On ‘Freedom of Expression’ at Cornell

This past spring, Cornell President Martha Pollack informed our widespread campus communities that the university’s theme for the 2023–2024 academic year would be, “The Indispensable Condition: Freedom of Expression at Cornell.”

This initiative continues Thursday (Sept. 7) with an event hosted by the Cornell Law School, free and open to the public, and live streamed as well.

https://events.cornell.edu/event/the_fundamentals_of_freedom_of_expression_hosted_by_cornell_law_school

As noted, “Freedom of Expression at Cornell is designed to advance a shared understanding of the significance, history, and challenges of free expression and academic freedom, as well as of the various challenges and approaches to honoring Cornell’s commitments to both free expression and to being a community of belonging.”

Thousands of residents in Tompkins and surrounding counties have attended, lived near, gone to events, and-or worked at the university over many decades. Because it’s Ithaca and environs – (says this 30-year resident, the first 10 in local newspapering) – the freedom of expression on all things Cornell can run the gamut from skepticism to adoration. But in that mix is also the most essential word, “community,” which is used in a variety of ways on and off campus.

In my work, the community connects with Ithaca, Tompkins County, and surrounding municipalities, including Cornell’s presence in Geneva – AgriTech, the Food Venture Center, and other components –  which aren’t too far from my hometown, Canandaigua. Big picture, of course, there is the statewide Cooperative Extension, located in every New York county and borough.

Before landing here, I was fortunate enough to have a career in newspapering  around the U.S. and overseas. Today, there is a broader and more robust publishing business.

My time included time in Moscow shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, which was a very interesting community. That was followed by almost a decade as The Ithaca Journal’s Opinion Page editor, where six days a week there was a dedicated page with a local editorial, guest columns, and several letters to the editor, along with the weekly “Darts and Laurels.”

That background – again all underlined with freedom of expression and a different media era – has served me well, both on and off campus. As always, clarity and candor need to lead, including in Day Hall, and with my longtime local board work, which at present includes Tompkins County Area Transit (TCAT) and the Ithaca Tompkins International Airport, along with other sectors.

Like any large (or small) institution, Cornell can always tell its story better, but I’m steadily grateful for the university’s candor and transparency that are essential to functional operations. Over the years, people have accused Cornell – sometimes through me – of having a secret agenda on this topic or that.

My standard response – with a nod to an engaged 30,000-person community from every state and dozens of nations, (and that’s just here in Ithaca): “It might be hard for a place this large and diverse to have a secret agenda.”

Community Relations is part of the division of University Relations https://universityrelations.cornell.edu  that includes Cornell’s diverse communications functions, visitor relations, licensing, and as many readers know, offices in Albany and Washington, D.C. On the latter, my colleagues in these cities have often helped local governments and other leaders with questions, contacts, and as appropriate advocacy, quietly and efficiently.

When I began at Cornell 20-plus years ago, Community Relations was 1.25 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, today we’re 5.0 FTE, including three area natives, a former elected official, a longtime staffer who previously worked in Campus Life, and a native Finger Laker who gets to pretend he’s in charge.

Finally, as always, we’re here to assist, engage and inform, for the common good. And most importantly, I am very grateful to the leadership at Tompkins Weekly for this monthly space.

East Hill Notes appears the first week of each month in Tompkins Weekly. Gary Stewart is associate vice president of Community Relations for Cornell University.