The Cornell Volunteer Summit will take place from Wednesday, October 14 to Friday, October 16, 2026. Please note that some volunteer communities—such as Cornell University Council, President’s Council of Cornell Women, College Advisory Boards, Class Officers, and others—may choose to host additional events before or after the Summit. These optional gatherings may occur between Tuesday, October 13, and Sunday, October 18, 2026.

All Cornell volunteers will be invited to attend the Summit, including members of volunteer leadership organizations and college advisory boards.

The Volunteer Summit programming will be finalized in summer 2026. Individual volunteer communities will announce community-specific events with sufficient lead time for volunteers to make appropriate hotel and travel arrangements.

We are excited to offer programming that features university leadership, focusing on university priorities, as well as opportunities for volunteers to engage with students and other volunteers. Additionally, there will be time for volunteer communities to host social gatherings and mission-specific programming for their members.

Programming for the Cornell Volunteer Leadership will begin late afternoon on Wednesday, October 14, and conclude midday on Friday, October 16, 2026. In addition, there will be time for volunteer communities to hold social gatherings and mission-specific programming for their members during these dates.

Some communities may choose to host an additional day of events before or after the official summit begins or ends. Events planned by volunteer communities will be advertised with adequate time to appropriately book hotel and travel plans, and by summer 2026.

Yes! Events for specific volunteer communities will be held alongside the Volunteer Summit. For example, we expect Cornell University Council members and Trustees to host their annual dinner on Friday night, October 16. More information will be available before summer 2026.

Yes! Similar to past Trustee Council Annual Meeting weekends, there will be a dinner for Trustees and Cornell University Council members on Friday evening, October 16, 2026.

Some College Advisory Councils will hold their in-person meetings at the Volunteer Summit, while others may determine that their business needs to occur at other times in the calendar year. Nonetheless, ALL volunteers of membership organizations and college advisory boards will be INVITED to the Summit. More information about the specific Summit schedule will be available in summer 2026 to help volunteers determine which days are best for them to attend.

For those involved in multiple volunteer communities, there may be times when you must choose among programs. We are encouraging some volunteer communities to schedule their programming around the Volunteer Summit (the days before or after October 14–16) to allow for increased participation across member organizations. In addition, we are asking volunteer communities to consider what business they can do online throughout the year, and which programming is best conducted during the Summit.

Most additional events will NOT be livestreamed, except for President Michael I. Kotlikoff’s State of the University address.

While no specific Summit programming will occur on Saturday, there will be plenty of Homecoming programming! In addition, some volunteer communities may choose to hold social gatherings and mission-specific programming for their members on Saturday. More information about the specific schedule will be available in summer 2026 to help volunteers determine which days are best for them to attend.

Programming for Homecoming 2026 typically features a Friday night Drone and Laser Light Show at Schoellkopf Stadium, which is free and open to all students, alumni, and members of the Cornell community. On Saturday, there will be Homecoming tailgating, networking sessions with students, and a Homecoming football game against Lehigh University.

In 2025, alumni and colleges scheduled 60 Homecoming events. A full schedule of these events will be available in September 2026.

Cornell Homecoming is open to all Cornell students, alumni, parents, and friends.

The annual Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award will be presented Saturday night, October 17. More information will be available in summer 2026.

The registration cost for the 2026 Volunteer Summit will be determined as we finalize the programming by summer 2026.

YES! Our staff has secured room blocks for the Volunteer Summit. Review the list of options.

There are many ways to travel to and from the Ithaca campus! For those who plan to drive their own vehicles, more information about parking on campus will be available in summer 2026.

For hotel-specific reservation questions, please contact the hotel directly. For general room block questions or questions about the Summit, please contact OVP@cornell.edu.