extreme weather.

MLK's 1960s visits to Cornell still resonate today

… King’s historic visit on Nov. 13, 1960, and a second, on April 14, 1961, … United Religious Work (CURW). King confirmed his Cornell visit in a letter typed on heavy stationery, with his name … of CURW, in a 2004 Cornell Chronicle article on King’s visits to Cornell . “Just a few weeks prior to King’s visit, …

Students get out the vote, on campus and across the state

“The youth have so much power, and we just don’t use it,” said Lauren Sherman ’24, Arts and Sciences student.

Weiss teaching award honors eight exceptional faculty

Four A&S faculty members have been honored for their excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.

‘Our story’: Native American writers cultivate their craft

Fourteen authors from upstate New York participating in the Oñgwaga•ä’ Writers Workshop this month.

Craib and Fiani win graduate, professional teaching prize

“These professors have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to teaching and mentoring their students.”

Seeds of survival: Botanic Gardens honors the Black experience

Arts & Sciences student Jakara Zellner ’23, co-leader on the Garden Ambassador team, who served on the advisory committee and narrated the audio tour of a Cornell Botanic Gardens featuring 21 plants significant to the Black experience in the Americas.

Rochester lawyer receives NYS Hometown Alumni Award

… and construction law. Santiago has been listed by the Best Lawyers in America organization and was recognized as …

Juneteenth marks emancipation’s progress and delay

The holiday reminds professor Riché Richardson of exciting celebrations of her youth, but also of obstacles that stand in the way of fully achieving Black freedom.

Overlooked, undervalued: Cornell research seeks to elevate home care workers

Madeline Sterling '08, an Arts & Sciences alum, is part of a team launching a research program to elevate the value of home care workers.

Russian trolls tried to distract voters with music tweets in 2016

The researchers' finding has implications for the 2022 midterm elections.

Center offers tools for culturally responsive research, practice

The Cornell Center for Cultural Humility provides a new resource to understand and help break down barriers between people.

Two Cornellians will compete in ‘Jeopardy!’ Feb. 8

Andrés Quijano ’22 will compete at 7:30 p.m. on “Jeopardy!” and Catherine Zhang ’22 will compete at 8 p.m. on the “Jeopardy!” National College Championship, on ABC and Hulu.

Afghan women scholars find safe haven at Cornell

The nine undergrads will be arriving on campus through December, thanks to robust international and cross-campus collaborations. Cornell has pledged support until they graduate.

A 'freedom church' unearths its Underground Railroad history

Church members and a multidisciplinary team of Cornell faculty and students are learning more about St. James A.M.E. Zion Church by doing an archaeological dig.

Cornell launches $5B campaign ‘to do the greatest good’

A newly launched, major fundraising campaign aims to shape Cornell as the model university for the 21st century and beyond, building on its foundation of world-class academics, research and engagement.

Excavation to explore church’s role in Underground Railroad

A multidisciplinary team of Cornell students and faculty and local schoolchildren began an archeological dig Sept. 18 at St. James AME Zion church in Ithaca.

July Fourth and early Black Americans: It’s complicated

Black people in early America used July Fourth to argue that they should be freed from enslavement and had as much right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as white people.

Juneteenth reverberates with triumph, pain, past and present

The holiday celebrates the day enslaved people gained their freedom. But they lacked political power then, as Black people too often do today, says associate professor Jamila Michener.

Cornell shares land acknowledgement

The university’s acknowledgment states that the Ithaca campus is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ, also known as the Cayuga Nation.

Filmmaker Jeff Palmer tells Native Americans’ untold stories

Jeff Palmer grew up taking long walks with his father in the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma. Palmer’s father, a linguist and a native Kiowa speaker, told him ancient Kiowa stories about the granite-capped peaks and rolling hills around them.

Philosopher Nicholas Sturgeon dies at age 77

Nicholas Sturgeon, Susan Linn Sage Professor Emeritus in the Sage School of Philosophy and an expert in the foundations of ethics, died Aug. 24 of complications from Parkinson’s disease at a local hospice. He was 77. Sturgeon was a professor in the Department of Philosophy, in the College of Arts and Sciences, from 1967 until his retirement in 2013.  

McNair Scholars lobby DC virtually for more higher ed funding

This summer was going to be crucial for Areion Allmond ’21. With a major in biology and society, she had planned to live on campus in student housing to continue her research on the effect of the nutrient choline on children’s cognitive development. This kind of research can make or break a student’s chances of getting accepted into a M.D./Ph.D. program – which is Allmond’s goal.

With help from family, friends, ROTC seniors become officers

Navy Ensign Emily Ortwein ’20 had “one of the most special and exciting experiences of her life” May 22, the culmination of four years of rigorous military training.

COVID-19 impact: Barry Strauss on the historical perspective

Historian Barry Strauss, who specializes in ancient and military history, notes that plagues and epidemics have often been linked to wars. The current pandemic will accelerate the use of computer models and big data in the field of history; however, he says, COVID-19 has taught us that models are only as good as the assumptions on which they’re based.

Student team designs smart mask that monitors vital signs

In February, Longsha Liu ’21 was well aware that COVID-19 was coursing through China and around the world. His mother had been giving him regular updates about the virus’s spread in China, where most of his immediate family live – including his 77-year old grandmother, who continued to practice as a physician.

COVID-19 impact: Rachel Beatty Riedl on Africa’s response

Rachel Beatty Riedl, an expert in international studies, says Africa is the first place to look for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, given Africa’s success in dealing with the Ebola virus.

COVID-19 impact: Lawrence Glickman on crisis at hyperspeed

Historian Lawrence Glickman says the simultaneous public health disaster and economic meltdown may lead us to rethink the country’s values. However, “given … how rare it is for fundamental transformations to happen, my money would be on this pandemic not fundamentally altering our basic structures of society,” he says.

COVID-19 impact: Gustavo Flores-Macías on economic, political consequences

Political scientist Gustavo A. Flores-Macías compares the economic consequences of COVID-19 to the 2008-09 recession. The pandemic, he says, will result in a poorer and more unequal U.S. society, and it highlights the importance of solutions that require collaboration across borders.

COVID-19 impact: Noliwe Rooks on representing oneself online

Interdisciplinary scholar Noliwe Rooks discusses how people curate their home spaces, now that much of work and school is conducted from home via video conferencing. The pandemic has also underlined our need for human contact, she says. Rooks is the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature in the College of Arts and Sciences.

COVID-19 impact: Jamila Michener on the federal government

Jamila Michener, assistant professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences, discusses COVID-19 and potential changes in the role of the federal government. The pandemic may prompt people to re-examine investments in institutions, such as the public health system, on which we now rely, she says. Disinvestments in these institutions include the steady closure of rural hospitals for the past five years, she says.

COVID-19 impact: Tom Pepinsky on the partisan divide

Students face pandemic disruption with resilience

“When you give support, I find that it always comes back.”

Academic calendar changes; other coronavirus FAQ updates

Cornell leaders have announced changes to the academic calendar (see below) and to policies related to drop deadlines and grading options.Below is the latest information; for the full list of frequently asked questions, visit the university’s coronavirus resources and updates webpage.

‘Making the turn’: from inmate to scholar

It is 4 p.m., and Darryl Epps has just put in a full day at work. Yet his day is only half over.

Sign of the times: American Sign Language thrives on campus

The new ASL classes meet the College of Arts & Sciences’ three-semester world language requirement.

Mettler selected as 2019 Radcliffe Institute fellow

Fresh off winning a Guggenheim fellowship, democracy scholar Suzanne Mettler, Ph.D. ’94, has just received another honor: a Radcliffe Institute fellowship.

Grants bolster social sciences research

The ISS’s Spring 2019 Small Grant Awards are designed to assist scholars as they develop new research and seek external funding.

Democracy scholar wins Guggenheim fellowship

Suzanne Mettler, Ph.D. ’94, the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the Department of Government, has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

New director leads Center for the Study of Economy & Society

An engineer-turned-sociologist whose career has been defined by interdisciplinary thinking is now leading a Cornell center that brings together economists and sociologists, from across campus and around the world.

Social scientists analyze the dynamics shaping China’s cities

China’s enormous cities, their divisions and future plans have been at the heart of five social scientists’ research for the past three years.

Cornell creates Center for Social Sciences

An implementation committee will explore the integration of public policy academic areas and the creation of "superdepartments."

How hawkish is the Chinese public?

Chinese Communist Party officials often invoke the outrage of the Chinese people when disputing a foreign government’s actions or demands. International observers are often skeptical of these claims about the overarching feelings of 1.3 billion people.But not much is known about what citizens of the People’s Republic of China actually think about their country’s foreign policy. A Cornell scholar of Chinese politics and foreign relations is among the first to ask that question.

Study: Tug at heartstrings with big stats, human stories

A new study sheds light on the types of statistical and narrative evidence that are most effective at changing behavior.

Study: Nearly half of Americans have had a family member jailed, imprisoned

A groundbreaking Cornell-led study shows that nearly 1 in 2 Americans have had a brother or sister, parent, spouse or child spend time in jail or prison.

Leading economic theorist Tapan Mitra dies at age 70

Tapan Mitra, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Economics and a leading economic theorist of his generation, died of cancer Feb. 3 in Ithaca, New York. He was 70.

Social scientists take on data-driven discrimination

With big data, machine learning and digital surveillance pervasive in all facets of life, they have the potential to create racial and social inequalities – and make existing discrimination even worse.

With Cornell grants, faculty launch social sciences research

How will the rise in sea levels due to climate change affect the fiscal health of U.S. cities? Can virtual reality help architects “try out” a building’s design before construction has even started? How do social processes affect artificial intelligence in high-stakes areas such as sentencing for criminals and job applications? These are a few of the questions Cornell’s social science faculty are exploring this fall, thanks to funding from the Institute for the Social Sciences (ISS). The ISS’s Fall 2018 Small Grant Awards are designed to support faculty as they develop new research and seek external funding.

Defining 'the people,' expanding the vote

It’s a little-known fact of U.S. history that in the early 1800s, while most African-Americans were enslaved, freed black men in some states had the right to vote.

Pulitzer-prize winner describes why we ‘lock up our own’ – and how to stop

When Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Forman Jr. was a public defender in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s, he defended a 15-year-old named Brandon, who was charged with possessing a small amount of marijuana and a gun.

Roper Center to create world’s most comprehensive health opinion database

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, housed at Cornell, has been awarded a grant to provide an easily searchable portal on the public’s views about health dating back to 1935.

How attitudes on race, immigration, gender will affect the 2018 midterm elections

“As the congressional campaigns unfold, we will actually be able to observe what factors correspond with shifts in vote choice."

For more cohesive police forces in war-torn countries, adding women may help

When the United Nations and other international players rebuild war-torn countries, they frequently require that women have greater representation in the country’s security forces. The idea is integrating women helps improve peace and security for everyone.But critics of these gender-equity reforms often suggest that women harm the cohesion of the police force.

War taxes put public's money where its troops are

A new book by Sarah Kreps, associate professor of government, argues that part of the reason for America's current long-running wars is the lack of a war tax – a special levy historically paid by the American people during times of war.

Ray Jayawardhana named dean of Arts and Sciences

Distinguished astrophysicist, renowned science writer and accomplished academic leader named the 22nd dean of Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Left, right and center: mapping emotion in the brain

According to a radical new model of emotion in the brain, a current treatment for the most common mental health problems could be ineffective or even detrimental to about 50 percent of the population.

How can societies become law-abiding? Kaushik Basu has some suggestions

The book offers an analytical structure with which to analyze laws and understand why they get poorly implemented.

Discussion continues on social sciences review

The campus community has expressed strong interest in and engagement with a report from a faculty committee tasked with identifying organizational structures that might position Cornell’s social sciences for excellence in the next 10 to 15 years, say key administrators after holding 23 listening sessions with stakeholders.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda: the haunting regret of failing our ideal selves

“As the Nike slogan says: ‘Just do it.' Don’t wait around for inspiration," says psychology professor Tom Gilovich.

2018 Merrill scholars honor their teachers, mentors

When Carisa (Triola) Steinberg ’97 was growing up, no one in her family had attended college. They didn’t expect her to, either. Her grandfather had college funds only for the boys in the family.She applied to Cornell anyway and was accepted – with full funding.

Students display entrepreneurial spirit in competitions

The Student Business of the Year, Combplex, provides real-time remote monitoring and minimal diagnostics for honeybee colonies.

Untangling how deportation relief affects immigrants

Short-term relief from deportation can have beneficial effects for immigrants – but it doesn’t solve all their problems.

Small grants fire up new research in the social sciences

Why is expertise that used to be authoritative now sometimes dismissed as “fake news”? Is it possible to save an endangered language by bringing a native speaker to Cornell to document it? And what does it mean to work in a Bosnian weapons factory when the source of one’s livelihood is lethal to others and the environment?

Faculty report offers ideas for structure of social sciences at Cornell

The report identified ways to better connect faculty, provide faculty with support and improve Cornell's external visibility and recruiting power in the social sciences.

Enrichment program boosts STEM for black students but leaves Latinos behind

“There should be more connections with schools, parents and communities to fill the gaps in access to opportunity and to STEM resources."

Institute nurtures promising social scientists with ‘dream’ semester

Five Arts & Sciences faculty were chosen for the honor and will have the opportunity to finish books, research projects or work on other initiatives.

Myron Rush, noted Kremlinologist, dies at age 96

Myron Rush, a Kremlinologist whose careful lexical analysis of public leadership statements determined that Nikita Khrushchev had won the power struggle to succeed Joseph Stalin, died Jan. 8 of kidney failure at his home in Herndon, Virginia. The professor emeritus of government died a week after his 96th birthday.

Simpler grammar, larger vocabulary: a linguistic paradox explained

Languages have an intriguing paradox. Languages with lots of speakers, such as English and Mandarin, have large vocabularies with relatively simple grammar. Yet the opposite is also true: Languages with fewer speakers have fewer words but complex grammars.Why does the size of a population of speakers have opposite effects on vocabulary and grammar?

Lactation hormone cues birds to be good parents

Toppling a widespread assumption that a “lactation” hormone only cues animals to produce food for their babies, Cornell researchers have shown the hormone also prompts zebra finches to be good parents.

ISS grants jump-start new social science research

Are supporters of President Donald Trump increasing in prejudice? What’s the best way to end violence in Liberia during elections? Is Colombia ready for a sustainable boom in cocoa production?These are a few of the questions Cornell social science faculty are answering, thanks to small grants from the Institute for the Social Sciences.

A not-quite-random walk demystifies the algorithm

The algorithm is having a cultural moment. Originally a math and computer science term, algorithms are now used to account for everything from military drone strikes and financial market forecasts to Google search results.

Myth of race still embedded in scientific research, scholar says

The concept of “race” – the idea that humans are naturally divided into biologically distinct groups – has been definitively proven false. But the 21st century has seen a disturbing increase in scientists inaccurately presenting race as the reason for racial inequality, says an acclaimed scholar of race, gender and law.

Kids in tough neighborhoods face joblessness, lower income as adults

For decades, researchers have known kids who grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to face a slew of difficulties in childhood.

Chemical evolution expert David A. Usher dies at age 80

David A. Usher, retired associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, died Oct. 6 at his home in Dryden, New York. He was 80, one month shy of his 81st birthday.

Mathematician Roger H. Farrell dies at age 88

Roger H. Farrell, professor emeritus of mathematics, died Sept. 28 at Hospicare in Ithaca. He was 88.Farrell, who joined the Department of Mathematics at Cornell as an instructor in 1959, spent his entire career at Cornell.

A ‘playful’ Nobel Prize winner laid groundwork for his field at Cornell

Richard Thaler, professor of economics at Cornell for nearly two decades, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Oct. 9 for work he began at Cornell.Joining the Cornell faculty in 1978, Thaler was a young assistant professor who had decided to try to make a go of research on a new scholarly concept, behavioral economics, that married psychology and economics. He went looking for a job that would allow him to pursue it.

Discrimination more likely when resources are scarce

At the height of the Great Recession, psychologist Amy Krosch noticed that people of color seemed to be getting much harder hit than the white population on a number of socioeconomic indicators.

Cognitive scientist calls for integration in language sciences

In a new opinion piece in a major publication, Morten Christiansen, professor of psychology, describes how the study of language has fragmented into many highly-specialized areas of study that tend not to talk to each other. He calls for a new era of integration in the paper, published July 31 in Nature Human Behaviour.

Pollack champions ‘educational verve,’ humane and rational values

Martha E. Pollack plumbed the depths of Cornell history and spoke to current times in her inaugural address Aug. 25, following her installation as the university’s 14th president.Quoting a speech written during the dark days of World War II by Cornell historian Carl Becker, Pollack said there is just as much need today for universities to “maintain and promote the humane and rational values” that preserve democratic society.

Republicans doubt 'global warming' more than 'climate change'

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, a new Cornell study finds that climate-science labels do matter.The U.S. public doubts the existence of “global warming” more than it doubts “climate change” – and Republicans are driving the effect, the research found.

Who is 'too fat'? That all depends on race, gender, generation

Sociologist Vida Maralani found that definitions of being overweight are subjective in the social world.

Team measures effects of sentence structure in the brain

When we learn to read, we say one word at a time. But how does the brain actually put words together when we read full sentences?

Study: Conservatives, liberals read different scientific books

Sociologist Michael Macy found connections between people's political views and their interest in various fields of science.

Cornell ranked among best in U.S. News grad school rankings

Our English, history, economics, sociology, government and psychology departments all ranked high in the annual report.

Cornell builds bridges with Qatari 'doctors of the future'

The Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medicine-New York welcomed three special young guests recently: high school students from Qatar, visiting the United States for the first time to get a sneak peek into the world of academic medicine.

Cornellians to share breaking sociology research in Seattle

Forty-seven Cornell faculty and graduate students will be among the 4,600 sociologists to descend on Seattle Aug. 20-23 for the American Sociological Association’s 111th annual meeting. Nearly 600 sessions and 3,000 research paper presentations will address society’s most pressing problems.

Mixed-income neighborhoods face steady decline

America has been talking about racial segregation and its effects for decades. Now another kind of separation is grinding away at America’s neighborhoods: income segregation, where people are separated by their wealth, or lack of it.

Kendra Bischoff wins National Academy of Education fellowship

Kendra Bischoff, assistant professor of sociology and the Richard and Jacqueline Emmet Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been chosen as a 2016 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow.The $70,000 fellowships are the oldest source of support for education research, nationally and internationally, for those who have recently earned doctoral degrees.

Tough neighborhoods linked to teen obesity and cognitive delays

The real estate maxim about the importance of location is true for teenagers too. Their intellectual and physical health depends on location, location, location.Teens living in disadvantaged neighborhoods face a higher risk of obesity and reduced cognitive ability, according to new research by a Cornell sociologist. In addition, adolescent girls in the most disadvantaged environments are more likely than boys to become obese, he found.

The contented shall inherit the Earth. The glum? Not so much.

Seeking long-term contentment instead of focusing on instant gratification can pay off with a longer life, our scientists are discovering.