INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 131, No. 100
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Science
Arts
Sports
Weather
Rock Star
Don’t Get Sentimental
Silver Lining
Cloudy HIGH: 17º LOW: 2º
Prof. Ian Hewson, microbiology, solves the mystery of thousands of starfish deaths. | Page 8
Emily Fournier ’18 reviews Cornell’s production of The Glass Menagerie.
Men’s track and field took second place at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships last weekend. | Page 16
| Page 11
Skorton Addresses Budget Cuts
Poetry slam
President says cuts needed for ‘financial flexibility’ The decision to “attack” the problem of the provost’s deficit was unanimously agreed on between deans, vice presidents and the vice provost at a senior In light of budget cuts totaling $27.5 million that leadership meeting, according to Skorton. “We’ve been talking about this for months and will affect colleges and administrative units in the next fiscal year, President David Skorton said in an inter- months when Kent Fuchs was still provost,” Skorton view with The Sun Tuesday that the cuts are necessary said. “We asked people across the whole senior leaderin order to maintain “financial flexibility” in the face ship how they wanted to handle this. The idea was that we had to do it in this way.” When asked how administrators would “These are tough cuts, they’re proceed in handling the budget cuts with leaders across colleges, Skorton said “the real cuts, but we have to get prediction of future behavior is past back to the point where there’s best behavior,” citing the University’s response financial flexibility.” to the 2008 financial crisis, when Cornell’s endowment shrunk 26 percent. President David Skorton “We froze everybody’s salary for a year, paused construction, slowed down on hiring, developed a voluntary staff retirement incentive and of uncertain events. The cuts, which will be implemented July 1, will 8 percent of the staff force was reduced ... and [we had] be made in order to address an annual deficit of $55 a couple hundred layoffs, which is very, very hard to do,” million in the provost’s budget. Cuts of approximately Skorton said. “So that’s how the University acted in the 2 to 2.3 percent will be made to each college’s annual worst crisis that ever happened. And so that’s a predictor of how it’s going to happen in this case.” expenditures. However, Skorton said conversations between “The overall budget of the University is balanced, but the provost budget is not,” Skorton said. “The administrators and leadership across colleges reason [the cuts are] happening now, even though it’s regarding the budget deficit would “definitely” hard … is [because] academic [units] need financial flexibility to deal with future things that come up.” See BUDGET page 4 By ANNIE BUI
Sun News Editor
JASMINE CURTIS / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dr. Neal Hall ’78, world-renowned poet, gives a poetry reading in the Africana Studies and Research Center Monday.
Cornell Faculty Size at All-Time High Modest Mouse to By GABRIELLA LEE Sun Senior Writer
Following a faculty renewal program implemented after 2010, the faculty size at Cornell has reached an all time high with a total of 1,652 faculty members last fall, according to Dean of the Faculty Joseph Burns Ph.D. ’66, astronomy. At 1,652, the current number of faculty members is “the highest ever,” with five more employed than in 2007, according to Burns. In the last four years alone, Burns said the University has employed an addi-
tional 75 professors. This figure stands in stark contrast to years past, when after the financial crisis of 2008, severe financial restrictions were placed on the University and the faculty size began to decrease, according to Burns. “As an outcome of the budget crisis, faculty numbers dropped starting in 2008, and by 2010 we had 70 fewer professors,” Burns said. The University shortfall in 2008 resulted in a slowed hiring rate for faculty and a workforce reduction, according to a document distributed by Interim Provost Harry Katz on Feb. 25 to college
deans, directors and department heads. The document also stated that the reduced workforce was in part due to a “staff voluntary retirement program launched in 2009.” According to Burns, it has only been recently that the faculty size has increased. “Owing to a renewal program supported by the Board of Trustees, faculty ranks began to recover,” Burns said. “Faculty size has increased, but only in the very recent See FACULTY page 4
All the world’s a stage
MICHELLE FELDMAN / SUN SENIOR EDITOR
Please turn to page 3 to read more about Prof. Bruce Levitt, media and performing arts, and his love for theatre.
Play Cornell Show By PHOEBE KELLER Sun Staff Writer
Modest Mouse — an indie and alternative rock band from Issaquah, Washington — will perform at Barton Hall on April 19, the Cornell Concert Commission announced Tuesday. The group plans to release its next record, Strangers to Ourselves, later this month after an eight-year hiatus, according to a release from Dan Smalls Presents, who is partnering with CCC for the concert. The album was recorded at Ice Cream Party in Portland, Oregon — a recording studio owned and operated by Isaac Brock, the band’s lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. Modest Mouse has already unveiled five songs from the 15-track L.P., which follows their 2007 release We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band is also kicking off a tour in support of the new album that will begin on Saturday and continue into the summer, according to Rolling Stone. “We are very excited to bring this amazing band to campus and to be working closely with the students on thiss on th show,” Dan Smalls said in the release. Tickets will be available on the Cornell Concerts website Thursday at 9 a.m. for students and at the same time Friday for the general public, according to the release. Tickets will cost $20 for students with valid ID and $40 for the general public. Phoebe Keller can be reached at pkeller@cornellsun.com.