University Statements

Dear colleagues,

Last fall, we launched Resilient Cornell to strengthen Cornell’s financial foundation so we can protect and invest in the university’s core mission — teaching, research, and public engagement — over the long term. This comprehensive evaluation of our operations remains an imperative, even after the resolution with the federal government and recent substantial philanthropic gifts.

Cornell faces financial challenges that predate the acute stress of last year’s federal funding cuts. The university has historically operated on a very narrow margin, which creates challenges related to rising costs for wages and benefits, deferred maintenance obligations, and extraordinary legal expenses. Like many universities, Cornell is contending with uncertainty about the future of federally funded research and overhead reimbursements, international student enrollment, and limits to student borrowing. Simply put, neither the federal resolution nor recent gifts alter the imperative for Cornell to implement significant structural change to our operations.

Cornell staff and faculty have made meaningful progress with Resilient Cornell. The Cross-Campus Collaboration Committee is identifying long-term cost-savings in the university’s budget and exploring ways to enhance purchasing power. Procurement, for example, is being streamlined as we improve purchasing decisions across campuses and save costs through more efficient spending.

The Provost’s Steering Committee and its four cross-campus work groups — Finance and General Administration, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Marketing and Communications — have closely examined how these functions operate across Ithaca, Cornell AgriTech, and Cornell Tech, with a focus on reducing unnecessary duplication, improving consistency and reliability, and stopping work that no longer supports our mission or which is financially unsustainable. The groups have produced initial operating models, which clarify where processes, tools, and policies can be shared; where shared teams could improve service and efficiency; and where some activities may no longer be needed.

In the coming weeks, the models will be reviewed and tested by university leaders before being refined into more detailed plans that define optimal staffing and workforce alignment roles. We expect this work to be finalized throughout the spring semester and implemented early this summer. We will communicate updates through the Resilient Cornell website, community emails, town halls, and other forums.

Resilient Cornell necessitates cross-campus change. As I discussed in the recent address to staff, the university must reimagine our distributed and overlapping processes. This effort is not about asking fewer people to do more and take on additional duties. Rather, it is about making — and sticking to — sustained structural changes so we can focus our time, talent, and resources on what matters most, and build the financial resilience Cornell needs to weather future disruptions without undermining our academic mission.

Thank you for the work you do every day for Cornell and for your thoughtful engagement with these efforts.

Sincerely,

Michael I. Kotlikoff
President

Kavita Bala
Provost

Robert A. Harrington
Provost for Medical Affairs