It isn't true - Ithaca is in a desirable enough location, with a long enough history prior to Ezra Cornell's Eureka moment, to have survived the passage as a functioning, likely thriving city, without the University. But it would have in all likelihood been a lot smaller.
A lot smaller.
Cornell, under the direction of its new president, David Skorton, undertook two major studies in the past year - one of which has come to fruition [the economic study], and one [the 'comprehensive plan'] that has seen the completion of its public-input phase. The cumulative result is this: Cornell is huge. Not just in Tompkins County, where it is the dominant employer, but also in New York state, where it is third among major non-government employers. The University is accountable for about $3.3 billion in economic influence every year - $636 million in local salaries alone [that's 23,000 jobs in Central New York, 36,000 statewide]. It is the primary purchaser of construction equipment, and a major player in nearly every imaginable purchasing realm. It is a City, really, at once separate from the state, county, and Ithaca itself, and yet present in nearly every life in the locale.
And, perhaps beyond the range of the numbers, the equally large perception of Cornell as a civic entity. Tax considerations dominant economic discussions [much of the University is "off the roles," so to speak]; when Cornell wants to build something [see: Redbud Woods parking lot or Cornell wind tower] the reactions can be venomous and emotional. But, unlike the perception of many colleges and universities amongst the "townies," Cornell is viewed as an active employer of local workers - recruiting and cultivating a reputation as a sort of "dream destination" for people whose lives were shaped in the dying Upstate economy.
So, it is fitting the two studies were released last week [in whatever state of completion], because, despite their separate mission each is dependent on the other - and each is essential in understanding the community's relationship with the university. The Times plan is to begin this week by examining Phase 1 of Cornell's Master Plan - with projections for future development following community input - and, in following weeks, beginning the long dissection of the economic study.
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"We didn't want to plan in isolation," said Mina Amundsen, university planner at Cornell. "The fundamental intent when we started thinking about this was to look both inward and outward as we planned. We are a part of all of our surrounding communities... . We wanted an inclusive process right from the get-go."
There were 32 informational panels available at the open houses, divided into the categories "Introduction & Background," "What We Think," and "Setting the Stage for Phase 2." Among other things, the panels explained and illustrated the university's history of growth, the current layout of the university as it relates to Ithaca, and some of the problems and concerns facing different areas around Cornell, such as parking, traffic and land use.
"This is not a plan that puts buildings in different spots," said Amundsen. "It's really to look at the possibilities for future development, like how do we identify what is important to us, what are the areas that will remain constant and what are the areas that will change, and how do we bring that about in a way that facilities that university's mission and academic goals."
Some of the slides focused on what the university termed "Opportunity Areas," which were defined as broad regions were possible growth and development may take place. These areas are: Central Campus, the Alumni Fields and East Campus, the Cornell Orchards (south of Dryden Road), East Hill Plaza, Downtown and Collegetown, and West Campus and North Campus. Each was widely defined and generally only loose ideas of possible development were mentioned.
"The timeframe for the plan is really in the long-term. We're looking at the beyond-ten-year timeframe," said Amundsen when asked about the direction of the Comprehensive Master Plan. "Beyond 10 years to about 25, 30 years out. The idea was to look comprehensively at what would the academic institution be like in that time frame? And what was the kind of campus that would best meet the needs of that institution? You can't predict academic trends that far out, but what we're looking at is the direction that they're heading in today."
Amundsen said Phase 1 was designed to gather information and feedback, which will be used in determining more concise plans for the future.
"This is what we are calling our first phase," she continued, "which is information gathering, fact-finding, really educating ourselves about our own means, and also what matters to people in the Cornell community, and what we are calling our Home community. We wanted to go into the planning process being as fully informed as possible, which we knew would help us develop planning options which would take into account all of that input."
To establish Phase 1, Cornell partnered with the design group Urban Strategies, based in Toronto.
"This particular project we began last March," said Cyndi Rottenberg-Walker, a partner and urban planner at Urban Strategies. "So we've been working on it for not quite a year, but coming up on a year."
According to Amundsen, Urban Strategies was picked for their experience in design and planning, especially as it relates to open spaces, transit, and specified growth. This is the second project that Urban Strategies has done with Cornell.
"We have worked with Cornell on a small project before," said Rottenberg-Walker, "for a research area through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences... for property that the college owned on the eastern edge of campus. It was a small study to help them understand what the potential of the land was, and to accommodate new research uses."
According to Rottenberg-Walker, Cornell approached her firm with a very specific list of needs for the research and the planning.
"They were looking for a team that could undertake a very comprehensive plan," she said, "which meant that our skills in urban planning and urban design were important. Also, it meant that we needed to assemble a team that included transportation, and utility, and specific sustainability expertise. They were also very interested in a team that would be able lead a very broad public input process, which is sometimes called public consultation or public engagement, because they were very interested in making sure that the plan reflected the values and aspirations of the Cornell community - student, faculty, staff - and also the views and opportunities that the residents and municipal communities. That was a very significant component of their search as well."
The plan will focus around the establishment of systems of growth and development, said Rottenberg-Walker, which will allow Cornell to grow within a framework while still having the freedom to adapt and plan for unforeseen changes.
"The plan will be designed to establish a set of goals and opportunities for campus growth and evolution over the next 25 to 30 years, to understand how the systems that would organize campus can be illustrated and defined and put into place," she said. "So, systems for continuation of the open space system, systems for the continuation and evolution of the transportation and movement system, systems for understanding how future campus development will continue to build on the wonderful character of Cornell's natural setting, between the two gorges. And all of that comes together in order to provide the template and framework around which continued academic and research expansion will take place."
As Cornell is still early on in the process of developing the plan, Rottenberg-Walker says that there has been little complaint from either the Cornell community or the Ithaca community so far. And while she anticipates some disagreement, she stresses that Cornell welcomes feedback, and she believes that most will be receptive to the plan.
"I think people understand that universities are very dynamic organizations," she said, "and that Cornell's success is very much driven by its ability to lead the world in its research and teaching ventures. If you're going to remain excellent, you need to continue to be able to evolve and grow to respond to new opportunities." n
The economic study and master plan can be viewed on the Web, respectively, at landgrant.cornell.edu, and masterplan.cornell.edu.
