Cornell Alumni News - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell University

works by others. One is the tremendous development
planned within the drama department which, if it comes to
pass, I think it will, will mean that Cornell will not only
be a much more interesting place from the standpoint of
theater, but that involvement in the theater will be a much
more attractive idea to the students.
Another area connected to the theater is the Ithaca Festival.
In the university's dealing with the Festival, a local
civic group which plans to bring a first-rate repertory company
to Ithaca on a permanent basis, we have been con-
'The branch libraries . . .
are being used as
study space, not
because they are needed
as libraries, but
because they're quiet.'
stantly alert to the possibility of programs in the late spring
and early fall which would arouse student interest.
We have also started thinking very seriously about the
new calendar which will go into effect the next academic
year. It will have an intersession period. We hope to use
that time, about two weeks, for developing cultural programs
not feasible during the school year. For example, one
program might be an organized two-week visit by history
of art students to New York City museums. Another is the
possibility of permitting upperclass students in psychology,
sociology, and the social sciences generally, to use New
York City during that time as a laboratory. This would be
a short-term version of the very successful New York City
program now being employed by the College of Architecture.
Another change in the local cultural environment for
students involves the revision in program format of radio
station WHCU, which is owned and operated by the university.
The evening programs on WHCU-FM especially
have been made more attractive to the university community,
students as well as faculty.
Q. A perennial student complaint criticizes the university
library system, particularly library hours. Have any changes
been made in the library system?
A. Yes. Students last year were most urgently demanding
later library hours and also demanding unlimited undergraduate
stack access to the Olin Research Library. This was
looked into by a special committee of the Library Board,
established in part under auspices of the commission. The
committee, a student-faculty committee, was headed by
Francis E. Mineka, the Class of 1916 Professor of English.
The committee found that the demand for later library hours
prior to and during the examination periods was certainly a
valid criticism. As a result, we will probably keep the Uris
undergraduate library open later at the end of each semester.
The committee has also experimented with the popularity
of later hours at other seasons in the course of the school
year. The results are being tabulated at the moment.
Another problem identified was the need toward the end
of the term for study space, not necessarily library space,
but quiet study space, away from people. The branch libraries
throughout the campus are being used as study space,
not because they are needed as libraries, but because they're
quiet. If it is the fifth day of examinations and your roommate
has had all of his exams and is interested in doing
nothing but waiting for a ride home, you head for peace
and quiet. The undergraduate college deans are providing
study space and the Willard Straight staff provides study
space in various Straight rooms at the end of the term.
As far as stack permits to Olin Library are concerned,
the committee looked into this and decided that the real
problem was not stack access but study space, as I have
already mentioned. The committee felt that unlimited undergraduate
access to the Olin stacks would dreadfully interfere
with graduate student use of those stack spaces. The committee,
therefore, reiterated the belief that the concept of a
separate undergraduate library and graduate research library
was a good concept and should be maintained.
Q. Did the Commission attempt to lessen the difficulty
of intercollege transfer?
A. The major recent progress on that front was generated
by the deans of the College of Engineering and the
College of Arts and Sciences without any real help from
the university commission. This was accomplished largely
through a change in procedure under which a student now
admitted in the College of Engineering's quota stays under
that quota even if he transfers to Arts. This seemingly simple
procedural change appears to have gotten to the heart of the
problem regarding transfers between Engineering and Arts,
the primary area of difficulty experienced in the past.
Q. Is the Commission going to expire at a certain time or
does it plan to keep going?
A. Well, the original plan was that the commission would
stop its work this spring. I don't know now whether that will
occur. I do know my own feelings on the subject. There
seems to be a continuing need for a person or a small group
of people to have constantly at the top of their priority list
the improvement of undergraduate education. Most of the
improvement will occur outside this group, from ideas developed
at the grass roots, just as it has during the existence
of the commission. This group doesn't need to be as large
and time-consuming an operation as the commission. Furthermore,
an organization like the commission, which works
through a backlog of ideas and problems generated by other
committees, probably ought to stop before it just gradually
runs downhill. These, of course, are my own convictions,
but I suspect there is a lot of agreement on the part of other
members of the commission on these points. However, we'll
have to wait until later in the spring to determine what
course of action will be followed.
Q. One last question: Is there any university office with a
clear cut responsibility for the continuing improvement of
undergraduate education?
A. Well, nobody has ever said this in print, but I'm
perfectly prepared to say it here. That's one of the responsibilities
of my office.
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