Kramnick

Colleagues and former students will honor four decades of scholarship, teaching and service to Cornell by Isaac Kramnick in a daylong symposium, May 30, at the A.D. White House.

Kramnick, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been at Cornell since 1972, and is set to retire in June.

The author or editor of more than 20 books, Kramnick has taught and written principally in the area of English and American political thought and history. Together with Dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions Glenn C. Altschuler, Kramnick wrote the book “Cornell: A History, 1940-2015 (Cornell University Press, 2014), and last semester co-taught a Cornell Sesquicentennial course on the subject.

In the late 1990s, Kramnick helped lead the transformation of West Campus into a living-learning environment with house professor-deans, graduate resident fellows, faculty fellows and 1,800 undergraduate residents. He also proposed, and led the development of the campus monument called the Sesquicentennial Commemorative Grove.

“Isaac has had a remarkable career in every respect,” said associate professor of government Jason Frank, the co-organizer of the celebration, “and his intelligence, generosity, and dedication have inspired generations of Cornell students, advisees, and colleagues. This has been an easy event to organize because everyone invited was so eager to participate in honoring Isaac.”

Participants who will speak about Kramnick’s scholarship include Ulas Ince, Koç University; Jeanne Morefield, Whitman College; Paul Apostolidis, M.A. ’93, Ph.D. ‘96, Whitman College; Clement Fatovic, M.A. ’00, Ph.D. ‘02, Florida International University; and Don Herzog ‘78, University of Michigan.

In the teaching section of the symposium, scheduled speakers include John Mearsheimer, M.A. ’78, Ph.D. ‘81, University of Chicago; Nancy Love, M.A. ’81, Ph.D. ‘84, Appalachian State University; Michelle Smith, M.A. ’06, Ph.D. ‘09, Barnard College; Megan Thomas, M.A. ’00, Ph.D. ‘02, University of California Santa Cruz; Kenneth Sharpe, Swarthmore College; and Bill Weinberg, M.A. ’93, Ph.D. ‘98, independent scholar.

Set to speak on Kramnick’s service to the university are Cornell President David J. Skorton, President Emeritus Hunter S. Rawlings III, Altschuler, and Ross Brann, the Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies.

All sessions of the symposium are open to the public. Details are available at the Department of Government site.