Hilltop hot sheet: Spring 2024

By Cornell Report Staff | April 15, 2024

A compendium of what’s hot on campus right now. 

license plate frame that says Cornell Rams on the bottom and Alumni on the topRoll with Cornell wherever you go

Now you can show your Cornell pride from behind the wheel with a license plate frame. Choose how you roll with an Alumni, Mom, or Dad version. Purchase one online.

white musical note in a pink speech bubbleChoirs have something to sing about

Last fall American composer Elaine Hagenberg was in residence on the Hilltop helping prepare the Cornell choirs for a performance of her masterwork “Illuminare.”

Then in February composer and conductor Z. Randall Stroope spent three days with the choirs for a concert of his works. 

A third residency is scheduled at the end of April with the director of The Ambassadors of Harmony, a five-time Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Champion.

graphic of two foaming beermugs tapping togetherOld fire station gets new life as brewery

Things are brewing at the former fire station in uptown Mount Vernon. 

The building, empty since 2012, is set to open in spring 2025 as The Old Fire Station Brewery.

Renovations received a major boost with a $100,000 challenge grant from Main Street Iowa made possible by the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group. The planned six-tank brewery with roughly 4,500 square feet is owned by a three-person partnership, headed by local entrepreneur Meridith Hoffman. “We hope it becomes a fixture on Mount Vernon’s main street as a large gathering space to complement the businesses that are already there,” she said. 

graphic of a checklist with three items checked offStudents seek Life Design

The Berry Career Institute has worked for years to incorporate career and professional development education into class curriculum by visiting classes to teach skills. In 2023 its staff offered Life Design as an adjunct course during Blocks 5–7. The course began with a waitlist and was so popular it is being offered again this spring. 

Among the comments from the 100% positive course evaluations: “This class has given me so much knowledge on how my major and connections matter”; “It helped me feel more confident in myself and my future”; and “I learned about myself, failure immunity, and various skills to use for future employment and personal endeavors and challenges.”

the number 25 inside a blue star with many pointsWhite Privilege Conference marks 25 years

Eddie Moore Jr. ’89 realized a dream when he founded The White Privilege Conference (WPC) at Cornell College. The year was 1999 and Moore was director of intercultural life at the college. In its second year the philosopher, theologian, and political activist Cornel West spoke from the King Chapel stage as WPC’s keynote speaker. Over 25 years the WPC has moved to many locations and is still headed by Moore. The conference addresses issues of privilege and oppression and advances social and economic justice.