Klarman Hall, Art for the Tech Campus & Class News

 

It’s been an unusual winter in Ithaca—not much snow, and temperatures ranging from the single digits to the mid-50s. The only thing for sure is that the days are getting longer and the ice on Beebe Lake is mostly melted.

night5-22-2In January, the new Klarman Hall opened on the Arts Quad.  It is the first new humanities building on campus in more than 100 years—yes, you heard that right—and is located behind Goldwin Smith Hall.  This spectacular light-filled structure contains faculty offices, seminar rooms, an atrium, an auditorium, and the relocated Temple of Zeus.  You can access Klarman Hall from East Avenue or from Goldwin Smith.  Check out photos of Klarman Hall here.

Construction is underway in New York City at Cornell’s Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, with the steel for the first building already in place.  Prior to tearing down the old Goldwater Hospital on the island, Cornell worked with art conservators to locate, remove and conserve several murals in the hospital that were commissioned during the 1930’s as part of President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA.)  The WPA employed thousands of artists between 1935-45 to create public art.  The four artists chosen for the hospital project each painted a mural in the hospital’s public rooms. One mural had been uncovered in 2001, and two were discovered in 2013 under layers of hospital paint.  One mural was never found.  Over the past few years these murals have been cleaned and restored, and the mural panels are now on display at Cornell’s Johnson Museum of Art.  The murals will eventually be installed at the new Cornell Tech campus.  To learn more about this fascinating project, click here.   To see the murals, visit the Museum’s website here.

Our class correspondents need news in order to write the class column for Cornell Alumni Magazine!  If you have an update about yourself or a classmate–regarding retirement, a new job, a wedding, a class you are taking, a new or old hobby, travel, whatever—please send it to Jim Schoonmaker at js378@cornell.edu, Lucy Babcox Morris at lucmor1433@gmail.com, or Helen Bendix at hbendix@verizon.net.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Dale Lazar

President [Notable] Class of ‘74

Dsl36@cornell.edu

 

Why we give to Cornell…

Class of 1974 Class Scholarship winner sends this beautiful letter of gratitude. Read it here and learn more about Garret Guillen and our Class Scholarship.

Academic Year 2015 — 2016
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Oelschlager and the entire Class of 1974,
As I approach my final semester at Cornell University I realize that there is no way I could have adequately expressed appreciation when I first received your gift that allowed me to enter this amazing campus over 3 years ago. I still remember having the discussion with my parents, after the initial elation of being admitted, about whether or not attending this renowned institution was financially feasible. After receiving aid coupled with scholarship funds from your donations I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy every minute of my time at Cornell. Reflecting on all the experiences, the people, the classes, the campus, and all other aspects of the Cornell community I realize that it is time so valuable I couldn’t have known its worth as an incoming freshman and time that I hope to provide for another incoming freshman someday. As my brother goes through his freshman year at Cornell I try and explain to him the unique significance that his time at school will offer him because I am so excited that someone so close to me now has the same opportunity that I have enjoyed so greatly. Yet I experience difficulty trying to express my immense appreciation of my Cornell experience to him as I realize that his experience will also be unique and that he must find it on his own. I experience the same difficulty while trying to express my immeasurable gratitude to you and your colleagues who have made this experience possible for me. I now realize in my closing year that you have all sought to provide a student with such an incredible education because you all have received a similarly valuable gift in all of your own unique experiences at Cornell; and I now also carry that desire to share our Cornell community with others in need. I would like to thank you all again for allowing me to become a part of this amazing campus for the past 3 years; and I want to express my desire to continue to share this Cornell experience long past graduation.
With gratitude,
Garrett Guillen
Gmg83@cornell.edu

 

New College of Business

President Garrett and Provost Michael Kotlikoff announced in December a proposal to create a new College of Business at Cornell.  This College would include the current Johnson Graduate School of Management, the undergraduate business program (called “Ag Ec” in our day, now called “Applied Economics and Management (AEM)”) which is now in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the School of Hotel Administration.  To learn more about this proposal, which would require a change in the university by-laws, you may want to read both the official university announcement here and the Cornell Daily Sun articles and comments here.

Class Gift to President Garrett

12019981_10207502086531213_88148813789891461_n

A dozen members of our [Notable] Class of 1974 met recently with new Cornell President Elizabeth Garrett to give her a welcome gift.  You may recall the “perfect Cornell dinner party” drawing featuring famous Cornell alumni that appeared in the March 2015 issue of Cornell Alumni Magazine.  To read the article click here.

Big Red Hockey

One of the most popular class events is the pre-Game get together for Classes of the ’70’s at Big Red Hockey on Saturday, November 28, at Madison Square Garden in NYC.  Learn all about the event, its location, tickets, and details for registration on our Class Event Page.

Zinck’s Night-Thursday, Oct. 15

All Cornell alumni, parents, and friends are invited to celebrate the long standing tradition of Zinck’s Night! Join in the fun at an event near you!  Almost 50 events are planned around the globe:  two in DC alone.

 

Inauguration for President Elizabeth Garrett

The Inaugural Address of the 13th President of Cornell, Elizabeth Garrett, can be read or viewed here.  You may learn more about President Garrett on her Office of the President web page.

West Coast Cornellians

The Cover Story of the Summer 2015 edition of Ezra Magazine highlights Cornellians on the West Coast. Three members of the Class of 1974 are featured:  John Williams ’74, who founded Frog’s Leap Winery; Mort Bishop ’74, President of Pendleton Woolen Mills, and entrepreneurs Bill McAleer ’73, MBA ’75 and his wife, Colleen McAleer ’74.

2015 New Student Reading Project: Slaughterhouse Five

Cornell alumnus Kurt Vonnegut ’44 is the author of the 2015 New Student Reading Project.  Class dues-payers can request a complimentary copy of the book, written in 1969.

Each year, all incoming students at Cornell spend part of Orientation Week in discussion groups and lectures focusing on a common reading.  For 2015, the reading selection continues the focus on Cornell’s 150th Anniversary by featuring a Cornell alumnus author, Kurt Vonnegut ’44.  All new students will be reading his anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse Five, written in 1969.  In many ways, these incoming students will be revisiting the same issues many of us were discussing as freshmen.  Read more about the book selection at the Cornell Chronicle..

In early summer, class dues payers will be given the option to receive a complimentary copy of the book. Look for a class email, or simply reserve your complimentary book here.  You’ll receive the book later in the summer.

Online resources, discussion questions, and webinars will connect you with the intellectual content that the new students are experiencing on campus. Look for these in-depth web resources to be developed by Cornell by the start of the fall semester.

Learn about past Reading Projects here.

4 kv sl5 face

Reunion 2015 and 2014

Reunion Weekend is underway in Ithaca. You can see livestream events!  Or, re-visit our own 40th Reunion memories from 2014:  Cornell’s website captures all kinds of activities from 2014, while our class Reunion webpage has highlights for our class from last year!  Check out videos at our phanfare site. The “Then and Now” video was especially popular.

The 2015 Reunion is  targeted for the Classes of the 5’s and 0’s–i.e. the Class of 1975.  The 2015 Reunion will also have special Sesquicentennial events along with the last Reunion State of the University address by President David Skorton.