Book: The Legacy of Dale R. Corson

Abstract

This book captures some significant markers in the life and times of Dale Raymond Corson and his imprint upon Cornell University. His is a unique and remarkable journey. This story is told through three videos -1) "Dale Corson: Cornell's Good Fortune", 2) an overview by two of Cornell's most distinguished faculty members, Walter LaFeber and M. H. Abrams, and 3) a wide-ranging interview of Dale Corson by another former chair of the Department of Physics, Kurt Gottfried-and through this book, a collection of historical documents and speeches by Corson and by many friends. This book assembles numerous noteworthy documents and the transcripts of "The Corson Symposium: A Strategy for a Great Research University." Enhancing this book are numerous photographs, including two collections by the late Sol Goldberg, archival images from University Photography, the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, and George Gull. The documents reprinted here provide insight into a renaissance in engineering and in biology at Cornell. They include thoughtful essays on issues of contemporary importance - essays about the future of higher education in general and at Cornell in particular. They illuminate the remarkable career of a brilliant, yet kind and humble man who provided able and insightful leadership for Cornell and for the nation. Corson's leadership was marked by a profound respect for those whom he led by being an astute and thoughtful listener - a concept he articulated as his principle of fences and bases.