The ongoing challenges we face as a society are social and technical, and demand both expertise and humanity – and they require the kind of education and knowledge that Cornellians strive for, said Cornell President Martha E. Pollack during her State of the University Address Oct. 18.
The annual address – delivered in Statler Auditorium to nearly 700 trustees, Cornell University Council members, alumni, faculty, staff, students and guests (plus livestream viewers) – was part of Trustee-Council Annual Meeting events held in Ithaca Oct. 16-19.
Cornell University was founded not only as a legacy but as an investment, Pollack said, noting that university founder Ezra Cornell was “seeking a very specific return – he was looking to do the greatest good with his fortune, and he was looking to do it for posterity.”