Cornell's Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies is a "strong" institution that performs functions envisioned at its founding excellently, but it is nonetheless "not where [it] could be, and not where [it] should be," believes Fredrik Logevall, the center's director.

Logevall's remarks, "The Einaudi Center at 50: Some reflections," were delivered Nov. 14 as part of the center's 50th Anniversary Symposium addressing the theme "International Studies in the American Research University: The Path Ahead."

According to Logevall, the Einaudi Center has been a long-standing coordinator, supporter and stimulant of Cornell's work around the world, as well as "a forum for a broad dialogue that cuts across the disciplines." In Logevall's opinion, the center "continues to make a key contribution to the university's reputation around the world for excellence in international area studies and thematic area studies."

As a sign of the success of its work, Logevall pointed out that about 750 professorial faculty from every undergraduate Cornell college participate in Einaudi Center programs, and that the center has maintained the breadth of its programming and funding for research amidst challenging economic and financial circumstances.

"We've come a long way since 1961," said Logevall, "... and to a large extent the vision that [former Einaudi Center directors] have laid out has been realized."

Cornell was long considered a "pioneer" in international studies, Logevall explained. According to him, "the investments that created the Einaudi Center came at a time when Cornell's strengths in various regions, in particular in Asia, really put Cornell ahead of the pack."

Unfortunately, he continued, Cornell does not possess the preeminence in the field of international studies that it once did, compared with several other American institutions.

For Logevall, part of this change in status was to be expected: "Pioneers don't remain pioneers forever," he remarked.

Nevertheless, Logevall emphasized that Cornell failed to adequately build on its stellar reputation and rich history in international studies in the past several decades to remain at the forefront of the field.

Logevall called for a renewed investment in the Einaudi Center and international studies at Cornell, the likes of which the current Cornell administration has demonstrated -- most notably by making "international studies" a priority of the Cornell Now capital campaign.

Cornell should reinvigorate and re-imagine interdisciplinary international studies, even if the task is complex, said Logevall, remarking that perhaps the symposium itself would help stimulate ideas for innovation and progress in that regard.

Cornell should also continue to invest in lesser-taught language instruction, an area where "Cornell has been a leader since World War II," said Logevall, even though maintaining that tradition of excellence in tighter financial times will demand hard work and "creativity."

"Cornell needs to have a strong and robust center for international studies," Logevall concluded.

When investments are made in such a center, it is not only current scholarship and teaching that is strengthened, said Logevall, but Cornell's appeal to prospective "topflight" faculty as well -- a particularly relevant factor with the university facing a "wave of retirements" in the coming years, he emphasized.

Given the university's mission, most notably in equipping students with the tools to solve complex and interconnected global problems, Logevall argued that the Einaudi Center "must operate as a dimension that bears upon much if not all that is done at Cornell."

Paul Bennetch '12 is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.