Alums return to campus– to teach

Cornell has always had a vibrant alumni community, full of graduates who want to keep in touch with their alma mater and come back to visit occasionally. But this year, there are 10 alumni back on campus not for a visit, but to teach classes. They’re teaching languages, arts, and sciences at various blocks throughout the academic year. The number of alumni back is unusual. Normally there are only a handful of alumni teaching in any given year.

Web Extra – Read a Cornellian interview with Jai Shanata.

According to Ann Pace Opatz ’81, assistant dean of the college, departments do a good job staying in touch with alumni and knowing who might need teaching experience. It’s helpful to have alumni teach at Cornell, because they understand One Course At A Time already, she said.

The alumni teaching this year are:
Kelly Montijo Fink ’92, Spanish
Corey Rubin ’98, Spanish
Roshan Iqbal ’00, Arabic
Van Tompkins ’00, biology
Boone Gorges ’02, philosophy
Carolyn Weber ’04, biology
Jai Shanata ’05, chemistry
John Wagoner ’05, art
Anna Henson ’06, art
Teresa Beary ’08, chemistry

Did you know? There are two full-time faculty members who are Cornell alumni: Tony Plaut ’78 (art and art history) and Tori Barnes-Brus ’97 (sociology and anthropology).