Rana Glasgal
"As Cornell heads into its sesquicentennial, it is guided by a thoughtful and ambitious strategic plan, Reimagining Cornell; the Board of Trustees will support this plan through shared vision, expert guidance, collegiality, and leadership."
Cornell Degrees: BS '87, MEng, ORIE '92
What do you consider the top three priorities for the president, provost, and trustees to address during the next four years?
- Faculty renewal—As unprecedented numbers of faculty retire over the next 5-10 years, Cornell faces a challenge and an opportunity: to hire the best and brightest to replace the outstanding scholars soon to retire. These academic "rising stars" will create new ideas, increased faculty diversity, and future scholarly achievement.
- Student achievement—Facing increasing scrutiny from outside academia to demonstrate that students are receiving the education expected from a prestigious university, Cornell must maintain and expand its renowned culture of teaching and learning, and monitor the outcomes of this core mission.
- Accessibility—The Ivy-Plus financial aid matching program, announced in 2010, is a vital part of keeping Cornell within reach of the finest students. The university should continue to seek students of great merit, regardless of their ability to pay.
Using specific examples, what qualifications would you bring to the position of trustee to help address these priorities?
- Fourteen years of experience in higher education allows me to quickly assess and understand the challenges facing Cornell today.
- At Stanford, I work to examine problems, gather information, and propose solutions to issues such as faculty diversity and retention, graduate student advising, and the outsized influence of college rankings, to name just a few.
- I participate collaboratively on higher-education task forces dealing with topics such as accreditation, graduation rates, and the quality of undergraduate education.
- My Cornell student experience includes undergraduate and graduate studies and teaching assistantships, so I am able to identify with and represent the needs of those groups.
For Cornell to reach the goals outlined in the strategic plan developed as part of Reimagining Cornell and to better reflect that we are "one Cornell," alumni, parents, and friends need to feel connected to the university. This could involve giving their time, talent, or treasure. How would you help increase engagement and giving among our constituents?
Cornell's constituents—alumni, parents, and friends—are remarkably varied in their backgrounds and experiences. Using today's technology, and borrowing from yesterday's, we can engage people in ways that suit their diverse personalities and circumstances. Personal contact never goes out of style, and my experience as a fundraiser for my class reunion taught me that there is no substitute for reaching out and reconnecting on a one-on-one basis.
Cornell's strategic plan includes public engagement as a distinctive and integral feature of a Cornell education. Alumni will certainly rally behind this laudable goal and offer their expertise by guest lecturing, offering internship opportunities, or providing funding for service learning.
How can alumni help Cornell continue to build a more inclusive community of students, faculty, staff, and volunteer leaders, and what contribution do you see yourself making to this effort as a trustee?
Since Cornell's founding, inclusiveness has been at the forefront. Our treasured motto, "Any person...any study," makes us proud to be Cornell graduates. We can all stay true to this motto even as our years away from Cornell grow long, and bring that sentiment to all of our encounters. We can encourage the brightest students in our local high schools to attend Cornell, regardless of their socioeconomic or cultural background. We can support Cornell in its efforts to recruit the most promising faculty or graduate students. We can unearth and cultivate the alumni talent that exists in our own backyards.
Professional Experience:
- Stanford University, associate vice provost, institutional research and decision support (2005-present); director, institutional research (1999-2005); budget analyst (1997-1999)
- Visiting committee for Santa Clara University accreditation, vice-chair
- Steering Committee on Revision of the Handbook for Accreditation, Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Association of American Universities Data Exchange, chair
- Assessing Quality of University Education and Research committee
Alumni Service:
- CAAAN Advisory Committee (2005-present), chair
- Cornell University Council (2004-2008, 2010-2014)
- CAAAN San Francisco Bay Area (2001-2006), general chair
- Cornell Alumni Association of Northern California (2001-2006), board member
- Cornell Alumni Association (2005-2007), director
- CAAAN Palo Alto (1995-2000), chair
Community/Public Service:
- Silicon Valley Scholars, mentor
- Northern California Women's Hockey League, division coordinator
- Health clinic volunteer and fundraiser
Involvements as a Student:
- Teaching assistant (ORIE)
- Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
- Pi Beta Phi, president; secretary
- INFORMS, treasurer
- Mortar Board Honor Society
- Engineering Ambassadors
- Engineering Student Advisor
- Squash team
