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Extreme Makeover | STUDENTS SEEK TO BOOST UNIVERSITY'S IMAGE

FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN CORNELL EMBARKED ON an ambitious project to enhance its public image and improve its communications efforts, the university hired the corporate consulting firm Lippincott & Margulies. After a lengthy—and expensive—study that included a census of publications, dozens of interviews, and meetings with campus representatives, the consultants presented a plan that made such recommendations as the creation of a new university logo and a characterization of Cornell as "elite but not elitist."

The project was a good idea, says a group of students who have formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Improving Cornell's Image, but it didn't work. They point to such evidence as a recent decline in national media exposure, mixed messages in Cornell's communications, and—most important—the damaging effect of the university's slide in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

"When I applied to Cornell, it was ranked sixth," says Peter Cohl '04, "and right after I got here, it was ranked tenth. And then it went down to fourteenth." Cohl, a forty-year-old "mature student" with a double major in government and city and regional planning, compares the decision to enroll at Cornell to an investment. "The fall in the rankings really ticked off a lot of students because we felt betrayed by our ‘falling stock price.' " The students were further perturbed, he says, when then-Vice President for University Relations Henrik Dullea '61 declared that the rankings "didn't matter."

Cohl—whose pre-Cornell background included stints as a business executive, photographer, screenwriter, and actor— decided to tackle the problem. In the fall of 2002, he went to the Student Assembly and asked to form a committee to improve Cornell's image, an idea that was unanimously endorsed. A core group of student leaders, including Steve Blake '05, Ryan Horn '02 (now a graduate student in the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs), Jamison Moore '04, Ben Rockey-Harris '04, Justine Van-hilt '05, and Benji Weiss '03, began to meet, and the committee eventually grew to more than twenty members."Here I was," says Cohl, "sitting down with the chairman of the College Republicans [Horn] and the past president of the College Democrats [Moore], and we all agreed about these things."

The group reviewed the university's marketing efforts, including the Lippincott & Margulies study, and interviewed fellow students. They evaluated the appeal of the clothing at the Cornell Store. They scrutinized the websites of other universities, especially those in the Ivy League, and compared them to Cornell's. Then they summarized their findings in an 8,000-word report that was presented to the Student Assembly last October.

The report asserts that the university has "an identity crisis." The impact of this crisis, it says, "has been profound, dampening the enthusiasm of Cornell's students and most likely accounting for a significant percentage of Cornell's drop in applications for undergraduate admission."

Cornell has suffered in the USNWR rankings, says the committee, largely because of problems in two areas: class size and alumni giving. According to their analysis of USNWR statistics, "Cornell ranks dead last among the Top 25 universities in both its percentage of classes with under twenty students and its percentage of classes with over fifty students." Because changes in the ranking system have put additional weight on class size and faculty/student ratio, Cornell's standing has suffered.With regard to giving, the students note that "Cornell has been exceptional in its pursuit of high-dollar contributors," but its participation rate (the percentage of alumni who contribute) consistently falls below that of other selective institutions. (The report does not name other universities, but its conclusion is consistent with studies that show Cornell's participation rate is one of the lowest in the Ivy League.)

In its evaluation of Cornell's marketing, the report takes dead aim at the logo introduced in January 2001: "The ‘Big Red Box,' as it is derisively known . . . by students, faculty, and staff alike, is completely inappropriate as the central visual identity platform for an Ivy League research university."Cornell would be much better served, the students say, by returning to "the traditional Cornell crest."

They also take a dim view of the university's current website, calling it "generic" and saying it "denies visitors the opportunity to experience the beauty of Cornell." Since last September, Cohl and other committee members have been meeting with Thomas Richardson, Cornell's director of Web communications, and their input is contributing to his redesign of the site. "Reading their report gave me a fresh perspective," says Richardson.

Richardson adds that after reviewing the report, he and Cohl took a "tour of Cornell's graphical history," scouring the campus to find paintings, murals, architecture, and other visual elements that could be incorporated in the next version of the site. "That gave me a sense of how rich Cornell's visual history is, and how that should be a major factor in Cornell's identity as it is portrayed going forward," says Richardson.

The committee hopes to bring a similar approach to an overhaul of The Big Red Book (the brochure sent to prospective students), to Cornell clothing and merchandise, and to other communications and marketing vehicles. As with the logo, they recommend a more traditional look that emphasizes Cornell's heritage and Ivy League status.

In recent months, committee members have met with senior administrators to present their findings and offer assistance. "It looks like President Lehman is interested," says goverment and history major Steve Blake, "but he's not moving quickly, which is understandable. It will probably take a while for him to get to the active involvement stage." Cohl says that he will continue to follow up with the administration and present progress reports to the Student Assembly. He also encourages alumni input, stating that "we would like to build the strongest possible relationship with the alumni, because we view this as a continuum." (His e-mail address is: peter.cohl@cornell.edu.)

While some might see the students' views as overly negative, Cohl stresses that the committee is motivated by its love of Cornell. "I just want to give back to the school, and that's why I've put so much effort into this," he says. "I hope to be a seven-figure giver to Cornell one day, but this is the biggest gift I can give right now."

— Jim Roberts

Model Teacher | ADVANCING HER CAUSE

When Carolyn Leuner '02 joined Teach for America, the last thing she expected was to see her face on a Polo jeans ad. "It's so far from my style," she says. "I don't even wear makeup." To Ralph Lauren, however, the South Bronx kindergarten teacher was exactly what they were looking for—young, beautiful, and passionate about her cause. In the shadow of war, terrorism, and a struggling economy, Ralph Lauren decided to promote advocacy groups and social change. And so the G.I.V.E. jeans campaign was born. Polo selected twenty-three individuals deeply involved in charitable activities as models for the company's website and in a series of magazine ads. For Leuner's participation, Ralph Lauren will donate $10,000 to Teach for America. Additionally, 10 percent of the sales of G.I.V.E. jeans will go to nonprofits.

In her second year with Teach for America, Leuner, who was profiled in Reader's Digest in October, has dedicated herself to the children she works with. "I have no life," she admits. "I get to school at seven in the morning, I stay there until five or six, and I come home to do more work." With her commitment to Teach for America ending this spring, the former government major will have to decide what to do next. "I've always wanted to go into civil rights law or child advocacy," she says. But her deep connection to her students would make it difficult to give up teaching. "These kids are like my children," she says. "Just being in one classroom, I see the effect I'm having, and I want to effect more change."

— Natalie Gingerich '04

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