Archive for category: Welcome Letters

To commemorate and celebrate our years at Cornell and the 50 years since, we are creating Cornell Class of ’74 Memory Book.  Whether you are joining our 50th Reunion in Ithaca, June 6-9, or just joining in spirit, we invite you to share your memories and your life experiences with our classmates.

Our Class of ’74 has engaged a platform, BrightCrowd, which has worked with other universities and Cornell classes during reunions to create these books of memories.  BrightCrowd helps classes make wonderful, and secure, memory books.

Each classmate will be invited to make their own page for this memory book.  You can share as much, or as little, as you like about yourself, your life, your family, your Cornell memories.  It’s very easy, flexible and fun and a great way to reconnect and connect with classmates.  You can upload fun old and new photos.  You can continue to work on your page until well after our Reunion in June because you will surely be making new memories and new friends that weekend!

Your invitation to participate in this book will come via email soon–within the next few days.  Look for that email in your inbox to get started.  

It will come with a detailed letter of instructions.  But feel free to send any one of us your questions and we will do our best to answer questions as quickly as possible.

We look forward to seeing you in the Cornell ’74 Memory Book and at our 50th Reunion in Ithaca, June 6-9, 2024.

As you are likely aware, the last few weeks have been difficult for the Cornell community.  Following several hateful incidents, the Cornell administration brought in law enforcement professionals, increased security, spent time in dining halls with affected undergraduates, and committed to increased focus on eliminating hate speech, antisemitism, and Islamophobia.  You can get the latest communication from President Pollack here.

While our days on the Hill also had their turbulent moments, those were certainly simpler times. Much of Cornell campus life from our time, in the late 1960’s/early 70’s, was documented by Jim Cunningham ’71, whose thousands of photographs were donated recently to Cornell by his family.  Jim passed away last year, but fortunately the memories he captured on camera will live on for generations of Cornellians.  See more here. 

Moving ahead to the present day, witness how AI is now everywhere.  Cornell has a number of faculty members researching, teaching about, and trying to make sense of, AI—click here.  And check out this video of the recent on-campus panel on “AI and Free Expression” moderated by Kavita Bala, Dean of the new Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, featuring several faculty stars.  This panel starts at minute 48.30.

Finally, you will be receiving an email from the University, later this month, with a list of hotels that have blocks of rooms for Reunion weekend.  These rooms are available on a first come first served basis so keep an eye on your inbox.  But before you book, remember that we have one of the new dorms, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for our 50^th Reunion HQ and “hotel”.  “RBG” is located near Donlon and has comfortable bedrooms (singles and doubles), semi-private bathrooms, and a full-service café with coffee, breakfast pastries, burritos and more.  It’s only a 14-minute walk to the center of campus AND there are no hills to climb.

If for whatever reason you did not receive your 50th Reunion Save the Date refrigerator magnet, please send me an email (with your mailing address).

The countdown to Reunion continues.  Hope to see you on campus in June!

It’s that time of year to do some Spring Cleaning (remember your New Year’s Resolution to start clearing out….).  Well, we have some added motivation for you.  The Cornell Fashion and Textile Collection  (one of Cornell’s hidden gems) is mounting an exhibit this coming Fall with the theme “Fashion and Freedom of Expression”, as part of the Cornell’s recently announced 2023-24 year focus on The Indispensable Condition: Freedom of Expression at Cornell. 

This exhibit will display articles of clothing that were worn to make a statement.  Think about that shirt you wore in 1971 to protest the War, or to promote rights of any and all sorts, or to just make a point that perhaps only you understood.  If you can find that shirt, hat, or any article of clothing, take a picture and email it to Denise Green, Associate Professor, College of Human Ecology and Director of the Fashion & Textile Collection, at dng22@cornell.edu.  Note: Loaned or donated items are needed by August 15th.

Now go unpack that box of “treasures”….

Tis the season…cold weather in Ithaca means Cornell winter sports, including hockey and basketball.  And our class has a special connection to women’s basketball.  Our Class of 1974 Scholarship recipient, Summer Parker-Hall ‘25, is a stand-out forward on the women’s team.  Summer is from Chicago and is in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.  This Cornell Daily Sun article highlights Summer’s efforts in a recent basketball win over Western Kentucky University.

Here’s what Summer says: “My sophomore year has been great so far.  Academically, I had a great schedule so right now I am just preparing for Finals.  As far as athletics, I am very excited for this season.  We are starting to play very well as a team, so every game I’m excited to play and compete.”

Check out the Cornell women’s basketball schedule, which runs through early March.  If you are so inclined, you can make a gift to our Class Scholarship Fund (Summer is a beneficiary) here.

In additional news regarding Cornell athletics, Cornell just named Nicki Moore as its first female director of athletics and physical education.  Nicki is currently VP & director of athletics at Colgate.  She was a track and cross-country star at the University of Missouri where she earned her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees.  She comes highly regarded after over twenty years in higher ed athletics administration at Oklahoma, North Carolina and Colgate.  Cornell joins Brown, Harvard, Penn and Yale as Ivies with a female AD.  You can read about Nicki here.

Congrats to Nicki and Summer!

Happy Holidays, and Let’s Go Red!