Dee Ann Rexroat ’82
It feels almost like I’m graduating from Cornell again. After 30 years and 83 issues as editor of the Cornell Report, it’s time to say farewell.
It was my job, in part, to keep alumni tied to an important time in our lives with the people and place that shared it. In doing this my life became intertwined with many interesting Cornellians, reaching back to grads of the 1920s and every decade since for 100 years. Think of that.
I have worked with talented designers and colleagues, dedicated Cornell archivists, and eloquent authors to create these issues. We took the magazine from black-and-white interior to full color, and from staples to perfect binding (like a book). We added humor and shared our rich history. Both of those were abundant in Cornelliana, a column by Registrar and Professor of Classics Emeritus Charles Milhauser that ran for 17 years. We won a major award for the 2003 sesquicentennial issue with a fold-out timeline designed by honorary alum Robyn Hepker. In 2021 we received our biggest award yet for the “I See You” issue, guest edited by Heather ‘Byrd’ Roberts ’09, for amplifying voices that spark change. And importantly, we told our stories and offered perspective on the Hilltop as it evolved.
I entered Cornell with the Class of ’82 at a watershed moment, the first year of One Course At A Time. I leave as the college has modernized its physical campus and is poised to secure its financial future.
As a student I walked daily through our National Historic Register campus, sensing our history but unaware of the details. Now I’m not only deeply aware, I’m a little part of that history, a link in a long chain back to 1853. Thank you for taking that journey with me.