Cornell Club of Chicago

Dear Cornell Friends,

Each year we have an opportunity to update you on the Cornell Club of Chicago, to review the previous year's programs and to highlight the coming year's activities. We have decided to dispense with that traditional format, however, so that we can introduce an exciting element to the Club this year.

Nearly all Cornellians share an intellectual curiosity. This interest extends to news about Cornell's role in the Mars exploration missions, Cornell students competing in the Solar Decathlon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's involvement in the re-discovery of the Ivory Billed woodpecker. It also encompasses the opportunity to read, reason and think. In that vein, we are delighted to invite Club members to participate in one of Cornell's most unifying traditions, yet - the New Student Reading Project.

Now in its fifth year, Cornell's New Student Reading Project has become a broad-based intellectual event. This year, thousands of incoming freshman and transfer students read and discussed Things Fall Apart, by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Knowing that Chicago-area alumni will wish to participate in this new Big Red tradition, we have collaborated with Isaac Kramnick, former Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and 27 alumni classes to be the first Cornell Club to provide its members with a complimentary copy of this year's Reading Project selection.

Originally written in 1958, Things Fall Apart chronicles the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Ibo community, from the events leading up to his banishment from the community, through seven years of his exile, to his chaotic return. African tribal life prior to European colonization and the harsh changes incurred through the arrival of Christianity are so realistically portrayed, this novel is sure to spark many passionate discussions.

While participation in the New Student Reading Project is our most recent initiative, the Cornell Club of Chicago continues to pursue both its traditional and innovative programs, ranging from support of CAAAN and Cornell Cares to last spring's presentation on the New Life Sciences Initiative. We intend the Club to be the touchstone for alumni in the Chicago area - to facilitate service to the University and community, to provide current information about the University, and to foster friendships and socialization. Membership support provides the foundation for much of what the Club does.

Best wishes,

Peter Cooper '80

Celia Rodee '81