Posted on 09/09/2003 8:41:09 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
ITHACA--The University calls them the 'Superclass of 1956.' And for their 40th reunion in 2001, they offered a legacy to the University that would confirm their reputation as one of Cornell's most generous alumni classes.
The Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 Professorship -- supported by an unprecedented $5 million endowment for a single chair -- was created to honor Cornell's ninth President and as a gift to undergraduates.
But the president of the Class of '56, Ernie Stern, could not have predicted that a ribbon-wrapped present would result in the backlash against the 2003 appointments of former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and film-maker Jonathan Pilger.
"Classmates of every political stripe are upset," he said, after receiving communications from at least 20 classmates, all angry about the program's latest appointments. "I don't think this is Democrat versus Republican."
That could have consequences.
"Some people are so unhappy that they may stop giving money to Cornell. And that's really unfortunate," Stern said.
The Class of '56's reactions to the 2003 Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 (FHTR) Professors, McKinney and Pilger, have not been unique. In a three part series beginning today, The Sun will look at the controversy surrounding the appointments. Today, we examine the background, beginning in 1995 with the origin of the professorship. Tomorrow, we will cover the faculty committee's deliberations on the McKinney and Pilger nominations. On Thursday, we will examine the reactions to the appointments of McKinney and Pilger.
A Grand Vision
"By creating [the FHTR], we will forever link our class with one of Cornell's most beloved presidents and with leaders in every area of public life" -- fundraising letter to members of Class of '56
When the Class of '56 approached Cornell about their vision for the FHTR professorship, they suggested something different from other visiting lecturer and professor programs, such as 38 year-old The Andrew Dickson White Professor-At-Large (PAL) or the 19 year-old Bartels World Affairs Fellowship.
As President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes wrote in a 1995 letter, the professorship "will allow us to attract people who could not possibly be brought here by other methods." It was to attract higher-profile figures than the other programs, for longer stays and offer more money, 4 to 5 percent of the $5 million for total yearly expenses.
The Class of '56 wanted to create a unique program to attract people of "extraordinary eminence, world figures."
As a fundraising letter to classmates explained, "The prestige of the professorship and the generosity of the endowment will enable Cornell to attract former presidents, great contemporary composers, honored dramatic artists and authors, industry leaders and world political figures."
Bureaucracy
In an effort to implement the Class vision quickly and avoid creating a new bureaucracy, the administration, through the office of then Provost Don Randel, asked the faculty selection committee for the PAL program to administer the new money.
After bringing the likes of John Cleese and respected academics to campus since 1965, the PAL committee had experience, but also concerns about the new professorship.
"The conception of this chair was not worked out with the Andrew Dickson White group," said Porus Olpadwala, the Chair of the PAL committee since 1996 and a member since 1992. In 1997, the FHTR program was folded into the existing PAL structure.
Money Swap
The administration looked to the faculty committee to achieve the program's vision, but after several years began to look for different ways to use the program's endowment.
In May 2003, shortly before his term ended, President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III wrote "we have been unable to meet one stipulation of the professorships, namely to attract important people to campus for extended stays."
Rawlings sought support for a proposal to transfer $4 million of the original endowment to create a new chair for the University's New Life Sciences Initiative.
"The Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 Director of Molecular and Cell Biology will fulfill the Class of '56's vision to strengthen the undergraduate experience in an emerging disciplinary field. It will also attract an outstanding leader to campus," Rawlings wrote.
President Emeritus Rhodes, the Class of '56, Rawlings and the faculty committee supported the decision.
"It probably became clear to people in central administration that this was a large sum of money and [the question was] were we making the best use of it?" said Olpadwala. "The University has growing needs in leading-edge areas of research."
Rhodes professors and professors at large are paid $500 a day -- far less than what a distinguished lecturer typically commands in speaking fees.
Stern said that the class realized that "super high-powered people" could not be attracted to campus "no matter the size of the endowment," and agreed to the transfer of $4 million.
Due to scheduling and other duties, international figures are difficult to bring for a visit of even two days, "no matter how much you're willing to pay," according to Leilani Peck, associate director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, which administers the Bartels World Affairs Fellowship program.
Reality
In granting the endowment, the class may have initially intended to bring Henry Kissinger or Margaret Thatcher to Ithaca for up to six months at a time. Practically, that was not possible, according to both Stern and Olpadwala. Olpadwala said that such a program might be possible in New York, Boston or Washington, D.C., but Ithaca's isolation and academic environment may make it more difficult.
The administration modified the professorships to more accurately reflect these difficulties and to have an immediate practical effect. As a result, the differences between the the PAL and the FHTR professorships are looser and less clearly defined than originally intended.
In 2000, the FHTR professorship named its first professors, world-famous architect Richard Meier '56 and biomedical scientist Edward Scolnick. In 2001, Olpadwala's committee appointed science-guy Bill Nye '77 and former U.S. attorney general Janet Reno '60.
"[Reno] is an icon. She's the kind of person we had in mind. People can disagree politically with Janet Reno, but I think there's a major difference [between her and McKinney]," Stern said.
With its first four appointments, the program was off to a high-profile start, but there were some problems hidden behind the glittery names -- three of the first four being alumni.
In its first year, the merged PAL and FHTR faculty committee received only three nominations for the Professorship -- two were approved. In its second year, the committee received three more nominations -- again, two were approved. In its third year, 2002, the committee received zero nominations. No appointments were made.
Only tenured members of the faculty can nominate a professor for the PAL or FHTR professorships. The FHTR process is lengthy and formal and a successful application requires hundreds of pages of documentation. That was not necessarily the way that the program was to be run. Rhodes' 1995 letter suggested that, "It is possible that nominations could be invited from the campus community."
Unlike the FHTR and PAL professorships, the Bartels World Affairs Fellowship program does not restrict nominations to faculty. Every year, they receive about 20 suggestions from students, faculty, Einaudi Center administrators and alumni, including Henry and Nancy Bartels, who contributed $15 million in 2000 for Bartels Hall. Past speakers have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama of Tibet. The program office keeps files on old nominations to check back on previously unavailable persons.
The Bartels committee reaches out to 600 faculty members for nominations and uses informal connections with international figures to gather potential candidates. "We have quite a file," Peck said.
Stern was not aware of any concerns about the process of selecting FHTR professors until earlier this year, when he received Rawlings' letter.
"We've been out of the loop," he said.
After all the expressions of disappointment, however, Stern is optimistic about the continued success of the program.
"The long-term interest is to give undergraduates an experience they wouldn't ordinarily have," he said. "I'm sure we'll live through this."
These people have so successfully purged conservatives from the area that they never hear anything other than their own ultra-left, anti-American, views. This made them deaf and blind to the reality of how many mainstream Americans, including their own alumni, would be shocked and offended by honoring McKinney this way.
And, now it looks like the chickens may finally be coming home to roost for Ithaca, the City of Evil.
Here, here, COME ON HOME YOU CHICKENS!!
"ITHACA--The University calls them the 'Superclass of 1956.' And for their 40th reunion in 2001..." How did we calclate this? 40 years in 2001 would have meant graduation in 1961. Maybe 45th reunion, but not 40th!
Go Cynthia!!
If anyone has Ernie's email or postal address, please share. Thanks.
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
"We've been out of the loop," he said.
That is certainly true if the loop is considered to be the society in general.
Take that, Cynthia.
Lets hope she doesn't get the chance...
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