Karen E. Stewart ’85 and Paul N. Hayre ’91 are the newest alumni-elected members of the Cornell University Board of Trustees. Here, they share their approaches for transitioning into their roles and discuss what they expect to be the most challenging and rewarding aspects of their service.
How would you describe the approach you’re taking to settle into your new role as trustee?
Paul: Lots of reading and listening. Karen, our new cohort, and I are cordially thrown onto active committees that have been shaping substantial and complex subjects both for some time and since the last committee meeting. We swim fast to catch up and contribute.
Karen: I’m focused on learning, listening, and building a well-rounded understanding of Cornell’s current priorities. During the first year, new trustees have the opportunity to rotate through most of the committees, which will allow us to gain a broad view of the board’s priorities and identify where our experience can add the most value. I carefully review materials before each committee and board meeting so that I can meaningfully contribute to discussions. I am also listening closely to the perspectives shared by fellow trustees, faculty, and staff to better understand the strategic goals and the day-to-day realities of our beloved institution. This approach helps me develop informed insights and hopefully ensures that, when the time comes to select my committee assignments, my choices will reflect where I can best serve the board and advance the mission of Cornell.
What aspects of your service do you expect will be the most challenging? The most rewarding?
Paul: Picking right opportunities to jump in. We are a large board of talented Big Red alumni-plus. Discussion moves at a rapid clip and jumps from weighty topic to weighty topic. Also, we have the luxury of remarkable people in leadership roles at Cornell. Plans and strategies brought to the board survived rigorous scrutiny from people who are experts in their lanes. Judging the right opportunities to poke a little deeper—drawing on my expertise to support our leadership in stepping forward—is both most challenging and most rewarding, and will define this experience and perhaps my utility to the board and university.
Karen: The most challenging aspect of serving on the board is recognizing the university’s complexity and making sure I do not stretch myself too thinly across its many areas of work. With so much happening across the colleges, units, and departments, it will take discipline to focus my time and energy where I can make the most meaningful contribution. The most rewarding part will likely be the continuing appreciation for Cornell’s breadth and depth as well as the remarkable ways its many parts connect and support one another. It is a privilege to witness as a trustee how every effort—from research, teaching, student life, and community engagement—contributes to Cornell’s mission.
You’ve just attended your first Trustee-Council Annual Meeting (TCAM) as a trustee. What stood out to you most about that experience? What do you find yourself reflecting on since then?
Paul: The use of ‘cordial’ in the first response was intentional. There were lots of hugs welcoming me to the board from people I know: trustees, Council members and staff alike (TCAM, after all). From people I did not know on the board, the figurative embraces were just as warm. The trustee responsibility is weighty, but that fact does not diminish the overriding joy that everyone is there for a love of Cornell, with the singular intent to do the greatest good over the long term. To those reading this article, thank you for your work and engagement and support. After TCAM and my first trustee meeting, I definitely and viscerally feel those many winds at my back and am fully charged to do good work over the next four years.
Karen: What stood out most to me during my first TCAM as a trustee was the unique visibility that alumni-elected trustees have within the broader alumni community. Many alumni took the time during TCAM to stop and share that they had voted for me and that they trust I will represent them faithfully and thoughtfully on the board. These personal interactions were humbling and deeply meaningful. Since the meeting, I have been reflecting on the responsibility that comes with this role—the importance of maintaining the confidence of the alumni who placed their trust in me to help stay the course of Cornell’s founding mission.
