Provost Biddy Martin today (April 25, 2001) issued the following statement concerning Cornell's plans for the renovation and improvement of its Africana Studies and Research Center:

• The Africana Studies and Research Center is a vital part of Cornell's history and its educational mission. Serving both undergraduate and graduate students, with interests ranging from African-American culture, art, literature, music, history and politics to the economic, social and political development of the peoples of the African continent, the center has played a key role in the interdisciplinary examination of these subjects. It is a central point of coordination for multiple student and community organizations.
• There is no question that the facility serving this center on Triphammer Road is seriously in need of repair and renovation. At the invitation of Professor James Turner, director of the center, I toured the facility earlier this semester and saw for myself many of the deficiencies that require attention.
• Since that time, the administration has taken the initiative on two fronts. First, we have hired the architectural firm of Downing Barradas Architects to undertake an initial Feasibility Study of the facility. This firm has had extensive experience with Cornell University renovation projects, including the renovations of Malott Hall, Hollister Hall, the University Counsel's Office in the CCC building and the Registrar's Office in Day Hall. The architectural firm is now in the preliminary data-gathering stage of the feasibility study, relating the programmatic needs of the center to its physical structure.
• Over the last three months, staff from the architect, as well as the project manager from the university's Office of Planning, Design and Construction, Robert Smith, have met with Professor Turner and faculty, students and staff of the facility to gather more information from the users of the center. Consultants from the firm of Taitem Engineering have worked with the architects to survey all building mechanical systems.
• We expect to receive the completed Feasibility Study this summer. This is the crucial step prior to detailed planning and design work. In the interim, several small renovation projects have been initiated.
• All of these projects require funding, whether they support the physical renovation of the center or the expansion of its instructional, research and scholarship and fellowship programs, and we will work with the faculty and students to find funding sources. Successful fund-raising does not happen overnight. The center has to work with us to cultivate potential donors, involve them in center programs, and develop the appropriate case statement prior to persuading them to make substantial gifts.
• Earlier this year we organized several phonathons on behalf of the center. Seventy-five student volunteers participated in this activity, which involved initial training by our development staff and demonstrated students' commitment to the center. This effort, while not raising a large amount of money initially, is important because it lays the groundwork upon which we can build. We have been working with Professor Turner and other members of the center's faculty to develop lists of potential donors. We are also working with leaders of the Cornell Black Alumni Association to take on the Africana Center as the group's next fund-raising project. We look forward to training a small cadre of alumni leaders to become more fully engaged in formal fund-raising efforts. We will build upon these efforts in our university development activities.

"I look forward to working with the Africana Studies and Research Center, its faculty, students and staff, on their academic goals and on the appropriate means to support them."