Cornell Library FOLIO Case Study

Cornell University is a private university with a public mission. With a student body of about 25,000, Cornell is the federal land-grant institution of New York State, a private endowed university, a member of the Ivy League/Ancient Eight, and a partner of the State University of New York. Cornell Library supports the university’s mission with 20 different physical and digital libraries, a collection of 8.5 million volumes and 1.7 million e-books, and about 400 staff. After 20 years using the vended application Voyager by Ex Libris as the Library’s integrated library system (ILS), on July 1, 2021 Cornell Library completed our migration to the open-source platform, FOLIO.

Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí: The Portrait of a Cultural Connoisseur

The recent death of Alàgbà Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí, father, husband, writer, poet and journalist, may not qualify as a national event. Yet we have just lost a cultural hero whose lifestyle and literary activities cut right to the heart of living for oneself and living for others. Bàbá Fálétí could pass for an ordinary farmer in Òkè-Ògùn, as well as a professor of literature at any Ivy League university across the world. Thus, one immediate point of association with his memory is his easy going and quiet force of character that, I suspect, was moulded in the cauldron of a life lived within the character-forming context of the Yorùbá communal values and ethos. No wonder Alàgbà Fálétí eventually became a sturdy man of culture whose understanding projected a firm conviction about what culture can enable us to do.

Investigating Ivy

This qualitative study examined how race and class shaped the college choice process and collegiate experiences of Black undergraduates attending Ivy League Institutions. Findings revealed that although social class did not play a significant role in participants’ college choice process, robust financial aid packaging significantly impacted their decision to attend a highly selective university. Racial identity was largely viewed by participants as a vehicle to admit more Black Immigrant students than Black Native students in order to achieve institutional diversity/affirmative action goals. Prevalent racialized incidents and institutional racism shaped participants’ collegiate experiences. The findings of this study are expected to have implications for minority recruitment, college choice, access and equity, as well as higher education diversity initiatives.

Does Surgeon Training Affect Patient Perception of Surgeon Skill in DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction?

Background The aim of this study is to investigate whether a surgeon's training background and years of experience advertised on a social media platform influences perception of surgeon competence, patient recruitment likelihood, and referral likelihood. Methods A mockup of an Instagram post was created using a before and after picture of a deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap patient. The caption under each post was changed to reflect one of six possible training categories: 1 year of experience, 10 years of experience, 20 years of experience, fellowship, Ivy League training, and a null case (with no training information against which all other cases were compared). Surveys asked female responders to evaluate surgeon competence, likelihood of becoming a patient, and likelihood of making a referral to their friends or family. Amazon MTurk crowdsourcing platform was used to distribute the survey. Results A total of 1,878 responses were recorded, with the majority identifying as Caucasian (59%). The surgeon with 20 years of experience had the highest patient recruitment scores when compared with the null, 1 year, 10 year, and Ivy League training backgrounds (p = 0.0314, p = 0.0065, p = 0.0207, and p = 0.0244, respectively). The majority of responders (67%) preferred a female surgeon. Responders with a history of breast reconstruction assigned lower surgeon competence scores compared with women without a history of breast cancer (p <0.0001). Women who underwent breast reconstruction were also less likely to make referrals to their family and friends (p <0.0001). Conclusion Surgeon's experience influences whether a patient is likely to seek care from a plastic surgeon. Personal history of breast cancer has a negative impact on perceived surgeon competence as well as patient recruitment likelihood and referral likelihood. Emphasizing fewer years of training or Ivy League training did not make an appreciable difference in patient perception of competence or likelihood of recruiting a new patient.

Outsiders

Groups were underrepresented in the mainstream either because they chose a separate identity or were discriminated against, or both. Roman Catholics were the largest outsider religious group, mainly by choice. A major Catholic Foundation at the University of Illinois drew rebuke from authorities for undercutting Catholic schools. Among Protestants, many supported smaller denominational colleges. Fundamentalists mostly chose their own institutions. Women remained in ambiguous positions; they were included in state universities, but not in the Ivy League, and often had their own colleges. African Americans were strongly discriminated against. Howard was the only true African American university. Christianity played a considerable role at most African American colleges and universities. Jews founded Yeshiva College and Brandeis University, but most were eager to assimilate into mainstream American schools, where they faced quotas; anti-Semitism also played a role in faculty hiring, especially in the humanities.

Does the GRE General Test Predict More than Just First Year Graduate GPA?

Graduate school programs that are considering dropping the GRE as an admissions tool often focus on claims that the test is biased and does not predict valued outcomes. This paper addresses the bias issue and provides evidence related to the prediction of valued outcomes. Two studies are included. The first study uses data from chemistry and computer engineering programs from a flagship state university and an Ivy League university to demonstrate the ability of the GRE to predict dropout. The second study shows the relationship of GRE Analytical Writing scores to writing produced as part of graduate school coursework. In both studies results that are both practically and statistically significant are presented.

The Wealthy, the Brilliant, the Few

How does the US make sense of its elite educational system, given that it seems to be at odds with core American values, such as equality of opportunity or upward mobility? Sophie Spieler explores scholarly and journalistic investigations, self-representational texts, and fictional narratives revolving around the Ivy League and its peers in order to understand elite education and its peculiar position in American cultural discourse. Among the book's most surprising and groundbreaking insights is the tenacity and adaptability of meritocratic ideology across all three sub-discourses, despite its fundamental incompatibility with the American educational system.