MOUNT VERNON — A $3 million matching grant from the Hall-Perrine Foundation of Cedar Rapids will help Cornell College expand and remodel
The Commons, its 1960s student center.

Cornell must match the award 2-to-1 by Dec. 31, 2008. Fund raising for the $6 million balance is under way.

Opened in 1966, The Commons houses the campus dining halls, bookstore, mail center, a fitness center, offices for student activities including the newspaper and radio station, a coffeehouse and several rooms for classes, meetings and small lectures. The facility is visited daily by all Cornell students.

The renovation is expected to cost $19 million, and work is to begin in spring 2008. Plans are to build a three-level, 13,000-square-foot addition on the building’s east side. The new space will accommodate an expanded dining area and renovated kitchen; a larger fitness center featuring a workout area, aerobics room, intramural office and locker rooms; a multipurpose room that can seat 170 for a lecture or can be subdivided; and three new classrooms.

“The Commons is the living room, dining room and meeting place for students, faculty and staff. With Cornell’s increasing enrollment and the growth in our student activities and campus programming, we are eager to enhance the facility,” said Cornell President Les Garner. “We greatly appreciate the Hall-Perrine Foundation’s support for this project and its continuing commitment to Cornell.”

In 1995 the Hall-Perrine Foundation awarded Cornell $3 million for renovations to Cole Library, which also serves as Mount Vernon’s public library. In 1998 the foundation awarded a $3 million challenge grant for renovations to Cornell’s fine arts facilities.

Cornell is a private, liberal arts college expecting a record enrollment this fall of 1,200 men and women from over 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. The entire campus of 43 buildings on 129 acres is one of only two colleges in the country listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College welcomes 360 new students for a six-day orientation beginning Tuesday, Aug. 30.

New Student Orientation features activities designed to introduce students to the academic and social aspects of Cornell, to new friends and to support systems that enhance the student experience. For family members bringing their students to campus, Day One of orientation offers special sessions where parents can get tips on transition issues, meet the faculty and take a campus tour.

Classes begin Monday, Sept. 5, for all students. Cornell is anticipating a record enrollment near 1,200. The official enrollment will be calculated in October, after the college completes one full term on the nine-term One-Course-At-A-Time academic calendar.

Among Cornell’s new students, 314 are first-year students, 36 are transfer or exchange students and 10 are international students. The new students represent 31 states and 11 foreign countries. Thirty percent are from Iowa, with Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin rounding out the top five states represented.

Academically, 24 percent of new students rank in the top 10 percent of their class and 56 percent are in the top 25 percent of their class; the average grade point average is 3.54; the ACT score range is 23-29 for the middle 50 percent of the class; and 60 percent of the class has participated in community service.

MOUNT VERNON - Cornell College is featured in the new 2006 edition of “The Best 361 Colleges” from the Princeton Review.

About 15 percent of the four-year colleges in America are featured in the book, which went on sale Tuesday. The Princeton Review surveyed 110,000 students on specific topics and their overall campus experiences, ranking the schools in 62 categories. Ranking list categories range from best professors, administration and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, interests in sports and other aspects of campus life. Cornell ranks among the top 10 at colleges where students are pleased with their financial assistance, and among the top 20 where class discussions are encouraged and professors make themselves accessible.

“The professors make this school what it is. Most don’t hold scheduled office hours because they’re there all the time, and they’re always there for the students, whether it be to talk about last night’s game or the upcoming test,” according to a student quoted in Cornell’s two-page profile.

Recognized as one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges, Cornell College is distinctive in U.S. higher education in offering the combination of liberal arts and science study within the One-Course-At-A-Time framework in an active residential community. Cornell also is featured in the Princeton Review’s 2006 edition of “ America’s Best Value Colleges,” Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives,” Student Horizons’ “Colleges of Distinction” and Kaplan’s “Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges.”

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College’s 2005-06 Chautauqua program for adult learners features six courses led by Cornell faculty, emeriti faculty or guest lecturers on the topics of Japanese-American internment, the differences between the sexes, outlaws and lawmen of the 19th century, earthquakes and other natural disasters, religion and poetry.

Chautauqua begins Sept. 12, but there is a free reception Monday, Aug. 15, from 2-3 p.m. in Harlan Dining Room of The Commons. Many Chautauqua lecturers will attend to discuss their upcoming courses, and door prizes will include free books and free classes. Although not required, reservations are requested for the reception by Aug. 12. To make a reservation for the reception, or to sign up for a Chautauqua course, call (319) 895-4119 or e-mail cdeneve@cornellcollege.edu.

During the school year, Chautauqua classes meet Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon in Hedges Conference Room in The Commons. The cost for each three- or four-week program is $30 with a pre-registration deadline on the Wednesday prior to the beginning of the course. A luncheon is served at noon for all participants for all sessions of every course. The cost for each luncheon is $5 per person. Free parking is available on campus with a special permit from the Office of Academic Affairs at the phone or e-mail contact above.

The schedule is:

“War and the Constitution: The Imprisonment of Japanese Americans During 1941-1946,” Sept. 12, 19, 26. Pre-registration by Aug. 31. Richard Thomas, professor emeritus of history, will examine the events leading up to the incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II, life within the camps, programs and problems in their release and the many contributions they made to the war effort. The role of the courts will be discussed as well as the official apology by the U.S. government.

“Vive la Difference!” or “Does Sex Matter?,” Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24. Pre-registration by Sept. 22. Barbara Christie-Pope, associate professor of biology, will examine the differences related to sex and gender, including the latest research into these differences and how these differences impact health — such as why some drugs work better in women and others work better in men.

“Outlaws and Lawmen: Justice in the Late-19th-Century Trans-Mississippi West,” Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21. Pre-registration by Oct. 26. Richard Peters, professor emeritus of education, will evaluate the rise and fall of gun violence, based on the foundation of outlaw gangs and the establishment of justice.

“Geologic Hazards,” Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27. Pre-registration by Feb. 1. Paul Garvin, professor emeritus of geology, will examine the geologic origins of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods and other natural disasters, plus consider how their effects on humans might be mitigated.

“Four Great Religions of the World: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam,” March 6, 13, 20, 27. Pre-registration by March 1. Joseph Molleur, assistant professor of religion, will use selections from each religion’s sacred scriptures to illustrate how these religions motivate and inspire their adherents.

“Poetry as an Act of Witness and Healing,” April 10, 17, 24, May 1. Pre-registration by April 5. Mount Vernon writer Barbara Lau will explore developments in the world of poetry, considering celebrated poems on war, race relations, the women’s movement and 9/11.