There is no constitutional right to a high-quality public education. Should there be?

<p>In this <a href="http://wapo.st/2heVXhQ">Washington Post story</a>, written in honor of Constitution Day, <a href="http://africana.cornell.edu/noliwe-rooks">Noliwe Rooks</a>, associate professor in Africana Studies and Feminist, Gender, Sexuality Studies, argues that there should be a federal right to a high-quality public education, even though public education is not mentioned in the Constitution, with that responsibility left to the states.</p>

Faculty train to use new technologies to share their research widely

<p>Scholars are using websites, vlogs, information comics and PechaKuchas to reach wider audiences than journal articles that sometimes baffle the general public.</p>

Student delegates attend Clinton Global Initiative conference

Fifteen Cornell student delegates, including six from Arts & Sciences, worked on solutions to world problems in fields such as education and health care.

Munday speaker focuses on intersections of race, inequality, criminal justice

<p>Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of history, race and public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, will deliver this year’s Reuben A. and Cheryl Casselberry Munday Distinguished Lecture.</p><p>His talk, “A Revitalized Black Public Sphere and the Future of American Democracy,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Africana Studies and Research Center.</p>

Students broaden their perspective of ‘Caribbean Urbanisms’ through NYC excursion

From September 8-10, students taking a new Spanish literature course traveled to New York City to examine its identity as a Latinx Caribbean diasporic city.

New provost's task force continues push for a diverse Cornell faculty

Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff has launched a task force to recommend new approaches to enhance and accelerate the diversity of the Cornell faculty.

Engaged Cornell's Spirit Grows

<div><div><p>Engaged Cornell’s spirit grows in the colleges, schools and other campus units, such as the Community Learning and Service Partnership, Cornell in Washington, the Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell Abroad, the Cornell Public Service Center, The Cornell Commitment collection of programs, the Cornell Prison Education Program, the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, the Office of Engagement Initiatives and more.</p><p>A few examples:</p></div></div>

Faculty host community read, discussion: 'On Tyranny'

<p>“History doesn’t repeat, but it does instruct” is the ethos of Timothy Snyder's new book, ‘On Tyranny-Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.” Four Cornell professors will be holding a <a href="http://events.cornell.edu/event/on_tyranny">community read and public discussion</a> of Snyder’s book that has been described as presenting “twenty lessons from the twentieth century adapted to the circumstances of today.”</p>

Class creates app highlighting Underground Railroad sites

Ithaca and the surrounding area are full of sites that are important to the history of the Underground Railroad.

Faculty weigh in on 'Tyranny' book at community read

Faculty said citizens need to engage in civic activities, pay attention and "do the hard work."

Searching for the role empathy plays in our history

<p><a href="http://africana.cornell.edu/gerard-aching">Professor Gerard Aching</a> encouraged students to think of the ways that empathy (or the lack of it) has impacted people’s actions throughout history and affects our individual actions toward others during a Bethe Ansatz talk Nov. 1.</p>

Spring 2018 courses address current events

Faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences are exploring questions about recent events in their research and scholarship, and students have the opportunity to engage with their expertise through numerous courses this Spring relevant to our current national climate.

Myth of race still embedded in scientific research, scholar says

<div><div><p>The concept of “race” – the idea that humans are naturally divided into biologically distinct groups – has been definitively proven false. But the 21st century has seen a disturbing increase in scientists inaccurately presenting race as the reason for racial inequality, says an acclaimed scholar of race, gender and law.</p></div></div>

Cornellians gather at D.C.’s African-American history museum

President Martha E. Pollack and more than a thousand others gathered to celebrate the museum and Cornell’s founding principles of inclusion and diversity.

Grants fund 22 Cornell teams, community partners

<div><div><p>Connecting researchers to federal and state policymakers. Supporting children affected by the opioid epidemic. Sending students to the United Nations climate conference. Offering disaster workshops to regional animal shelters. Collaborating with cooperative businesses for experiential learning.</p><p>These are among the 22 projects that received fall 2017 Engaged Opportunity Grants.</p></div></div>

Faculty committee tasked to envision opportunities in New York City

Noliwe Rooks, associate professor of Africana Studies, is leading a presidential committee of faculty.

Students have eye-opening experiences on Cuba trip

Along with discussions about politics, religion and history, the trip included many cultural interactions with local people, including children at a dance school.

Dave Zirin to deliver 2018 Kops Freedom of the Press Lecture

<p>Professional athletes have recently faced increasing criticism when they engage in political discourse, even though athletes have long had a history of political engagement. Dave Zirin, award winning sports editor for The Nation, will deliver the Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press Lecture on “The History of the Activist Athlete” March 22 at 4:45 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.</p>

Educational trip brings students to UN to appreciate complex world

<p>UNITED NATIONS, New York City — A diverse group of undergraduates, graduate students, academic fellows and staff from Cornell took a trip to the city last month to tour the United Nations, learn more about disarmament issues and talk about career prospects with the global organization.</p>

Princeton professor explores intersection between Jewish, American ghettos  

<p>Mitchell Duneier from Princeton will visit campus for a 4:30 p.m. talk April 11 about his book, "Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, The History of an Idea." The talk will take place in Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium in Klarman Hall.</p>

Zora Neale Hurston's work reconsidered April 19

A professor from the University of Pennsylvania will visit campus April 19 to examine how writer Zora Neale Hurston’s work can be used to look at black life today.

Courtney Carr: 'I value the flexibility in a liberal arts education'

<h3>Courtney Carr</h3><h3>Africana Studies</h3><h3>Queens, NY</h3><p><strong>What is your main extracurricular activity--why is it important to you?</strong></p>

Mukoma explores African literacy tradition in new book

The book restores a missing foundational period to the African literary tradition.

Brianna Barrett: 'Stay true to your most authentic self'

<h3>Brianna Barrett</h3><h3>Government & Africana Studies</h3><h3>Morristown, NJ</h3><p><strong>Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most? How or why?</strong></p>

Umbutu: Interconnected, Looking Forward

<p>“The world we have is a world created by humans,” says<a href="http://africana.cornell.edu/n%E2%80%99dri-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se-assi%C3%A9-lumumba"> N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba</a>, professor of Africana Studies and Research. “So we have the capacity to create another world, to imagine that world, and to work toward it. That is the passion that guides my work.”</p>