This regular column, written by Cornell alumni, will follow the progress of the Campaign for Cornell, the five-year, $4 billion universitywide fund-raising effort announced by President David Skorton in October 2006.

When fellow alumni ask us about Far Above ... The Campaign for Cornell, the conversation always turns to the campaign's priorities: students, faculty and the facilities they need to solve today's most challenging problems.

Some want to relive how favorite faculty members transformed their lives. Others are interested in Cornell's ability to provide access to a diverse student body through financial aid and scholarships. Still others ask about how new buildings will change the look of the campus and the impact they will have on inspiring cutting-edge learning.

All of these ideas support the essence of Cornell and this campaign -- ensuring that the university remains a model for higher education in the 21st century, committed to providing access to the best students from all walks of life and enabling them to learn on a campus that is unique in its breadth, depth and connectivity.

No other university can claim an identity like Cornell's. We are both private and public. We are Ivy League and land grant. We are in Ithaca, but we are also in Qatar, Beijing, off the coast of Maine and in the heart of Rome. Our fingerprints even extend to Mars.

The incredible work of Cornell faculty and students, the energetic visions of Cornell President David Skorton, Provost Biddy Martin, Provost for Medical Affairs Antonio Gotto, the deans, and the loyalty of our fellow alumni infuse us with confidence and enthusiasm as we set out to raise an unprecedented $4 billion.

We view the campaign as a series of investments in the advancements that Cornell is uniquely situated to achieve in the classroom, in the lab, in the field, in the halls of government, in the workplace and in the home.

We view it as an opportunity to help educate the next generation of leaders and thinkers, who will inherit the responsibility to solve great challenges. Cornellians are poised to advance discoveries in areas including the life sciences, physical sciences and the social sciences, areas that impact our health, nutrition, world hunger, social injustice, sectarian strife and the environment.

Indeed, we view it as an opportunity to empower Cornell to be the best research university for undergraduate education; to set the standard for interdisciplinary collaboration in areas of critical social importance; to make Cornell's approach to its public mission a model for higher education; and to fully realize our role as the land-grant institution to the world.

To do so, Cornell must have the resources to admit the best students, regardless of their ability to pay. These students need access to a faculty of distinguished scholars who lead in their disciplines. Finally, we must enable students and faculty alike to explore with the facilities and equipment necessary for tomorrow's research.

We can think of no better investment, and we can think of no institution better suited to carry out this vital mission.

Jan Rock Zubrow '77 and Stephen B. Ashley '62, MBA '64, are co-chairs of the Ithaca campaign. Zubrow is founder and president of MedCapital, LLC, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage health and life sciences companies. Ashley is chairman and chief executive officer of The Ashley Group, a family of related companies focused on management, brokerage, financing, and investment in commercial and multifamily real estate. He also serves as Fannie Mae's chairman of the board.