A faculty forum on “Financial Aid Policies: Unimaginable Outcomes?” will be held Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in 700 Clark Hall, followed by a reception.

“I think that the faculty should know more about this growing expense in Cornell’s budget and whether we are using those funds in an effective way,” said Joe Burns, dean of the university faculty, who will moderate the discussion. “The subtitle is meant to provoke faculty with two possible outcomes. We changed policies to affect substantially the student diversity that we all cherish. But we squander funds so that we hamstring our hiring and support of future faculty. Professors need to understand the landscape better so that they can influence financial aid decisions to make the strongest possible Cornell.”

Participants will include Paul Streeter, vice president for budget and planning; Barbara Knuth, senior vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, whose responsibilities include admissions and financial aid; Suzanne Mettler, professor of government and author of “Degrees of Inequality: How Higher Education Politics Sabotaged the American Dream”; Ronald Ehrenberg, ILR School professor and author of “Tuition Rising: Why Higher Education Costs So Much”; and Cornell trustee Barton Winokur ’61, an attorney.