Robert Barker/University Photography

Student tour guides from Campus and Visitor Relations, from left, Bryant Hutson '09, Nicky Chopra '08 and Soyeon Yu '08 meet President David Skorton in the Day Hall lobby on his first day. Copyright © Cornell University

Copyright © Cornell University

Skorton talks with Diana Denner of the Ithaca Times.

Day One. The morning has barely begun, but David Skorton is already busy in his new role as Cornell's 12th president and its most visible figure.

In a day filled with media interviews punctuated by quick visits to other Day Hall administrators (and an early trip to the Campus Store for an assortment of Cornell ties), Skorton took up the blank slate of his presidency and started the job of filling it in.

It's nothing like his first day as president of the University of Iowa, where he was already a faculty member and well known to the community. There, they jokingly called his inauguration "the imposition." Here, he's brand new. And everyone wants to know more about him.

To reporters from the Ithaca Journal, Channel 10, the Cornell Daily Sun and the Ithaca Times, he begins with a reminder that he has a lot of learning ahead of him. "The first point in communicating is to listen," he says. In that vein, he's already met with students, faculty and staff leadership -- and he'll be reaching out more in the coming days and weeks.

To questions about leadership styles, he says his will be one that balances openness and a consultative style with decisiveness.

Asked about his priorities, he discusses the importance of a focus on undergraduate education, Cornell's role on the international stage, using higher education as a diplomatic tool, recognizing the role of self-governance among campus and community groups and the importance of an open dialogue with the community. Diversity, he notes, is a top priority: He has already requested a report on diversity on campus, and he's been thinking a lot about the worldwide problems of racial strife, especially since the apparently racially motivated stabbing on Cornell's campus in February. "That's an issue that needs to be dealt with squarely," he says. "The president has to get out front and make sure people know it is being taken seriously at the highest level."

To Rebecca Shoval of the Cornell Daily Sun, he confirms a rumor that he and his wife, microbiologist Robin Davisson, will be living in a freshman dorm for the first week of the fall semester. "We're also freshmen in a way, my wife and I," he says.

And he promises (kind of) to do a few gigs with his sax once the semester starts. "I'll be sure to let you know," he says. "The next day."

Many interviews later, the day is winding down. Tomorrow, his still-sparse office will be filled in a bit with a delivery of his books and decorations. (He plans a showcase of Cornell artwork for the walls.) His computer is set up, and he's figured out how to get his e-mail. His desk drawer is well-stocked with little boxes of raisins and big packages of Fig Newmans.

Ithaca Times reporter Diana Denner is the last interview, and Vice President for University Communications Tommy Bruce is looking at his watch. One more question, Bruce tells her. If it's a quick one.

But Skorton isn't tired yet. "Go ahead," he challenges Denner with a mischievous grin. "Call [his] bluff. Ask a long one."