Provost initiative to envision Cornell’s long-term future

A new faculty-led committee will explore how the university can evolve to best serve future generations while pursuing its core mission of education, scholarship, public impact and community engagement.

Provost Kavita Bala has charged the Committee on the Future of the American Universitywith envisioning Cornell's long-term future, at a time when the fundamental value of higher education is being questioned. Universities are grappling with a loss of public trust, the reshaping of their decades-long compact with the federal government and rapid technological change - including artificial intelligence.

"This is a consequential moment in the history of higher education. Envisioning the future of American higher education is a bold but necessary endeavor," she said. "Grounded in our enduring founding principles, Cornellians are up to this task, and I look forward to the insightful conversations we have together across campus and beyond."

The committee members, recommended by their respective deans, represent a range of academic disciplines and areas of expertise. The committee will engage in discussions across campus, report on progress at the end of the fall semester and continue its exploration in spring 2026.

The committee will examine pressing questions across four key areas:

• Undergraduate education: How should a university educate undergraduates in the face of diminished trust and significant sociotechnical change? How can universities best train today's students to become responsible citizens in a polarized world, with the capacity to debate and disagree constructively with those who hold different views? How can Cornell embrace change while retaining its commitment to the power of reading and writing, dialogue, human ingenuity and critical thought?
• Graduate education: The dual pressures of diminished trust in higher learning and reduced federal funding present a consequential challenge to graduate education. How should universities train the next generation of scholars, researchers, entrepreneurs, creatives and leaders?
• Scholarship: What is the future of university scholarship? If federal support continues to wane, how can American universities retain global leadership in research through new partnerships and funding models? How does Cornell build trust with and better serve a public that increasingly doubts the value of scholarship and has concerns about integrity and ideological bias?
• Public impact and community engagement: As a social institution, the university is embedded in American communities, providing services and support that go beyond the contributions of its educational and research missions. How can Cornell leverage the knowledge it generates to inform policy and practice and to improve the daily lives of communities, families and individuals?

"Across each of these core missions of the university, we must assess the challenges and opportunities presented at this historical moment, engaging with supporters and skeptics within our university and beyond," Bala said.

A key component of the committee will be gathering input, feedback and comments from the Cornell faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as the broader community through a variety of listening session and other forums. The committee co-chairs are:

• Ariel Avgar, the David M. Cohen Professor, Labor Relations, Law, and History; director of the Center for Applied Research on Work, ILR School;
• Phoebe Sengers, professor of information science, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers); professor of science and technology studies, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S);
• Praveen Sethupathy, professor and chair of biomedical sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM); and
• Adam T. Smith, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology, A&S; director, Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies; associate dean and secretary of faculty.

Bala said, "Every voice on this campus matters, and we want to gather a broad array of perspectives on these crucial questions." Comments can be sent to [email protected] and the full charge can be found at the Office of the Provost's Initiatives.

Committee members are:

• Ariel Avgar, co-chair, the David M. Cohen Professor, Labor Relations, Law, and History; director of the Center for Applied Research on Work, ILR School;
• Anthony Burrow, the Ferris Family Associate Professor of Life Course Studies in the Department of Psychology; director, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research; senior associate dean for outreach and extension; College of Human Ecology (CHE);
• Brian Crane, the George W. and Grace L. Todd Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, A&S; director, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology; professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Cornell University Research Transfer;
• Milton Curry, professor of architecture; senior associate dean for strategic initiatives and engagement, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning;
• Eve De Rosa, the Mibs Martin Follett Professor in Human Ecology; professor of psychology, CHE; dean of faculty;
• Rick Geddes, professor of policy analysis and management in the Department of Economics, Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy (Brooks School);
• Durba Ghosh, professor of history, A&S;
• Drew Margolin, associate professor of communication, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS);
• Sheila Olmstead, professor, Brooks School; Atkinson Scholar and senior faculty fellow, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability;
• Frank Pasquale, professor, Cornell Tech; professor of law, Cornell Law School;
• David Rand, professor of marketing and management communication, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business; professor of information science, Cornell Bowers;
• Joss Rose, Barbara McClintock Professor and director, School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Biology Section, CALS;
• Phoebe Sengers, co-chair, professor of information science, Cornell Bowers; professor of science and technology studies, A&S;
• Praveen Sethupathy, co-chair, professor and chair biomedical sciences, CVM;
• Adam T. Smith, co-chair, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology, A&S; director, Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies; associate dean and secretary of faculty;
• Marcus Smolka, professor of molecular biology and genetics, CALS; member, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology; associate vice provost for life sciences, Office of Research and Innovation; interim director, Cornell Institute of Biotechnology and the Biotechnology Resource Center;
• Abraham Stroock'95, the Gorden L. Dibble '50 Professor, Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell Engineering; adjunct professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, CALS; director, National Science Foundation Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems;
• Julia Thom-Levy, professor and chair of physics, A&S.