ITHACA, N.Y. -- The President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) at Cornell University will focus on the undergraduate experience at its annual spring meeting on campus March 12-14.

In addition to reviewing current programs to enhance undergraduate programs at Cornell, the alumnae group will discuss philanthropy by women, offer mentoring sessions to students and meet with women faculty and recipients of PCCW research grants.

Highlights of the conference, which will be held at the Statler Hotel on campus, are:

• Margaret A. Hendricks, founding member of the National Board of Women's Philanthropy Institute, will lead a panel discussion on "Money and Power: Women Philanthropists as Catalysts for Societal Change" on Friday, March 12, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Statler Amphitheater. Panelists will be Ronay Menschel, Cornell trustee and president of the Phipps House in New York City, and Christine Lodewick, board member of the Women In Philanthropy Institute.
• "Plans for Cornell's Undergraduate Living and Learning" will be described by a panel including J. Robert Cooke, dean of the Cornell faculty; Isaac Kramnick, the J.R. Schwartz Professor of Government; Susan Hills Murphy, vice president for student and academic services; LeNorman Strong, assistant vice president for campus life; and several students Saturday, March 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Statler Amphitheater.
• A mentoring luncheon, during which students can meet with PCCW members who are prominent in their career fields, will be held March 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Carrier Ballroom in the Statler Hotel.

Members also will hear presentations from Cornell President Hunter Rawlings; Mary Beth Norton, the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History; and Joan Jacobs Brumberg, professor in human development, history and women's studies.

Established in 1990 as an advisory council to the university's president, PCCW's mission is to advance the involvement and leadership of women students, faculty, staff and alumnae. The group has undertaken numerous projects to expand the role of women at Cornell, including the funding of 104 research studies and projects by women faculty and students, supporting the first student-written Cornell Women's Handbook and providing significant ongoing commitment for women athletes.