The clockfaces on McGraw Tower will be lit green on Veterans Day.

Message from the Dean

Dear Graduate and Professional Students,

Yesterday, Cornell received bomb threats for several buildings on Ithaca’s central campus. While the threats proved unfounded, many of us feel worried and unsettled, particularly as we struggle with the last few weeks of the semester and the ongoing pandemic.

I want to acknowledge that you may feel increasing stress related to balancing your mental health needs with your academic responsibilities. Please take care of yourself. Support is available through the Graduate School, Cornell Health, our campus partners, and each other. For a complete list of support and resources visit Mental Health at Cornell.

We know that this is a difficult time, and we hope you know how much Cornell values our graduate and professional students and appreciates all that you do.

Best wishes,

Kathryn J. Boor
Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education

Campus Update

November 8 – November 12, 2021

• All day: “Thank You Veterans” banners installed on light posts between Day Hall and Stimson Hall
• All day: Veterans Wall of Honor, Cayuga Medical Center Main Hallway

November 9, 2021

• 8:00 p.m.: “A Legacy of Service: Cornell’s Military History“, part of the Cornelliana series with Corey Ryan Earle ’07

November 11, 2021- Celebration of Veterans Day

• 9:15 a.m.: Veterans Day Specialty Cornell Chimes concert
• 9:30 a.m.: Guided walking tour of Cornell Veteran’s Memorials (start at War Memorial)
• 11:00 a.m.: Introduction by Debra Howell, chairperson of the Cornell Veterans Colleague Network (VCNG)
• 11:11 a.m.: Cornell Chimes 21-Bell Salute with silence honoring the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• 11:15 a.m.: Brigadier General Biehler will speak on “The Role of the Military in Supporting State Crisis” (register to attend in person)
• 6:00 p.m.: Cornell Chimes U.S. Armed Forces Branch of Service Anthem Concert
• Sunset: “Greenlight-A-Vet” illumination of the clockfaces on campus

November 12, 2021

• 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Military Appreciation Luncheon and Military Museum Visit, Barton Hall Main Floor (open only to the Cornell military community)

November 20, 2021

• 1:00 p.m.: Veterans Appreciation Football Game, Schoellkopf Field

Registrar

Preparing for the December 31st Conferral

Congratulations to students who have reached the finish line and plan to complete degree requirements and graduate this semester. Please refer to the Thesis & Dissertation webpage for detailed information on deadlines and submission requirements to stay on track – the deadline to submit your thesis/dissertation is December 1st.

December Graduates University Recognition Ceremony

Congratulations to our December graduates and proud Cornell families! The Cornell University December Recognition Ceremony for December ’21 Graduates will be held in the Bartels Hall Ramin Room on Saturday, December 18, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.

If you plan to attend please review all the information on the Cornell Commencement website.

Here are specific items for you to review:

1. Pre-order your cap and gown by November 15, 2021.
2. RSVP to participate in the ceremony by December 15, 2021.
3. Due to limited seating and adhering to public health protocols, you may reserve up to two (2) guest tickets to attend the event by December 15, 2021. You do not need a ticket for yourself, but you must RSVP to participate as noted above. The event will be live-streamed for those unable to attend.
4. Please review all the information for you and your guests, especially the Public Health Protocols for your guests, so they are prepared when entering the building for the event. Feel free to direct your guests to the website.

News

Graduate School Ranked in Two 2021 Annual Top 10 Lists

The Cornell University Graduate School was recently ranked as a top 10 graduate school by two publications, making both Woman Engineer magazine and Minority Engineer magazine’s 2021 lists. Women Engineer and Minority Engineer magazines’… Read more about the rankings.

Doctoral Alumna Selected for Inaugural Award

Kaylin Ratner, Ph.D. ’20, has been selected as a finalist for the inaugural SUNY Chancellor Distinguished Ph.D. Graduate Dissertation Awards. Created to recognize outstanding doctoral candidates in the SUNY system, the awards were granted to one first place winner… Read more about the award.

Enzyme Research Unlocks Gateway for New Medicines

Biochemistry, molecular and cell biology doctoral candidate Saket Bagde is lead author on a study capturing a never-before-recorded stage of an antibiotic-producing enzyme’s construction process, opening the gateway for future pharmaceuticals. Read more about the study.

Alum/Postdoc Spotlight

Sophia Ziemian, Ph.D. ’20, is a postdoc in biomedical engineering from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and researches osteoarthritis. They were a 2021 recipient of Cornell’s Postdoc Achievement Award for mentoring students and helping students close knowledge gaps created by circumstances caused by the pandemic.

Read more about Sophia Ziemian, Ph.D. ’20.

Check out our other alumni spotlights and learn about former students’ current work, experiences, and skills learned at Cornell.

Kudos!

M.S./Ph.D. Student’s Research Published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Natural resources M.S./Ph.D. student Karianne Kapfer’s team’s research on African manatee acoustics was recently published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. To the team’s knowledge, the only previous recordings of the African manatee’s vocalizations was collected in the 1980s.