Cornell: A History, 1940-2015
Glenn C. Altschuler and Isaac Kramnick
Abstract
This book, a history of Cornell University since 1940, examines the institution in the context of the emergence of the modern research university. It examines Cornell during the Cold War, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, antiapartheid protests, the ups and downs of varsity athletics, the women's movement, the opening of relations with China, and the creation of Cornell NYC Tech. It relates profound, fascinating, and little-known incidents involving the faculty, administration, and student life, connecting them to the “Cornell idea” of freedom and responsibility. With access to all existing ... More
This book, a history of Cornell University since 1940, examines the institution in the context of the emergence of the modern research university. It examines Cornell during the Cold War, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, antiapartheid protests, the ups and downs of varsity athletics, the women's movement, the opening of relations with China, and the creation of Cornell NYC Tech. It relates profound, fascinating, and little-known incidents involving the faculty, administration, and student life, connecting them to the “Cornell idea” of freedom and responsibility. With access to all existing papers of the presidents of Cornell, the book is a respectful but unvarnished portrait of the university. The history of Cornell since World War II, the book suggests, is in large part a set of variations on the narrative of freedom and its partner, responsibility, the obligation to others and to one's self to do what is right and useful, with a principled commitment to the Cornell community—and to the world outside the Eddy Street gate.
Keywords:
civil rights movement,
Cornell University,
1940,
modern research university,
Cornell NYC Tech,
freedom,
responsibility,
Cold War,
Vietnam,
antiapartheid protests
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780801444258 |
| Published to Cornell Scholarship Online: August 2016 |
DOI:10.7591/cornell/9780801444258.001.0001 |
