Dear Class Officers,
As we begin the new year, I hope you feel a sense of renewal and energy. There is certainly a lot happening and a lot to look forward to!
Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference
You can now register for the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC)! The event will be held February 24-27 and, as it is entirely virtual this year, will be open to all alumni. This year, there are no concurrent sessions. We encourage you to hold your individual class council meetings over the next four weeks leading up to CALC. Please note the time slot on Friday, February 26 at 6:15pm EST, which is held open for Cornell communities to host social time and reconnect with each other.
We invite all class officers to the CACO Annual Meeting, which will happen on Wednesday, February 24 at 8:30pm EST. President A’ndrea Van Schoick ’96 and members of the Executive Committee will share updates from the CACO Board and will present the slate of officers for the 2021-2023 term. This meeting will include voting, so please be sure to register and attend! Please note that the CACO Annual Meeting is a separate registration from CALC, and we hope you will register for both.
For those of you who are especially interested in the transition from Cornell Alumni Magazine and Ezra to the upcoming media hub that was announced last fall, the session, “Stories from the Inside: Alumni Publications Update,” on the Saturday of the conference will provide more information about this process and early findings from audience research.
Lastly, I’d like to call your attention to the Friday afternoon session, titled “Stories from the Inside: Building Community & Belonging on Campus: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” As we prepare to attend CALC and continue to think about the ways we can use our roles as alumni volunteers to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion, the CACO Board invites you to learn along with us. Our Diversity & Inclusion Committee has been collecting resources that we find helpful in expanding our understanding of equity. Here are resources on anti-racism we’d like to share with you, with the goal of continuing our collective education:
Anti-Racism, Activism and Institutional Change (Institute for Comparative Modernities, October 2020): A conversation with Cornell faculty and students about the obstacles and opportunities the present moment has raised for anti-racism and activism in the university and elsewhere.
Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview With Sylvia Hurtado (Higher Education Today, November 2019): An interview with Sylvia Hurtado, Professor, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA, in the Division of Higher Education and Organizational Change.
Class Officer Nominations
Class officer nominations for the classes of ’1s and ’6s are now open through Monday, February 15. We thank you all for your service as a class officer, and hope you’ll take some time to think of a classmate or two who would succeed in one of the many roles in which a class officer can serve, from Reunion Chair to Historian. You can nominate others -- or yourself! -- on CUVolunteer. Here is a document with links to the nominations page for each class.
Speaking of alumni leaders…
Each year, we as Cornell alumni have the opportunity to elect two new members to the Board of Trustees. The elections are open from Feb 1-28. You can read more about each candidate and make your voice heard by voting online. Please encourage your classmates to do so as well! This volunteer toolkit will help you spread the word about our trustee election.
Cornell According to Sound
In our November newsletter, we highlighted the immersive sound experience, Cornell According to Sound. If you weren’t able to catch the live version, we’re happy to inform you that the recording is available through February 15. Enjoy!
Thank you, as always, for the time and energy you spend bringing Cornellians together. Our community is better and stronger because of the work that you do!
With gratitude,
Janelle Teng ’11
VP of Communications, CACO
