Global Grand Challenges Symposium
November 8-9, 2018 at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
You are invited to join a dialogue on emerging global grand challenges: a two-day symposium to address how we can best live and work in an increasingly connected world with seemingly unprecedented threats and opportunities.
Key Objectives of the Symposium
- Instigate a campus-wide round of dialogue on emerging Global Grand Challenges.
- Generate ideas for the theme for Cornell's First Annual Global Grand Challenge, 2019–2020.
- Inspire both internal and external audiences with the depth and breadth of global expertise at Cornell University.
One outcome of this symposium will be the identification of potential themes for the first annual Cornell Global Grand Challenge, to launch in August 2019. Themes will be discussed during the participatory working group sessions, with preference for cross-disciplinary and campus-wide themes in which Cornell demonstrates a particular wealth of expertise and even a comparative global advantage.
The vice provost for international affairs and the vice provost for engagement and land grant affairs will select the theme, which both offices will celebrate in 2019-2020 as the “Year of X”—through proposals for cross-campus, cross-level projects; communication campaigns; and more.
Symposium Program
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Opening Plenary: Bridging Divides
4:30 to 6 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
Moderator: Wendy Wolford, Cornell University Vice Provost for International Affairs; Robert A. and Ruth E. Polson Professor of Global Development, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
4:30 p.m.
Convening by Martha Pollack, President of Cornell University
4:40 p.m.
Keynote: International Education in an Age of New Nationalisms
by Mariët Westermann, Executive Vice President for Programs and Research at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
5 p.m.
Responses from the Colleges
—Rachel Dunifon, Interim Dean, College of Human Ecology, and Professor of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
—Daniel W. Fitzgerald, Director of the Center for Global Health, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine
—Nicolas van de Walle, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Government, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
Q&A
—Rohit Verma, Dean of External Relations and Singapore Tourism Board Distinguished Professor in Asian Hospitality Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
—Lorin Warnick, DVM, PhD, Austin O. Hooey Dean and Professor of Population and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
Einaudi Center Annual Reception
6 p.m., Klarman Hall Atrium
The reception theme is “Global Engagement and Innovation.”
The reception space will feature posters from campus units and groups. Music is by the Paul Merrill Quartet.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Plenary 2: The Way Forward
9:00 – 10:45 a.m., 401 Warren Hall
Moderator: Katherine McComas, Cornell University Vice Provost for Engagement and Land Grant Affairs and Professor of Communication, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
9 a.m.
Convening by Michael I. Kotlikoff, Provost, Cornell University
9:10 a.m.
Keynote: Being Cornell in a Turbulent 21st Century World
by Ray Offenheiser, Director and Keough School Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development, University of Notre Dame
9:30 a.m.
Responses from the Colleges
—Kathryn Jean Boor, Ronald P. Lynch Dean and Professor of Food Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
—David Erickson, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, and Sibley College Professor of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Cornell University
—Eduardo Peñalver, Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, Cornell University
10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
Plenary 3: The View from the Regions
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Durba Ghosh, Professor of History, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
11:00 a.m.
Keynote: A Globalized World and Regional Policymaking: The Challenge of the 21st Century
by Kaushik Basu, C. Marks Professor of International Studies and Professor of Economics, Cornell University
11:20 a.m.
Responses from the Regions
—Esra Akcan, Director, Cornell Institute for European Studies, and Associate Professor of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University
—Abby Cohn, Director, Southeast Asia Program, and Professor of Linguistics, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
—Iftikhar Dadi, Director, South Asia Program, and Associate Professor of History of Art, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
—Pedro Erber, Director, East Asia Program, and Associate Professor of Romance Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
—Muna Ndulo, Director, Institute for African Development, and Elizabeth and Arthur Reich Director, Leo and Arvilla Berger International Legal Studies Program, Cornell Law School, Cornell University
—Kenneth Roberts, Director, Latin American Studies Program, and Professor of Government, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
12:30 p.m.
Lunch with Art Performance “Aguakinesis”
Introduced by Debra Castillo, Emerson Hinchliff Chair of Hispanic Studies and Professor of Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University; presented by Carolina Osorio Gil, graduate student, Development Sociology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
1:30 p.m. Small Group Discussions of “Grand Challenges”
Moderators: David R. Lee, International Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business; and Melina Ivanchikova, Associate Director of Inclusive Teaching, Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell University
Closing Plenary: Grand Challenges
3:30 p.m.
Moderator: Alexander Travis, Associate Dean for International Programs and Global Health, Professor of Reproductive Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
3:30 p.m.
Discussion:
—Ronnie Coffman, Andrew H. & James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor, Director of International Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
—Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Chair and Professor, Department of Development Sociology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
—Sarah Kreps, Associate Professor of Government, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
—David M. Lodge, Francis J. DiSalvo Director, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
—Mor Naaman, Associate Professor of Information Science, Jacobs Institute, Cornell Tech
4:30 p.m.
Closing Discussion