Gothic Castle on the Hill: Fascinating Facts about Risley Hall A detail-driven history tour of the beloved campus landmark—from its Hogwarts-style great room to its (rumored) resident ghost
When ‘the Stump’ Was a Campus Landmark—and Soapbox The remains of a mighty tree felled by Dutch elm disease, it became a nexus of news and opinion during a turbulent era
Ticket Stubs & COVID Tests: 2020s Big Red Life, in Scrapbooks As a final project, a popular course on Cornell history lets students create miniature time capsules for future generations
Collegetown 101: How Ezra’s University Shaped a Neighborhood A look at the history—complete with photo tour—of how a sleepy 19th-century enclave became the beating heart of off-campus life
What Does It Take to Become a Big Red Chimesmaster? A look at the audition process for the iconic role—which began over a century ago, with a president’s yen for beautiful music
You Have It on a Sweatshirt—But Where Did It Come From? A history lesson on Cornell iconography, from the emblem bearing the ‘I would found …’ motto to the Great Seal on your sheepskin
MVR to ‘Milkorno’: Fascinating Facts about Human Ecology on the Hill To mark its centennial, we offer 23 intriguing details about the college—which grew from a series of educational pamphlets
Colors of the Wind: Dragon Day Beast Gets an Artistic Twist This year, the architects’ traditional creation was a blank canvas for a kaleidoscope of vibrant hues
How Cornell’s First President Transformed Higher Education A look at the life of A.D. White, who cofounded a nonsectarian university that admits students ‘regardless of sex or color’
Love Letters: How Willard Straight Wooed his ‘Princesse’ For Valentine’s Day, we revisit the epistolary romance between the future student union namesake and the woman he adored