Students, faculty and staff are invited to a meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the Leasing of Land for Exploration and Drilling for Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale on Thursday, April 22, at 4:30 p.m. in Kennedy Hall's David L. Call Auditorium.

The committee is seeking recommendations from the campus community as it develops guidelines for the Cornell administration. Prospective speakers at the meeting are asked to submit a 250-word summary of their comments, along with their name, department, Net ID, e-mail, phone number and Cornell affiliation (faculty, staff or student) to adhocmarcellus@cornell.edu. The deadline for written comments is noon Monday, April 19.

The committee will review all submitted comments and determine the lineup of speakers to reduce repetition and ensure that diverse views and constituencies are represented. Submissions will also be made available online.

"We want to be open and transparent; we want people who are interested in the issue to feel like they've had a chance to express their opinions to the committee," said Susan Riha, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, director of the New York State Water Resources Institute and committee co-chair.

Appointed in February by Provost Kent Fuchs, the committee is charged with recommending guidelines to be used by the president in making decisions on issues related to the leasing of Cornell lands for drilling in Marcellus Shale. The committee report is due by the end of the semester. The university currently has no plans to lease lands for natural gas drilling.