With more campus consultation ahead, three groups of distinguished faculty members have been working since early this year to develop action plans addressing three challenges offering opportunities for Cornell University to establish leadership in areas of critical social importance.

The strategic areas for investigation - Life in the Age of the Genome, Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information and Sustainability in the Age of Development - were identified by former President Jeffrey Lehman in his State of the University address in October 2004. The first two areas drew on existing Cornell initiatives that would benefit from more interdisciplinary activity, and the third, Sustainability in the Age of Development, emerged as an emphasis in the context of Lehman's Cornell-wide Call to Engagement exercise last year.

To further explore these opportunities for the university, Provost Biddy Martin in February convened three task forces to help develop priorities, enhance interdisciplinary activities and begin deciding on areas for further investment. In each case the task forces were asked to help define how scholarship in certain disciplines - especially the humanities and the social sciences - is interacting and might further interact with research and teaching in the scientific and engineering disciplines. The committees met regularly from March through June and submitted preliminary reports to Martin in July.

The charges to the task forces and their membership lists can be found on the provost's Web site at http://provost.cornell.edu/int_fac.htm.

"The task forces were asked to provide a summary of what Cornell is already doing in these areas and encourage creative thinking about the three challenges, which provide important opportunities for our university," Martin said. "Each task force is now planning to do more focused consultation in the months ahead."

Each of the task forces surveyed Cornell faculty in all disciplines -- more than 800 responded -- and, with that survey information, developed an inventory of relevant teaching, professional and research activities in each of the strategic areas. They also used the survey information to begin identifying opportunities for more broadly interdisciplinary research and teaching.

"We need faculty input on every aspect of our charge," said David Harris, professor of sociology and co-chair of the Task Force on Life in the Age of the Genome. "The survey was a first major step. We now look forward to using focus groups and public meetings to gain a deeper understanding of faculty reactions to our emerging report."

Added his co-chair, Marjolein van der Meulen, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering: "The survey has allowed us to consider preliminary solutions to coordinating research and educational efforts. To move forward, now we need to actively engage the faculty, staff and students to get their reactions to our ideas and hear their suggestions for future initiatives in this area."

And while the reports are, at this point, just preliminary, members already have gleaned valuable information, both from their committee colleagues and from the faculty surveys.

Said Dan Huttenlocher, professor in the Department of Computer Science and in the Johnson Graduate School of Management and chair of the Task Force on Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information, of one of his group's findings that mirrored similar findings by the other task forces: "There is a considerable amount of work being done on campus that is related to wisdom in the age of digital information. What was perhaps most surprising to the task force is not only the breadth and depth of this work, but that often related projects are going on in different parts of the university with apparently little or no awareness of one another. This seems to suggest an opportunity for developing more of a sense of community among those engaged in digital information research and educational activities on campus."

And Sidney Leibovich, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and co-chair of the Task Force on Sustainability in the Age of Development, said a key objective of his task force was similar in that regard: "There is much already going on at Cornell in sustainability, much of it disjointed and carried out by groups unaware of related work," he said. "Our task force hopes to offer ways to assist and support groups in their research and teaching efforts, to facilitate their work and to make groups aware of others at Cornell addressing similar issues."

Nelson Hairston, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-chair of the sustainability task force, added: "For me, personally, the most intriguing aspect of our effort so far has been the discovery of the diversity of opinion just within the task force on the questions of what the important issues are in sustainability, where the challenges lie for the future, and what the opportunities and likely fruitful approaches will be to addressing these challenges. The opportunity to broaden the debate further to other members of the Cornell community and then to people outside Cornell is very exciting."

What's next? "Like the other two task forces, our next steps are to engage in dialogue with the broader campus community about our findings and to make recommendations to the provost about possible investments in this area that could have a big impact on the university," said Huttenlocher.

"These task forces now will expand their consultations, develop priorities and consider how we can leverage existing resources. They will develop firm proposals by year's end," Martin said. "I would urge members of the Cornell community to assist them by offering their input."

Final reports of the faculty task forces are expected by the end of the fall semester.

Task Force on Life in the Age of the Genome

• Andy Bass, neurobiology and behavior
• Dick Boyd, philosophy
• Ross Brann, Near Eastern studies
• Joseph Fins, Weill Cornell Medical College
• John Forester, city and regional planning
• David Harris (co-chair), sociology
• Richard Harrison, ecology and evolutionary biology
• Steve Hilgartner, science and technology studies
• Bruce Lewenstein, communication
• Janet McCue, Mann Library
• Pam Tolbert, organizational behavior
• Marjolein van der Meulen (co-chair), mechanical and aerospace engineering
• Amy Villarejo, feminist, gender and sexuality studies/film
• Will White, policy analysis and management
• Staff liaison: Robert Richardson, vice provost for research

Task Force on Sustainability in the Age of Development

• Susan Christopherson, city and regional planning
• Paulette Clancy, chemical engineering
• Alan Hedge, design and environmental analysis
• Nelson Hairston (co-chair), ecology and evolutionary biology
• Stuart Hart, Johnson Graduate School of Management
• Doug Kysar, Law School
• Sidney Leibovich (co-chair), mechanical and aerospace engineering
• Richard Miller, philosophy
• Rebecca Nelson, plant pathology
• Susan Riha, soil, crop and atmospheric sciences
• David Sahn, nutritional sciences/economics
• Alfonso Torres, veterinary medicine
• Staff liaisons: Stephen Kresovich, vice provost for life sciences; and John Siliciano, vice provost.

Task Force on Wisdom in the Age of Digital Information

• Larry Blume, economics
• Jonathan Culler, comparative literature
• David Feldshuh, theatre, film and dance
• Maria Fernandez, history of art
• Geri Gay, communication
• Tamar Gendler, philosophy
• Rebecca Harris-Warrick, music
• Juris Hartmanis, computer science
• Dan Huttenlocher (chair), computer science and Johnson Graduate School of Management
• Wolf Kittler, German studies
• Peter Martin, Law School
• Tim Murray, English and comparative literature
• Phoebe Sengers, science and technology studies
• Sarah Thomas, Cornell University Library
• Staff liaisons: Carolyn Ainslie, vice president for planning and budget; and Michele Moody-Adams, vice provost for undergraduate education.