Hunter Rawlings, president of Cornell University, has joined the board of governors of Partnership for Public Service, a new nonpartisan organization dedicated to revitalizing public service by restoring public confidence in and prestige to the federal civil service.

The partnership officially was launched Oct. 23 at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Its 36-member board comprises leaders in business, politics and public affairs, as well as 10 university presidents. Members include U.S. sens. Richard Durbin and Joseph Lieberman and former Sen. Bill Bradley; Elizabeth Hanford Dole; John Hennessey, president of Stanford University, Richard C. Levin, president of Yale University, and Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania.

"Surveys show that interest in federal employment is declining, even while more and more graduates of the nation's top universities, including Cornell, are expressing the desire to work to improve society and their communities," Rawlings said. "One of the partnership's important goals is to encourage qualified young people to explore careers in federal service so that government may recruit and retain a highly talented work force."

The partnership's efforts will include a communications program designed to improve public understanding and perception of government service; efforts to inform talented students and midcareer workers about employment opportunities in government; helping federal agencies create a better work environment to retain talented workers; and developing a legislative reform agenda to update laws related to government employee recruitment and management practices.

The partnership is funded with a $25 million gift from Samuel J. Heyman, CEO and president of GAF Corp.

Since assuming the Cornell presidency in 1995, Rawlings has emphasized the university's public service mission and its role as the land-grant university of New York state.