Whirlwind Tour RAWLINGS VISITS CHINA TO STRENGTHEN TIES

IN MID-NOVEMBER, INTERIM PRESIdent Hunter Rawlings made a fast-paced, four-day tour of China, where he met with civic and academic leaders, delivered speeches, greeted alumni, and generally enhanced Cornell's presence in the nation with the world's fastest-growing economy. His stay began in Beijing, where Rawlings met with President Xu Zhihong of Peking University and signed an agreement to establish the China and Asia- Pacific Studies (CAPS) major. Completing this new undergraduate major, first outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed by former President Jeffrey Lehman '77 last year, requires immersion in Chinese language and culture, including off-campus study in Washington, D.C., and Beijing.

During his stay in China's capital city, Rawlings delivered an address at the 2005 Beijing Forum, where he was saluted by former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. In his speech, Rawlings recalled the pioneering work of educational reformer Hu Shih '14. "In 1910, Hu Shih was one of seventy Chinese students to come to the United States," Rawlings said. "Today, approximately 20,000 Chinese students enter American colleges and universities each year"--and education has become a key factor in what Rawlings termed the "second Chinese renaissance." After the forum, Binglin Gu, the president of Tsinghua University, joined Rawlings for the taping of an interview that was broadcast later in the week by China Television, reaching an audience of some 300 million. The next day, Rawlings visited the Tsinghua campus, where he gave a speech to the student body, helped lead information science workshops, and battled Binglin Gu in table tennis. (The Tsinghua president won both games. Next time, perhaps Rawlings should challenge him in basketball.)

Rawlings then traveled to Shanghai for a day filled with meetings with government and academic administrators, including officials from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and East China Normal University who proposed academic exchanges with Cornell. Although his stay in Shanghai was brief, Rawlings told the Daily Sun that the discussions there had been "very refreshing and very substantive."He capped off his China tour with an alumni reception in Hong Kong before returning to Ithaca.

Double Take CU INCREASES APPLICATION OPTIONS

AS OF FALL 2007, PROSPECTIVE FRESHMEN WILL BE ALLOWED to apply to more than one college at Cornell. Applicants will have the option of designating a primary and secondary school or college; successful applicants will be admitted to only one college. The change aims to better align admissions policies with the realities of undergraduate academic life and to further Ezra Cornell's vision of "any person, any study," says Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment. "Cornell applicants have diverse academic interests and are often qualified for admission to more than one undergraduate college or school," Davis says. "This admissions plan is a natural extension of the opportunities the University provides to undergraduates, because Cornell allows them to take classes in all colleges and schools, and students can transfer from one college to another."

Historic Honor  CAU DIRECTOR RECOGNIZED BY SEMINAR ENDOWMENT

ON TRUSTEE-COUNCIL WEEKEND IN OCTOBER, UNIVERsity Council chair Jay Waks '68, JD '71, announced that more than $270,000 had been raised for an endowment to honor Ralph Janis '66, director of Cornell's Adult University (CAU) since 1983. The endowment will support the Ralph Janis Seminars in History, which will become part of the CAU program this summer. Janis majored in history at Cornell and holds a doctorate in American history from the University of Michigan. "What an honor and a privilege this is," Janis says. "It's not often that someone named Ralph has something appealing named for him."

Janis credits CAU advisory board chair Penny Haitkin '65 and board members Ron Kramer, MBA '57, and Chuck Mund '51, as well as Glenn Altschuler, PhD '76, dean of continuing education and summer sessions, for coming up with the idea and then raising the funds. The first Ralph Janis Seminar, offered the week of July 16, will be "The Roman Epoch, and Ours," led by Barry Strauss '74, professor of history and classics.

Top Dollar  PAY FOR SOME COLLEGE PRESIDENTS EXCEEDS $1 MILLION

IN A SPECIAL SECTION PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER, THE Chronicle of Higher Education reported that in the 2003–04 academic year compensation packages for college presidents topped the $1 million mark for the first time. "The symbolic move into the seven-figure range may spark more discussion of presidential compensation," wrote Chronicle reporter Audrey Williams June, "as the federal government starts seeking the logic behind high pay for leaders of nonprofit organizations, faculty members call for salary caps, and board members move to defend the amount that they pay college executives."

The top earner in 2003–04 was Donald Ross, the retiring president of Lynn College in Boca Raton, Florida, whose total pay was just over $5 million. (Ross's package included $4.5 million in deferred compensation, to be paid during his retirement.) In the Ivy League, the most generous package went to Judith Rodin of the University of Pennsylvania, who stepped down as president in June 2004; her compensation totaled $934,922. Former Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman '77 earned $675,027--a salary of $630,747 and benefits of $44,280.

A Century of Brotherhood ALPHA PHI ALPHA TURNS 100

NEARLY 1,000 ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA, the nation's first fraternity established by black students, came to campus November 19 to celebrate the fraternity's 100th anniversary. The centennial centered around a silent march from Barton Hall to the site of a J-shaped memorial wall in front of Barnes Hall, where the fraternity paid tribute to its founding members, known as the "Seven Jewels." Later, Robert Harris Jr., professor of African-American history and vice provost for diversity and faculty development, spoke at an academic convocation honoring scholarship recipients. The fraternity, now open to all races, has more than 700 chapters.