NEW YORK -- "The city is like poetry: It compresses all life, all races and breeds into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines," wrote famed author E.B. White '21. Nowhere is this diversity of city life more apparent than in the CU-NYC classroom. Extension associates, lecturers and professors provide a range of opportunities for a varied student body. Cornell in New York City is teaching doctors, educators, workers and community members across the boroughs. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) teaches an array of community members year-round. Certificate programs are offered in such programs as Garden Mosaics (an intergenerational/cultural gardening program), Eat Smart NY (education for food stamp recipients), EFNEP (Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program -- a national nutrition education program), AIDS education, parenting skills and 4-H science programs. Students attend classes in their communities and at CCE's offices, located at 16 East 34th St.

Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) hosts a multitude of classes and workshops. College credits and noncredit certificates are offered at the 16 East 34th St. location. The Cornell Off-Campus College Credit Program recently celebrated its 25th year at a June 21 certificate ceremony. Brilliantly colored banners and flickering candles heralded 141 students as they received certificates from ILR's Extension Division. The Cornell off-campus program offers workplace-centered education, including an 18-credit general business certificate and three 12-credit focus certificates in management, finance and business communications.

This year's certificate recipients came from organizations including Xerox, the New York City Department of Education and American Express. Randi Weingarten, ILR '80, president of United Federation of Teachers (UFT), told the recipients that even as an undergraduate she was aware of how important CCE was, explaining that Cornell believes "its commitment is beyond a campus and to help [people] in all sorts of ways." Weingarten explained: "What this Cornell University program does for our paraprofessionals and 135 other graduates is to put them on a career ladder, not simply to dream these dreams but to achieve their dreams."

The celebration concluded with the presentation of certificates. For many recipients this was their first postsecondary classroom experience; family and friends cheered accordingly.

Graduate education was the highlight of the June 28 State of the Medical College Address for 2004-05. Dean Antonio M. Gotto Jr. addressed a full Uris Hall at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC), 1300 York Ave. Gotto reviewed the WCMC Class of 2008 as well as the first matriculated class at WCMC-Qatar, noting that the New York and Qatar classes are comparable and exceedingly competitive internationally. According to Gotto, "Applicants to WCMC continued to be attracted to the college's strong international presence." Many administrative initiatives to improve the student experience are under way, including the renovation of the Commons and the Olin gym, new student committees (to address construction and information technology projects) and the addition of a first-year student advising system. New students are now assigned to an informal faculty adviser for general support while adjusting to medical school (this is in addition to the partnering of upper-class students with first-year students).

At the 2005 Commencement ceremony, held at Carnegie Hall, WCMC graduates took a new Hippocratic Oath. The "new version of the oath preserves the fundamental principles of our relationships with patients, teachers and colleagues while serving as a guide to contemporary challenges," explained Gotto.

Brenda Tobias '97 is on assignment in New York City, reporting on Cornell's many connections and collaborations in the Big Apple. The CU in the City column appears monthly. To suggest an item for coverage, e-mail Tobias at bnp1@cornell.edu.