Memorial Statements of the Cornell University Faculty (1868-2009)

Abstract

From its founding, the Cornell University Faculty has had a practice of recording a tribute to its members upon their deaths. The first and second such entries in the faculty minutes were for William C. Cleveland, Professor of Civil Engineering (d: January 16, 1873) and Ezra Cornell, Founder of the University and President of the Board of Trustees from its founding in 1863 until his death on December 9, 1874. Since 1938, rather than formulating these tributes as resolutions that were adopted by the Faculty and by the Board of Trustees, these memorials have been published in a booklet that is shared with the families of the deceased faculty member and with the University Faculty. With the 1971-1972 booklet, the name was changed from "Necrology of the Faculty of Cornell University" to "Memorial Statements: Cornell University Faculty". The memorial statements are authored by colleagues of the deceased faculty member. The chair of the authoring committee (usually the last-named of the authoring committee) is identified in the Faculty Records (minutes) or in the booklets. In some of the earlier memorial statements, the committee memberships were not listed in the booklets but can be found in the original faculty minutes. Some of the earlier statements are accompanied by statements prepared at the time of the person’s retirement. This book contains a Compilation of all Memorial Statements and an index.