[
]
Study abroad and scholarship programs
Cornell offers various study abroad and scholarship programs, which allow students to gain experience and earn credit towards their degrees. The "Capital Semester" program offers students the opportunity to intern in the New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
in Albany, the state capital. The Cornell in Washington program enables students to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., participating in research or internships. The Cornell in Rome program allows students to study architecture, urban studies, and the arts in Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy. The university is also a member of the Laidlaw Scholars
The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme is a two-year undergraduate programme founded by Scottish businessman and philanthropist, Lord Irvine Laidlaw funded through his Laidlaw Foundation. Established in 2014, the programme cove ...
program, which provides funding to undergraduates to conduct internationally focused research and foster leadership skills.
Cooperative extension service
As New York state's land-grant university
A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...
, Cornell operates a cooperative extension service
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an Extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act ...
, which includes 56 offices across the state. These offices provide programs in agriculture and food systems, children, youth and families, community and economic vitality, environment and natural resources, and nutrition and health. The university operates New York's Animal Health Diagnostic Center, which conducts animal disease control and husbandry.
Organization and administration
Cornell University is a nonprofit organization with a decentralized structure in which its 16 colleges, including 12 privately endowed colleges and four publicly supported statutory colleges, exercise significant autonomy to define and manage their respective academic programs, admissions, advising, and confer degrees. Cornell also operates eCornell, which provides online professional development and certificate programs and participates in New York's land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant programs.
Governance and administration
Cornell University was chartered by an act of the New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
(Chapter 585 of the Laws of 1865) which was later codified into Article 115 (sections 5701 through 5716) of the Education Law of the Consolidated Laws of New York
The ''Consolidated Laws of the State of New York'' are the codification of the permanent laws of a general nature of New York enacted by the New York State Legislature.
It is composed of several chapters, or laws. New York uses a system calle ...
.
Cornell University is governed by a 64-member board of trustees, which includes both privately and publicly appointed trustees appointed by the Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
, alumni-elected trustees, faculty-elected trustees, student-elected trustees, and non-academic staff-elected trustees. The Governor, Temporary President of the Senate, Speaker of the Assembly
Speaker most commonly refers to:
* Speaker, a person who produces speech
* Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound
** Computer speakers
Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "Speaker" (song), by David ...
, and president of the university serve in ''ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'' voting capacities. The board is responsible for electing a President to serve as the university's chief executive and educational officer. From 2014 to 2022, Robert Harrison served as chairman of the board. He was succeeded by Kraig Kayser. The Board of Trustees holds four regular meetings annually, which are subject to the New York State Open Meetings Law.
The university charter (specifically, paragraph 1.b of section 5703 of the Education Law) provides that one member of the board, the life trustee, is the eldest living lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell. As of 2024, the current and longest-serving life trustee is Ezra Cornell, class of 1971, the great-great-great-grandson of the original Ezra Cornell. He celebrated 50 years of service as a board member in 2019. His eldest daughter Katy Cornell, class of 2001, is expected to become the next life trustee.
On July 1, 2024, Michael Kotlikoff
Michael I. Kotlikoff is an American biomedical researcher, veterinarian, and the current president of Cornell University since March 2025. He was the provost of Cornell from 2015 to 2024. Since 1986, his academic research on cardiovascular biolo ...
, who served as Cornell's 16th provost, began a two-year term as interim president, succeeding Martha E. Pollack
Martha Elizabeth Pollack (born August 27, 1958) is an American computer scientist who served as the 14th president of Cornell University from April 2017 to June 2024. From 2013 to 2017, she was the 14th provost and executive vice president for a ...
, Cornell's fourteenth president, who announced her retirement in May 2024.
Colleges and academic structure
Cornell's colleges and schools offer a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, including seven undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
colleges and seven schools offering graduate and professional programs. All academic departments at Cornell are affiliated with at least one college. Several inter-school academic departments offer courses in more than one college. Students pursuing graduate degrees in these schools are enrolled in Cornell University Graduate School
The Cornell University Graduate School is a graduate school at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It confers most of the university's professional and research master's and doctoral degrees. The departments under which instruction and resea ...
. The School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions provides additional programs for college and high school students, professionals, and other adults.
Cornell's four statutory college
In the United States, a statutory college or contract college is a higher education college or school that is a component of an independent, private university that has been designated by the State legislature (United States), state legislature to ...
s include the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations
The New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University (ILR) is an industrial relations school and one of Cornell University's Statutory college#Cornell University, statutory colleges. The school has five academic depar ...
, and College of Veterinary Medicine. In the 2010–2011 fiscal year, these four colleges received $131.9 million in State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
(SUNY) appropriations to support teaching, research, and service missions, making them accountable to SUNY trustees and state agencies. New York residents enrolled in these colleges qualify for discounted tuition; however, their academic activities are considered by New York state to be private and non-state entities.
Cornell's nine privately endowed, non-statutory colleges include the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) is the school of architecture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It offers 20 undergraduate and graduate degrees in five departments: architecture, art, urban planning, real estate, ...
, College of Engineering
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( Dip.Eng.)and (B.Eng.) or ( M.Eng.), and any advanced education and specializations tha ...
, and Nolan School of Hotel Administration, each of which operate independently of state funding and oversight, which grants them greater autonomy in determining their academic programs, admissions, and advising. They also do not offer discounted tuition for New York residents.
As of 2023, among Cornell's 15,182 undergraduate students, 4,602 (30.3%) are affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences, which is the largest college by enrollment, followed by 3,203 (21.1%) in Engineering, and 3,101 (20.4%) in Agriculture and Life Sciences. The smallest of the seven undergraduate colleges is Architecture, Art, and Planning, with 503 (3.3%) students.
Fundraising and financial support
Philanthropy has played a central role in Cornell University’s growth, funding major academic programs, research initiatives, and campus development. As of 2024, the university’s endowment stands at $10.7 billion, making it the 14th-largest among U.S. universities. In 2018, Cornell raised $743 million in private donations, ranking third behind Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
.
Major single-donor contributions in recent decades have significantly shaped Cornell’s professional schools. In 1998, Weill Cornell Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...
was renamed after a $100 million gift from Sanford I. Weill, a 1955 alumnus and former Citibank
Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
CEO. By 2013, the Weills’ total donations exceeded $600 million. In 2017, Herbert Fisk Johnson III
Herbert Fisk Johnson III (born May 19, 1958), known as Fisk, is an American billionaire businessman. He is the fifth generation of his family to lead S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc of Racine, Wisconsin, as chairman and CEO. As of February 2025, his n ...
, an alumnus and chairman of S. C. Johnson & Son, donated $150 million to support the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management
The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six Ivy League business schools and of ...
, one of the largest gifts to a business school.
Cornell Tech
Cornell Tech is a graduate campus and research center of Cornell University on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, New York City. It provides courses in technology, business, and design, and includes the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, a partners ...
, the university’s technology-focused graduate campus on Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...
, has received major philanthropic support. In 2011, Chuck Feeney
Charles Francis Feeney (April 23, 1931 – October 9, 2023) was an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, the travel retailer of luxury products based in Hong Kong. He wa ...
, a 1956 alumnus and founder of DFS Group
DFS Group (DFS) ( Chinese: 迪斐世) is a global travel retailer of luxury products based in Hong Kong. Established in 1960, its global network consists of stores located in major global airports and downtown locations featuring over 750 brand ...
, became Cornell’s largest private donor, contributing $1 billion to fund the campus and other initiatives. In 2015, Irwin M. Jacobs, a 1956 alumnus and Qualcomm
Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
founder, and his wife, Joan, donated $133 million to establish the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech.
Other major gifts have supported research and sustainability efforts. In 2010, David and Patricia Atkinson donated $80 million to establish the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability is the hub of collaborative sustainability research at Cornell University, forging vital connections among researchers, students, staff, and external partners. The center’s funding and programming a ...
, funding research on environmental and sustainability challenges.
Academics
Cornell is a large and primarily residential research university, and a majority of its students are enrolled in undergraduate programs. Since 1921, the university has been accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...
and its predecessor. Cornell operates on a 4–1–4 academic calendar with the fall term beginning in late August and ending in early December, a three-week winter session in January, and the spring term beginning in late January and ending in early May.
Cornell is a land-, space-, and sea-grant
The National Sea Grant College Program is a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is a national network of 34 university-based Sea Grant programs involved in scientific re ...
university, and until 2014 was a sun-grant
The Sun Grant Association is a consortium of land-grant university, land-grant universities in the United States that serve as regional centers for the Sun Grant Initiative. As laid out in the Sun Grant Research Initiative Act of 2003, sun-grant u ...
university as well.
Admissions
Admission to Cornell University is highly competitive. In fall 2022, Cornell's undergraduate programs for its Class of 2026 included 71,164 applications from which only 5,168, or 6.9% applicants, were accepted. For enrolling freshmen, the middle 50% range of SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores were 700–760 for evidence-based reading and writing and 750–800 for mathematics, and the middle 50% range of the ACT composite score was 33–35.
The university attract a diverse and inclusive student body. In 2022, the proportion of admitted students who self-identify as underrepresented minorities increased to 34.2%, up from 33.7% in 2021, and 59.3% self-identify as students of color, an increase from 52.5% in 2017 and 57.2% in 2020. Among the 5,168 admitted in 2022, 1,163 were first-generation college students, up from 844 in 2020. The university practices need-blind admission
Need-blind admission in the United States refers to a College admissions in the United States, college admission policy that does not take into account an applicant's financial status when deciding whether to accept them. This approach typically re ...
for U.S. applicants.
Financial aid
Cornell University, under Section 9 of its original charter, ensures equal access to education by admitting students without distinction based on rank, class, occupation, or locality. The charter also mandates free instruction for one student from each Assembly district in New York state.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Cornell collaborated with other Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
institutions to establish a uniform financial aid
Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in purs ...
system. Although a 1989 consent decree ended this collaboration due to an antitrust investigation, all Ivy League schools still offer need-based financial aid without athletic scholarships. In December 2010, Cornell pledged to match any grant component of financial aid offers from the seven other Ivy League schools and MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
and Stanford
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
for accepted applicants considering these institutions.
In 2008, Cornell introduced a financial aid initiative, which incrementally replaced need-based loans with scholarships for undergraduate students from lower-income families. Despite a 27% drop in the university's endowment in 2008, attributable partly to the 2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, Cornell president David J. Skorton
David Jan Skorton is an American physician and academic. He has been president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) since July 15, 2019. Prior to the AAMC, he led the Smithsonian Institution, as its ...
allocated additional funds to continue the initiative, and sought to raise $125 million in donations for its support. Two years later, in 2010, Cornell was able to successfully meet the full financial aid needs of 40% of full-time freshmen with financial need. The average undergraduate student debt upon graduation, as of 2010, was $21,549.
International programs
Academic programs and study abroad opportunities
Cornell offers a wide range of undergraduate majors with an international focus, including African Studies, Asian-Pacific American Studies, French Studies, German Studies, Jewish Studies, Latino Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Romance Studies, and Russian Literature. Students have the opportunity to study abroad on any of the six continents through various programs.
The Asian Studies major, the Southeast Asia Program, and the China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CAPS) major provide opportunities for students and researchers focusing on Asia. Cornell has an agreement with Peking University
Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...
, which allows CAPS students to spend a semester in Beijing.
In the Middle East, Cornell's efforts are centered on biology and medicine. The Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Weill is an educational institution affiliated with Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American ...
trains new doctors to improve health services in the region. The university is also involved in developing the Bridging the Rift Center, a "Library of Life", a database of all living systems, based on the Israel-Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
forder, in collaboration with those two countries and Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
.
The university has agreements with several institutions around the world for student and faculty exchange programs, including Bocconi University
Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian language, Italian as ''Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi'' – Luigi Bocconi Commercial University) is a private university in Milan, Italy. The university is consistently ...
, the University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
, Japan's National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, the University of the Philippines Los Baños
The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; ), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 65 kilo ...
, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...
.
Joint degree programs
Cornell offers several joint degree programs with international universities. The university is the only U.S. member school of the Global Alliance in Management Education
CEMS – The Global Alliance in Management Education or CEMS (formerly the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies) is a cooperation of leading business schools and universities with multinational companies and NGOs. ...
, and its Master's in International Management program offers the Global Alliance's Master's in International Management (CEMS MIM) as a double degree option, which enables students to study at one of 34 Global Alliance partner universities. Cornell has partnered with Queen's University in Ontario to offer a joint Executive MBA program, which affords its graduates MBA degrees from both universities. Cornell also offers an international consulting course in association with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM Bangalore or IIMB) is a reputed business school and an Institute of National Importance located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Founded in 1973, it was chronologically the third in the first gener ...
.
Rankings
Cornell University has been routinely ranked among the top academic institutions in the nation and world by independent academic ranking assessments. In 2024, Cornell was ranked 10th-best in the U.S. and 12th-best in the world by ''QS World University Rankings
The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
'' and 20th-best in the world by ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...
''. The university has garnered praise for its contributions to research, community service, social mobility, and sustainability, evidenced by its placement in ''The Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serve ...
'' and The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
's rankings.
In its annual edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools," the journal ''Design Intelligence'' ranked Cornell's Bachelor of Architecture program best in the nation for most of the 21st century, including from 2000 to 2002, 2005 to 2007, 2009 to 2013, and 2015 to 2016. In its 2011 survey, the program ranked first and the Master of Architecture
The Master of Architecture (M.Arch. or MArch) is a graduate professional degree in architecture qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that result in receiving a license.
Ove ...
program ranked sixth-best in the nation. In 2017, ''Design Intelligence'' ranked Cornell's Master of Landscape Architecture program fourth-best in the nation and its Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture program fifth-best nationally.
Among business schools in the U.S., ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management
The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six Ivy League business schools and of ...
the ninth-best business school in the nation in 2019. In 2020, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' ranked the School of Management eighth-best for salary potential, and ''Poets and Quants'' ranked it the 13th-best business school in the nation, fourth-best in the nation for investment banking, and sixth-best globally for salary. The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management
The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six Ivy League business schools and of ...
was ranked 11th-best nationally by ''Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' in 2019, and 11th-best nationally and 14th-best globally by ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
''. In 2013, the Johnson school was ranked second-best for sustainability by ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.
Cornell's international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
program is ranked among the best in the world by ''Foreign Policy
Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'' magazine's Inside the Ivory Tower
''Inside the Ivory Tower'' is a ranking of the world's best university programs in international relations. The ranking is published by the ''Foreign Policy'' magazine in collaboration with the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) Pr ...
survey, which ranked Cornell's undergraduate program 12th-best in the world and its doctorate program 11th-best in the world in 2012. In 2015, Cornell was ranked third-best among all New York colleges and universities for professor salaries.
Library
As of 2020, Cornell University Library
The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over eight million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 Periodical literature, periodical ti ...
, with over 10 million holdings, is the 13th-largest academic library
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...
in the United States. As of 2005, the library is organized into 20 divisions, which hold 7.5 million printed volumes in open stacks, 8.2 million microfilm
A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...
s and microfiche
A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...
s, a total of 440,000 maps, motion pictures, DVDs, sound recordings, and computer files in its collections, and extensive digital resources and the University Archives. It was the first among all U.S. colleges and universities to allow undergraduates
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
to borrow books from its libraries.[ In 2006, ]The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
ranked it the 11th-best college library. Three years later, in 2009, it climbed to sixth-best. The library plays an active role in furthering online archiving of scientific and historical documents. arXiv
arXiv (pronounced as "archive"—the X represents the Chi (letter), Greek letter chi ⟨χ⟩) is an open-access repository of electronic preprints and postprints (known as e-prints) approved for posting after moderation, but not Scholarly pee ...
, an e-print
In academic publishing, an eprint or e-print is a digital version of a research document (usually a journal article, but could also be a thesis, conference paper, book chapter, or a book) that is accessible online, usually as green open access, w ...
archive created at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...
by Paul Ginsparg
Paul Henry Ginsparg is an American physicist. He developed the arXiv.org e-print archive.
Education
He is a graduate of Syosset High School in Syosset, New York, on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in ...
, is operated and primarily funded by Cornell as part of the library's services. The archive has changed the way many physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
s and mathematicians communicate, making the e-print a viable and popular means of announcing new research.
Cornell University Press
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...
, established in 1869 but inactive from 1884 to 1930, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States. As of 2024, it is one of the country's largest university press
A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. They are often an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by scholars in the field. They pro ...
es,[ publishing approximately 150 nonfiction titles annually in various disciplines, including anthropology, Asian studies, biological sciences, classics, history, industrial relations, literary criticism and theory, natural history, politics and international relations, veterinary science, and women's studies.][
]
Academic publications
Cornell's academic units and student groups publish multiple scholarly journals, including at least five faculty-led and seven student-led academic publications. Faculty-led publications include the Johnson School's ''Administrative Science Quarterly
''Administrative Science Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of organizational studies. The journal was established in 1956 and is published by SAGE Publications for the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Manage ...
'', the ILR School's ''Industrial and Labor Relations Review
''Industrial and Labor Relations Review'' (ILR Review) is a publication of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. It is an interdisciplinary journal publishing original research on all aspects of industrial relations. The ...
'', the Arts and Sciences Philosophy Department's ''The Philosophical Review
''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Since September 2006, it is published by Duke University Press.
Overview
The journal publishes origin ...
'', the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning's ''Journal of Architecture'', and the Law School's ''Journal of Empirical Legal Studies
The ''Journal of Empirical Legal Studies'' is a peer-edited and peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes empirically oriented research on a wide range of legal topics, including civil justice, civil procedure, corporate law, administrative law ...
''. Student-led scholarly publications include ''Cornell Law Review
The ''Cornell Law Review'' is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School. Originally published in 1915 as the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'', the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the ''Cornell Law Revi ...
'', the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs' ''Cornell Policy Review
The ''Cornell Policy Review'' is an online academic journal published by the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. It is verified by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and edited and run by the program's students ...
'', the ''Cornell International Law Journal
The ''Cornell International Law Journal'' is one of the oldest international law journals in the United States. It was founded in 1967 by members of the Cornell Society of International Law at Cornell Law School. The Journal is published four time ...
'', the ''Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
The ''Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy'' (''JLPP'') is a law review published by students at Cornell Law School. Founded in 1991, ''JLPP'' publishes articles, commentaries, book reviews, and student notes that explore the intersections of ...
'', and ''Cornell International Affairs Review
The ''Cornell International Affairs Review'' (''CIAR'') is a peer-reviewed, student-run academic journal published biannually at Cornell University. It primarily publishes student-written research papers on issues such as international relations, ...
''. ''Physical Review
''Physical Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The journal was established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the Ame ...
'', recognized internationally as one of the best and well known journals of physics, was founded at Cornell in 1893 before later being managed by the American Physical Society.
Research
Cornell University is a prominent research institution, Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." The National Science Foundation ranked Cornell 14th among American universities for research and development expenditures in 2021 with $1.18 billion. The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation are the primary federal investors, accounting for 49.6% and 24.4% of all federal investments, respectively. Cornell is ranked fourth in the world for producing graduates who pursue PhDs in engineering or natural sciences at American institutions and fifth for graduates pursuing PhDs in any field.
Science, technology, and engineering research
Cornell has a rich history of scientific, technological, and engineering research accomplishments. The university has made significant contributions to the fields of nuclear physics, high-energy physics, space exploration, automotive safety, and computing technology, among others. Cornell consistently ranks among the top U.S. universities for patent acquisition and start-up company formation. In the 2004–05 academic year, the university filed 203 U.S. patent applications, completed 77 commercial license agreements, and distributed royalties of more than $4.1 million to Cornell units and inventors.[ In 2009 Cornell spent $671 million on science and engineering research and development, the 16th highest in the United States.
Cornell has been involved in Exploration of Mars, uncrewed missions to Mars since 1962 and played a vital role in the Mars Exploration Rover, Mars Exploration Rover Mission in the 21st century. The university's researchers discovered the Rings of Uranus, rings around the planet Uranus and operated the ]Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and formerly known as the Arecibo Ionosphere Observatory, is an observatory in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science F ...
in Puerto Rico until 2011. This observatory housed the world's largest single-dish radio telescope at the time.
The Automotive Crash Injury Research Center, founded in 1952, was a pioneering effort in crash testing and significantly improved vehicle safety standards. It was the first to use corpses instead of dummies for testing, leading to crucial findings about the effectiveness of seat belts, energy-absorbing steering wheels, padded dashboards, and improved door locks.[
Cornell has long been at the forefront of advancements in computer, computing technology. In the 1980s, the university deployed the first IBM 3090-400VF and coupled two IBM 3090-600E systems to investigate coarse-grained parallel computing. As part of the National Science Foundation's initiative to establish new supercomputer centers, the Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing was founded. Cornell has continued to innovate in this area, most recently deploying Red Cloud, a cloud computing service designed specifically for research. The Red Cloud service is now part of the NSF's Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) supercomputing program.
In the realm of high-energy physics, Cornell scientists have been researching fundamental particles for over 75 years. The university has played an integral role in the foundations of nuclear physics, with faculty members Hans Bethe and List of Cornell Manhattan Project people, others participating in the Manhattan Project. In the 1930s, Cornell built the second cyclotron in the United States and, in the 1950s, became the first to study synchrotron radiation. The Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education, Cornell Electron Storage Ring, located beneath Alumni Field, was once the world's highest-luminosity electron-positron collider. Cornell's accelerator and high-energy physics groups are involved in the design of the proposed International Linear Collider, which will complement the Large Hadron Collider and shed light on questions related to dark matter and the existence of extra dimensions.
]
Philosophical research
The Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University was founded in 1891 with philanthropic support from Henry W. Sage, a prominent figure in the lumber industry. In 1891, Sage endowed the establishment of the Sage School. The school's namesake, Susan Linn Sage, died in 1885 in a carriage accident on Slaterville Road. Henry W. Sage, who was President of Cornell's Board of Trustees since 1875, sought to honor his late wife's memory through the establishment of the Sage School. In addition to the school's founding, Sage bestowed the title of Susan Linn Sage Professor of Christian Ethics and Mental Philosophy upon then Cornell president Jacob Gould Schurman.
A cornerstone of the Sage School's early endeavors was the founding of ''The Philosophical Review
''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Since September 2006, it is published by Duke University Press.
Overview
The journal publishes origin ...
'' in 1891, which was the first genuine philosophical review in the United States and has since been continuously published by the Sage School since its inception.
The Sage School of Philosophy's faculty has included several prominent philosophy scholars:
* Max Black, a leading figure in analytic philosophy, made significant contributions during his tenure at Cornell, where he remained from 1946 to 1977.
* Edwin A. Burtt, as the Susan Linn Sage Professor, challenged prevailing positivist and scientific views with his book, ''The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science'', published in 1924.
* Norman Malcolm, known for his engagement with Ludwig Wittgenstein's later thought, left a lasting impact on philosophy of mind, free will, determinism, and philosophy of religion during his time at the Sage School from 1947 to 1978.
* John Rawls, widely regarded as one of the greatest American political philosophers, spent a year of his graduate studies at the Sage School prior to joining the department as faculty, where he served from 1953 to the early 1960s.
* George Holland Sabine, known for his seminal work ''A History of Political Theory'', published in 1937, provided a comprehensive account of political theory from ancient times to the rise of Nazism and fascism.
* Gregory Vlastos, a distinguished scholar, joined Cornell in 1948 as the Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy. His work synthesized ancient philosophy and analytic philosophy, marking a decisive change to the study of Greek philosophy in the English-speaking world.
In a 2024 ranking published by the ''Philosophical Gourmet'', Sage School is ranked among the best programs at 19, and top five in the world in the fields of value theory, that is their focus on moral psychology, metaethics, applied ethics, philosophy of law, social philosophy and history of philosophy ranging from ancient philosophy to modern philosophy. As of 2024, Sage School is home to several notable philosophers, including Tad Brennan, John Doris, Rachana Kamtekar, Kate Manne, Julia Markovits, Andrei Marmor, Shaun Nichols, Derk Pereboom, and others.
Student life
Activities
As of the 2016–2017 academic year, Cornell had over 1,000 registered student organizations. These clubs and organizations run the gamut from kayaking to full-armor jousting, from varsity and club sports and a cappella groups to improvisational theatre, from political clubs and publications to chess and video game clubs. The Cornell International Affairs Society sends over 100 Cornellians to collegiate Model United Nations conferences across North America and hosts the Cornell Model United Nations Conference each spring for over 500 high school students. The Cornell University Mock Trial Association regularly sends teams to the national championship and is ranked fifth in the nation. The Cornell International Affairs Society's traveling Model United Nations team was ranked 16th in the nation as of 2010. Cornell United Religious Work is a collaboration among many diverse religious traditions, helping to provide spiritual resources throughout a student's time at college. The Cornell Catholic Community is the largest Catholic student organization on campus. Student organizations also include a myriad of groups including a symphony orchestra, concert bands, formal and informal choral groups, including the Cornell University Glee Club, Glee Club, the The Chordials, Chordials and other musical groups that play everything from classical, jazz, to ethnic styles in addition to the Big Red Marching Band, which performs regularly at football games and other campus events.
Organized in 1868, the oldest Cornell student organization is the Cornell University Glee Club. Cornell also has an active outdoor community, including Cornell Outdoor Education and Outdoor Odyssey, a student-run group that runs pre-orientation trips for first-year and transfer students. A Cornell student organization, The Cornell Astronomical Society, runs public observing nights every Friday evening at the Fuertes Observatory. The university is home to the Telluride House, an intellectual residential society. The university is also home to three Collegiate secret societies in North America, secret honor societies, Sphinx Head, Der Hexenkreis, and Quill and Dagger that have maintained a campus presence for over 120 years.
Cornell's clubs are primarily subsidized financially by the Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, two student-run organizations with a collective budget of $3.0 million per year.
Greek life, professional, and honor societies
Cornell hosts a large List of fraternities and sororities at Cornell University, fraternity and sorority system, with 70 chapters involving 33% of male and 24% of female undergraduates. Cornell's Greek Life has an extensive history on the campus with the first fraternity, Zeta Psi, being chartered by the end of the university's first year. Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek alphabet, Greek organization established for African Americans, was founded at Cornell in 1906. Alpha Zeta (Latin American), Alpha Zeta fraternity, the first Greek-lettered organization established for Latin Americans in the United States, was also founded at Cornell on 1 January 1890. Alpha Zeta served the wealthy international Latin American students that came to the United States to study. This organization led a movement of fraternities that catered to international Latin American students that was active from 1890 to 1975. On 19 February 1982, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity was established; it would eventually become the only Latino based fraternity in the nation with chapters at every Ivy League institution. Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi sorority was established on 16 April 1988, making the organization the first Latina-Based, and not Latina-exclusive, sorority founded at an ivy-league institution.
Cornell's connection to national Greek life is strong and longstanding. Many chapters are among the oldest of their respective national organizations, as evidenced by the proliferation of ''Alpha-series'' chapters. The chapter house of Alpha Delta Phi constructed in 1877 is believed to be the first house built in America solely for fraternity use, and the chapter's current home was designed by John Russell Pope. Philanthropy opportunities are used to encourage community relations, for example, during the 2004–05 academic year, the Greek system contributed 21,668 community service and advocacy hours and raised $176,547 in charitable contributions from its philanthropic efforts.[ Generally, discipline is managed internally by the inter-Greek governing boards. As with all student, faculty or staff misconduct, more serious cases are reviewed by the Judicial Administrator, who administers Cornell's justice system.]
Press and radio
The Cornell student body produces several works by way of print and radio. Student-run newspapers include ''The Cornell Daily Sun'', an independent daily, and ''The Cornell Review'', a conservative newspaper published fortnightly.
Other press outlets include ''The Cornell Lunatic'', a campus humor magazine, the ''Cornell Chronicle'', the university's newspaper of record, and ''Kitsch Magazine'', a feature story, feature magazine co-published with Ithaca College. ''The Cornellian'' is an independent student organization that organizes, arranges, produces, edits, and publishes the yearbook of the same name; it is composed of artistic photos of the campus, student life, and athletics, and the standard senior portraits. It carries the Silver Crown Award for Journalism and a Benjamin Franklin Award for Print Design, the only Ivy League yearbook with such a distinction. Cornellians are represented over the radio waves on WVBR-FM, an independent commercial FM broadcasting, FM radio station owned and operated by Cornell students. Other student groups also operate internet streaming audio sites.
Housing
Cornell University's residential system is divided into Cornell North Campus, North Campus, Cornell West Campus, West Campus, and Collegetown. The university introduced coeducational dormitories in 1971 and has maintained a system of residential advisors (RAs) to support students. Historically, freshmen were assigned to West Campus, particularly Baker and Boldt Halls. However, a 1997 residential initiative restructured the system, designating West Campus for upper-level students while North Campus became the primary residential area for freshmen and some sophomores. In 2022, the North Campus Residential Expansion added housing for 800 sophomores, marking a shift from its previous role as predominantly first-year housing..
West Campus serves upper-level undergraduates and incorporates a residential college system designed to foster academic and social engagement outside the classroom. This system, developed through a $250 million reconstruction project, was influenced in part by Risley Residential College, Cornell’s oldest continuously operating residential college. Beyond North and West Campus, Cornell offers additional housing options. Schuyler House, a former part of Sage Infirmary, now functions as a residence hall.
List_of_fraternities_and_sororities_at_Cornell_University, Cornell’s Greek system provides another housing option, with approximately nine percent of undergraduate students living in fraternity and sorority houses. While first-semester freshmen are not eligible for membership, the university hosts 67 Greek chapters, many of which maintain residential facilities. Additionally, independent housing options exist, such as the student-run Telluride House, the Center for Jewish Living, and other housing cooperative, cooperative residences that emphasize community-oriented living.
Dining
, The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
ranked Cornell’s dining program fifth in the nation. The university operates 29 dining facilities across campus, serving students in residential and academic areas.
On North Campus, dining options include a mix of large dining halls and smaller venues, with facilities such as Morrison Dining and North Star Dining at Appel Commons serving as primary locations for first-year students. Risley Residential College also houses a historic dining hall modeled on the great hall at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford.
West Campus follows a residential college model, where each house features its own dining hall, creating a more intimate and community-oriented dining experience. Additionally, 104West! provides specialized kosher and multicultural meal options for students with specific dietary needs.
In Central Campus, Willard Straight Hall is home to Okenshields, a dining facility that caters to students and faculty in the academic core of the university. Beyond the main dining halls, Cornell offers various cafés, eateries, and grab-and-go options throughout campus to accommodate a range of dietary preferences and schedules.
Athletics
Cornell University's 35 varsity intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the Cornell Big Red. Cornell is an NCAA Division I institution and competes as a member of the Ivy League#Competition and athletics, Ivy League and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the largest athletic conference in North America. Cornell's varsity athletic teams consistently challenge for NCAA Division I titles in a number of sports, including Cornell Big Red wrestling, men's wrestling, Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse, men's lacrosse, Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey, men's ice hockey, and rowing. As an Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
member, Cornell is prohibited from offering athletic scholarships.
Cornell's Cornell Big Red football, football team had at least a share of the national championship four times before 1940 and has won the Ivy League championship three times, last in 1990.
In 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 2010, the Cornell Big Red men's basketball, men's basketball team appeared for the first time in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA tournament's East Regional semifinals, known as the "Sweet 16." Cornell was the first Ivy League basketball team to make the semifinals since 1979.
Cornell Outdoor Education
Cornell runs one of the largest collegiate outdoor education programs in the country, serving over 20,000 people every year. The program runs over 130 different courses including but not limited to: Backpacking and Camping, Mountain Biking, Bike Touring, Caving, Hiking, Rock Climbing, Wilderness First Aid, Sailing, and Tree Climbing. COE also oversees one of the largest student-run pre-freshman summer programs, known as Outdoor Odyssey. Most classes are often entirely taught by paid student instructors and courses count toward Cornell's physical education graduation requirement.
Cornell Outdoor Education includes the Lindseth Climbing Wall, which was renovated in 2016 and now includes 8,000 square feet of climbing surface up from 4,800 square feet previously.
Cornelliana
Cornelliana is a term for Cornell's traditions, legends, and lore. Cornellian traditions include Slope Day, a celebration held on the last day of classes of the spring semester, and Dragon Day, which includes the parading of a dragon built by architecture students. Dragon Day is one of the school's oldest traditions and has been celebrated annually since 1901, historically on or near St. Patrick's Day. The dragon is built by the first-year architecture students in the week preceding the start of Spring Break. Taunting messages are left for the engineering students during the week leading into Dragon Day, with pranks, a "nerd walk," and even "green streak" (in which the students paint themselves green) often targeting engineers and their classes. On Dragon Day, the dragon is paraded around central campus by the first-year students, starting behind Rand Hall and moving through Cornell until eventually returning towards the Arts Quad. During the parade, the upper-year architecture students walk behind the dragon in various costumes, typically constructed by themselves for the event. Throughout much of its history, the dragon was then set afire upon its arrival to the arts quad, but that has since been discontinued due to environmental regulations.
According to legend, if a virgin crosses the Arts Quad at midnight, the statues of Ezra Cornell
Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, academic, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as president of the New York ...
and Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States, and served as its first president for nearly two de ...
will walk off their pedestals, meet in the center of the Quad, and shake hands, congratulating themselves on the chastity of students. There is also another myth that if a couple crosses the suspension bridge on North Campus, and the young woman does not accept a kiss from her partner, the bridge will fall. If the kiss is accepted, the couple is assured a long future together.
The university is also host to various student pranks. On at least two different occasions, the university has awoken to find something odd atop the 173-foot (52.7 m) tall McGraw clock tower, once a 60-pound (27 kg) Cornell University pumpkin prank, pumpkin and another time a disco ball. Because there is no access to the spire atop the tower, how the items were put in place remains a mystery. The colors of the lights on McGraw tower change to orange for Halloween and green for St. Patrick's Day. The clock tower also plays music.
The school colors are carnelian (a shade of red) and white, a play on "Cornellian" and Andrew Dickson White. A bear is commonly used as the unofficial mascot, which dates back to the introduction of the mascot "Touchdown (mascot), Touchdown" in 1915, a live bear who was brought onto the field during football games. The university's alma mater is "Far Above Cayuga's Waters," and its fight song is "Give My Regards to Davy." People associated with the university are called "Cornellians."
Health
Cornell offers a variety of professional and peer counseling services to students. Formerly called Gannett Health Services until its name change in 2016, Cornell Health offers on-campus outpatient health services with emergency services and residential treatment provided by Cayuga Medical Center. For most of its history, Cornell provided residential medical care for sick students, including at the historic Sage Infirmary. Cornell offers specialized reproductive health and family planning services. The university also has a student-run Emergency medical services, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agency. The squad provides emergency response to medical emergencies on the campus at Cornell and surrounding university-owned properties. Cornell EMS also provides stand-by service for university events and provides CPR, First Aid and other training seminars to the Cornell community.
The university received attention for a Cornell gorge suicides, series of six student suicides by jumping into a gorge that occurred during the 2009–10 school year, and after the incidents added temporary fences to the bridges which span area gorges. In May 2013, Cornell indicated that it planned to set up nets, which will extend out 15 feet, on five of the university's bridges. Installation of the nets began in May 2013 and were completed over the summer of that year. There were cases of gorge-jumping in the 1970s and 1990s. Before this abnormal cluster of suicides, the suicide rate at Cornell had been similar to or below the suicide rates of other American universities, including a period between 2005 and 2008 in which no suicides occurred.
Campus police
Cornell University Police protect the campus and are classified as peace officers and have the same authority as the Ithaca city police. They are similar to the campus police at Ithaca College, Syracuse University, and University of Rochester because those campus police are classified as armed peace officers. The Cornell University Police are on campus and on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Their duties include: patrolling the university around the clock, responding to emergencies and non-emergency calls for service, crime prevention services, active investigation of crimes on campus, enforcement of state criminal and motor vehicle laws, and campus regulations.
Notable people
Alumni
As of 2024, Cornell University had over 250,000 living alumni, including 34 Marshall Scholars
The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...
and 31 Rhodes Scholars
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Established in 1902, it is ...
. Cornell is the only university or college in the world with four female alumni, Pearl S. Buck, Barbara McClintock, Toni Morrison, and Claudia Goldin, who have won unshared Nobel Prizes.[ Many alumni maintain university ties through the annual homecoming reunion weekend each fall, through ''Cornell Magazine'' distributed to alumni, and through the Cornell Club of New York in ]Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. In 2015, Cornell ranked fifth nationally among U.S. universities and colleges for gifts and bequests from alumni.
Cornell University alumni are noted for their accomplishments in public, professional, and corporate life.[ Cornell alumni include four heads of state, Lee Teng-hui, President of Taiwan from 1988 to 2000, Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan from 2016 to 2024, Mario García Menocal, the President of Cuba from 1913 to 1921, and Jamshid Amuzegar ('50), Prime Minister of Iran from 1977 to 1978.]
Among senior Federal government of the United States, U.S. government officials, Cornell alumni include Janet Reno ('60), the List of female United States Cabinet Secretaries, first female United States Attorney General, U.S. Attorney General, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg ('54), a former Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court associate justice. Among foreign governments, Hu Shih (1914) was a Chinese reformer and ambassador of China to the U.S. and List of ambassadors of China to the United States, United Nations.
In academia, alumnus David Starr Jordan (1872) was founding president of Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and M. Carey Thomas (1877) was the second president and first female president of Bryn Mawr College.
In military service, Matt Urban ('41), a Medal of Honor recipient, holds the distinction as one of the most decorated soldiers in World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
In business, Cornellians include Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill ('55), Goldman Sachs Group chairman Stephen Friedman (PFIAB), Stephen Friedman ('59), Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld ('75, '77, '80), Autodesk CEO Carl Bass ('83), Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini ('84), S. C. Johnson & Son, S.C. Johnson & Son CEO Herbert Fisk Johnson III, Fisk Johnson ('79, '80, '82, '84, '86), Chevron Corporation, Chevron Chairman Kenneth T. Derr ('59), Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse ('77), Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam ('76), MasterCard CEO Robert Selander ('72), Coors Brewing Company CEO Adolph Coors III ('37), Loews Corporation Chairman Andrew Tisch ('71), Burger King founder James McLamore ('47), Hotels.com founder David Litman ('79), PeopleSoft founder David Duffield ('62), Priceline.com founder Jay S. Walker, Jay Walker ('77), Staples, Inc., Staples founder Myra Hart ('62), Qualcomm
Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
founder Irwin M. Jacobs ('56), Tata Group CEO Ratan Tata ('62),Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé, Johnson & Johnson worldwide chairman Sandi Peterson, Pawan Kumar Goenka, MD of Mahindra & Mahindra, and Y Combinator founder Paul Graham (programmer), Paul Graham ('86).
In medicine, alumnus Robert Atkins (nutritionist), Robert Atkins ('55) developed the Atkins Diet, Henry Heimlich ('47) developed the Heimlich maneuver, Wilson Greatbatch ('50) invented the artificial pacemaker, pacemaker, James Maas ('66; also a faculty member) coined the term power nap, C. Everett Koop ('41) served as Surgeon General of the United States, and Anthony Fauci served as Chief Medical Advisor to the President during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic.
Among inventors, Cornellians include Thomas Midgley Jr. ('11), who invented Freon, Jon Rubinstein ('78), who is credited with the development of the iPod, and Robert Tappan Morris, who developed the Morris (computer worm), first computer worm on the Internet.
In science, Bill Nye ('77) is known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy, The Science Guy." Clarence W. Spicer invented the 'universal joint' for automobiles while a student in 1903.
Eight Cornellians have served as NASA astronauts. Steve Squyres ('81) is the principal investigator on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. In aerospace, Otto Glasser ('40) directed the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force program that developed the SM-65 Atlas, the world's first operational Intercontinental ballistic missile. Yolanda Shea is a research scientist in the Science Directorate at the Langley Research Center.
In literature, Toni Morrison (M.A.'50; Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel laureate) authored the novel ''Beloved (novel), Beloved'', Pearl S. Buck (M.A.'25; Nobel laureate) authored ''The Good Earth'', and Thomas Pynchon ('59) wrote canonical works of post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
fiction, including ''Gravity's Rainbow'' and ''The Crying of Lot 49''. Junot Díaz ('95) wrote The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and E. B. White (1921) authored ''Charlotte's Web'' and ''Stuart Little''. Kurt Vonnegut, who attended but did not graduate, wrote extensively for ''The Cornell Daily Sun'' during his studies at Cornell and went on to author ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' and ''Cat's Cradle''. Lauren Weisberger ('99) wrote ''The Devil Wears Prada (novel), The Devil Wears Prada'', which was later adapted into a The Devil Wears Prada (film), 2006 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
In media, Cornell alumni include liberal commentators Bill Maher ('78) and Keith Olbermann ('79) and conservative author Ann Coulter ('84).[
In theatre and entertainment, Cornell alumni include actor Christopher Reeve ('74), who played ''Superman (1978 film), Superman'',][ Frank Morgan, who played the title role of ''The Wizard of Oz (character), The Wizard'' in the MGM movie Wizard (Oz), The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Yarrow ('59) of the folk band Peter, Paul and Mary, who wrote the song ''Puff, the Magic Dragon'', and other classic songs. Howard Hawks ('18) directed classic films, including ''Bringing Up Baby'' (1938), ''His Girl Friday'' (1940), and ''Rio Bravo (film), Rio Bravo'' (1959).
In architecture, alumnus Richmond Shreve (1902) designed the Empire State Building, and Raymond M. Kennedy ('15) designed Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood's famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre.] In the arts, Arthur Dove, Arthur Garfield Dove (1903) is often considered the first American abstract painter. Louise Lawler ('69) is a pioneering feminist artist, photographer, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In athletics, Cornell graduates include football legend Pop Warner (1894), head coach of the U.S. men's national soccer team Bruce Arena ('73), Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred ('80) National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman ('74), six-time Stanley Cup winning ice hockey, hockey goalie Ken Dryden ('69), tennis singles world # 2 Dick Savitt, seven-time US Tennis championships winner William Larned, Toronto Raptors president Bryan Colangelo ('87), and Kyle Dake, four-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, NCAA division I Collegiate wrestling, college wrestling national champion.
Faculty
Cornell University has numerous notable faculty and alumni who have gone on to do noteworthy things. Cornell faculty members, researchers, and alumni include 62 Nobel Prize, Nobel laureates.[
]
, Cornell University had 1,637 full-and part-time professional faculty members affiliated with its main campus, excluding faculty affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical Center, the university's medical school.[ Since its 1865 founding, many Cornell University's faculty have received global and national recognition across nearly all academic disciplines.
As of the 2005–06 academic year, Cornell faculty included three Nobel Prize, Nobel laureates, a Crafoord Prize winner, two ]Turing Award
The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in the fi ...
winners, a Fields Medal
The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
winner, two Legion of Honor recipients, a World Food Prize winner, an Andrei Sakharov Prize winner, three National Medal of Science winners, two Wolf Prize winners, five MacArthur award winners, four Pulitzer Prize winners, a Carter G. Woodson Scholars Medallion recipient, 20 National Science Foundation career grant holders, a recipient of the United States National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences Award, a recipient of the American Mathematical Society's Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement, a recipient of the Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, and three Packard Foundation grant holders.[
Notable Cornell faculty have included Kurt Lewin, known as the "father of social psychology", who was a Cornell professor from 1933 to 1935. Norman Borlaug, considered the "father of the Green Revolution", taught at the university from 1982 to 1988, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and 49 honorary doctorates. Frances Perkins joined the Cornell faculty in 1952, where she served until her death in 1965, after serving as the first female member of the Cabinet of the United States, where she served as the United States Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Labor; Perkins was a witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in her adolescence and, as Secretary of Labor, went on to champion the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Social Security Act. Buckminster Fuller was a visiting professor at Cornell in 1952, and Henry Louis Gates, African American Studies scholar and Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy, subject of an arrest controversy and White House "Beer Summit," taught at Cornell from 1985 to 1989. Plant genetics pioneer Ray Wu invented the first method for DNA sequencing, sequencing DNA, considered a major breakthrough in genetics, since it enabled researchers to more closely understand how genes work. Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Emmy Award-winning actor John Cleese, known for his roles in ''Monty Python'', ''James Bond (film series), James Bond'', ''Harry Potter (film series), Harry Potter'', and ''Shrek (franchise), Shrek'', has taught at Cornell since 1999. Charles Evans Hughes taught in the law school from 1893 to 1895 before becoming ]Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
, United States Secretary of State, and Chief Justice of the United States. Georgios Papanikolaou, who taught at Cornell's medical school from 1913 to 1961, invented the Pap test, Pap smear test for cervical cancer. Robert C. Baker ('43), widely credited for inventing the chicken nugget, taught at Cornell from 1957 to 1989. Carl Sagan, who narrated and co-wrote the Emmy Awards, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS series ''Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'' and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, ''The Dragons of Eden'', was a professor at the university from 1968 to 1996. M. H. Abrams, founding editor of ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', was a professor emeritus of English at Cornell. James L. Hoard, a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project and an expert in crystallography, was a professor emeritus of chemistry and taught from 1936 to 1971. Vladimir Nabokov taught Russian and European literature at Cornell between 1948 and 1959.
See also
* Cornell Law School
* Cornell Notes
* Cornell realism
* Here Comes Treble
Notes
References
Further reading
online
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online
excerpt
External links
*
Cornell Athletics website
{{Authority control
Cornell University,
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