Message from the Dean.
Mathios, Alan
With the return of students to campus and the inauguration of
Elizabeth Garrett as the university's 13th president, there's
a powerful reminder of the way a college education can transform lives.
"'Education is an inspiration, a taking hold of a broader
life,'" said President Garrett in her inaugural address,
quoting Professor Liberty Hyde Bailey, who helped pioneer the
university's extension efforts. "That kind of education can be
found across our campus every day, and around the world as our students
explore the globe ... and wrestle with age-old questions of what it
means to lead a valuable and engaged life."
At Human Ecology, that sense of exploration remains central to our
mission to improve lives as we explore and shape the environments around
us. In our cover story ("Lighting a Fire"), we look at a group
of high school students who spent the past summer on campus, thanks to a
deepening partnership between 4-H and CHE's Bronfenbrenner Center
for Translational Research. These students, who came from places as
different as Brooklyn and Bangladesh, arrived with two things in common:
a dream of higher education and a commitment to make the world a better
place. Five weeks later, they returned home with a new understanding of
their lives and careers.
A Human Ecology education is a transformational experience, and
with every step we take--as students, faculty, alumni, and friends--we
leave our mark. Inside this issue, you'll see those footprints
extending into the Dominican Republic ("The DR is In"), Ghana
("Protein Power"), Turkey ("Uncommon Threads"), and
Zambia ("Global Good"), as well as leading the way in
Washington, D.C. ("Washington Wizard"), New York City
("Brooklyn Bridges," "Gurus of New York"), and here
on campus ("A Bright Future," "Seeds of Change").
As we read these pages, we can see many reasons to be proud. Our
faculty continue to conduct cutting-edge research in a broad range of
disciplines. Our students embrace the world's challenges as
enthusiastic leaders on campus and around the globe. Our alumni provide
the network that makes all this innovation possible, following the
example of the previous generation as they guide the way for those yet
to come.
"Because of the experience at Cornell, our graduates will have
more fulfilling opportunities on their journeys," said Garrett.
"They will have brighter economic futures; and, most important,
they will experience life's adventures more deeply and with greater
satisfaction. Their education is worthy of their own investment, our
country's investment, and the investment of Cornellians who have
come before them, because our graduates will determine the future."
As we begin this next step of our journey, we remain grateful for
your support as you travel with us into the future.
