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The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 128, No. 96
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
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NYCTech Will Pair Industry Leaders With C.U. Students
POSSIBLE CALENDAR CHANGES BREAK DAY CHANGES: • Add a two-day break after President’s Day and lengthen Spring Break by two days, OR • Add a week-long break coinciding with President’s Day and delay Spring Break.
END-OF-YEAR CHANGES: • Shorten exam week from 13 days to eight days, AND • Shorten Senior Week from nine days to three days.
By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Writer
Four New Vacation Days on Horizon Calendar comm.proposes more days off, shorter senior week for spring
days. Last week, the committee shared its preliminary plans with senior staff, campus assemblies and deans. After hearThe University’s Calendar Committee is proposing to ing feedback from the Cornell community, the committee add four vacation days to the spring semester and shorten will submit its final recommendations to the Faculty Senate exam week in an effort to reduce student stress, the com- by the end of the semester, according to Doyle. “We are open to feedback, but we want people to read mittee’s chair Prof. Jeff Doyle, plant biology, confirmed the rationale behind our suggestions,” said Prof. Kate Walsh, Wednesday. Aside from adding a day off for Labor Day last year, the hotel management, who is vice-chair of the committee. “I think [adding a University has not made in the spring changes to its calendar “I think [adding a break] in the break] should be one of the since 1984, according to [University’s] first priorispring should be one of the Doyle. ties,” Dean of Students To separate long peri[University’s] first priorities.” Kent Hubbell ’67 said. ods of instruction, the Committee members committee will request Kent Hubbell ’67 prefer adding a two-day that the University make break to the calendar, as one of two possible adjustments to the calendar: One change would add a two- many students “do not have the financial means to return day break after President’s Day weekend and lengthen home for a week in February,” Doyle said. Additionally, a long weekend in the spring would also spring break by two days. The other would insert a weeklong break coinciding with President’s Day in February and give graduate students an opportunity to “get away from delay spring break. President’s Day is celebrated annually the campus to do extra research,” according to Chris Heckman, liaison for the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly third week of every February. The committee may also shorten exam week by five days, to the calendar committee. as well as Senior Week — a week-long series of activities hosted before Commencement — from nine days to three See CALENDAR page 6 By ERIN ELLIS
Sun Staff Writer
Mingling with tech startup executives to plan mentorships for future students, Cornell administrators are fusing business with its technology-based initiatives in New York City. Specializing in “technology commercialization,” the application of technological ideas into the marketplace, Cornell’s new tech campus in New York City will require its graduate students to take courses in business and entrepreneurship, according to Prof. Daniel Huttenlocher, computing and information sciences, and recently named vice provost and dean of the tech campus. Each student will be paired with an industry mentor with a background in entrepreneurship. While no concrete program has been definitively created yet, many companies have already given advice to the University on how to design one that would best expose students to work with businesses, Huttenlocher said. “We feel that connectivity to the business community is really an important part of this whole commercialization focus in New York City,” said Prof. Lance Collins, dean of the College of Engineering. “There’s a certain ‘learning by doing’ aspect to commercialization. It plugs people into others who are really knowledgeable about how to succeed as an entrepreneur.” Students, who will learn business skills in the classroom while applying them outside, will be given the opportunity to receive feedback about their work immediately, rather than after they graduate, Huttenlocher said. Additionally, he said, Cornell NYCTech’s focus on application, rather than just theory, will prepare students more for jobs after they graduate. See TECH page 4
News Wines 101
Cornell enters into a partnership to open a vineyard. | Page 3
Opinion
Marketing Yourself
Deon Thomas ’15 weighs in on résumé-writing. | Page 8
Sports Playoff Time
The women’s hockey team will take on Brown this weekend. | Page 20
Arts Oscar Coverage Live
Check out The Sun’s website on Sunday for a live blog of the awards.
Cornellsun.com Check out this week’s SunCenter, a weekly video digest with the week’s top headlines.
Weather Overcast HIGH: 45 LOW: 30
Alumna Donates $1 Million to CALS
Small talk
By DAN TEMEL Sun Staff Writer
An alumna donated $750,000 to create new scholarships for students studying agricultural sciences, an interdisciplinary major created in 2006 in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The gift, part of a larger $1 million donation to CALS, was set aside by Marcia Stofman Morton ’61. The gift was a bequest, meaning it will not be realized until her death, according to Ronald Van Ormer, major gifts officer for the CALS Alumni Development office. Morton’s gift was the second-largest donation in the history of the agricultural sciences major, after Richard C. Call’s ’52 $1 million donation to the college in 2010. “The funds are going to be primarily used for scholarships to bring in top-notch students who are in need of financial aid and to students from New York State from more rural areas that are good fits for the major,” said Prof. Antonio DiTommaso, director of agricultural sciences. See DONATION page 5
VICTORIA GAO / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Students mill around the Johnson School’s Dyson Atrium at Sage Social, an event hosted by the Human Capital Association on Thursday.