MOUNT VERNON — Two publications have selected Cornell College as a hidden gem among the nation’s colleges and universities.

The New York Times’ Education Life special section on Sunday, July 30, recognized Cornell in an article headlined “Off the beaten path,” which cites 20 colleges that “stress undergraduate teaching, have established or rising scholarship” and are good alternatives to popular brand-name universities. The 20 “stealth powerhouses” were chosen with the help of higher education experts and counselors. Four “Northern Plains” colleges were featured: Carleton, Cornell, Grinnell and Macalester. There are more than 2,500 four-year colleges and universities in the United States.

The Times’ article noted Cornell’s One-Course-At-A-Time, or block, calendar, where students take a single course for 3 ½ weeks, allows students to “really focus and to spend more time in the field.” Cornell students also can design their own majors, are actively involved in research with professors and continue on to graduate or professional schools at a high rate, the Times said.

Also spotlighting Cornell is “Colleges That Change Lives,” a book by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope, which profiles 40 “catalytic” colleges that “outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers.” A new edition of the book, first published in 1996, was released in July by Penguin Books. The book gives readers a comprehensive assessment of each school and also includes general advice for the college-bound.

Cornell is the only Iowa college recognized in “Colleges That Change Lives.”

“It is wonderful that Cornell is being increasingly recognized for the extraordinary opportunities it offers students. In part, this type of publicity has enabled the college to attract the best and brightest students not only from Iowa but throughout the region, nation and world,” said Jonathan Stroud, Cornell vice president for enrollment and dean of admission.

Cornell is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college of approximately 1,200 men and women from over 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. The student-faculty ratio is 11:1 and the average class size is 17, with a maximum of 25. Approximately 92 percent of graduates finish in four years or less and almost 50 percent have double majors or a major and a minor.

MOUNT VERNON — Nine Cornell College students are attending a leadership conference at Upper Iowa University in Fayette from July 18 to 23.

The LeaderShape Institute helps college students learn how to lead with integrity through sessions on topics such as building community and bringing vision to reality. A guest leader forum features Iowans involved in business and public affairs, including Mark Zinkula, Cornell vice president for business affairs. On the last day of the conference, students participate in a commencement ceremony.

The conference includes more than 60 participating students from seven Iowa colleges: Cornell, Drake University, the University of Iowa, Loras College, Simpson College, Upper Iowa and Wartburg College. The LeaderShape Institute has collaborated with campuses across the country since 1992 to bring LeaderShape conferences to students. Last year 46 institutions hosted LeaderShape conferences. Participating students learn how to develop ideas into programs they can implement on campus to improve the world around them.

Cornell students attending the conference in Fayette are: Erik Jensen, Amanda Jepson, Colin Kirkeby, Jessica McMaster, Erica Milner, Heather Roth, Bryan Roush, Kerri Timmerman and Leslie Tweeton.

MOUNT VERNON – Cornell College, the summer home of Red Cedar Chamber Music, is hosting the Red Cedar Chamber Music Summer Festival for the third straight year as professional duos from across the country visit campus July 16-23 to study the finer points of musicianship and the business of music making with Jan Boland, flute, and John Dowdall, guitar, founders of Red Cedar.

Summer Festival concerts are:

A Parlor Concert: Spillville & Summer Snow
Sunday, July 16, 6-8:30 p.m.
Rexroat/Farooqi residence, 217 First Ave. NW, Mount Vernon
Tickets are $30, available in advance at the Perfect Blend or Fuel Coffee Shop in Mount Vernon.
Enjoy a concert for flute, viola and guitar by Red Cedar Trio members Boland, Dowdall and Michael Kimber. This unique house concert is an intimate evening of music, wine and refreshments. The program features “Spillville,” a new work by Harvey Sollberger, inspired by music Dvorak wrote when he lived in Spillville, Iowa, in 1893; “Winter-Night Canticles” for flute and guitar by Andrew Simpson, Red Cedar’s composer-in-residence; and a piece for two flutes and two guitars with guests Bret and Annette Heim of the Heim Duo. Because of limited seating, tickets must be purchased in advance. Presented in partnership with the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council. Beverages and hors-d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. and Parlor Concert at 7 p.m.

Red Cedar Summer Festival Performance at Fuel Coffee Shop
Thursday, July 20, 6-7:30 p.m.
Fuel, 103 First St. E, Mount Vernon
Admission is free and reservations are not required. Hear flute and guitar duos from across the country.