Cornell University

"It’s pronounced CORNELL! It’s the highest rank in the Ivy League!"

"The individual is better, society is better, and the state is better, for the culture of its citizens; therefore we desire to extend the means for the culture of all."

"I hope we have laid the foundation of an institution which shall combine practical with liberal education, which shall fit the youth of our country for the professions, the farms, the mines, the manufactories, for the investigations of science, and for mastering all the practical questions of life with success and honor."

"Welcome night and welcome rest; Fading music fare thee well! Joy to all we love the best, Love to thee our fair Cornell!"

"Music with the twilight falls Oer the dreaming lake and dell; Tis an echo from the walls Of our own, our fair Cornell."

"When the sun fades far away In the crimson of the west, And the voices of the day Murmur low and sink to rest,"

"Cornell remains remarkably true to its founders vision of what a university in Ithaca should be. What has been constant at Cornell is its democracy, its orientation toward the future, its commitment to a balance between research and teaching, the individual responsibility of its faculty and students, and its freedom of inquiry. Its faculty still considers itself underpaid, the landscape remains thrilling, the weather- rain, snow, sun, cold, heat, wind- is still known as "ithacation" and always unpredictable. A university is a living entity. "One cannot be precise about Cornell," Dale Corson observed wryly, for it is an institution that "refuses to hold still." So true."I believe that we have made the beginning of an Institution which will prove highly beneficial," said Ezra Cornell. He understood that the institution he and Andrew Dickson White created would always be in the process of becoming. As long as this university remains a work in progress, it will be doing its job. It is this tradition of independence, egalitarian creativity, and personal responsibility that has shaped Cornell and will guide it forward."

"Far above Cayugas waters, With its waves of blue, Stands our noble Alma Mater, Glorious to view."

"Lift the chorus, speed it onward, Loud her praises tell; Hail to thee, our Alma Mater! Hail, all hail, Cornell!"

"Far above the busy humming Of the bustling town, Reared against the arch of heaven, Looks she proudly down."